Upward mobility (and cross training challenge)

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Today's motivating theme is: "upward mobility"

"The people that get to the top of the success staircase first are the ones that keep moving their feet even if given the chance to ride an escalator. An opportunity to rise to the top should be used as a way to climb faster, not as a chance to relax on the ride up."
~Molly Ford

I was feeling low motivation for long-distance running this weekend, so I took a different approach to keep my feet moving. I split my run in two parts: 1 part muddy trail adventure, and 1 part (slightly) shorter-than-planned road run. The end result: higher total mileage and much more fun!

Speaking of mixing things up... Again, I have left the new-to-you cross training challenge to the very last day. (But I haven't missed a month yet!)

Don't let my procrastination fool you, I love this challenge because it encourages me to vary my workouts, which keeps things interesting after so many years of running. Variety is the spice of life, no?

April's adventure: "100 Ups."
The exercise is deceptively simple. It looks like (and is) slow-motion running in place.
Should be cake, right?

In the true spirit of the exercise, I did the 100 Ups barefoot. By 50, my heart rate had risen. By 90, I could feel tension in my calves and quads. I won't say it burned, but I definitely felt those muscles working.

The verdict: 100 Ups are definitely going in my strength training rotation.

My other new-to-you cross training conquests to date:

• January = burpees
• February = cardio kickboxing (with reviews of free, online workout videos)
• March = stability ball strength training

Also in the new-to-me files: Twitter!

Follow me @RunTraveler

What would you recommend for May cross training?
What do you do to keep training/work/life interesting?