Running Again After Injury

I grumbled, bitched and moaned my way through my week and half off running due to injury, and finally went out for a spin this past Thursday.  I did a short (but fast!) three miles on Thursday that left me feeling spent, but happy to be back.  Saturday I decided to do a longer run and did a slow five miles.  Slow because my body felt really out of whack.  Mentally, I was totally in the game.  In fact, I even sprung, pop-tart like, from bed that morning in anticipation of enjoying the beautiful weather.  But my legs just weren't having it.  I felt like I had the wrong legs and mine were running swiftly somewhere on someone else's body.  It was bizarre.  E ran with me and felt out of alignment as well, so it was quite a run.

I went on another run yesterday, just three miles (instead of my planned 4), and felt the same.  Running home, and paying attention, really focusing on how I was feeling made me realize that my issues were most likely my hip flexors.  They were so tight!  I got home and hit the floor for some pigeon and bound angle, and it seemed to help.  I will find out tonight when I try for four miles!  My 10-mile Halloween Pumpkin Run is coming up in two weeks, so being able to get some good mileage in before that is really important to me.  Regardless though, it felt so good to get back out and moving this weekend.  I've really started to crave cardio!

On another note, I made Spaghetti Squash for the first time!  I also made applesauce, which was also a fun experience.

Itching to Run or How I'm Kind of a Pain When I Can't Work Out

Yesterday, I was feeling aggressive.  Irritable.  Moody.  Sort of down.  In trying to ponder what was wrong with me, I forgot that running and cardio in general is my personal brand of therapy.  Getting my heart pounding, becoming drenched in sweat, running, cycling, power yoga, whatever; anything that makes my muscles warm and requires me to focus and sweat and live in my head is helpful.  Running and riding mean I have time to mull over whatever is in my head, if anything is bothering me, if I have any thing on my mind I need to work through.  Power yoga is great because I can't think of anything else; all of me is focused on my body and how it feels and how it is aligned and maintaining my form and my balance.  In short, exercise really helps to balance me out. 
My leg injury is much better.  I can walk again as of this past Saturday, though it still feels fatigued.  E, in his role as my faux personal trainer (and he's usually dead on about my training) thinks I should wait until Thursday before trying an easy run, which is probably the best call.  Last night we did some basic strength training at home.  Push-ups, tricep dips, pull ups and leg lifts.  It was tough, and a great reminder that building up my upper body and overall muscle strength will really do wonders for my training.  I woke up very aware of my shoulders, but am enjoying that fatigued-muscle feeling of a job well done.

Virtual Yoga or Finding Down Dog in My Living Room

I decided that to save a little money and to incorporate (hopefully) more yoga into my life, I would try virtual yoga, based on this New York Times article I read a few months back.  I spent a fair amount of time over the last few days googling, researching and trying to find what my best options were and the best bang for my buck.  Tonight I decided I would try Yogaglo, which is a pay-per-month service of streaming yoga classes.  For $18 bucks a month you get access to unlimited streaming classes divided up into style (Vinyasa, Hatha, etc.), length of practice, type of practice ("energize," "hip opener," "insomnia," etc.) and by instructor.
I was a little overwhelmed with trying to pick my first practice, and I actually went through a couple before settling on one, a 30-minute Energizer Vinyasa Flow.  I rolled my mat out onto the living room carpet and settled down, closing my eyes and trying to ignore the hum of the A.C. and the click of the keys from my boyfriend's keyboard in the other room.  I was more or less able to tune out external noises once I settled in, but I did have trouble gaining the amount of focus I have in a studio setting.
My achievement of the night though?  For the first time, I understood - and was kind of able to do - Crow.  Several months ago I went to a class at a new studio and saw that pose for the first time, and could not figure out how the hell it worked.  Then I had my friend the yoga instructor demonstrate for  me, and I still didn't get it.  My 30-minute Energize flow with Dice?  Totally made something click so I was able to do it.  Yay!  My arms are killing me from the effort but I totally want to keep trying.
So I deem tonight a success.  Next time I might have to try to light some incense, though I don't know how crazy the boyfriend would be about an entire house that smells of patchouli.     

Best. Run. Ever.

If every evening run is as great after a morning of yoga as my run yesterday, it will be even more encouragement to do yoga daily.  Typically, I practice Vinyasa yoga, however, as my previously mentioned friend and instructor was subbing an Anusara practice, I decided I would try it out.  Anusara focuses a lot on alignment techniques, and this class was no exception. It was less cardio than I was used to, but the slower pace forced me to focus more on my body and how I was actually feeling.  The discipline's focus on alignment also made sure that I was paying attention to my hips and hamstrings, which tend to always be tight and a little sore.  75 minutes later, I knew I would feeling the day's session the following day.  It was also a great workout for my upper body.

Following a day of household chores, I went out for my weekend long run, which this week was only 4 miles.  In addition to a hint of fall in the albeit windy air, I felt AWESOME.  I mean, I never feel like this when I run.  The kinks, the hurts, anything sore was gone within a few minutes and I cruised along at a great clip.  I totally want every run to be like this.  It was one of those runs where you finish and think "This is why I run."  It may have been a fluke, but I suspect that just being loose and having worked out the kinks in my hip flexors and ham strings made for an overall fantastic run.   

Spending Time on the Mat

Triathlon training is great for keeping you balanced, right?  Three different disciplines that work almost every part of your body, at least 6 days a week.  The one thing I really missed through triathlon training and the tri season, because I just didn't have time, was yoga.  I've been doing yoga off and on for a couple of years, having come to it first when I needed some nourishment, body and soul.  After sporadic practice, I had the luck of beginning the new year as the "guinea pig" student for a dear friend finishing her yoga teacher training (check out her website here:  www.yogashae.com).  She helped me find a deeper connection in my practice than I had experienced since the first couple classes I ever took.  After my "guinea pig" months, I went to a few classes at different local studios before plunging into tri training, effectively curtailing my yoga practice until my tri was over.

Sunday morning found me at my local LuluLemon store for Sunday karma yoga, taught by my same yoga teacher friend.  Putting on my yoga clothes, rolling out my mat and towel, preparing for class...it all felt great.  I was reminded quickly why I love yoga, and found myself longing for the scent of incense, the stacks of blocks, the warm, dense air of the studio.  All of those things have come to mean peace to me.  As an extension, my mat, my place on the mat and everything it entails also means a great deal to me.  It was a great reminder to find that place again, that  place of peace and grace.  It encourages me to keep up with my practice, and to find my happy yoga place again.  The sore muscles I have this morning in my shoulders, back and arms were also a great reminder of the places I have neglected to train!