Yoga Monday : Extended Triangle Pose

Extended Triangle Pose (Utthita Trikonasana):

Happy New Year's Eve!

I love this pose for runners because it really stretches the hamstrings and side waist.  These seems to be areas that tighten up often for me so I practice this stretch regularly.  Namaste.

For more information on this pose visit here.

A LULU Christmas

Ok, I have had a lust for Lululemon clothing this past year.  I mean pretty, flattering athletic clothing for runners and yogi's all from a company with a heart, is there anything better?  Well, maybe the price.  It has seemed beyond selfish to me to spend twice as much on a running outfit just because it looks nice  (ok there are loads of technical reasons too, but it really boils down to appearance).
Well, my loving husband has noted my panting and drooling and gave me a very generous Christmas gift this year, a Lululemon jacket in white and a pair of running capri's.
Sadly, my well intended husband bought the clothes just a little too small for me (which is unbelievable since I've been known to shop in the children's department).  So I go to have a second Christmas when I went to return the items and pick out some new ones.  I purposely went the day after Christmas knowing there would be a few bargains to be had.  And I was right! I was able to exchange my lovely Christmas gift for both as winter and a summer running outfit.  I couldn't be more excited with my new capris, shorts, tank, long-sleeved mock and ear warmer.  Now I can hardly wait to see my next set of race photos!

Hope everyone had a wonderful holiday!

Training during the holidays, is it even possible?

I find myself with a few extra moments right now and sadly can't get out the door to run so I guess I'll type!
Currently, my father in law is visiting us from out of town and my husband is off work so there are plenty or adult supervisors around but yet, I can't seem to get out the door to run!
I had the best intentions today or finally logging my long run for the week today but now it's mid afternoon and my husband had to run some last minute errands.  Meanwhile my father in law is doing some work in the yard for us so I feel like an absolute scum asking him to come play dress up for the nine-hundredth time this week just so I can go run.
You see to me, my running is as much a chore as it is my respite.  I feel like my daily workout is a requirement; my family however does not!  My husband is half supportive of my efforts and knows better than to voice his less supportive half.  But I just can't shake the feeling of selfishness when I scamper off down the road especially during this holiday, family season.
I know it's fine to take a light week, enjoy Christmas  but I also know I have a 30k race just 4 weeks away and that I haven't logged a run longer than 10 miles in the past 2 weeks.  My training plan has scratches and marks all through it and I'm feeling very anxious.  Will I be ready for an 18.6 mile run? I just don't know and I'm feeling deflated at this moment.
Not to mention, I've been having some uncomfortable twinges coming from the arch of my right foot making me fear that I've inflamed my plantar fascia!  When I do get out for my runs this week (even if they are shorter than I'd like) I will be taping the area and wearing my compression sleeves and crossing my fingers, all in hopes of passing through this time of inflammation (both physical and emotional!) quickly and with a little stability.

Merry Christmas.

Yoga Monday : Fish Pose

Fish Pose (matsya):

Merry Christmas Eve!

Today's pose is great for chest congestion and thyroid issues.  Both items I suffer from.  Here in Central Texas it's the start of "cedar season," meaning the cedar pollen is about to engulf our air and render me nearly paralyzed with congestion, red eyes and general malaise.  This pose helps to loosen my chest just a bit and gives me a slight amount of relief.  I also suffer from and under-active thyroid (hypothyroidism) and this pose is supposed to help massage the thyroid and give it a little boost.  Namaste.

For more information on this pose visit here.

Yoga Monday : Wheel Pose

Wheel Pose (Dhanurasana )

The wheel pose has to be one of my absolute favorites.  I admit this is not for the faint of heart, but as a former gymnast this pose just feel natural to me.  Until I began my yoga practice, I would've called this a back bend but wheel pose sounds much more refined!  I think this pose is great for runners because it opens the hips and stretches the core. For a great tutorial on this pose go here.  Namaste.

Yurbuds---I Love You!

Okay, I have fought with my iPod earbuds for years.  They never fit well and part of my work out just naturally contained perpetual movements to my ears to reposition these slippery, sloppy earbuds.
I have become fed up with them more than once and sought replacements but nothing seemed any better.  This year, I tried two different brands that had pieces that wrapped around my ears with hopes they would stick in place better.....no such luck.  They actually sucked worse than the iPod buds.  Since I never actually cared about the sound quality, just their "stickiness" I've never wanted to buy an expensive technical pair. I figured the only difference between cheap and expensive pairs were the way they sounded (okay I know nothing about how how these things actually work) and so I continued buying cheap hoping to find something that just fit my small ears correctly!
Well last week I gave up!  My iPod buds were splitting and I was so irritated by them during my long runs I threw my hands up and knew that if I was going to have some music to carry me through my half marathon I'd need something new.
After a lot of research I decided that Yurbuds were strongly recommended and worth a try.  So in a last minute fit before my half marathon I ran to Best Buy and bought a pair of Yurbuds Inspire.  I tried them for the first time during the race and I absolutely fell in love!  These things rock.  They don't slip they don't slide and they are great!  I can't tell you how excited I am to use these little guys!  While I realize that a lot of true runners would say that running without anything in their ears and just the sounds of your surroundings is the way to go, I have to disagree.  I find music or an audiobook to be a great way to move me forward during my workouts and with these new earbuds I think I'll easily find myself even more motivates!

AWESOME, go get a pair today!

Yoga Monday-Half Lord of the Fishes

Running seems to provide me with a place of therapy both physically and mentally but I find it impossible and irresponsible to spend all my time running.  I know that to get the most benefit out of my running legs I must train and work my entire body.  Enter yoga.  For me yoga is the second best thing to running for my conditioning.  While aerobically, yoga is less intense than running or cross-training it is none the less effective at working and strengthening my body.  Beyond the strength and flexibility that yoga provides me it also gives me mental conditioning like nothing else.  Since yoga is centered around self-awareness and present-self, it is very effective for keeping me rounded in the midst of my long-term competitive goals.  In my yoga practice I seek to find my own grace and calm; two items that have proven beyond valuable as a mommy to three very active and often strong willed daughters!  So with that I am planning to post a yoga pose every Monday to provide inspiration for the week.

Week 1: Yoga Monday

Half Lord of the Fishes (Ardha Matsyendrasana)

I personally love this pose because it gives a nice stretch in the thigh/buttock area (often tight and sore from running) while also wringing out your insides with the twist allowing fresh blood and oxygen into your core region.  

Step by step instruction provided here by www.yogajournal.com

Half Marathon-DONE!

Just finished the Half Marathon I've been training the past 7 weeks for.  I ended with a 1:52 (8:35/mi) in 5th place for my AG.  I'll take it!  After battling this weeks cold I really am very happy with these results.  I feel pretty good at this point and realize that I could've pushed a little harder at the end, but got confused on the race course and thought I had further to run than I actually did!  Oh well, I'll attack more fiercely next time.

Now I'm off to nurse a wicked blood blister on one of my toes....ugly!

Preparation

Today is officially the last day of my half-marathon training.  I'm anxious to see if it was enough.  I have lost a little of the excitement and courage that I had last week since this week I've been battling a cold and feeling generally weak.  I was planning on "tapering" this week but the cold has forced me into an even easier week than I was expecting.  But I won't let this bug get the best of me.  I am still preparing for tomorrow's race with gusto and am determined to run it with some grace. I won't let the last 7 weeks of preparation go unused.
Today I plan to have some holiday fun with the girls(some ornament painting and cookie baking). Maybe the jolly spirit of the season will kick the last of this cold out of me.
I won't make my way to the gym or the trail today but I do plan on doing a yoga set before bed to be sure I'm loose(I'll also spend a good deal of time in fish pose to help my chest congestion). I've put a good deal of thought into my meals this week.  Eating high protein, high carb easy to digest meals and hydrating like crazy.  I'm also in search of foods rich in iron that aren't beans(to avoid intestinal discomfort) since Aunt Flo came to join me yesterday and I feel weak from the blood loss....great condition, I know!
I've packed my race bag; directions to the course, GU blocks, extra socks and hat, IPod,  nathan hand-held waterbottle and some grapefruit juice.

Safe to say I'm as ready as I'll ever be!  Lets just hope Pheidippides a his band of running gods are on my side tomorrow!

Run Happy!

So on Thanksgiving in the spirit of the holiday I submitted my fondest running memory to the Brooks Running website to be added to their Facebook Timeline of Running History(check it out here).  Well news arrived on Monday that I was one of the 3 chosen from hundreds of submissions for the contest!  How awesome is that!  What's even more special about this contest was the memory that I submitted for the contest; crossing the finish line with my eldest daughter in her first race!  Truly an amazing memory and one that keeps me running forward.

As a prize for winning this contest Brooks has sent me a brand new pair of Pure2Connect shoes that I am in love with(another gift from Brooks as a part of their wear test program).  Ironically, I have been wearing these exact same shoes for the past 3 months and am on the verge of wearing them out so it's so lovely to know that I have a fresh pair waiting for me in the closet when it's time to retire this pair after the upcoming Half Marathon.  And since it was my daughter who helped me wins these new shoes I promptly went out and bought her some new running shorts and flashy hair bows!  It's great to be a runner and a mother.  Run Happy!