Tuesday, February 24, 2015

Yoga Strong, Yoga Fast

My next race is 7 weeks away. Two of my friends and I are doing the Diva run 5k in April in Myrtle Beach. We did the same race last year- except it was the half marathon. This year we are opting for short and fast- my style! 

Last year the winning time in my division was 26 minutes. If I train and put in my time, I know I can kill that. 

So here we go. Hopefully it starts warming up soon! Working so many doubles at work is really killing my running- and just my routine in general. This is still fairly new to me since taking my promotion to being the restaurant manager and catering coordinator. Love it, but getting home at 10pm and back up to work in the morning really hasn't let me do too many early morning workouts. Yes, I'm one of those sissys who needs her 9-10 hours of sleep to feel perfectly rested! 

I've been doing yoga almost every day now, and really enjoying it again. I've gone off and on the past few years- doing it 4 or 5 times a week for a few months, and then quitting almost a year. But tonight I'm doing it at night for the first time- just to really make myself get it in. As part of my race training, I still want to do yoga- even if it isn't long- every single day- and if I don't run that day, make sure part of my yoga is geared towards asanas that help runners. I WANT THAT MEDAL! 

Tonight, my poses are 
  • low lunge (anjaneyaasana)
  • downward facing dog (adobo mukha svanasana)
  • squat (malasana)
  • boat pose (paripurna)
  • dancer's pose (natarajasana)
  • upward facing dog (urdhva mukha svanasana)
  • head to knee pose (paschimottanasana)
  • Cow face fold (gomukhasana)
  • Leg drains or legs up the wall (viparita Karani)

My flexibility has like... Vanished. The 9 year old gymnast-Erin really wants to kick 26 year old Erin right now. But another thing I want to bring into my life from yoga is meditation. I read the other day that 20 minutes of meditation is equivalent to... Oh I forgot. Sleep. You need less sleep. Or 1 hour of yogic sleep?? Is the same as 3 hours normal sleep. I could definitely go for that!