Eka Pada Rajakapotasana

Say that three times really fast.

Heck, just saying it once is a mouthful, if you ask me.

Some call it the One-Legged King Pigeon Pose, some call it cruel and unusual punishment.....after last nights class, I'm calling it fun!

03/21/2012

I couldn't drag myself out of bed in time yesterday morning to get my run in....so today was the day. My alarm went off....I hit snooze a couple of times...then finally rolled up and out of bed.

Sam was EXTREMELY excited when I came upstairs from the basement with her pack.


I have a plain orange reflective vest for her...so the pack isn't really necessary.....but 1) I want to get her used to it...she'll be carrying her own food, etc when we take her backpacking with us 2) I don't want to have to run for 4 miles with a plastic bag of dog poo in my hand.

:-)

I have a two foot leash that is always attached to her pack....but she does such a wonderful job of running just ahead that I usually just let the leash hang from her pack while she runs at her own pace. It's 5:00 in the am, there's no one around, and she's under voice control....so I let her go.

She constantly doubles back to have me pet her head, then goes ahead of me again for a while. If I slow down, she slows down. If I see her getting too far ahead, or I see her start for someone's lawn, I just have to say her name and she comes to me for a pet on the head...then she's off again.

There are more breaks during these runs with her, so my mileage isn't as high. I make sure she's beside me, and comes to a full sit when we get to a point where we have to cross a street. If a car is coming, I make her sit beside me until they have passed.

All in all, I'm really enjoying running with her....and I know that she's LOVING it just as much, if not more!

She's adding to my motivation for getting back into running a little. It's nice to have a fresh start with a new running partner! :-)

03/20/2012

Yoga was great last night, as always!

I bought a natural rubber mat some months back, because I slide around too much on the regular ones you can buy at Target, etc. But last night's class had me sweating so badly, even the rubber mat was slicker than snot. I think I'm going to have to end up getting a towel to go on top of it. I nearly face planted a couple of times because of it.

You know you're a heavy yoga sweater, when you can hear the sweat drip drip dripping on the mat below you.

Yuck!!!

I was asked, this week, if I was interested in getting my yoga teacher certification.

I'll be honest, I hadn't ever thought about it. Not that it's something I wouldn't want to do....but I hadn't given it a thought because I'm still so new to the practice.

But now that the seed is planted....it's taking root.

Taking root, growing leaves...and will be attracting butterflies in no time.

It's not free, by any means....so it's something I really need to give serious thought to before diving in head first (like I usually do). She is still working out the details, so I don't have any firm dollar amount...but she gave me a ballpark to plan for.

Tom's eyes may or may not have bugged out of his head when I told him (giggle).

After I graduated high school and a couple of years of college, I stopped taking the dance lessons that had filled 18 years of my life. I've missed it ever since. It was a great workout, there were goals, and I had so much fun!!! I wasn't a rockstar at it, but I could do everything that was asked of me and enjoyed it every step of the way.

Yoga reminds me of those dance lessons in so many ways. It's almost as though it's filling the hole dancing left. (as crazy as that sounds) The structured movements, the breathing and flowing, the strength and flexibility required, and the challenge of learning new things....

......including those that scare the crap out of me.

Like, for instance.....inversions of any kind. Headstands, handstands, etc. It appears I have a fear of being upside down. I got on "doctor Google" to see what I could find about it. There doesn't seem to be a scientific name for the fear, that I can find.....but there are entire message boards devoted to the topic.

Who knew????

Anyone who knows me knows I love to kayak.....yet I'm terrified of water. So practicing yoga even though I have a fear of being upside down...well, it's not really a stretch.

I know I enjoy what I'm doing because I WANT to do headstands and handstands. I want to work on it at home, when no one is looking, and I can pad the crash zone. I know I'm hooked when I sit at work trying to figure out where there is open wall space in my house for inversion practice. (there really aren't any)

:-)

One of these days, there will be a picture of me on this blog, doing a rockin' awesome inversion. I promise you that!!!!!!

03/18/2012

So, I've been a little off of my running game the last month or so.

I've actually been off of any game lately, it seems. The winter darkness, the running injuries, the work stress......it all took it's toll on me this year.

I've sat back the last few weeks and let myself heal from the inside out, so to speak. My energy is coming back and my motivation has migrated back around.

The housework that was being ignored is now getting the attention it needs. The outside of the house is getting it's fair share of loving as well.

I've also become a yoga addict. 4-5 classes a week lately. My strength (full body) is increasing every day and my flexibility is improving like wildfire. I can see a huge difference, and I'm loving every sweat dripping moment of it!

If you live in or around Omaha, you REALLY need to check out Sound Method Yoga. Mandy is fantastic and she's been adding on other amazing instructors now that she has her own studio space.

Plus (fanfare) I started running again. I downgraded from the full marathon in May to the half.....and am training just to complete it and enjoy it. No PR's, no time goals, no brutal training schedules. Two weekday runs of 30 minutes. If I make it 4 miles, sweet. If I make it 3 miles, awesome. 30 minutes, twice a week.

Then my long run on the weekend. Gradually increasing those miles until the half in May. If my longest run before the event is 10 miles, sweet. If it's only 8, awesome. I can't wait to run it with family. Talk, laugh, people watch.....just enjoying the moment.

Will I eventually run a full marathon? Yes. Without a doubt.
Will I do one that I have to train for over the winter. Absolutely not! :-)

This weekend I finally did it. I took Sam with me on my run.

I've been debating whether to take her or not since last April, when she was old enough to start going. Sam is a lab. Labs have seriously addictive personalities. Every day, when I get home from work, I have to throw the ball. I don't have a choice in the matter. If Mot throws it for her just before I get home, it doesn't matter. She wants ME to do it because that's just WHAT WE DO when I get home.

I could take her for a walk, I could take her for a car ride....but it doesn't matter. Until that ball throwing session is complete, she won't leave me alone. She'll bring her stuffed toys to me, in bed that night, if we miss our game of fetch. She'll throw her stuffed toys at me when I get ready for work the next morning. It doesn't end until I do it........so now she has ME trained. I get home, I throw the ball.

(sigh)

Knowing that, I had to decide if I really wanted to get her addicted to running with me? Do I really want to risk her wet nose in my face every morning?

I only did 3 miles with her this weekend, just to see how she'd do....and she did great!!!! I ran her with a short leash on the first half. She did really well, but she's not keen on staying beside me when we run.

She's a hunting dog, and has been trained to work a field slightly ahead of us....so I thought, why fight it? I dropped the leash and let her run. It was early in the am, there was no one around.

She ran 2-3 feet ahead of me the entire time. If I took a walk break, or slowed down on a hill....she slowed her pace to stay right there with me. Another lab (a yellow) went running across our path. He'd obviously escaped his yard and was out exploring the neighborhood. Sam kept an eagle eye on him, but never left her spot in front of me.

Because of her color and because I don't want to risk injuring her....she'll only, from now on, be going on my 30 minute weekday morning runs. I'm not sure how she's going to react when I go out for my long runs alone. She watches us like a hawk. When those running shoes come out, when the GPS watch goes on my wrist...she knows what it means. And now that I've included her on the activity, what will she do when I leave without her on Sunday mornings?

Guess we're going to find out. Wish me luck! :-)

I can sooo relate to this dog.....

A Girl Who Runs

"Love a girl who runs and she will love you back the same way she loves running. You will ask her why she loves running and she’ll answer: Because I can. You will ask her why she loves you and she’ll reply: Because I do."
Jaymie a.k.a The Bull Runner


Hello?

(tapping computer screen)

Is anyone still out there?

I'm back. Well, actually I never really left. I just haven't had time to check in and say hi.

Work has been crazy.

CA-RAY-ZEE

One minute, you're bored at work. You're in a rhythm. You get everything done on time, early in fact. You're happy and polite when people come over for work questions, or when they merely need a break and want to chat.

You get to work at 8:00, take an hour lunch, and leave at 5:00. There's no guilt that you couldn't get it all done. There's no taking it home with you. You've got it all under control.

Then you go and mess it all up. You have extra time, you see others stressed out, you want to help. You want to get rid of having to spend some time each day looking busy or finding something to do. You know that you shouldn't fill every second, because your job means having projects handed to you. Time consuming, time sensitive projects. Things go from famine to feast in the blink of an eye. People warn you. But you can't help it. You can do more. You don't feel like you're doing enough.

You volunteer.

Life as you know it ends.

You're skipping all of your lunches. You're working until 7:00 or 7:30 each night. You'd be there early as well, if it wasn't for trying to keep your non-work life somewhat under control.

Somewhat.

The laundry piles up. The dog hair is actually taking over. And your running......ha!

Running.

The one thing that keeps you steady. The activity that wears you out, yet pumps you up at the same time. It just so happens that you end up with a stress fracture in your knee right when things at work go completely off the charts nuts.

Your motivation to get out of bed each morning is squashed....thus, the morning runs (once you can finally run again) become fewer and further between. You want to get up and run. You lay all of your clothes out the night before. Water bottle and Garmin waiting on the kitchen counter.

4:30 comes, and you hit the snooze. Again and again and again. It's not bad enough that the runs you DO get in take time away from your spouse. You know, the guy you never get to see because you're at work until 7:00 or 7:30 each night. But now you don't want to get up to run, because it means eventually going to work.

It's not that you hate your job.....or the people there......it's knowing you pushed yourself over the edge. You know you can recover...but it's going to take some time before you get it all juggled. Before you get it all "handled" again. You know you can do it. But it's like training for a marathon. The goal is possible....but there's allot of work and long hours ahead. You know that once it's all under control, the end product is going to feel great.

But, December was rough. I actually found myself hiding under the blankets in bed.

"Nej, are you OK?"

(muffled, from under the covers)
"Yep"

"What are you doing?"

(peaking out at Mot)
"I'm hiding."

"Hiding from what?"

"8:00"

And no matter how long or how hard I hide.....8:00 comes, like clockwork.

I've missed yet another run....and by the time I get home, a run or even a computer are the last things on my mind....let alone have time for.

And the whole things starts again the next morning.

I don't have kids (if you don't count hubby and the two dogs, that is). I'm married, have a job, a mortgage, friends, family, and my health. There are people out there who would shake their heads if they read this post. "How can she complain?"

But I figure, if the women who find it impossible to gain a pound can complain......if the people who need to give money away because their tax lawyers insist can complain.....then I can too.

:-)

I have a full marathon coming up in May. It's my second attempt at full marathon training (the stress fracture in my knee killed the St. Louis marathon). I signed up for this next one (Fargo) when things were calm. Now....things are crazy, and I'm trying to get my training schedule under control.

I can't keep work, the laundry, or the dog hair under control......so adding one more thing to the list seems a little crazy. But I can't help it, I'm a Capricorn. Stubborn, bull headed, and not easily intimidated.

But pessimistic? Yeah, sometimes. Lacking a little self confidence? Yeah, most of the time.

I've been squeaking out 3-4 runs a week. I've been squeezing in a spin class here and there. And, I've been doing my darnedest to make it to 2 yoga classes a week.

But January 21st is kinda like January 1st for quite a few people. Today is the day I get myself under control, put my life back together a little bit, and pull myself out of this depression I've been wallowing in.

Yep, the D word. I said it. I might not be climbing out onto a ledge, but when you find yourself hiding under the covers.....you've got to admit something needs to change.

The guilt is going away. I'm working longer hours, and that's just the way it has to be for a while. I'm going to have to spend non work time running, spinning and yoga-ing (?). I'm going to lose the 10 pounds I worked so hard to get rid of, then put back on in the last couple of months. I'm going to make myself lunches each day instead of giving local sandwich shops all of my money.....or skipping lunch altogether.

(microwave popcorn does not = lunch)

:-)

I'm going to actually DO the strength exercises that have been recommended to me, week after week, for 5 weeks now.

I ran outside all last winter......negative wind chills, North winds, and icy roads were no match to wool socks, multiple layers and some sheet metal screws in my shoes. But this year I've been using it as an excuse. (I think we've had snow for maybe 3 days so far this year...and it's Jan 21st. Cold weather can NOT be an excuse. We've been spoiled.)

So anyway, enough of the crappy excuses. Time to woman up and get with the program. Life is busy, and that's just the way it is. I'm young, there's still plenty of time to be lazy and inactive.

Just not right now.

:-)

12/16/11

I had a 35 minute run on the schedule.....and did some drills while running.

2 sets of skipping for height
2 sets of skipping for distance
4 sets of butt kickers
2 sets of high knees

The route, because it was near home, was much less flat than my other two runs this week.

My left arch didn't hurt...but about half way through I could "fee"l it adjusting to running again. It wasn't uncomfortable, or painful, but I could definitely tell it was working.

The insides of my legs felt the same....not painful, but adjusting to running again.

Adding the drills (and hills) into my run affected my pace....but it still felt like a good run.

I was chilly by the time I got home. I checked the weather and found out why. I dressed for low 30's....but it was actually low 20's. Big difference. :-)

_____________________________________________________
1:1 intervals with mixed drills, 36:05, 2.73 miles, 13:12 overall average pace, 168 average HR, 191 max HR, 295 calories, 21 degrees F