Adventures in Yoga Matting

In running, it's said the only gear you need is shoes.

A person can buy a pair of "running" shoes anywhere, right? That's what we all used to think.

We all started with a pair of shoes we thought we could run with. The same pair of shoes we went to the gym in, or maybe the same pair we mow the grass in.

For most of us, that one pair end-all-be-all solution didn't last long. Our achy feet and knees told us it was time to step up and in to a real running shoe. We traded in a Kohl's purchase for a specialty running shoe store purchase. We no longer pick shoes by color or price, but by feel and experience.

Much the same can be said for the yoga mat.

My yoga practice started about ten years ago at Lifetime Fitness. Back then, I used the exercise mats the gym had. There were a few problems with the mats - They were too cushy for balance poses, the smelled horrible and they were too short.

That Christmas, I asked for a tall person yoga mat. Santa brought me one which met exceeded my needs and had none of the Lifetime mat's shortcomings. A year later, I moved and shelved yoga for years.

Two and a half years ago, that old yoga mat came back out as Sara and I toured yoga studios in the city looking for the right place. I first talked about my yoga mat evolution at that time here, which lead me to purchasing The Mat by Lululemon.

The Mat is an amazing upgrade for anyone who sweats during practice. And for those of us who pour buckets in class, well, you love The Mat even more.

As months went by, the only problem I had with The Mat is there wasn't enough of it. As in, it's 72" length wasn't enough for my 74" tall body. Not to mention the shifting through poses in class which would position me far off the front or back end of the mat.

Santa answered my yoga wishes once again and brought me The (Big) Mat by Lululemon. Not only is it longer than a standard mat (84" long) but it's also wider (29").

The Big Mat (at 8 1/4 pounds) stays at the studio and my original The Mat usually lives at home or sometimes travels with me. That is, until last week when I decided it was time to wash the studio mat. I brought the regular mat to the studio and have been using it for the past week.

After using the standard length mat for a few sessions, I'm reminded what a difference that extra space makes on the longer mat! If you're tall (or find yourself in need of more mat space one way or the other), look into a bigger mat. It really makes a difference!

125,000 Views

I'll keep this one short.

Honestly, who wants to read about my running blog?

Apparently, many more people than I thought.

More people than just my Mom (which was my original and only reader).

Over time, my lonely running blog has found a community.

Not just in Chicago, but abroad.

I never in a million years thought such a wide spread of people would follow my words.

So in a short burst of it - Thank you.

Thank you for continuing to read.

You make me want to keep on.

For making one visit ten to twenty through the years.

For making this more than about my day to day.

Doesn't it have to be?

Breakthrough

Isn't it incredible that at any given time, we could be on the verge of a breakthrough?

A new solution. A better route. A goal.

For the last 12 weeks, I've been waiting for mine. 

Progress has been slow and in stages at the physical therapy clinic. 

Step one, determine the issue. Trickier than it sounds, surprisingly. The underlying issue was I'd torn my piriformis muscle. Do you know where that is and what it does?

I was cautioned from the beginning that recovery would be slow with this type of injury. The sort of caution which prepared me for what was the envitible - I would most likely not be running a marathon in October. 

The road to recovery has been slow and sometimes at a standstill. I wondered - Are the whimpy exercises, heat and ice doing anything week in and week out? I needed something, some sort of sign, to show progress. 

At first, there wasn't much progress to be had (or so it seemed). I couldn't run. I couldn't do yoga. Sitting hurt. I was taking pain killers to sleep. 

But looking back now, over the last three months, I know we were on the right track. My pain level decreased and has nearly disappeared. I graduated through levels of exercises in the PT clinic. After a month of doing nothing, I was cleared to go back to yoga. Just a few weeks ago, I started running again. 

This last week though has been by far my breakthrough week. I've ran twice (at a rather slow pace) for 30 minutes without pain. Wednesday night, I attended two yoga classes at The Lab where I made huge gains in a few poses, including a start to balancing in handstand without the wall. 

Breakthroughs. 

They're amazing.

We all need to feel and see them. 

Back at It [The Lab]

Towards the end of last week, I found myself back at the physical therapy clinic after a week long vacation.

I was closing in on a month of doing nothing in the world of exercise. I found myself wondering if and when I'd ever taken such a long break before. 

After going through the paces of heat, warm up, deep tissue massage, excercises and ice, I asked my physical therapist a question -

Can I go back to yoga?

To which he nodded his head yes. 

After doing a whole lot of nothing as only a blob on the couch can, I could finally do something. 

The next day, I walked back into The Lab. The instructors were surprised to see me and asked where I had been. It felt good to be back in the studio.

I grabbed my mat and prepped for class. As I sat on my mat (which I leave at the studio), I realized just how much it smelled. I know I sweat a lot on it, but holy sh-t. I'm surprised the instructors stop by to adjust me with that smell radiating off my mat.

Mental Note: Take mat home and wash it.

I reminded myself that I may have lost some of the strength and flexibility I'd built up before my injury. I asked myself to not be frustrated by this. Injuries happen. People can recover from injuries to become bigger, better athletes.

Not that I need to be any bigger/taller, but you get the point. 

Then class began. I had missed the pace of the class. The warmup. The music. Stretching and strengthening both sides of the body. Then the peak pose. I wondered if I would be able to do it today.

I stayed away from some of the poses that I remember being painful before I started PT - standing splits, warrior three. When you're hanging out in downward dog waiting for the next cue, sometimes these now-impossible poses seem to last forever.

"Just be happy you're here." I remind myself. Don't get frustrated.

Class then moved out of the peak pose (and deep hip pose which I babied) and over to the once-dreaded, but now much-beloved wall. Ah yes, it's inversion time. One of my favorite parts of class. But after not doing an inversion for a month, I wondered what I could still do. I did just a few, taking my time to not pull too much on my right hip. They were not my straightest, lightest or longest-balancing forearm balances, but they were a place to start.

It's ok, I'm happy with that today.

Working my way back to the strength I had here.

Are You Done Yet?

For a few years, I would open my email the day after Columbus Day to see an email from my uncle. "Congratulations," it would say. He'd read in the paper that I'd completed the Chicago Marathon. In his short-but-sweet email he would conclude with "Are you done yet?" as to ask the million dollar question - Have I decided to stop running marathons. 

My reply was usually less brief, but went on to say thank you for the email and I wasn't ready to quit just yet. After all, there was certainly something to take home from that weekend's race. Something that could make me a better/stronger/quicker runner. I wouldn't want to miss out on a chance to have next year be "my" year, would I?

I'm sure my post race thought process isn't all that different from the masses who run marathons these days. To run just one marathon is a life accomplishment. But to run another, well, now you have everything you learned from that first race at your disposal for what will probably be an even better race. Right? 

A few years ago, I thought long and hard about marathon retirement. I'd run five races. What else did I have left to prove? The question that was posed to me then was, "Are you prepared to be on the sidelines?" Well, I hadn't thought of it that way. I'll admit, it seemed quite foreign. 

Last year, Jeff and I ran two marathons two weeks apart. I finished Chicago within a few minutes of my PR and the Marine Corps Marathon was an experience I know I'll never forget. At the end of October last year I found myself wondering what, if anything, marathoning still had for me. There was one thing I did know - I needed a break. A six or eight week break turned into most of winter. Before I knew it, it was March and I'd barely ran since November. 

Eventually I did hit the road again. I gradually increased my mileage in the spring to prepare me for early June - the beginning of marathon training. 

During this time, I started experience a tightness in my hamstring and IT band. It would come and go, so I kept along with my running and yoga regimine. Until a few weeks ago when I felt a noticable difference while doing handstand kick ups in yoga. This was no longer business as usual. I've done my best to carry on as normal, hoping the injury (gasp) would mend on it's own. But this week I know that it's time for the physical therapist. 

I'm willing to bet, based on previous PT experience, that I'll be banned from running and yoga for a few weeks. This is the news I didn't want to hear and why I have gone up until this point carrying on training with an injury. I can't stand sitting around.

So what does this mean for the yoga studio and the two marathons I've signed up for this year? There's really no way to tell now. For the time being, I'll have some time to catch up on Netflix. As June turns into July or August, I'll need to make a judgement call. 

I may find myself telling my uncle that I am in fact done with marathoning after all. 

A New Meaning for June

June is a great month. Wouldn't you agree?

When I was a kid, June was the end of school and beginning of summer. A time of shorts, softball games, tennis camps, bike riding, listening to music and going to bed late.

Ok, as an adult, some of those things haven't changed. I traded in tennis camps for marathon training and along with it, early June became week one of my life until marathon race day in October. Over the years, I've looked forward to June and feared it.

But this year is different - I've run a lot less and practiced a lot of yoga. In the winter, it was easy to say I needed a break from running. That the brutal Chicago weather just wasn't condusive to any sort of outdoor running. But now it's June and my windows are open. I could be running, like...pretty much every day. Instead I'm running a bit and still practicing yoga at a good clip. I know I need to be running more as marathon training kicks off, but I'm not ready to turn down the yoga.

As this workout battle rages on in my head, The Lab introduces their first ever yoga challenge:

Now how can I saw no to that? Granted, there are many poses on here that I simply can't do and a few others I'm going to have to talk a trusting friend into being my yoga accomplice to complete. But regardless, the challenge makes me want to try the poses that seem impossible and improve on the ones that I can do. 

Much like a marathon training schedule, this challenge graphic gives me a day to day calendar to follow. Practicing a pose a day is a big leap from the girl who used to only practice yoga when injured. 

Today is day 5 of the challenge. So far, I'm enjoying participating and posting my photos as well as looking through the trend's feed to see what others are posting. 

[Most Disliked] Yoga Poses

I started this post awhile ago after one particularly challenging yoga practice. I tried to use Siri to transcribe my wandering thoughts. As you may have guessed, she wasn't much help.

So let's semi-restart this post with some overlaying thoughts I was able to get from Siri -

Some days you're on. And others you aren't.

Most days I can stay optimistic. The glass is half full. Life is good. But yesterday wasn't one of them - at least, not at the yoga studio. Nothing seemed to be going right last night.

To go along with last night's frustration, I was reminded of a post idea I'd thought of last week: My top disliked yoga poses.

SIDE PLANK
I strongly dislike his side plank. I suppose it really isn't that hard, but it's something about the hip positioning drives me mad. Photo from yogaoutlet.com




FLYING PIGEON (i.e. The close nose break position)
Then there is more challenging poses like flying pigeon. I'm starting to get the hang of making the connection between the folded "shelf" leg and the triceps, but flying the opposite leg is going to take some time. Oh, and there's the underlying fear of face planting...again. Photo from artistathlete.com




VERTICAL/STANDING SPLITS
Vertical splits but will probably never be my friend. It seems to irritate my hips more than any other position, even though we do it every class. Photo from mindbodygreen.com




CROUCHING TIGER
Crouching Tiger looks simple enough. That is, until your hamstrings and calves tell you differently. One side is reasonably easier to balance than the other. Why is that? Can't find a photo. Need to take one I guess..

DRAGONFLY
Dragonfly. Here's an arm balance I've been drying to get since starting at The Lab. I can manage to balance with my left foot hugged on the back of my left tricep, but no luck what so ever on the right. Again, it's amazing the stark differences. Photo from yogaposeweekly.com




LOLASANAS
Over time, I'm making some progress, but still a long way to go. I want to say this pose is to a tall person's disadvantage, but then again, my arms are longer too, right? Photo from yogajournal.com

SPLITS
Um yeah, splits... Photo from yogaglo.com




TWISTED INTERLOCK PREP
Finally starting to get this, but there's a lot of mental prep work involved in order to keep the balance - reminding myself to tighten my core, slow down my breath, focus on something on the wall/ceiling. Photo from forrestyoga.com




HEADSTAND
There's no way around it, I have so much work to do before this one's going to be halfway good. It's one thing to get into a headstand, but another to have good headstand form. Proper form is to have barely any weight in the head. Photo from blog.lululemon.com





MONKEY JUMP
An entry or exit method where the feet start or end in a wider-than-hips stance to get into forearm balance or handstand. I think this one can go into flying pigeon's "please don't let me break my nose" category. Need a photo here too. Don't think I'll be posting one any time soon of me doing it though...

A Good Run

Chicago's had a long, brutal winter. Some may argue we're still in winter as snowflakes flew in some suburbs earlier today.

Normally, spring is an open invitation to hit the pavement quite often - at lunch, before work or in the evening as the days get longer. But this year is different. Between the cooler than average temperatures and my new found joy of inversions and arm balances at The Lab, it's been easy to stay out of my running shoes.

I'd be lying to say it hasn't been a struggle some days to get out there. When you run less, your body is less conditioned for the activity, which in my case has lead to a load of crappy runs. Slow, labored runs. I find myself thinking:

Is this how it feels to start over? It must be. Feels like I never ran. Ever. And that person that ran two marathons last year...If you see her, can you remind her she needs to get my body back into shape? And by the way, where's this "muscle memory" I hear so much about? I used to enjoy doing this, right?

Yesterday I went on a late lunch hour run. I stood outside my office building waiting for my Garmin to locate satellites.  I'll admit, I can be an inpatient person, and the Garmin does test that. As it cycled through it's 4th attempt to find satellites, I'd come to realize how cool it was outside and regretted my outfit choice of a long sleeved shirt and shorts. Maybe I should just go back inside, I thought. This just wasn't meant to be.

But dammit, I was already outside. I'd worked past 95% of the obstacles that keep me from getting out on a run. Now I just had to move - literally.

I started pretty slow as in recent weeks I've found myself talking a few walk breaks mid run. As I warmed up, I felt pretty good. But I didn't want to get too excited too early. I did want to run for four miles. I headed south down to the Shedd Aquarium where I filled up my water bottle and adjusted my playlist.

On the way back, things started to connect. I felt good. Nothing was aching. I wasn't out of breath. I wasn't too hot. I had great music and plenty of water.

As I got back to work, I breathed a sigh of relief.

Ok, I can still run. Let's chalk today's effort up as a success and keep building on it.

After all, Ragnar Relay is just a few weeks away and I have three legs to run, not to mention many other races this summer and fall.

Handstand-ing [and other small victories]

About a year and a half ago, I did my first adult handstand. It was the first handstand I'd done in 20 or so years. I talked about that experience here.

Nearly a year and a half has gone by since then. In that time, I've had some successes and failures with learning the correct way to get into handstand in yoga practice. Whereas my previous handstand attempts stemmed from my young gymnastics experiences involving a body in motion, a yoga handstand is a still body using strength.

I've spent a good amount of time staring at the wall or floor, trying to reason with myself for handstand. I've done this before. What is there to be scared of? Even still, my mind races and I psych myself out in the kick up process. A few minutes later, a teacher would come by and say some encouraging things. Then suddenly I could muster the strength and courage to kick up. There's one teacher at The Lab who has given a lot of pointers in the last few months. She seems focused on my handstand success. I knew I needed to be too. So I set a goal and told her about it - I would kick up into a handstand by June 1st. Last night, the cards came together and I did it.

 photo borrowed from leanncareyyoga.com

On Wednesday night, the class focused on splits with titibasina being one of the peak poses. Though I've had some success getting into the pose from standing, a teacher who was set up next to me encouraged me to try it from the floor. She was compassionate and reasoned with me that I had the strength to do it. After a few tries with shaky arms, I was able to get up.

photo borrowed from elementsyoga.ie

I love the small victories in yoga practice. First time figuring out a pose. Learning how to hold a pose. Refining the pose as you become stronger. It's really a testament that progress comes with time and patience.

But I'm not the only victorious yoga practitioner at The Lab. Each week, I watch my fellow yogis grow stronger, working themselves towards new challenges.

Two of them I know quite well. Last week was a great week for them both.

Sara managed her first unassisted scissors pose in class. She told me the story the next morning at work. She explained that the other members of the class watched as she held the pose. Great job, Sara. I knew you could do scissors!

Carmen stared her inversion fear down two Saturdays ago at The Lab. With help from The Lab's owner, she kicked up into her first ever handstand. Congrats, Carmen. It's #handstandparty time.

Being Grateful

I talk a lot about running (and sometimes yoga).

I share my experiences; my strengths, challenges, rewards and weaknesses.

What I haven't talked much about is the emotional side of training. More specifically, being grateful.

I think it's easy in today's day and age to get wrapped up in the negativity that can circle in social media. This weekend I found myself being grateful in two small instances, but they are ones that rewarded me ten fold in the following days.

I found myself at the The Lab on Saturday morning with a friend. The class was taught by the studio's owner. She's a yoga master and completely amazing.

As I walked out of class Saturday morning, paused for a moment and recognized how grateful I was. There's a lot of things to be grateful for, of course, but with yoga on the mind, I focused on it. I'm grateful to have found The Lab and had such an amazing, challenging and rewarding experience there. In the moment, I made a note that I should email The Lab's owner and tell her what the studio means to me.

I jumped in my car and headed up north to run errands. I parked my car and walked to the different businesses on Southport. The wind was a bit crisp as clouds moved in. I could use a warm vanilla latte, I thought. As I finished my errands, I decided that I could reward myself with a Starbucks vanilla latte if I stayed out of Athleta (where I no doubt would purchase some awesome clothes x10 the cost of a latte).

I walked in to Starbucks and pulled out my phone. The Starbucks app is a handy and dangerous piece of technology. However, after this nasty, never-ending winter, I have fallen more in love with vanilla lattes and thus, the need to build rewards through my Starbucks purchases. I placed my order and planned to hand over my phone to the barista so she could redeem my free drink credit. It was then that I noticed my credit had expired. I flipped over to payment screen and handed the phone to the barista instead.

The barista asked why I hadn't used the credit, so I mentioned it had expired so I'd just pay for it. She paused and handed my phone back. She said she "wanted me to have a great day" and that my drink was on her. I was surprised by her action and fumbled for some small bills to tip her. I only had twenties. I asked her if she could break a twenty so I could thank her for her nice gesture. She said that wasn't necessary, but to please enjoy my drink and my day.

As I walked back to my car, I was grateful for the nice Starbuck's barista. I wondered, does Starbucks know how nice and engaging she is? I should tell them.

When I arrived home, I practiced a few yoga poses and took some progress photos. I found myself still thinking about The Lab and that morning's Starbuck's barista. So I decided to do what I often do - write a letter.

First I emailed the owner of The Lab. I thanked her and her husband for creating the company. I explained how my stress related aches and pains had all but gone away and I ran two marathons last year injury free. I tried to convey my love for the studio and how it's something that's impacted my life in the last year. Thinking back to where I was when I started, I really have come a long way. I shared a photo I took that afternoon of an arm balance pose and pressed send on the email.

Then I emailed Starbuck's to tell them about their awesome barista at the Southport store.

As I closed down my computer, I was happy I had taken the moment to share how I felt. The Lab and the barista at Starbucks are awesome and they should know it.

Later that day, I received an email back from the owner of The Lab. She thanked me for my kind email. She said it really meant a lot to her and all the instructors to read something so encouraging. She then asked if she could use the photo I sent her on their growing Instagram page.

The following Monday, I heard back from Starbucks. They were happy to hear of my experience and sent along a free drink credit as a thank you for my feedback.

Being grateful is a reward within itself. But being able to share your gratefulness allows your emotion to fulfill others. That's an even larger, greater reward.

To Run Again

Last Wednesday was the 50th day of 2014.

It also happened to be the first day of the year I ran outside.

It's strange to say that. I've ran through most recent winters, but not this last winter. This winter has been mighty cruel.

I crossed the finish line of the Marine Corps Marathon at the end of October. Following the completion of that race, I ran a handful of times before the cold set in. Then I stopped running... completely.

It wasn't just the cold that convinced me to hang up my shoes - I was done with running. Running wasn't very fun anymore. Running was something I was doing because I had commitments. I wasn't doing it for the joy of running. At least not anymore.

So a month went by, then two months, then three. In that time, little to no running happened. I didn't feel bad about it. It was nice to do a non-running exercise for awhile.

But last Wednesday was different. Spring peered out from behind the gray sky and over the ice covered lake. As the sun shined, the snow started melting. The lakefront path appeared and prompted me to pack my running shoes before heading out to work.

That afternoon I laced up my shoes for the first time in a long time. I took note of how many layers (and layers of neon colors at that) I was putting on and the gear I needed. This process that had been second nature for years I now found myself second guessing.

Running is so much different than yoga.

I started out slow on my normal route. I dodged puddles and enjoyed the sunshine. Though the run was far from effortless, it was nice to be out there again. Enjoying it.

A Year of Forearm Balancing

Last winter, after Sara and I were a few classes into The Lab, I heard one of the instructors use the phrase, "That's a (x) year pose."

My impatient mind took note at what the measure was. Not hours, nor days or even months. Years.

Though most of the poses ranged from challenging to impossible at that time, the "year pose" statement was a reminder that yoga wasn't about to come easy.

Back then, I don't know that I'd given enough thought to my practice to know if I would still be in a yoga routine for a year. It was, after all, winter. Soon enough spring would come and I'd be outside doing what I really loved - running.

In comes forearm balance:

Borrowed from backonpointe.tumblr.com on Pinterest

How many times had I done forearm balance before coming to The Lab? Zero. How many times I have done it since? Hundreds. Dozens of attempts in just about every class I've taken there.

My first forearm balance was more of an imbalanced train wreck of bad headstand. In other words, I had no idea how to even approach the pose.

Over time, I would build strength, stretch out my legs and learn the correct position of the hips. I would spend dozens of classes kicking with too little effort to get a leg up. I would watch as others kicked up effortlessly while I waited for instructor help.

Back then, a year seemed like an awfully long time.

When running season wrapped up in October, I changed up my yoga routine. Instead of coming just once a week, I would try twice a week. Maybe even back to back days. I would challenge myself each practice and I'd be sore afterwards, but I knew I was getting stronger.

As the holidays closed in, I decided to try for three classes a week. I was running next to never by then, so I had exercise time to commit. Three days turned into three days in a row. In the last few months of increased practices, some poses have started to come together. Poses I never thought I would be able to do (using that phrase lightly as I have a long way to go to mastery), like 8 Angle pose, Dragonfly and Firefly.

Regardless of how challenging the class was, a class at The Lab always ends with an inversion. So whether I was successful or not that day, forearm balance was staring me down at the end. I used to dread it. I would be so sweaty and exhausted at the end of a class that I didn't think I could muster the strength to do it. Over time, my body would show me that it had acclimated to my new form of training. Suddenly I didn't mind forearm balance.

At the beginning of Febraury (which I'm guessing was week 51 or 52 at The Lab), I've finally started to kick up into forearm balance without touching the wall. Proper positioning in the kick up. Victory! Balancing for a few seconds. Double victory!

A year. Yep, a year sounds just about right.

Starting a New Journey

Last year, I embarked on a new fitness journey. Little did I know when I started taking classes at The Lab that it would become a place I'd relearn anything I thought I knew about yoga. As I posted recently on The Lab's Facebook page, "The Lab is a life changer."

Yoga, you know...it's that thing that anyone can do. It's just simple stretching and relaxing, right? Wrong. The Lab is not your mother's yoga. Or at least, not what I knew of yoga.

I've taken yoga on and off over the last ten or so years, mainly with the goal in mind of supplementing running. Running was always #1. Yoga was a vehicle to fend off injury. Or something to do when injured. I never thought of yoga as being hard.

But oh, The Lab has taught me so much. It's reminded me to check my confidence at the door because yoga practice is something I have a LONG way to go on. Even now after a year of taking classes on and off at The Lab I say that. Though yoga practice isn't supposed to be about comparing yourself to others, I'm constantly learning from others. And so, seeing this on Pinterest reminded me of some of my practices. Set the bar low and start with little victories.

 

As I've worked through my weeks and months as a Level 1 (or barely Level 1) at the Lab, I've reminded myself that I wasn't always good at distance running either. Building myself up to be a distance runner took time (like years). I had a lot of set backs along the way, some of which were easy to recall:

I ran in shoes from Kohl's and got shin splints. 

I couldn't get past a mile and a half on the treadmill without dogging out. 

I couldn't acclimate to the heat. Or the cold.

I walked when I should have been running.

I couldn't talk while running. 

I couldn't run without music. 

I couldn't get over the fear that I would finish last in a race. 

I chaffed. 

I became injured while training for the Soldier Field 10 and couldn't run the race. 

I became injured again while training for a half marathon. 

I thought I should just give up after trying for a few years to be a distance runner. -- I'll just run 5 and 10K's, I can manage that.

I got runner's knee.

I irritated my IT band.

I didn't finish a long run.

I sprained my ankle.

But in the end, the end being the accomplishment of my first half marathon, I had erased some of the doubt. It might not have had pretty form and speed, but I finished. And that's how it starts. So I hope I can put my doubtful mind at ease as I continue to see small gains in yoga with the reminder that the master was once the student at just about anything.

 

To Fly a Pigeon

I don't know many people who like pigeons. Especially not in Chicago. My friend Bill once referred to them as "flying rats," a term I took a liking to immediately. All this talk of flying and pigeons brings me to what might be my most feared yoga pose to date;  Eka Pada Galavasana or Flying Pigeon pose. 

This pose tops the list due to an encounter I had with it last spring. At the time, we were setting up the with a block to become familiar with the proper positioning. As I connected my folded leg with my triceps, I attempted to lean my weight forward to get my head out over my arms. 

 

Then my shelved leg slipped and I went down. I heard a unique crunching noise as my nose made contact with the wood floor. As I pressed up off the mat with my hands, I wasn't sure what to expect. Would there be blood? Did I dislocate my nose? 

I saw spots as I opened my eyes. Who knew you could fall so hard from 14" off the ground? Well, now I knew.

 

Flying Pigeon isn't a pose I'd ever encountered before, so I hoped that I might not run into it for some time. We were not off to a great start together. But shortly thereafter, over at The Lab, Flying Pigeon would make an appearance. Again and again. 

I can't say that I've come to terms with it completely, but with each practice, I'm taking steps to get a bit closer to something like this photo (and hopefully nose injury free).

Here's a short video of how to get into Flying Pigeon:

2013: Run. Yoga. Love.

Do you ever find yourself looking back at the end of a year and asking yourself, "What was 20___ the year of?" 

I'm not much on New Year's resolutions, so I can't say I started this year off with goals in mind. Life happens and plans evolve, and with it (I'm happy to say) came two proud accomplishments of 2013. 

Marathoning

I started 2013 knowing that I would keep my marathon streak alive and run the Chicago Marathon for the sixth year in a row.  But due to  a combination of luck, chance and some healthy peer pressure from Jeff, I found myself early in 2013 registered for two marathons two weeks apart. 

It was exciting and also scary to have a new twist on summer marathon training. I found myself from time to time getting wrapped up in the physical questions of how to properly prepare myself for such a feat. Truthfully, what I should have tried to prepare myself for was the level of raw emotion I'd feel throughout my nearly five hour journey at the Marine Corps Marathon. Even to this day, I fight to explain how moving that experience was. I thought very little during that experience about my physical state. Instead, I thought an awful lot about the cause. The faces. The very young faces of our military. The volunteerism for the cause. And in a short period of time, my thoughts became very personal as I thought of my brother. 

By early afternoon of October 27th, my 34th birthday, I'd completed my second marathon in two weeks. As the Marine Corps Marathon organizers would say, mission accomplished.

Yoga

Sara and I started the year continuing our yoga studio journey throughout the city. That is, until February when I was introduced to The Lab. Sara warned me that The Lab was a yoga experience like no other. Shortly after entering the studio for our first class, I saw exactly what she meant. This place was going to push and challenge me to do things I would never think were possible this year - arm balances, inversions, twists and back bends. As each month has passed, I've experienced small victories in poses which have lead me from my start at level [insert a very low number] to level [insert a higher number to show progress]. For that, I have to thank the instructors and owner of The Lab, as well as Sara for the introduction.

My approach to yoga used to be that it was an important supplement to running, and therefore, I had to do it. Over the last two months, I've noticed that thinking has changed. Yoga is now it's own important thing. Whereas I used to plan my schedule around running, I now find myself making time for yoga - classes after work or even practicing poses in my living room.

So, 2013, you've been a pretty good year. Thanks.

Dragonfly

 Now that October has concluded, I'm shifting gears out of running (at least a bit) and realigning my focus with yoga. I dusted of my Lab class pack and headed back for challenging practices of arm balances and inversions. 

Last week Sara and I took a class with Carmen, owner of The Lab. Carmen is (and truthfully all of the instructors at The Lab are) amazing. We spent time working on a variety of poses, including Dragonfly (or Parsva Bhuja Dandasana for those of us using sanskirt).

Here's an photo example of the pose:

                                     

When I first started at The Lab in February, I remember watching our instructor set up this pose and thought I'd never see a Dragonfly of my own.

I'll do my best to explain how you get into the position:

You start sitting on the ground with your feet on the floor and your knees bent. Place your left leg into a figure four so that the left ankle rests just below the right knee. From there, you work on your breathing and twisting your torso to the right. Only once you've established contact with your left foot on the back of your left tricep can you move on.

Here's where it really got tricky for me - Now it's time to get into position to balance on your arms. Without losing the foot/tricep contact on your left side, swivel up onto your right toes allowing your arms to get into position about shoulder distance apart.

For months, I struggled with this transition. Having enough strength to lift my hips with one foot. When I could lift my hips, my foot would often slide right off my tricep.

                                         

Last week, I was finally able to connect the steps above and then lift my right foot. A few seconds of yoga glory and a reminder that things that seem impossible become possible with hard work and dedication.

Here's a short tutorial on Dragonfly pose:

Athleta Love

One August evening a few summers ago, I sat in my Aunt's kitchen drinking wine and catching up on life. As we sat around her table, I thumbed through a catalog called Athleta. In it I found a swimsuit I thought was cute (a rarity for any woman - the wine must have helped) and ordered it without thinking twice about it. By the time we came back from our trip, my swimsuit had arrived. It fit so well that I ordered a second. 

This Athleta catalog was pretty amazing.

 

A few years later, I received an email from Gap Corporation (I heart Banana Republic) saying they had recently acquired Athleta. Not only could I now get points on Athleta purchases, but they were building brick and mortar stores.

A short while later, an Athleta store opened on Southport. I can't say there's one item I've purchased that I've been disappointed in. With their 'give it a workout' guarantee, it's impossible to go wrong. So instead of shopping for the next trendy shoes, I'm focused on varying lengths of Lycra with CoolMax technology -

For the runner:

And the part-time yogi:

Everyday:

...and I don't seem to be the only one. Sara and Jen have Athleta Love, too.

A Tale of Endurance Runner Food Cravings

There's a running joke in my family about my Dad (Mike). When he becomes hungry - there's no negotiation - he just has to eat...now. As my brother and I have become adults, we have slowly taken on this trait.

Now imagine that on speed and you have August and September of marathon training.

I've heard the peak of endurance athlete training compared to that of a pregnant woman. I don't know if I'd go that far, but there are out-of-the blue cravings. For example, this morning, I left my place shortly after 5am to run 9 miles. About halfway in to my run, I started thinking about Flavor-ice. Cherry Flavor-ice. Luckily there was one waiting for me in the freezer when I got home around 7am.

Who eats Flavor-ice at 7am?

Probably the same type of person who calls her intention in yoga to a Jimmy John's Beach Club. Yeah, it's happened.

On a Saturday morning long run, the group's conversation often goes to what we'll have for brunch. Some people have elaborate plans post run. My most common response is a large fountain Coke from McDonald's. It's probably the last thing on earth I should have post run. Truth be told, when I do go through the motion of purchasing just one large Coke in the McDonald's drive thru early on a Saturday, I can't finish it. But during the run, my craving was so incredibly strong that I just had to follow through to appease my inner Mike.

One year, I've craved the Hombre Burger from Revolution Brewing.  Needless to say we traveled at a lot to Logan Square that summer.

Another summer, I wrote a story about the perfect sandwich I ate post run from Whole Foods. 

Today I may have hit rock bottom. By a weird stroke of luck, a skid (yes, it was delivered to a loading dock) of Hostess Donettes arrived at work today. Each employee was given a few bags to take home. By the end of the day, I was light one bag.

Who eats 1100 calories in Hostess Donettes? This girl. I'll blame it on the distance running.

When Yoga Changes Your Life

Last summer, Sara and I started attending yoga practice together. Throughout our class and studio progression, we went from some basic yoga poses to using the wall as a prop for inversions.

At first the upside down thing didn't seem like fun, but shortly after holding a handstand for the first time in 20 or so years, I had a new-found desire to invert.

And that's when I started to notice yoga practice was changing the way I looked at everyday life.

Suddenly, the long hallway that leads from the elevator to my office wasn't so lonesome looking. It was a space where dozens of opportunities to practice foreman balance lied.

My boss's office floor was no longer a work space, but rather an arm balance practice space for crow and side crow while he was on vacation. I'd be lying to say I haven't scanned the conference room a time or two thinking of different poses that could be practiced in that large space.

I recently sold a large piece of furniture in my living room. Though my plan all along has been to replace it, there is something nice about having an open floor plan for scissors and bird of paradise. I find myself using this space more now for yoga than I ever did for sitting, which has lead me to create a few yoga playlists while I "practice my practice" with no witnesses.

It's interesting how something so simple as practicing yoga makes me look at everyday life differently. It's refreshing.

Photos courtesy of fitsugar.com and flickr.com

Creating a Training Blog

I started blogging 7 years ago.

That was a long, long time ago.

My intent was to have a forum to note my successes and failures on my journey to become a distance runner.

Most journeys aren't a straight road. There's stops and hills along the way - injuries, life events, bad weather and even boredom. Other times you find yourself moving at a snail's pace.

In that time, I'd forgotten about the blog, trained for and ran two marathons. How did I manage to forget about the blog? I regret that now. Having a blog about someone's first attempt at a marathon would be a great read. [Hint, Camille]

But looking back, I think the reason I didn't chronicle it all was three fold. First, how much could I truly write about training? Second, who would really want to read it? And lastly, what if I failed? I certainly couldn't have a blog based on something I didn't do, right?

This week, I ran into one of my yoga instructors as I was leaving The Lab. She encouraged me to take her new class which is a higher level of difficulty. My first thought was that there was no way I was ready for something like that. I couldn't possibly be even halfway ok in that class.

As I drove home that night, I remembered that I used to feel that way about distance running.