Yoga + Running

Hello Friends!

Training for the Disney World Marathon (26.2 miles) started on Monday! Luckily they have started us out slow, only 2-3 miles per day and our long run on Saturday is 3 miles, I am hoping to push myself to 4.

Here is the course through the land of magic!

With the ankle fracture it was tough to keep up my cardiovascular strength. I tried biking, still caused pain so I decided to avoid it. I tried "Aqua Jogging" which was incredibly boring; I couldn't force myself to paddle in the water like a fool. I instead chose to dive head first into yoga. One of the best decisions I could have made. I found that yoga is what was missing from my workout regimen. Those who know me, are well aware of my high stress lifestyle. I've made it a habit to stay busy and worry about anything and everything. Over the past year or two I have worked on this issue and improved, but I noticed the largest change when I started yoga regularly in the spring.

For me, yoga is no longer just a really good workout, it is therapeutic. I feel a strong need to practice yoga several times a week. Fall of 2011 I took a yoga course at WSU for fun, I enjoyed it and felt sore but didn't feel the connection with the practice I do now. I have always desired for some sort of spiritual connection but never found it in organized religion as most people do. I now find the spirituality and lessons I have longed for through the practice of yoga. You learn to take yoga into the world with you, look at the world without judgement, have gratitude for your body and the earth we live on.

Ashtanga Yoga is my favorite form of practice. The primary series is a set of asanas done in the same order  every session; it has become a sort of moving meditation. Classes are usually just short of two hours and afterward I feel a strong sense of inner peace. Let me reassure you, I am no contortionist. I have so much room to grow and develop, which is the beauty of this practice.

Luckily I discovered my love of yoga before I intensely started my running career (Yes, I call it a "career" now). It is the perfect compliment to running because they are physically very different and mentally very much the same. Running creates a constant pounding on the joints while building muscle; yoga stretches those over worked muscles giving the bones and joints a chance to recuperate. In each, I am forced to push myself and discover new limits, if I can hold a difficult pose for 5 long breaths, surely I can run that final quarter mile.

September's 30 Day Challenge is well underway at Firefly, as of today I have only attended 6 classes. The week of the MCAT (when I probably needed yoga the most) was tough to squeeze in classes between work and my final full length practice tests. However, I did attend a hot yoga class on the morning of my MCAT; I felt refreshed and my nerves were at ease. I also found it easier to push myself in class because I knew those long breaths were nothing compared to the upcoming 5 hours!

I will cross the finish line of my first marathon in 121 days! Thanks to my friends and family for your continued support through this journey!

19% of my fundraising goal is complete!

Click Here to donate to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society for my run on January 13th, 2013!

I will be updating again soon after my first group run with TNT on Saturday!

XOXO