yoga – Page 2 – She Runs the Wasatch

February 8, 2016

Colfax Marathon Training Week 4: Upping the speed!

Well… I didn’t see Sage Canaday this week, but that’s to be expected since I don’t think he visits Kansas much. I did have some solid training and put up 34 miles in my last week before the A1A half. Some miles were good, some were ok, some were pretty miserable. I guess that’s to be expected though.

Monday: 4.1 miles at easy pace + yoga

It was pretty nice out, so this was a rather enjoyable run. Since I had run 12 miles the day before, I treated this like a recovery run and took things really slow. It felt good and easy, and I really think I was good about keeping it at an easy pace.

Downtown looks so pretty with the sunset!

Tuesday: 6 miles tempo run at (hopefully) half marathon pace + yoga

This was a pretty tough run. I went out with one of my friends that is a bit faster than me. There were a few miles where I was thinking I’d have to slow down, but I pushed through and I am glad that I did. We even kept our last two miles under 8 minutes (which is more like 10k pace for me). This was an incredibly confidence building run. I felt that in a race and on tapered legs, I might be able to hold that pace for A1A… which would result in a pretty substantial PR.

Wednesday: Rest – I taught 7 yoga classes, so I think that should count for something!

Thursday: 4 miles easy + yoga

I went out in the afternoon for an easy paced run. I kept it chill and felt totally comfortable the whole time. I think I’m getting better at pacing these easy runs!

Friday: 6 miles – Fartlek run 1:2:3:2:1 (5k:10k:half:10k:5k)

This was a HARD fartlek. I went out for a mile warm up on a gravel path that loops around town. I then did 1:2:3:2:1 minutes at (5k:10k:half:10k:5k) with a slow jog in between each pace. I did this pattern twice… and the second time around, pretty much everything felt hard. However, my 5k pace got faster on the second time, so go figure. I definitely suffered a bit, but it felt good to go out there and push the paces a little.

Saturday: Hiked 6 miles, no running

Frank and I went out with some friends to a trail south of town. It was a slow hike and it felt good to walk off some of the soreness from the fartlek run the day before.

Sunday: 14 miles LSD

Holy cow… this run was a beast. Frank and I hiked in the morning, so I didn’t get out until the afternoon. This was a huge mistake. There were 40 mph winds that brought me to a halt several times. Even when the wind was to my back, it was still hard to run. I felt like I was thinking about keeping my form together the whole time and I often times felt like I was terribly slow. By the end, I was really tired and stiff. Basically this was a sufferfest. Hitting 14 miles before a half marathon is a big milestone for me. I don’t like to go into a half without overshooting the mileage by at least a little. I actually usually prefer to do 16, but I didn’t quite make it. Despite that, this run was still hugely helpful for my confidence heading into next week.

Frank and I on our morning hike. He thinks my hat looks dumb, but I think it makes me look like a rugged explorer!

Total: 34 Miles!

This is my biggest mileage week in a long time. It felt great to be back to heavy training. I think the workouts I did this week will really help me at A1A. Hitting some quick paces on my tempo run made me feel like I actually have a chance at a big PR. I, honestly, don’t think this week could have gone better.

Well next week is race week, this is what is up for me:

M: 5 miles easy pace

T: 6 miles with 4 at MP

W: Fly to Florida

T: 3 miles easy pace

F: Chill + some yoga

S: Rest

S: A1A Half Marathon!!

Total: 27 miles

How did your week go? Anyone have any races coming up?

February 3, 2016

Short Core Sequence for Runners (and everyone else too)!

Core work is usually everyone’s least favorite exercise to do. In yoga classes, I rarely get suggestions for it, and when I do sequences with a lot of core exercises, usually everyone complains or makes some pretty mean-looking faces. Even though people don’t like it… it’s still important to do. In fact, I think the less you like it, the more important it is that you do it! So… I’ve put together a short core sequence using yoga postures. I picked sequences that should not bother your back, but still give you more strength and body awareness. Let me know what you think in the comments. Enjoy!

Do you hate doing core work? What are your least favorite exercises to do?

February 1, 2016February 1, 2016

Colfax Training Week 3: I saw Sage Canaday on a run!!!

I saw Sage Canaday on my long run this week. Let me repeat that… I actually SAW and RAN BY Sage Canaday while on a run in Boulder. I’m pretty sure that my running life is complete. He ran by at a crazy fast pace decked out in some Hoka gear and some sweet sunglasses. After we passed each other, it took me a moment to realize that it was really him. Then, I went on my Strava app and confirmed. Yes, in fact, it was a Sage Canaday sighting. Yes, I’m a complete running nerd.

Besides my epic sighting while on my long run, I’d have to say that my training this week was okay. I had a lot of trouble pacing myself and was putting a little too much effort in my easy miles. This culminated in a missed run on Thursday. Frank and I got to Colorado on Friday morning, so I did both my marathon paced tempo run and my long run on the multi-use trails in Boulder. We made it home Sunday night and Elly, as always, was pretty glad to see that we made it home.

Monday: Rest Day… Yeah! + some gentle yoga

Tuesday: 6.3 miles – Hill Repeats with 700 ft of elevation gain + yoga

I wrote about this run in a previous blog post. It went pretty well. Zeb, my new running partner, came with me for some of it. We took things slow, but overall it was a good workout.

Wednesday: 3 miles – easy run + yoga

Not much to say about this run. I was still a little sore from my hill repeats, so I did some yoga in the AM and went for a quick run in the afternoon. I kept it slow, although the easy pace felt strangely more difficult than it should have. The yoga class that I took kinda kicked my butt and made my legs kinda feel like jello while I was on my run. I’m sure that didn’t help keep things feeling easy.

Thursday: Unintentional Rest Day + yoga

I took a yoga class in the morning in hopes to make me feel a little less stiff. Unfortunately, it was a rather tough class and really only made the soreness worse. By the time I was out, my legs felt tired and I knew that I wasn’t going to go for a run. I decided to take it easy and just do my tempo run on Friday.

Friday: 6.1 miles – Marathon Pace

I warmed up for one mile and then bumped up to marathon pace. I’ve arbitrarily decided that 9:00/mi is marathon pace, since that would sneak me just under 4 hours. I tried to hold the pace without being glued to my watch, but unfortunately, my legs wanted to go faster. Instead, I held close to 8:45/mi, which felt good, but I didn’t want to put that much effort into the run. Luckily, I still have a few months to hone my pace down a bit.

Saturday: Snow shoeing with hurricane force winds

We met up with some friends in Boulder and drove out to Nederland to go snow shoeing. There was absolutely no snow for most of the way, but once we got up into the mountains, it seemed like a pretty substantial storm had come through. The car was being blown around a lot and we considered turning back for a lower elevation. However, once we made it up it was pretty fantastic, and the trees kept the winds at bay.

Sunday: 12 miles – Best long run ever!

Frank and Scott were biking on the Boulder trails while I went on my run.

The run itself was nothing particularly special. It was pretty cold out and I was a little underdressed, especially for the second half of the run when the sun was in the clouds. I felt good and strong for most of it, but at the end had some trouble getting to marathon pace. I, again, wanted to go a little too fast, which made my legs feel like they were working too hard. However, in the last mile, I saw a guy fly by me decked out in Hoka gear with a little hydration pack on. I had to do a double take, but it was definitely Sage Canaday (confirmed by flyby on Strava). I was pretty much the most excited groupie ever.

Total Mileage: 27.5

Overall, it was a good week, but not a great week. This was a cut back in mileage from last week, but for some reason, it never felt like that. My legs were often tired or feeling sore. In order to fix that, this week my goal is to run my easy mileage a little slower, even if the effort seems like too little. I am entering the 4^th week of training and I want my legs to stay strong so I don’t have burn out in the weeks to come.

This week:

M: 4 miles easy
T: 6 miles MP
W: Rest
T: 6 miles Hill Repeats
F: 4 miles easy
S: Rest
S: 14 miles LSD

Total: 34 Miles

Have you ever seen an elite on a run? How has your training been going?

January 29, 2016January 28, 2016

The Friday Five: Five Yoga Poses for Runners

Before I get into the nitty-gritty of this post, I want to do a shout out to my mom. Today is her birthday! She’s pretty awesome, and is a yoga teacher, too! I’ll be heading home in two weeks to celebrate with her.

1930205_10205638366506225_8042780277455710867_n — We do slightly resemble each other. 🙂

Thanks to Mar on the Run, Eat Pray Run DC, and You Signed Up for What?! for hosting the Friday Five Linkup. This week I’ll be talking about five yoga postures that are great for runners.

DC-Trifecta-Friday-Five-linkup

Reclined Pigeon Pose

Start on your back with the knees up and the cross the right ankle on to the left knee. Go ahead and lift that left foot off the ground and hug around the left thigh. Keep both feet flexed to protect your knees and ankles. This is a great stretch for the outer hip, glutes, hip flexor… pretty much everything in the hip region. If it hurts your knee, back out a little. Switch sides when you’re done.

If you want to go deeper, come down on to your hands and knees or downward facing dog. Draw the right shin forward and place it on to the ground. Eventually (with lots and lots of yoga), your right shin will be parallel with the front of your yoga mat. Draw your left leg back a little until the entire left leg is on the ground. Make sure the ankle comes out straight from your leg. Now, bring your attention to your hips. Draw your right hip back and left hip forward and make sure that you are not flopped off to one side. Come down to your forearms or lengthen the arms long. Be sure to do both sides.

Low Lunge

Come on to your hands and knees. Step your right foot forward between your hands and bring your left knee back maybe two inches. Make sure that your front ankle is not behind your front knee, so that your knee is stacked over the ankle joint. Now, you can lean a little dropping your pelvis towards the front heel (it wont go far, I promise), or lift up and out from your hip bones so that your hips are drawing away from the front leg (this is the more proper way to do the poster). Hang here for a few breaths with your hands on the ground or on blocks. Low lunge will really open the front part of your hips, quads, and the outer hips. It should feel really good, so if it doesn’t, back out a little.

If you want to go deeper, tuck the back toes under and lift the back knee up. Feel as if the power from your back leg is coming from your hamstring muscle lifting towards the ceiling.

Hamstring Stretch

This posture is a simple stretch and is super great to do right after a run. Come back into low lunge (posture before this one). Come back half way until the front leg is straight and your hips are stacked above your back knee. Flex the front foot. Place your hands onto books, blocks, or the floor and begin to draw your chest forward. Try to keep your back long, so I want you to feel like you are drawing your chest towards the toes… not your head. Breath!

Bridge Pose

Alright, now that your hips are warmed up, come on to the back with the knees up and your hands by your sides with the palms down. Make sure that the feet are hip width apart. Just start by pressing your feet down into the mat as if you were standing up. The power from this posture comes from your feet! Press your hands down into the mat and draw your lower back to the floor and your belly button towards your spine. Now lift the hips up. If you want to go a little deeper, from here try to draw the shoulder blades towards each other and roll the arms under your shoulders. Press into your feet a little more and lift those hips up! Notice how much strength you have in your outer hips and glutes!

Half the Lord’s Fishes Pose (weird name, huh?)

Come to your seating bones and extend the legs out in front of you. Take your right leg over the left leg so that your knee is bent and the palm of your foot is down. Keep your left foot flexed and take your right hand behind you right up against the spine. You want your spine to be very long. If you want to go deeper, once you have the right leg over the left, bend your left knee and draw it in so your left foot is towards your right glute. Take your right hand behind you up against the spine and either hug your right knee, or bring your left elbow to the outside of the right leg. Don’t forget to breath and do both sides.

Hope you enjoyed this short little (written) yoga practice. Gaining range of motion while working on your training will only help keep you from getting injured AND it’ll make you feel good. Namaste!

What is your favorite yoga pose or stretch for runners? Feel free to give a shout out to my mom for her birthday!

January 25, 2016January 25, 2016

Colfax Marathon Week 2: Kickin’ Butt!!

Week two of my Colfax Marathon training cycle is over, and I only have 110 days to get myself ready! I know that sounds like a long time… but it’s not. However, it will be more than enough time if every week goes as well as this week did. Basically, mostly everything went right. I had a few weather snafus that stopped me from hitting my paces, but the effort was there, even if the clock didn’t say so.

Monday: 8 miles LSD – Long run pushed off from week before due to weather

I wrote about this run here. It was a pretty good long run, but was pushed off to this week due to arctic temperatures in Kansas.

Tuesday: 3 miles easy pace on treadmill + Yoga

It was still bitterly cold out on Tuesday, and I had kinda lost feeling in my legs by the end of my 8-mile long run, so I decided to take this one inside. I hate the treadmill, and even though it was an easy paced run, mentally, this run was pretty tough. I have such a hard time keeping my mind occupied while running indoors.

Wednesday: 3 miles in snowstorm + Yoga

I went out for a run during a rather nasty snowstorm. I figured that since the temps weren’t too bad, that I could take the snow. I was hoping to hit close to marathon pace, but couldn’t stop my feet from slipping on the snow, so I just did put a medium amount of effort into the run. I was pretty glad to get home and dry off a bit.

This is what Elly was up to when I got back from my run. It was apparently too cold to be awake.

Thursday: 3 miles easy pace on treadmill + Yoga

Kansas doesn’t believe in plows and salt… so I ended up taking my run inside… again. By the end of it, I was ready to swear off the treadmill forever. I did some yoga after, and that made me feel better about being cooped up indoors.

Friday: 5 miles Marathon Pace… but not really + Yoga

I intended for this run to be at marathon pace. Frank and two of our friends came out for the run (although Frank only did 3 miles). It was icy and cold, which slowed us down a lot. Dodging the ice and snow made for an interesting run that almost felt like trail running. We kept it about 30 seconds per mile slower than MP, although the effort seemed pretty tough.

The reads and sidewalks were caked in ice… and it really only got worse as we went along.

Obligatory post-run selfie. Frank had already run inside to get away from the cold.

Saturday: Rest Day – Went to see the largest ball of twine in the world… and yes, that is in Kansas!

Sunday: 10 miles LSD + Yoga

I went to a yoga class in the AM and ran in the afternoon. One of Frank’s co-workers expressed interest in training for a half marathon, so I took him along for 7 miles of the run… and he did great! This was the first long run that has actually felt like a long run in a while. It was a real milestone to hit double digits. I actually don’t think I have done that since my Chicago Marathon training back in October. It was a great run, and I even got to explore a new route. Frank joined me for the last three miles and really pushed the pace. I ran a negative split with the last mile well below marathon pace (Thanks Frank). I had intended to keep this run pretty slow, but with the ice gone and fresh legs, I felt too good to slow down.

Zeb is learning how fun running can really be!!

Total Mileage: 32.4

Overall, this was a great week. I needed it too! With the A1A Half Marathon coming up, I think I needed a few confident long runs under my belt into order to go for a PR in Fort Lauderdale. Also, the higher mileage felt good on my legs, so I’m pretty glad to be back! This week, Frank and I will be heading to Boulder on Thursday night, so I’ll be doing a few runs at altitude!

This week:

M: Rest

T: 3 miles easy

W: 6 miles MP

Th: 3 miles easy

F: 6 miles

S: Hiking in Colorado!

S: 12 miles LSD through Boulder

How was your week? Anyone hit by bad weather? Also, I know Kristina and Ali are doing the A1A Marathon/Half Marathon. Is anyone else gonna be there?

January 19, 2016

Colfax Training Week 1: Strong Start

I finished my first week of training for the Colfax Marathon, and things went great, despite the rather frigid temperatures and icy conditions. I took it slow, but getting back to higher mileage feels good. A few of my friends in Manhattan have been training with me and holding me accountable to my mileage as I start to get my fitness back. I began the week kinda feeling like I had lost a lot of fitness by taking time off, but I ended the week with a few solid runs and a bunch more confidence.

Tuesday: Yoga + 3.1 miles at easy pace

I went out with the local running group in the afternoon for an easy paced run. I was definitely suffering more than I should at the pace we went, but that may have been the cold. Unfortunately, I don’t seem to do well in cold temperatures. I did some gentle yoga on my own but added a little core work at the end with inversions.

Wednesday: Yoga + 4.0 miles with fast finish

I started the day with a pretty basic vinyasa practice on my own before going out to teach at Meadowlark Hills where I teach yoga and fitness to people with Parkinson’s Disease. It’s pretty much the most fun job! In an afternoon class, one of my favorite students walked for the first time in 3 years (Go Jo!). We were both crazy excited, and we’ll be trying that out again this week. In the afternoon, I went for a run and finished with the last mile at half marathon pace. It felt good to go a little faster.

Thursday: Yoga + 5.0 miles at marathon pace

I took a morning yoga class and in the evening a few friends came over to go running. We kept it just under 9:00/mi, which I think is close to my marathon pace. This run went perfect! We ran each mile a little faster than the one before and finished with lots more gas in the tank. It’s great to have runs like these to bring up my confidence.

Friday: Yoga + 4.1 at easy pace

I took another morning yoga class that left me feeling a little sore for the rest of the day. Since I had been running for 4 days in a row, and doing tons of yoga, I figured an easy run was in order. Frank came out with me on his bike and we went around looking at houses that are up for rent (we are looking for a new place).

Saturday: Hiked 15 miles at Tallgrass Prairie

A group of us went out for a long hike at the Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve. It’s a beautiful place with about 40 miles of trails. We wanted to make sure we hit some of the harder to get to spots of the park, so we embarked on a 15 mile hike in 6 degree weather (at least the sun came out). I got a blister on my foot, but besides that it was crazy awesome!

Sunday: Long run got pushed back until next day due to ice and below 0 temps (do you blame me?). Kansas doesn’t salt the sidewalks or roads, so the conditions were rather treacherous. I did go to Ikea, though!

Monday: 8.1 LSD with last mile at MP

This run went as every long run should. I started slow and finished strong. Frank and Zeb came out to do 5 miles with me and I finished 3 more. It was cold out, but I stayed steady and strong. Let’s hope all of my long runs this cycle go this well! After my run, Elly was being super affectionate, so I snapped this little gem:

This was a solid week, and I needed it to kick off my training for Colfax. I do have A1A coming up in a few weeks, and I feel a lot more prepared for that than I thought I was. I’m super excited to up my mileage this week and keep on with this momentum.

This week:

T: 3 miles easy

W: 5 miles with hill work

Th: 3 miles easy

F: 5 miles @ MP

S: Rest

S: 10 miles LSD

How has your training been? Have the temps been cold by you? If they are, hopefully your state is better at salting and plowing than Kansas.

November 18, 2015

Training (or something like it) Update

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.

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.

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.

12239340_10205451377831625_4249422194875290708_o — 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.

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?

November 17, 2015November 17, 2015

First Time Pacer

I had a ton of fun this weekend down in Fort Lauderdale at the Yoga Journal Conference! I always feel like these conferences really push my practice to the next level and inspire my yoga teaching. I’ll post more about it later.

I have some pretty cool news!

I am pacing the Bill Snyder Half Marathon in May 2016! I just received the email of our assignments, so it’s official. I will be pacing the 2:25 group. I am super excited and feel that it will be a really great experience.

Screen Shot 2015-11-17 at 2.37.24 PM

If you’ve been following me for a while, you probably read about when I ran my first half marathon at the A1A Half. I used a pacer to get me to a sub-2 hour finish. Honestly, without them I would have gone out too quick and not run the smart race that I did. I really wanted to pay it forward and get people to the time they want.

I’ll be back to post more later, but I was super excited and wanted to let everyone know!

Have you ever paced a race or used a pacer in a race? Any tips for a newbie pacer?

August 7, 2015

Practice Running Fast Through Yoga

I have taught a lot runners and triathletes yoga. So, when I ask those students why they do yoga, I get a list of reasons including stretching, strengthening, relaxation, etc. Rarely, do I hear people say that they practice yoga to run faster or push harder. It seems counter intuitive. I know that in order to run faster, you need to train for it… you have to be strong and you have to be running at that speed in training. However, I think yoga has another benefit that makes us faster.

It teaches us about suffering.

Hard postures can teach us about suffering through hard races. — Hard postures can teach us a thing or two about suffering through hard races.

I don’t mean the suffering that you get from an injury. This suffering is the slight discomfort you get from holding a pose for a little longer than is comfortable. If you want to feel it, go into plank for about 30 seconds, and I promise you will suffer… just a little. Poses like extended side angle, boat, half moon, and many others, can teach us a lot about our minds and how we react to suffering. There are days when you will find that quiet place within yourself, but there are other days when you just can’t shut the mind off. When you start a yoga practice, more often than not, you can’t turn your mind off.

So… what does this have to do with running fast?

When I was running in the Rocky Mountain Half Marathon last weekend, I allowed myself to push a little harder than normal, to a place where I was just beginning to feel that same suffering that I get in more difficult yoga postures. Holding that level of suffering for 13.1 miles is not easy. It takes practice. But most of my running, lately, has been very slow. I didn’t push to that level of suffering in my running… I did it in my yoga practice. And trust me… no yogi ever enjoys holding hard postures. More than any other part of yoga, holding postures takes a lot of practice.

So, we don’t always have to push our minds only in our running. We can do it by practicing simple, but challenging, yoga postures. Sometimes we can practice by remaining seated and quiet. Create PR’s for how long you can hold a chair pose and you’ll see how quickly your mind is able to adapt to running just a little harder. I am certainly not the first person to think of this. Scott Jurek uses matras from his yoga classes when running long distance. It creates a quiet place in his mind when the going gets tough. He just repeats the mantra over and over and reminds himself why he is doing what he is doing. He uses his mind as his super power.

Many of us have the physical capabilities to run faster, but what stops us is that little voice in our heads that says that we have had enough! It takes a lot of practice to push past that voice and continue moving, even though moving isn’t exactly comfortable… even when moving makes us suffer. The simple act of sitting still and quiet can teach us that discipline. We all have this untapped mental power that only requires a little bit of practice.

May 18, 2015

Some moving, some training, and lots of pictures!

Guess what! I have a furnished apartment! I have a desk, a table, futon, bed… I am a real person with a real place and I love it! I live in a historic building that was a hotel in the 1920’s. My apartment is pretty tiny, but it suits Frank and I (and our two fuzzy animals pretty well).

So what does having an apartment mean? Well, it means that I am going to get back to being a person again, who writes on here more than once a week. I’ve been struggling trying to even fit in time to run, no less blog, so things have been kinda tricky.

This week went pretty well, and I really enjoyed running in lots of new places. I must say, the hills here are a bit of a change, and will help my running immensely. However, it does have me rethinking my goals a bit for my next half marathon on June 6.

Monday: Ran 4 miles at 8:55 + morning yoga

This was a slow and sluggish run. We had moved in our stuff the day before, and I was exhausted from all the driving. Frank had his first day at work, so I figured that I HAD to get out the door to go for a run. I only went 4 miles and my legs felt tired. It was a pretty run and I was excited by all the new scenery. I took a yoga class in the morning, which was awesome.

Tuesday: 3.2 with running group + morning yoga

They have a running club here in town, so I went out with them for their weekly run. There are three routes that they cycle through, and this week was the “hilly” route. I am sure to all of you from more mountainous areas, this would have been a piece of cake, but for me and my Indiana/Florida legs, this was a pretty substantial task. I managed to keep an 8:40 min/mi overall pace, but I felt pretty beat at the top of the hill. I guess this will get me ready for Hospital Hill.

So, that's a hill there. Us Floridians never see those... neither do the people from Indiana. — So, that’s a hill there. Us Floridians never see those… neither do the people from Indiana.

Wednesday: 4.5 at Konza Prairie + morning yoga

This run was probably the highlight of my week. I drove down to a preserve just south of town and expected it to be a pretty leisurely run. It was not. The prairie is in the heart of the Flint Hills, and they were pretty crazy. I had about 350 ft of elevation gain and I ended up taking a few breaks to take in the scenery and to text/complain to Lizzy about the hills (she didn’t know that I was in the middle of a run while I was texting her). Anyways, I was pretty spent afterwards, but it was a pretty awesome run.

Thursday: Morning Yoga

I did yoga. It was awesome, as yoga always is.

Friday: More morning yoga

I did more yoga. I was supposed to run, but a thunderstorm rolled in and I pushed it back, since I don’t have anywhere to run inside.

Saturday: Hiked 6 miles + Ran 4 miles

I made some new friends and we went hiking! It was super fun. We went to a state park just north of town and hiked about 6 miles along a network of hilly and forested trails. After I got home I slipped on my running shoes and went out for what I was hoping would be a 5-mile run. However, towards the end of mile 2, I saw lightening strike pretty close and decided to cut my run short. I haven’t quite gotten used to the unpredictability of the weather here.

Sunday: Biked 16 miles + hiked 6 miles + ran 8 pathetic miles

So I did too much and paid for it on my long run. Frank and I woke up early to bike out to the prairie about 8 miles from town. We hiked a 6-mile loop (and saw a bunch of wildlife) and then biked the 8 miles back. I was pretty tired, but we went to check out the Flint Hills Discovery Center for a talk about Prairie Chickens, an endangered bird found in this region. A few hours later I went on my long run. This was hands-down the absolute worst long run I’ve ever done. My legs felt like lead, I was sunburned from the bike ride earlier, so I felt a little dehydrated, and I just generally felt unmotivated. I was supposed to go 10 miles, but at 8 miles, I felt like my legs could go no further. I kept a 9:20 pace, but had to walk a few times. It was just bad…

Pretty new running trails. Too bad I felt too unmotivated to enjoy them.

I think I may have over trained a little this week. I did a ton of yoga and hiking, and I just think my body wasn’t quite ready for that much activity. Unfortunately, next week probably wont be much better because I am going to Rocky Mountain National Park for Memorial Day. I am going to try to get better sleep, and now that I’m all moved in, I wont be spending my free time moving stuff to a third floor apartment. The good news is that I feel totally injury free, no aches or pains, just general tiredness.

How was your week? Have you ever just had a TERRIBLE run?