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My First Yoga Experience

1 Mar

I’ve been saying that I was going to try yoga for quite a long time. But the thing about me is, I’m scared of new things. So I kept putting it off… And putting it off… to the point that it was starting to get ridiculous.

Earlier this year I made it a goal to get my butt in gear and make it to a class. Lucky for me, Carolina from Peas in a Blog let me tag along to a yoga class with her last night.

Two very important things:

  1. I didn’t fall flat on my face, though there was a point when the instructor thought I would break my arm if I didn’t correct my posture stat.
  2. I loved it!

The Huffington Post recently published this post about what to expect during your first yoga class. It was a perfect read before my first class.

Carolina also suggested I wear “wear clothes that won’t show anything when you’re upside down.” Easy enough, I wore a pair of Lululemon tights and one of their tops that I use for running. They were perfect for yoga too!

Lululemon... perfect for running AND yoga!

I brought a mat, a towel and water and met Carolina around 7:15 PM at Full Circle Yoga in Winter Park. They have an intro rate of 3 classes for $25 (must be used in one month) so I went with that option. Our class was a Hatha level 1 class, which was really great for a beginner like me. Our instructor Suzie, was really great at explaining the different positions and kept me from breaking my arm. Bonus points for her!

The class really was more than I expected. It was challenging, yet somehow relaxing. It required strength and balance, but stretched my entire body. And believe you me, this runner’s body was in need of some serious stretching!

The only drawback is that I somehow tweaked my back so I had to skip this AM’s run. With a really long run (16-18 miles) planned for this weekend, I decided it would be best if I let it rest. I’m sure that with time my back will get stronger and I’ll be more mindful of my poses, so I won’t let this deter me.

Final verdict: I’ll be at the Hatha 1 class next Wednesday night. 🙂

What’s your favorite type of yoga and why? I have so much to learn!

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A Foggy Tuesday

28 Feb

20120228-140827.jpgThis morning I decided to run solo around my end of town. We run so much in Winter Park that I tend to forget how nice it is to run in my own ‘hood. Plus, this would let me sleep in a couple of hours because I was running on my own schedule.

I dragged myself out of bed around 6:25 and was out the door twenty minutes later. As soon as I stepped outside I noticed the fog. It engulfed everything around me. It blurred the end of the street, so that looked like I was running to no where. Let’s say that this morning’s four-mile run featured fog.

I love running through a sleepy city, especially when fog is hugging its buildings and trees. The world was extra quiet this morning and I was very aware of my breathing and the sound of my every step hitting the pavement. When I got to Lake Eola, I stopped to take in the view. The setting of the lake and fountain with the buildings in the background blurred by the fog looked like one of those pictures where the edges are blurred, the birds disappearing into the mist. It was beautiful.

I ran home feeling ready to take on my day.

I don’t have my borrowed Garmin near me, so I’ll update this post with the real stats later.

Here’s my best guess:

  • Distance: 4 miles
  • Time: 46 minutes
  • Avg Pace: 11:30/mile

What workout has left you in awe of your city?

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Twelve and Long

26 Feb

Yesterday’s training run for the Flying Pig Marathon was supposed to be an 18-miler. However, one of my running mates had prior engagements so we swapped out our long run this week for next week and only did 12 miles this week. I was totally onboard with this decision since I’m still feeling a little wiped out from last week’s double hill run.

I met my group at 5:30 am for a quick two miles, before we swung back around to get the rest of the ladies for 10 more miles. I thought I started my watch for the first two, but I didn’t (one of the hazards of running before coffee) so I only have stats for the final 10 miles. Here they are:

  • Distance: 10 miles
  • Time: 02:11:14
  • Avg Pace: 13:07/mile

Afterwards I came home, did my slacker minimalist strength training and then Donnie and I headed out to enjoy a delicious breakfast from Brian’s Restuarant in Ivanhoe Village. I had my usual one egg, bacon and cheese sandwich on an everything bagel:

It was delicious, as always.

Only ten weeks until the Flying Pig Marathon in Cincinnati, OH!

Do you have any recommendations on where to visit while in Cinci? 

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I Sweat Pretty

23 Feb

I hate humidity. Growing up in Florida, you would think that I built up a tolerance for humidity, or at least a mutual understanding.

I haven’t. I despise it. Every time humidity rears its ugly head (which is more often than not here in the Sunshine State) my hands get clammy, my hair instantly goes from straight to crazy and my very carefully applied eye makeup starts to make it’s way down my cheeks. My sweaty cheeks.

When I started to run a couple of years ago, I found all new reasons to dislike humidity even more. I sweat more. Breathing becomes difficult. Running gets harder.

Since it was raining this morning, I opted to wait until tonight to run my four miles. Lucky for me, Rox joined me so I had lovely company. Unlucky for both of us, we ran in 75% humidity.

Rox had super sore legs from strength-training, and my legs were still recovering from my weekend of hill runs so already we were dragging a little. Toss in hellish humidity and our 4-mile run became the longest run ever.

Here are the stats:

  • Distance: 4.07 miles
  • Time: 46:58.05
  • Avg Page: 11:31/mile

We did the first two miles without intervals. But it felt like we were running soooooo fast, so I started to take random walk breaks to catch my breath. Turns out my Garmin said we were not running fast, but we determined my watch had to be wrong. Surely we weren’t out of breathe running 11:31 miles!? Oh wait, yes… the humidity…

When I came home I noticed I had a heart-shaped sweat mark on my lower back, but Donnie wasn’t home to get a pic for me. Don’t worry, I didn’t let that stop me. Here’s me capturing my sweat in all its glory in my bathroom:

Awkward bathroom self-portrait. I sweat pretty!

This picture doesn’t do my pretty heart-shaped sweat justice, but you get the point.

How do you fare when it comes to working out in humid weather? 

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What Day is Today?

21 Feb

Since I had off from work yesterday in honor of President’s Day, I will likely spend the remainder of today thinking it’s Monday.

My alarm went off this morning at 4:15 sharp, and I begrudgingly rolled out of bed. There were only two reasons I was going to run this morning:

  1. I did not want a repeat of last week’s episode where I accidentally left one of my running partners stranded to run by herself.
  2. The tiramisu I ate yesterday.

It was either said tiramisu or the two days of running hills back to back this weekend that made it feel like I was running on tree trunks this morning. Regardless of the cause, this morning’s six miler was run slooooowly and carefully (we run on brick roads). Here are our stats from the run:

  • Distance: 5.99 miles
  • Time: 1:16:04
  • Avg Pace: 12:42/mile
  • 5:1 intervals

Afterwards I came home and did my slacker minimalist strength workout. My goal previously had been to do the workout twice a week, which I’ve done successfully the last two weeks. For these next two weeks my goal is to do the workout three times a week. After that I’ll switch up the plan.

I’ll leave you with photos of my Monday Funday meal yesterday, so you too can see why I dragged myself out of bed this morning.

Donnie and I spent our Monday afternoon in Winter Park. First, we had lunch at Bosphorous Turkish Cuisine on Park Avenue. I had the  Doner Kebap served over a bed of jasmine rice with pickled beets, onions and carrots. It was incredible. And it was enough for two, so I shall be enjoying my leftovers for lunch today. Donnie ordered the Lamb Sis Kebab, also served over jasmine rice with pickeled beets, onions and carrots. His was also incredible. But he ate it all in one sitting, so no leftovers for him!

Here’s a pic of my plate:

Afterwards we walked down to Sweet Traditions French Bakery & Cafe (also on Park Ave.) and enjoyed a nice afternoon caffeine fix and sugar rush. Donnie had some espresso, while I opted for a latte with cinnamon sprinkled on top and we split a slice of tiramisu. They make it with angel food cake instead of lady fingers, but I didn’t mind the swap… it was delicious:

Afterwards we did a little window shopping in a lame attempt to walk off our lunch. Needless to say, we had salad for dinner. 🙂

Do you ever run because of tiramisu (or similarly delicious desserts)?

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Whose Idea Was This?

19 Feb

Me, at the top of a Clermont hill.

That’s mainly what I was asking myself at the top of the hill in this photo.

You see, our training schedule for the Flying Pig Marathon called for a 10-mile long run yesterday on hills, which our group ran in semi-hilly Apopka. But then someone suggested we also run seven or so miles in much more hillier Clermont this morning. I’m not sure whose idea this was, but I know it wasn’t mine and I think it was a horrible idea.

Our Apopka hill run yesterday morning ended up being just under nine miles, which was fine by me. It was a muggy morning and I spent most of it thinking about coffee and breakfast.

Our group has started to name our runs. One of our group leaders, Sue, is particularly talented at this and I think she hit it right on the nail when she dubbed our run The Apopka Run featuring Ganja. This was prompted from an impromptu turn down a new street at the end of our run, which resulted in us catching a whiff of some pot being smoked in the wee hours of the morning. This likely did not help my munchies.

Here are stats from the run:

  • Distance: 8.74 miles
  • Time: 1:51:55
  • Avg Pace: 12:48/mile
  • 5:1 intervals

Fast forward to this morning. I had contemplated skipping the Clermont hill run, mainly because I thought it was ludicrous to run two days of hills in a row. However, after last week’s Fail Hill run, I wanted a second chance at it. So, I begrudgingly dragged myself out of bed this morning, threw on some running clothes and drove out to Clermont. Let’s just say that my disposition this morning was not quite as sunny as yesterday’s.

I have no official stats to share because I forgot my watch. But I can tell you this:

  • Distance: somewhere over 7 miles
  • Time: forever
  • Avg Pace: snail-like
  • 5:1 intervals plus extra walk breaks thrown in for good measure (and survival)

Clermont apparently did not get the memo that Florida does not have hills. And to my dismay, the Clermont hills were brutal. At least it gave us a nice change of scenery and I got to get some fun pics along the way:

Going downhill

BP water break

My view when I turned around going uphill

Had to get a pic of the lake

Because every front yard should have a lion statue

I'm not scurred

I skipped breakfast at Cracker Barrel after our run, opting for a Starbucks breakfast on the rode and a long shower instead. And then I napped, which I rarely do mid-day. It’s been hours and I’m still wiped out.

What’s your favorite (or least favorite) hill run?

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Tempo Thursday

16 Feb

This morning’s workout was a tempo run:

  • Run an 800 at 10k pace around track
  • Run 2 miles out at tempo pace (30 seconds per mile faster than goal race pace)
  • Drink water
  • Run 2 miles back at tempo pace
  • Run a 400 at 5k pace around track

My personal goal for this run was to run it without walk intervals, which I managed to accomplish. Though it did take some mind trickery along the way:

Naysay Hey: I can’t do this. I have to walk. I feel like I’ve run one million miles.

Happy Hey: You’re almost done. You can do this.

Naysay Hey: What? But we haven’t even gotten to the 2-mile turnaround point! I need to walk.

Happy Hey: You ran 3 miles on Sunday without stopping. You can do 4.

Naysay Hey: But…

Happy Hey: But nothing. Keep running. This is fun! Weeeeeeeeeeeee!!!

Yes, sometimes I talk to myself while running.

I wish I had stats but I forgot to charge my borrowed Garmin. It died after the first 400 on the track. I do know that my second half of the run was slower than the first. It was hard, but I felt great afterwards (once I caught my breath, of course).

Do you ever talk to yourself while running? 

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Fail Hill

14 Feb

Since I missed Saturday’s run to make an airport drop, I decided to run a 7.7 mile course in hilly Clermont early Sunday morning.

When I woke  up it was a chilly 36 degrees and it felt like 27 degrees. It took us almost an hour to get to our meeting spot in Clermont and when we got there saw that it was even colder there. Brrr…

Our small group of Marathonfest runners utilized layers to the max. I myself wore running tights, a singlet, my long-sleeved Disney marathon shirt, a pullover, a ski cap and gloves. I was still freezing.

For me, getting out in the cold is the hardest part of a cold run. Once I warm up after a few minutes, it’s usually great from there. I thought this would be one of those mornings.

Unfortunately halfway into our first mile, I started to feel dull cramps. By the end of the mile, my cramps had gotten worse. I realized that if I ran to far and the pain became unbearable (which is often the case for me), I would be stuck walking over three miles in the freezing cold to the car. I finally spoke up.

There were only three of us on the run from our group: me and my two group leaders Sue and Emily, both of whom had run 14 miles the morning before.  When I mentioned my concerns, they quickly agreed to call it a run and go get some warm coffee and breakfast instead. I felt bad, but I knew I was better off playing it safe. Sue captured the great pic above of me and Emily surrendering and heading back to our cars. What group support!

As we drove to breakfast I thought to myself, “So long hills of Clermont, til we meet again!”

I ended up walking back into my house around 9:30 AM, and after breakfast, coffee and Advil my pain had subsided. I felt up to running again but didn’t want to commit to a longer distance since I didn’t know how my body would react.  I decided to see how fast I could run a 5k.

My fastest 5k PR is somewhere just under 31 minutes, but that was a couple of years ago when I was running shorter distances at faster speeds (for me that is). Since then my 5k times have increased to the 34 minute region, so I’ve been working on cutting that down again.

Sunday’s self-imposed 5k time trial brought me in at 31:32.64. I managed to maintain an average of 10:10/mile and it felt good!

With good time spent with friends over breakfast and a encouraging 5k trial time, it looks like Sunday’s run wasn’t such a fail after all. And I very much look forward to returning to Clermont for some serious hill running in the near future!

When was the last time an ailment stopped you mid-run?

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Motivation

8 Feb

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Being a Slacker… Er… Minimalist

7 Feb

Nope, I’m not talking about my way of life or even my style of running (though I do run in the fairly minimal NB Minimus Road shoes). I’m talking about my current strength training workout. “Minimalist” sounds much nicer than “slacker.”

Since it seems that I’m having trouble motivating myself to get my strength training in, I figured I would start small then build from there. For the next two weeks, my goal is to do this minimalistic workout from Coach Jenny at Runner’s World twice a week, then build from there.

This morning three of us ran four miles at seven minute intervals (run 7 minutes / walk 1 minute). I again forgot to turn my watch off until I had been stretching for a good 7 minutes or so, but here are the slightly skewed stats:

  • Distance: 4.19 miles
  • Time: 51:40.90
  • Pace: 12:19/mile

Our average pace per running interval was 11:16/mile.

Afterwards I came home and did my slacker minimalistic workout:

  • 60-second plank
  • 60-second push-ups
  • 60-second lunges
  • 60-second squats

I was doing the workout from memory and completely forgot about the leg curls. Oops! Next time.

Do you incorporate strength training? How do you keep yourself motivated? 

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