Monday, April 6, 2009

Wrong Tools For The Job

It's shocking to me how specialized our bodies can become when we focus so closely on just one activity as I have been doing with my running for about 9 months now. I went snowboarding yesterday for the first time in a long time and after one run down the mountain I felt fatigue in muscles that I had pretty much forgotten existed in my legs. I do a fair amount of weight training, biking, and cross country skiing to supplement my running, but lately I've been focusing more and more on the running. My training approach seems to do a good job of getting me into good shape to run ultras, but it sure doesn't do much to help me keep up with the kids on the slopes. It was comical how tired my legs would feel any time I rode for more than about 30 seconds without stopping for a little break, all the while teenagers, many who have probably never run a mile in their life, were blowing by me.

3 comments:

  1. When I tried snowboarding I remember having really sore abdominals due to the repeated cycle of: slide, fall down, sit up, stand up, slide, fall down, sit up, stand up… Like doing hundreds of inverted burpees…

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  2. It helps if you actually wear snowboard boots! Using your X-country ski boots probably gave you less support for snowboarding than just a pair of Sorel's. Next time try some real boots and you'll last a lot longer, at least few runs anyways.

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