Training (or something like it) Update

Posted byKerryPosted inRunning, Training, Uncategorized, yoga

I’m not sure that I’d go as far as to call last week training. I only ran a little over 6 miles but I did tons of yoga. I was exhausted from all of the yoga and travel during the conference and couldn’t really muster the energy (or time) to go for a run. I gotta say though, 6 hours of yoga a day for two days can make you pretty freaking sore.

On Tuesday, I ran with the Manhattan Running Company run group, where we did a route up one of the biggest hills in town. I ran with a few girls while we complained on the uphill and cruised the downhill. It was a pretty fun night! On Wednesday, I went for a pretty easy run around town. However, it turned out to be kinda nuts. There were 60 mph winds and a parade going through downtown. Running head on into the wind was a rather humbling experience for sure.

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Veterans Day Parade heading through town. I caught this while I was out for a run. 

South Florida was pretty awesome. My dad and I went kayaking through the Loxahatchee watershed in the Everglades where we saw tons of birds and a few gators. It was incredibly peaceful. We saw no one else out there besides a few motorboats on a canal and it was crazy quiet. We’ve already been talking about going back when I come home for Christmas.

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My dad and I out in the Everglades.

Saturday and Sunday were both conference days. My mom is a yoga teacher as well, so we usually go to this conference together and attend all of the same workshops. We had classes with world-renowned teachers including Jason Crandell, Sean Corne, and Rodney Yee. Jason has always been my favorite teacher and any time I have a chance to take workshops or classes with him, I do. At the conference, he offered two workshops that we attended, Backbending and Inversions. Backbends have always been some of my least favorite postures. I’m not bad at them, but I always feel like I’m going to explode when I get out of them. He had some really good tips that didn’t really fix the explosion problem, but did make me feel like I could tolerate the postures a little better. I plan on writing up a little guide to backbends and include some of his tips in it.

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My mom caught this shot during the workshop. We did Wheel Pose about 10 times in the class. 

My favorite workshop was on inversions. Jason went through some basic warm ups to help prep the body for more challenging inversions such as handstand and forearm stand. He had me demonstrate the postures for the group (which was one of the most nerve wracking experiences of my life) and he talked a lot of the importance of learning to balance with your fingers, which I have a hard time with. Overall, the workshops were a thrilling and eye opening experience. I really feel like these teachers inspired and furthered my practice.

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This was a crazy awesome assist that Claire Missingham gave me during her workshop. 

This week I’ll be heading out to Utah for the week of my Birthday and Thanksgiving. I’m hoping to see Lizzy (Run Hare Run) on Friday when I drive through Denver and then it’s out to all of the National Parks Frank and I can get to in a week. I’ll take lots of pictures and blog from there!

Are you traveling for Thanksgiving? Where are you going? Ever been to Utah?

10 thoughts on “Training (or something like it) Update”

  1. I love hearing the stuff you did in the conference!! What a fun experience. Also, 60 mph winds. What. The. Actual. Eff. THAT IS INSANE! And you RAN in it??? You are a badass! I wasn’t planning to travel for Thanksgiving, but I think I might need to tag along on your awesome trip. Haha. Seriously though, my husband and I did a road trip in the Southwest. We hit Bryce Canyon, the Grand Canyon, and Zion. It was one of my favorite vacations to date. I am really in need of another one of those!! Can’t wait to read all about it!

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    1. No seriously… it was gusts of 60 mph, but they would stop me dead when I was running into it. I couldn’t believe it. I was surprised they didn’t cancel the parade. Kansas is rather windy, but 60 mph is like a hurricane.

      I can’t wait to head out to Utah! We’ll be on the road for 12 days and I bet it’s gonna be nuts.

      I’ll post more about the conference with some pics of postures. Jason had really great tips that anyone could benefit from, regardless of level. I’m considering doing a 500-hour teacher training with him in 2016.

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      3. It’s so hard when you find a good teacher but they don’t live locally. I used to practice with David Garrigues weekly because he was an hour away, in Philly. But my favorite teachers were always David Keil and Greg Nardi – both live so far away! I would take workshops with them whenever I could but I wish they could have been my teacher! They were so inspiring, like you said about Jason. I think that’s also a big part of what keeps people on their mats!

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  2. Oh my gosh I used to be able to do bridges/back bend stuff like that when I was a kid. But then one day, I woke up and just couldn’t do them anymore. Of course I don’t TRY to do them. Use it or lose it, I guess. I stretch a lot after I run but mainly my hips. I have gotten them much more flexible and open so I feel good about that. My back is so tight though! Cat-camels is the most I do. Any other “easy” “beginner” things I could try?

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    1. Do you do spinal twists? Usually when people have tightness in the back (and it’s not just their hips or hamstrings), they need to stretch in twists. You can get into it by laying on your back with your arms out at a “T” and your knees in at chest. Then allow both legs to fall in one direction, keep both shoulders on the ground and turn your head in the other direction. That should feel really comfortable, and if it doesn’t just back off a little. I should make a little video to go over some simple, but important yoga postures for runners.

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