Changing up the scenery

This morning I met my friend Pam for a run.  We are both racing the Last Chance Half next month so getting a long run in together seemed like a good idea.  Plus Pam has two dogs that like to run and need a lot of exercise.  Perfect!

We met up at the Eau Claire Y.  It was sunny but pretty brisk.  Nice in the sun, but it is definitely cooler in the mornings around here!  Pam suggested running eastward towards the zoo and Inglewood which would be new scenery for me.  Let’s go!  We started along the north side of the Bow River and made our way to the zoo.  At first we were following a 4:1 plan but I found we were getting in a groove so I lengthened the run intervals out a bit.  When we hit the zoo we crossed the river and made our way into Inglewood.  Such pretty houses!  New pathways I had never been on before!  At times it can be a little sketch so I’m not sure I would run here on my own, but with Pam and the dogs it was good.  We continued back along the south side of the river, past Fort Calgary.  I discovered a cute place – Deane House Restaurant – for brunch and lunch.All in all, it was a great run.  The company was great and it was nice to be out enjoying the sunshine and seeing new parts of my town.  1:15 run, done!

After that Pam and I grabbed a coffee and then I made my way over to the Eau Claire Y.  I had a little business to take care of.  Cancelling my membership.  I put my membership on hold until November 1st, but that was as long as I could put it on hold for.  I’m not planning on swimming for awhile so this seemed like the right decision.  I can’t keep a membership at the gym downstairs at work and at the Y at the same time.  So…I’m sticking with the gym downstairs for awhile to keep up with strength training and Friday yoga!

Yoga Incentive

We have a little hockey pool going at work. We all predicted who we thought would win each game, guessed what the winning number of goals would be and took a stab at who we thought would win the Stanley Cup. So if you guess the correct game winner and the correct number of winning goals you get bonus points, plus if your winning team gets a shutout you get more bonus points. I was pretty excited to see that I was winning as of this morning (mostly due to my predictions for the Canuck wins this past weekend)! No doubt it will all change by the end of the night this evening, but at least I was on top for one day!

My 5 card drop in pass at Bodhi Tree Yoga is expiring later this week. I had one session left on the card so I'd better use it up! I also picked up a new yoga top from Lululemon on Friday, so double incentive!
I went to the 4 pm Moksha class which felt so good. I could tell that my hips and quads were super tight though!

I'm still trying to come up with a race plan for Sunday.... I have my race and heart rate goals figured out, I'm just struggling with what positive things I'm going to say to myself when the going gets tough. Why is that so hard to figure out?

Not So Hot Yoga and More Hills

Good morning everyone! I'm struggling with Windows Live Writer a bit. I love it for uploading pictures and videos, but the paragraph formatting seems to get messed up for me. What looks good when it posts in Firefox looks terrible in Internet Explorer. Has anyone else experienced the same thing?

Thanks for all of the notes of concern about my tweaky ankle. Knock on wood, but it is back to normal. No doubt it was due to running hill repeats in shoes that need retiring.

After the marathon spin session on Sunday I figured I would be best off if I took it reasonably easy and went to hot yoga on Monday. My choices were:

• A 4:00 Moksha class (you run through the series of 40 postures)
• A 5:30 intermediate class (probably more intense than what I wanted), or
• A 6:00 foundation class (which is notoriously busy).
  

I opted to work from 6:30 to 3:30 that day and I high tailed it to the 4:00 Moksha class. Unfortunately they were working on the boiler so the room wasn't fully heated until over half way into the class, but it was just what my body needed. We did a lot of great poses that really helped to stretch out my legs and hip flexors.

Tuesday was a pretty busy day. The triathlon swim clinic at the Y started back up for the spring session. A bunch of new people in the pool and a few of my usual lanemates were gone. I swam with a couple of new guys who were a bit slower than me so it may be time to put on my big girl panties and jump in with some of the faster folks..?? I had a great swim though where I was feeling really smooth and efficient in the water, so good stuff!

I shifted my 30 minute easy run to Tuesday over lunch. I could tell that my legs were still really tired from Sunday. I took it easy on the pace, but apart from the tired legs things felt good. As the run went on my legs felt less tired and my pace sped up and I finished up with just over 3 miles.

In the evening it was back to spinning with Angie. I was mostly worried that my sit bones would be extraordinarily unhappy with me as soon as I got on the bike, but they felt really good! Angie is racing Oceanside this weekend so she didn't ride with us, but she certainly put us through the ringer! We warmed up, then ran through 5 x 10:00 hills. Each hill was different:

• A gear pyramid through our last five hardest gears, with 2:00 at each gear (60 - 70 rpm)
• A rolling hill with varying gears and cadence
• Picking a gear and holding it throughout the 10 minutes, but changing cadence from 60 to 80 and back throughout
• A gear pyramid through the last 6 hardest gears, 10 seconds in each gear, pedaling as fast as you can
• And I can't remember the specifics on the other hill...

It was quite the workout and I was bagged when I got home! I had a quick snack and some chocolate milk and crawled into bed and was asleep early.

Have a great Wednesday all!

Runner Leana = Yoga Failure

Somehow or other a 6:30 am hot yoga class seemed like a good idea today on my day off from work. It was either 6:30 am or 6:00 pm and I liked the sound of getting it out of the way nice and early. Early... There were five other crazy people there for the early class...on a holiday...so at least I didn't feel too crazy myself. I like the instructor who teaches this class. It was nice and relaxing and there was plenty of useful stretching for my tight legs. It was fantastic. Before I knew it, it was time for savasana. It is my favorite part of the class because the lights are dim and you just lie there and try not to think about anything for 5 or 10 minutes. Sounds pretty easy, eh?As I was lying there the instructor came over to adjust my pose because I guess my shoulders were all tightened up. I didn't realize that it was possible to screw up the pose where you just lie on your back, but leave it to me to figure out a way to do it. I will admit that once he adjusted my shoulders I felt infinitely better...

I came home, scarfed down some oatmeal and started gearing up for my 3 mi run. It felt amazing outside. The sun was shining and I felt so good running... Ah, maybe it was the yoga? I felt strong running up the hills and the run literally flew by. Fantastic! The entire time I had this song in my head, courtesy of America's Best Dance Crew:

Such a catchy tune! Anyhow, time to hit the grocery store and attempt some laundry. Exciting stuff!

Brr!

I fully admit that I've been a wuss this winter. Despite all my rambling that "there is no such thing as bad weather, just bad gear" I have really not run outside in the cold weather this winter. On Saturday I was so busy running around to and from Bow and doing a few more errands that I put off running until about 4 pm. Even though the temperature was -20C (-4F) it was beautiful and sunny out. I bundled up and headed outdoors with a plan to run about 30 minutes or so. Once I got going...I was still pretty cold. Well, my torso warmed up, but my face, hands and legs were still cold. Once I was about two miles in I felt pretty good though, so I detoured to make my route longer. Maybe I'd aim for five miles? Once I detoured the sun started to go away and wow, it felt colder! All of a sudden I became painfully aware that my rear end was freezing. Absolutely freezing. Maybe I should have worn some long johns underneath my tights... Anyhow, I detoured again and headed towards home just as the sun was setting. Oh well, four miles done in the cold weather...at least I finally made it out there!

On the complete opposite end of the spectrum, I had a rest day today but I felt like I could use a good stretch. I dug the yoga clothes out of the closet and went to hot yoga after work today. I was a little worried I wasn't going to make it since I had this nagging headache/weird dizziness feeling happening this afternoon. Luckily a little Advil helped to alleviate the situation though. Class was busy and we had a new-to-me instructor who was pretty cool. I could tell that I was out of practice, but I definitely started to loosen up as the class went on. I found some of the poses challenging, but after I was done I was glad I had gone. Tomorrow...swimming and spin class!

Pray to the weather gods

Sunday I went out for a cut back long run. It was supposed to be 7 miles, then I talked myself into 6 miles instead (thanks to time constraints). A mile in I decided to run up the switchbacks from Bowness Park up to Stoney Trail. My legs were exceedingly unhappy about this and they refused to get into a rhythm after this. Then my bladder started yelling at me so I decided to cut things short at 5.3 miles. Oops. Oh well. I went to hot yoga Sunday night for an extra workout and I was one hot, drippy mess. I have never produced so much sweat in my entire life. I was having difficulty holding poses because my hands and feet kept slipping. My most successful pose was Savasana where I nearly managed to fall asleep.

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Monday morning the weather gods were not looking kindly on the idea that I wanted to bike into work in nice weather. I loaded the bike in the car, drove to Neil's, then got vetoed on biking due to impending rain. I realized at work that my legs were exhausted so I'm sure they appreciated having a day off. Then there was the torrential downpour I drove through on the way home. Really, not biking was probably a great idea. The weather for the rest of the week looks sketchy so there may be minimal riding this week. I'm really hoping to go camping this weekend so I'm hoping that Mother Nature gives us a break from the rain. So seriously, pray to the weather gods for me!

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As for the Independence WL challenge I'm off to a rousing start. I rested yesterday, and pigged out on sausages and wine last night.

Busy, Busy

Thanks so much for a lot of great advice for my first duathlon this weekend. I promise that first and foremost, I will have fun! This week has gotten off to a busy start.

Monday:

Okay, well, Monday was a bit more laid back. After a late-ish long run on Sunday I decided to skip any running workouts on Monday and just went to hot yoga instead.

Tuesday:

Hooray, the rain finally stopped! Time to get back on that bike! I want to up my biking mileage on my commute so instead I parked near the Dalhousie C-Train station and rode in from there. The ride in is mostly downhill and is about 7.8 mi or so. The only downfall of the ride right now is the copious amount of goose poop on the pathways from all the Canada Geese wandering around. Gotta watch out for that! Over lunch I went out for a 3 mile run which went pretty well. I really felt like I was plodding along but the Garmin said I was actually going kind of fast. Hmmm. The ride home has some pretty intense uphill sections but my legs are starting to feel a lot stronger on those hills now. I was home long enough to cook up a quick dinner, then rush off to boot camp. Sheena had been to a fitness conference over the weekend that talked about the importance of working the muscle to fatigue during weights, so her circuit incorporated 4 sets of every exercise for 1 min sets. We did hammer curls kneeling on a Bosu ball, deadlifts, shoulder flies, curtsy squats, squats with a medicine ball and triceps. Whew, I definitely felt all of those! We finished the night off with some running drills and some intense abs.

Wednesday:

This morning I got up bright and early for a 3 miler around the neighborhood. My legs really noticed the hills, but all in all it was a good run. I rode in to work from Dalhousie again and really picked up a lot of speed today, despite pedaling into the wind for a good portion of the ride. Tonight I may try to go to hot yoga, but we shall see. My parents will be in town tomorrow night and I probably ought to try and make my place look a little presentable...!

BBC, and the rest of the week

Tuesday:

We had a substitute instructor at boot camp on Tuesday. Sheena had told her to push us hard in our upper body workout and she did just that. We ran through a lot of upper body exercises (biceps, shoulders, triceps, push ups), hill sprints and a few other running drills. We also did some pretty extensive plank and push up work. It was an awesome class!

Wednesday:

I was hoping the rain would hold off long enough so that I could bike to work, but alas, it was not meant to be. Instead I went to hot yoga (the really intense class with the great instructor). I'm starting to notice improvements in my ability to hold poses for long periods of time.

Thursday:

I had to head out to the field (a 3 hour drive out of town) but didn't have to leave until 6:30 am. I got up early and fit in a nice 3 miler around the neighborhood in the drizzle. I made it back from the field in time for boot camp in what was now a downpour in 5 deg C (41 deg F) weather. Amazingly most of our class showed up - we must all be pretty hardcore! We alternated running drills with lunges and squats, tricep dips and push ups, back work and some hill sprints.

Friday:

Believe it or not, today is a full on rest day! The only exercises I'm planning on are bicep curls with a martini or a glass of wine tonight. This is my last day in my 20s, so tonight I'm giving those 20s a proper sendoff with a night out with the girls. Drinks, dinner, dancing and all around revelry are on the schedule for tonight.

Saturday:

I'm turning 30!!! And I'm running 10 miles....

I did what?

Okay, so first off....what a week...what a weekend! I am pretty happy with how much I did this week as, for me, I feel like I accomplished quite a bit. Here's the summary for the weekend:

Saturday:
I had a 9 mi LR on the schedule so I zoomed down to Glenmore Reservoir to run a loop before it got too hot out. (I know, you've heard me complain about the snow...now the heat... It got up to 30 deg C (86 deg F) yesterday.) I got into such a great rhythm that I didn't want to lose that by running 9:1 intervals so I wound up going for 19:1 instead. I felt really strong the whole way, which I am sure is due to some of the cross training I've been doing. I wound up running into a friend as she was finishing up her run so we had a chance to run together and chat for about a 0.5 mile or so. It was a terrific run!
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I had signed up for a 4 pm hot yoga class, but at the end of the day the nice weather called my name and I wound up spending the afternoon on the patio at the Rose and Crown, enjoying some Velvet Fog. Yum...

Sunday:
It was time to make up for that missed hot yoga class! I went for a 10:00 am class, with the same really intense instructor as on Wednesday night. Boy, what a difference fresh legs make! It was still a great challenging class. We really stretched out our legs and worked on lower back strength as well.
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In the afternoon Neil and I rode out from my house to check out my commute to downtown. I think I managed to find a route that met my three criteria fairly closely. It was mostly downhill, on pathways or quiet residential streets for the most part, and it avoided roads that would chew up my tires. The ride downtown is about 12 miles or so and took just under an hour. I can probably knock a few minutes off because at times the pathways were really busy and it was difficult to pass people and keep a good speed up. We met up with a friend part of the way there, and continued on to Eau Claire to take a well deserved break at the Barley Mill's patio. Afterwards we all split off in different directions and I was back on my way home. The way back has some pretty good uphills, and it was really windy to boot. I was pretty impressed that I was only about 10 - 12 minutes slower on the way home with all of that.
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So the verdict on the biking from home to work? Definitely doable, but with all the major uphills to contend with, it is probably better to not try this on days when I have boot camp or high mileage planned.
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And well, just because I'm happy with all of my hard work this week, here are my final numbers for workouts:

Running: 21 mi
Biking: 49.23 mi
Hot Yoga: 3 sessions - 4:30:00
Bikini Boot Camp: 2 sessions - 3:00:00

That's pretty good volume for me!

Hello Crosstraining...

Well, the plan yesterday was to bike to and from work, get a 4 miler in over lunch, then go to hot yoga in the afternoon. The bike in was terrific! I started at Edworthy Park so it is only a quick 4 mile or so ride to my office from there, but it was a great way to get the day started. When lunch hour rolled around I got the running gear on and headed outdoors. I hit the pathway at the river, turned to run past Eau Claire, then up the big incline along Centre Street Bridge and up to McHugh Bluff. Whew, that was a workout for the legs! The run felt so good the entire way. Dare I say it, knock on wood, but I love being in the running groove again. The ride home was interesting. I wound up leaving about half an hour later than I wanted to and traffic on the roads getting out of downtown was insane. I wound up walking along the sidewalk a fair bit just to get away from the car schmozzle. Once I was back on the pathway to Edworthy it was smooth sailing traffic wise, but the wind was really intense. There was no easy coasting on this ride home! I ran home, changed for yoga and was back out the door to try and make it in time for my 6 pm class which I just barely made... The instructor for this class was new to me...and holy smokes...this class was intense. I was hoping for some nice stretching but this class was a workout. One that my run/bike/boot camp fatigued legs were unhappy about. We did a lot of planks, downward dogs and warrior poses that we held for long periods of time. I have to say the instructor was terrific - he was always cracking jokes and keeping the mood upbeat to try and take your mind off of your screaming muscles, or to relax into it and try to enjoy the discomfort. I can see why his class is so popular! Note to self though - maybe don't attempt this class on days when you already have so much other stuff planned...

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Mission for Wednesday - accomplished!

I Needed That

After hills and yoga on Saturday and a race and biking on Sunday I decided to not run last night. I went to hot yoga instead to start making full use of my unlimited month long pass. The class started at 8:00 pm and it was insanely full! We did a lot of twists and a lot of leg work that really helped to stretch out some tight muscles. Apparently I really needed that extra stretching! Things that I love about my new yoga studio?

• They have tons of classes - later in the evening, plus Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays as well. You can always find a class to go to which will make it a lot easier for me to fit yoga into my schedule.
• All classes are drop in, but you can sign up for any class online. That way if the class gets busy you won't be out of luck if it fills while you are driving over to the studio.
• You can see your account online - which classes you have been to, what you are signed up for, what your membership type is and when it expires. I love the technology!

My plan for the upcoming week? If all goes well:

• Tuesday: 3 miles, followed by BBC
• Wednesday: biking to/from work, 4 miles, hot yoga
• Thursday: biking to/from work, 3 miles, BBC
• Friday: biking to/from work
• Saturday: 9 miles, hot yoga
• Sunday: biking

We'll see if that all works out or not! My Sunday bike ride plan is to ride the full distance between my house and the office so I can see how long the ride takes. Then I can decide if I want to do the full commute during the week.

A Day for Me

Today...was a great day. A totally "me" kind of day. I wound up waking up around 7 am and it was amazing outside. I didn't want to let such a sunny morning go to waste so I strapped on the ol' running shoes and finally got those hill repeats in that were supposed to happen at boot camp on Thursday. The only downside to the run - last night I got a pretty good blister on the side of my heel in a spot where a band aid just doesn't want to stick. It bugged me for a bit but after I tightened up the laces on my shoe it improved. The best thing about the hill repeats? My average pace per mile sped up significantly with each lap. I felt like I was running those hills strong. All said and done I got 4 miles in.
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After the repeats I grabbed some breakfast and headed off to the spa where I was redeeming a gift certificate for a facial and pedicure. The facial was amazing plus I now have really pretty toes to boot. My esthetician commented that I shouldn't ever file my callouses too much because as a runner it will really work against me and could cause some foot issues. Good to know! She also commented that my feet didn't look like runner's feet since they still look to be in good shape. Fingers crossed they stay that way... After the spa I capped the afternoon off with a hot yoga class. It was a pretty intense class - lots of poses focusing around a runner's lunge, plus lots of front planks and breathing exercises. I really enjoyed it and I've got a month long unlimited pass now to try and get a lot of use out of. This evening I met up with my brother and sister-in-law at my favourite brew pub to celebrate that I got my Professional Engineering designation yesterday. We shall see how carbo loading with beer and pasta works out for my 10K race tomorrow..!

Hot Yoga

Boy, how swiftly things can change in this town. Yesterday afternoon...snow. Today, sunny and 12 deg C (53 deg F) outside. I ran my errands in capri pants, a t-shirt and a light jacket. Glorious! This afternoon I went for a great massage - I think this combined with the visits to the chiro has really helped to work the kinks out in my legs. The massage wasn't a comfortable one by any means, but she really worked out a lot of knots and tension in my legs. Afterwards I decided to suss out a different yoga studio in town to try out some hot yoga. 90 min in a heated room...holy smokes do you sweat a lot! I found it really invigorating and relaxing at the same time. I stepped away from yoga a few months ago but I really believe I need to get back into it more as I'm sure it really helps to keep my muscles nice, loose and flexible. Tomorrow...the Calgary Police 5K!

Happy Thanksgiving!

I didn't say too much regarding yoga on Wednesday...mostly because I forgot to...but it was a terrific class. We moved on to a few new poses that required quite a bit of balance and concentration. In addition our instructor had us practice a few Chaturangas (as shown on the right) which really helps to improve your upper body strength. I was able to hold a few of these for 30 sec each. If we are able to do good Chaturangas then we'll be able to move on to headstands before the class is up. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that we get there..! The hockey game last night...meh...it was alright. If the game isn't exciting it is hard for me to get into it if I don't have a vested interest in one of the teams. Of course the game I am really looking forward to is tomorrow night's game versus the Vancouver Canucks. I'm keeping my fingers crossed for the Canucks to pull out a win here. Besides hockey tomorrow night it is a pretty busy weekend here. We get a long weekend as our Thanksgiving is on Monday. (Did you guys know that Canada had its first recorded Thanksgiving 43 years before the American Thanksgiving at Plymouth Rock?) I'm meeting up with the ladies for an 11 miler tomorrow morning. I opted to add the weekend mileage together into one long run on Saturday to get a final run in with the ladies before the San Francisco race in two weeks. Sunday I'm off to Edmonton for the day to be introduced to the new BF's extended family for their Thanksgiving dinner. Yeah....slightly nervous about that one so wish me luck. Monday is dinner with my brother, sister-in-law and niece. Brother D is smoking turkey breasts so it should be a good meal. And somewhere in the middle of all of this I have to attempt to study for my engineering ethics exam that is coming up on October 15. Pass this and I'm one step closer to being a Professional Engineer. This isn't really looking like a relaxing long weekend, is it?

How to fit it all in?

This week is going to be an exercise in time management....something I've been lacking over the last couple of weeks. Or maybe just spectacular planning. Last night was circuit day at Fit Ball and Instructor S really worked us hard! At one point during a rest break you could hear the entire room panting and breathing heavy, trying to get the heart rate down before starting up again. A few of us went for a quick 20 min jog after class for a final cardio kick.

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Tonight I'm off to see the Calgary Flames take on the San Jose Sharks with N in preseason action. Our social club at work has 7 pairs of season tickets, and you could put your name into a draw for the chance to purchase a pair of preseason seats. My name was pulled yesterday, so tonight it is chicken fingers, fries, a beer and big, burly men on ice for this gal. I can't wait... With the puck dropping at 7 pm I'm going to have to squeeze a run in over lunch. The goal is 4.5 mi or so. I won't be making it out to meet the Roadrunners...again... One day Karen, I promise...but hockey takes precedence!

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Tomorrow night is yoga again, plus I'm thinking about trying to get midweek run #2 in over lunch as well. That way I can take Thursday as a rest day or go to Stretch and Strengthen yoga... Friday will be 6 miles over lunch (which is a bit long for a lunch time run), then a massage in the evening. Saturday will be 12 miles with the group. I'm juggling my schedule partially so that I can get that 12 mile run in with the group as I know I'd appreciate some company on the long run. I have to put all this down in print so that it helps me commit to getting it done this week. I slacked off a bit last week by only getting two runs in for a grand total of 11 miles. That includes Saturday's race by the way. I think craziness at work caught up with me though, and I definitely needed the break, but this week I am back on the bandwagon.

Yoga, pilates and a little active release

On Sunday I opted for a double shot of back to back yoga and power pilates classes. I loved the yoga instructor, except the fellow next to me in class was so chatty it was getting in the way of me getting my om on. The power pilates class was amazing. We did a bunch of great moves for abs, followed by a pretty serious hip and leg work out. My piriformis was letting me know that it still existed during those moves despite some massage work the day before.

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I talked to Instructor S about my piriformis issues at BBC on Thursday, and she was able to notice my tight hips while running that day. This was again confirmed by my massage therapist on Saturday. S recommended a guy to me, Dr. A, who would supposedly "help me work out my hips." Not knowing exactly what this meant of course I called and made an appointment right away. Turns out Dr. A specializes in Active Release therapy. He's a pretty serious athlete as I was able to admire his Ironman medals hanging on the walls as I waited. We chatted about what was going on and he was able to pin point the painful spots and helped to stretch them out. He believes my piriformis issues stem from a weak lower back, and my hips work to compensate instead. Pain is coming from scar tissue that has formed within the muscle that is lying on top of my sciatica. The good news is the scar tissue can be broken down, and with some specific exercises I can strengthen the lower back muscles to avoid this, and running won't make it worse. So....if that means I can run then I'm shooting for between 5 and 6 miles tonight.

Wednesday's Weekly Hills

Yesterday was hill day and I ran over to McHugh Bluff for my training over lunch. What a superb day to be outside - it was sunny, but not crazy hot. The hill was teeming with people running up and down, and there were a lot of people running up and down the stairs nearby as well. I managed to get in four hill repeats, and I continued to really concentrate on my form. I can tell my hard work is starting to pay off. This hill I climb is about 0.25 mi long, and I've normally had to walk a part of it in the middle through most of my repeats. Yesterday I ran the entire way on all the repeats and felt strong through all of them. It was terrific! I got 5 miles in over lunch, and the best part was, the last 1.25 miles that I ran back to the office on flat ground was super speedy. It is great to know that I can fatigue my legs on the hills, but then get some fast running in afterwards. I wound up working late thanks to the longer lunch I took to fit the 5 miles in, and arrived at the train station soon after a major accident had occurred at a nearby platform. All trains in and out of the downtown core were not running. I grabbed my "not quite so fresh as a daisy" socks, strapped on the ol' running shoes and got a bonus walk in to the first train station outside of the downtown core and I was able to head home from there. By the time I made it back it was too late to make it to yoga. Instead I put on the yoga pants, cooked dinner, and attempted to feel relaxed and quiet of mind through the wearing of the pants. Do pants work vicariously just by wearing them? I'm not sure if it worked or not, but I was asleep by 8:30. Maybe I should be taking this as a sign that I really need to try and get more sleep...

All the Right Reasons - to take a rest day

In case you worry that this intrepid blogger is all excercise and no fun, fear not... Tonight I'm skipping boot camp to take a rest day and catch Nickelback in concert (along with Daughtry and Puddle of Mudd). I have a make up BBC session on Friday instead. Last night I also managed to fit in yoga. For a couple of folks in the class this was their first session, so it wound up feeling a bit too basic for me - I like the challenge! When I got home I finished things off with a round of clamshells to work on my hips. Yup, I think I definitely deserve a rest day after all that I accomplished yesterday!

Oh...ow...

Yesterday I decided to try and get as much out of my unlimited yoga pass as possible, so I hit back to back classes - Discover Yoga and Power Pilates. Discover Yoga was great - it was a bit more basic than some of the the other classes I have gone to, but I really liked the instructor. Despite it being a fairly large class she made a point of trying to give us all adjustments and individual encouragement throughout the poses. After yoga was over I popped into the room next door for Power Pilates - and boy that was a great workout! With Power Pilates the excercises are strung together so you are continually moving throughout the session so you get a better workout. I think I am definitely going to try to do this combo on Sundays a few more times before my pass expires at the end of next month. Power Pilates continues as a drop in class on Sundays in the fall, so I may try to attend a few times, depending on how the back to back long runs on Saturdays and Sundays go. I actually feel a bit sore after all that yesterday - a bit of tightness in my hip flexors, abs, obliques and back. I love that post workout soreness though. Tonight I have 5 miles on tap, although I haven't quite decided where to run yet.

Humid Hills

After watching the course video of the Nike Women's Marathon in San Francisco it has reiterated my thoughts on including hill training once a week in my routine. So yesterday was hill workout day, and it was terrific! I opted to get my run in over lunch in an attempt to beat the heat. On my way into work it was dark, raining, thundering and lightning. By lunch time the rain had cleared, but it was still overcast and really humid. It was about 88% humidity, which for Calgary is a lot - this city is normally dry as a bone. Thanks to the clouds it wasn't super hot out and the humidity felt okay. I ran up to McHugh Bluffs, my favorite hill, and did four repeats, with running on flat ground in between. After I figured I had enough of the hills I ran up and down the stairs there as well, just for a final push for the legs. It was then another mile back to the start on flat ground, so all said and done I got five miles in yesterday. I felt like I pushed myself pretty well and it felt great. My aim for future hill workouts is to cut down the amount that I run on flat ground between repeats so that I can start fitting more ups and downs in.

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The best thing about running over lunch (besides the cooler temps) was that I was also able to fit a yoga class in last night. It was another great session and we did a lot of back bend poses. Boy, oh boy, do I need to work on loosening up my quads. That will certainly help to make some of those poses feel a bit better. My unlimited summer drop in pass ends September 2, so I signed up for a yoga class in the fall. I think I've been to enough sessions now to realize that I really enjoy it and see a lot of benefit out of it. It is definitely good to have a more calming workout to balance out the running and boot camping. Speaking of boot camping - tonight is BBC #4.