Failed Fit? Snowboarding in the Midwest...

By Cool J in Minneapolis

Hi readers! How was your weekend? Mine is still continuing on, as I have off of work tomorrow for President's Day. Woo-hoo!

Weekly recap?
Lots of running here.
Monday- morning run with Abby and Kelly
Tuesday- morning run with Abby and Kelly
Wednesday- complete rest day. I had planned to go to kettlebells, but got stuck at work. Failed fit!
Thursday- Valentine's Day morning tempo run with a great group of gals!
Friday- short run on the treadmill and Body Pump (read about Body Pump HERE)
Saturday- 14 mile run
Sunday- snowboarding

I made a rookie mistake of taking a body pump class at the Y on Friday night before my long run. Though the class isn't that tough, it is a lower body workout, and my legs were definitely feeling tired on Saturday's long run. I will be sure to take Friday as a complete rest day going forward. No reason to compromise my long runs.

The D-man and I have been meaning to head to a local ski hill at least once before we head to Big Sky, Montana with LL and her husband in a few weeks. As LL wrote about here, she's been doing some exercises to prepare her legs, but I just needed to hit the slopes a few times to remember how it feels!

A fellow run clubber also wanted to go, but he didn't want to drive too far, so we let him decide where to go. Normally, we head to Afton Alps, which is about an hour from Minneapolis. However, there are a few"hills" that are closer to the city, such as Hyland Hills which is where we ended up. Hyland Hills is only 10 minutes from our house. It's close, and a pass is really cheap (only $30!)

However...it was CRAZY busy. The lift lines were long, and the runs were short. And the lifts kept getting stalled. And unfortunately the hill was very small.

I know, I know, I live in Minnesota, why am I surprised? But I do think other local hills are a bit more challenging (like Afton Alps, Wild Mountain, and Welch Village) but for the price and the proximity, I really shouldn't complain. I probably shouldn't call it a failed fit. It was still an active day, full of fresh air and some fresh snow. I was happy to have the opportunity to regain that muscle memory for snowboarding.

We had a nice time; the sun was shining, the temperature was in the 30's, and I felt happy to be outside enjoying the winter in an active way (other than running for once!)

I take back calling this a failed fit. Truthfully, I'm happy to have been able to go, even if it's not that interesting of terrain. It was still good practice for Big Sky.

LL, can't wait to hit the slopes with you soon!