yoga

Namaste

January 18, 2011 by Kristy 4 Comments

1/18/11

Yoga – 75 min

I did it. I got my butt to an actual yoga class. I went to RYAH‘s 75-minute Vinyasa class. I loved it! It was just what I needed to ease myself back into yoga – a nice, easy (but not too easy) class. The instructor, Candace, was wonderful and kept going walking around the room correcting everyone. She corrected me quite a few times. And holy pigeon pose! My hips are so tight from running and that felt oh so good. It feels so great to return to yoga. A few years ago, I used to go once or twice a week without fail. I realize now how much I miss it.

No running today but I do have a hysterical YouTube video for you, courtesy of my friend (and marathoner) Amanda. I’ve watched it a few times already and still cry from laughter each time. At around 1:50 it gets personal for me as the guy describes his day. Yup, that’s me. I’m sure many of you can relate…please assure me I’m not the only running nerd.

On deck tomorrow…speed work!

Week 2 Recap + Tempo

January 17, 2011 by Kristy 7 Comments

1/17/11

7 miles tempo

1:00:54

8:42 avg pace

The plan called for 1 mile easy, 5 miles tempo at 8:45 pace, and 1 mile easy. I felt good again and went for it.

Splits:

1 mi easy: 9:21

5 mi tempo: 8:26, 8:17, 8:19, 8:25, 8:24

1 mi easy: 9:39

Yeah! It must have been all those Swedish Fish I ate last night 🙂

Week 2 Recap

Since I started training 1 week early, I modified this week’s schedule a bit…meaning I ditched the speed work.

MON: rest
TUE: 8 mi tempo
WED: 4 mi easy
THU: rest
FRI: 7 mi easy
SAT: 15 mi long
SUN: rest

A total of 34 miles. Seems I had a few too many rest days and no yoga (not even Yoga On Demand!). Hmm…that will be fixed this week. I all ready have my yoga plan mapped out so I don’t fall off the wagon again!

Borrowed Time?

January 6, 2011 by Kristy 2 Comments

1/6/11

30 min yoga

I did it again. Yoga On Demand. This will not become a habit. I can come up with numerous excuses why I didn’t go to a class tonight but it all boils down to I didn’t feel like it. At least I did a more challenging practice. My arms were shaking and I’m going to feel it tomorrow. So so sad. Moving on…

My title for this post sounds a little bleak, huh? I’ll explain…

I’ve been running for almost 10 years now and have not been injured (knock on wood). I swear. Sure I’ve had minor knee tweaks and twinges, but nothing that a little ice and 2 rest days couldn’t cure. I also don’t stretch after running, work on my core, cross-train, or strength train (do as I say, not as I do :)). I don’t want this to come across as bragging because I’m not. As a coach, I’m ashamed I don’t do these things. I just never have and that became a bad habit.

That being said, I am very conservative with my training (maybe too conservative). I watch my weekly mileage to ensure I’m not increasing it too fast. I also listen to my body; any twinges are immediately iced and, if needed, a rest/easy day is taken. Maybe these things have been my safety net so far. But I can’t shake the feeling that maybe I’m on borrowed time. The NJ Marathon will technically be my 3rd marathon in a year. I realize I’m asking a lot from my body, especially since I keep increasing the intensity of my training with each race. I’m terrified of injury so decided to take preventative steps this time around. And that’s where yoga comes in. Yoga has it all – stretching, core work, and strength training. So it’s worth it to me to decrease my running to 4 days/week this training cycle to allow for 2 days of yoga. I think (hope) the payoff will be great. Now if I could just get my butt to an actual yoga studio…

Does anyone know what time it is tonight? T-SHIRT TIME! Yes folks the Jersey Shore is back on tonight. Love it or hate it, you just can’t not watch!

Easy Run, Yoga, and Random Stuff

January 4, 2011 by Kristy 6 Comments

1/4/11

6 miles

57:23

9:33 avg pace

A nice easy run today to shake out my legs from yesterday’s speed work. I had good intentions of waking up and going to a yoga class this morning but Hawk decided it was play time at 4:45AM and it took me awhile to fall back asleep. So when the alarm did go off, sleep won over yoga. This is lame but after my run I did one of those 20-minutes yoga sessions you find on On Demand. I think it was called “Zen in Your Den”. Hysterical. It was super easy but just want I wanted…a nice easy stretch. My right hamstring has been a little tight and I think it’s causing me to shorten my stride a bit. Some yoga is just what my hamstring needed.

Onto some random stuff…

Total mileage for 2010 = 1,528! So I almost ran to FL and back.

Matt and I exchange ornaments for Christmas each year. This may be one of my favorites…

I think she looks like me with the exception of the hair. My hair never looks that nice when I run. It’s more like this…