...with excitement when I stopped by the indoor track last night. It was 8:30 pm and I was driving home from a running group in downtown Boise. I knew Pat and some of his kids were there so I decided to stop and do my DST there.
When I walked in the smell of the track wafted up and hit me in the face full-force. I had a flash of past races and the burst of excitement that always accompanies them. Once I calmed myself down, I walked out onto the track and just stood there for a moment, watching and taking it all in.
While I did DST, some of the Oiselle gals (http://www.oiselle.com/athletes/team) were doing their hurdle mobility. I was just drinking in the moment. Listening to the light chatter and the feet pounding the track around me. Being able to run, strength train, jump, skip, or what-have-you with no pain has not worn off-I am still reveling in it.
While I would never wish injury or setbacks so anyone, I would wish them the renewed appreciation and thrill I experienced last night and have felt for the past week. I love being a runner again.
Happy, happy running!
"It is obvious that we can no more explain a passion to a person who has never experienced it than we can explain light to the blind."
-T.S. Eliot
Thursday, January 27, 2011
Monday, January 24, 2011
Calling all opinions!
For a long time I have been searching and waiting for the perfect tattoo idea to come along. The initial problem was there were too many ideas and I wanted to find a way to combine them. Then, once they were combined in my head, how could I get it out? This is where my good friend, Chris Chandler came into the picture. The guy is a genius. Period. Check out his online portfolio: http://www.nappinggoat.com/home.html.
In short, the image combines my near obsessive love of owls (for many reasons), running, and the initials & date are representative of my baby nephew, Jacob Enoch and the day he passed away.
After only a few drafts Chris had it nailed. Now, I am ready to take the plunge (well, once I have some income coming in). However, I cannot decide where to place it. Here is what I am thinking, ribs, outer thigh, or left scapula. What do YOU think?
In short, the image combines my near obsessive love of owls (for many reasons), running, and the initials & date are representative of my baby nephew, Jacob Enoch and the day he passed away.
After only a few drafts Chris had it nailed. Now, I am ready to take the plunge (well, once I have some income coming in). However, I cannot decide where to place it. Here is what I am thinking, ribs, outer thigh, or left scapula. What do YOU think?
Thursday, January 20, 2011
What the...?!?! Hot yoga. Hot damn.
Yesterday I counted up the number of cups of coffee I have been drinking per day on this trip and it is way more than I care to admit. Perhaps this is the reason I got it in my head to try a little something which lives up to it's name...HOT YOGA.
In all honesty, I did not know I was going to a hot yoga class. I was just craving yoga. Since I have been on my trip I have been doing 3-4 forty minute sessions on my own. But yesterday I just needed an intensive, live, fantastic yoga practice. In comes Corepower Yoga http://www.corepoweryoga.com/, and with the intention to get the most from it that I could I walked into the studio in Fort Collins and was greeted by attentive, extremely knowledgeable staff. Being the skeptic I am, that was a check off my internal list. Next, the actual yoga instruction.
When I opened the door to the room, I was greeted with a waft of hot, thick air. Oh lord, I thought, hot yoga? Really?? I might actually die. I HATE being hot. Ugh. However, being the good sport that I am-and also because I would feel like a moron walking in and then up and leaving-I set up my mat next to the least-likely-to-sweat-excessively person I could find and tried to relax. Have you ever noticed that when the air is thick and hot (like being in Texas in July) you almost begin to panic because it is more difficult to get air, or is it? Well, it feels like it to me. It is like the snorkeling effect-when you first put your head in the water and realize you can only breathe from your mouth; almost without fail you suck water into your nose and end up flailing-not gracefully-to the surface where you try not to embarrass yourself while you spit and sputter out the inhaled water. Yes, this is how I felt for the first five minutes.
I watched as more and more people filed in until the instructor proudly exclaimed that there were forty of us and, "isn't this great! And we could fit more." I thought she was crazy, I was already feeling a little claustrophobic (I like my space) but kudos to her for the enthusiasm. She began the class with a Buddha quote, it went something like this, "Holding in anger is like holding a hot coal next to your chest. All the while, you wait for the right moment to throw the coal at the offender but in the end, you are the only one that ends up being burned." I thought to myself, what if it's yourself you are angry at? Then you had the intention of getting burned all along.
Fifteen minutes in I was getting used to the heat and actually marveling that I was hardly sweating. No sooner had that thought crossed my mind than my pores literally opened up and began POURING sweat. Within seconds I was soaked. My mat was drenched, there were pools of sweat on the mat and the floor. My sweat! I couldn't believe it. And let me tell you, I am not a sweater. It took all I had to focus on my practice and not on the sweat. Although it was tough because I was slipping all over the place. At the same moment
I was loving it. Even while I was grabbing tissue from the box near the back of the room to keep my dripping hair from running into my eyes, I was enjoying the odd, surreal feeling that comes from yoga in general but which was intensified in this setting. Seventy-five minutes later and probably a couple gallons of sweat, I was vowing to do it again but next time, I'm bringing a towel.
In all honesty, I did not know I was going to a hot yoga class. I was just craving yoga. Since I have been on my trip I have been doing 3-4 forty minute sessions on my own. But yesterday I just needed an intensive, live, fantastic yoga practice. In comes Corepower Yoga http://www.corepoweryoga.com/, and with the intention to get the most from it that I could I walked into the studio in Fort Collins and was greeted by attentive, extremely knowledgeable staff. Being the skeptic I am, that was a check off my internal list. Next, the actual yoga instruction.
When I opened the door to the room, I was greeted with a waft of hot, thick air. Oh lord, I thought, hot yoga? Really?? I might actually die. I HATE being hot. Ugh. However, being the good sport that I am-and also because I would feel like a moron walking in and then up and leaving-I set up my mat next to the least-likely-to-sweat-excessively person I could find and tried to relax. Have you ever noticed that when the air is thick and hot (like being in Texas in July) you almost begin to panic because it is more difficult to get air, or is it? Well, it feels like it to me. It is like the snorkeling effect-when you first put your head in the water and realize you can only breathe from your mouth; almost without fail you suck water into your nose and end up flailing-not gracefully-to the surface where you try not to embarrass yourself while you spit and sputter out the inhaled water. Yes, this is how I felt for the first five minutes.
I watched as more and more people filed in until the instructor proudly exclaimed that there were forty of us and, "isn't this great! And we could fit more." I thought she was crazy, I was already feeling a little claustrophobic (I like my space) but kudos to her for the enthusiasm. She began the class with a Buddha quote, it went something like this, "Holding in anger is like holding a hot coal next to your chest. All the while, you wait for the right moment to throw the coal at the offender but in the end, you are the only one that ends up being burned." I thought to myself, what if it's yourself you are angry at? Then you had the intention of getting burned all along.
Fifteen minutes in I was getting used to the heat and actually marveling that I was hardly sweating. No sooner had that thought crossed my mind than my pores literally opened up and began POURING sweat. Within seconds I was soaked. My mat was drenched, there were pools of sweat on the mat and the floor. My sweat! I couldn't believe it. And let me tell you, I am not a sweater. It took all I had to focus on my practice and not on the sweat. Although it was tough because I was slipping all over the place. At the same moment
I was loving it. Even while I was grabbing tissue from the box near the back of the room to keep my dripping hair from running into my eyes, I was enjoying the odd, surreal feeling that comes from yoga in general but which was intensified in this setting. Seventy-five minutes later and probably a couple gallons of sweat, I was vowing to do it again but next time, I'm bringing a towel.
Friday, January 14, 2011
Renewed appreciation.
I ran for 12 minutes yesterday...pain-free. Big deal, I know. While 12 minutes may not seem all that thrilling to you, it sure is to me at this point.
Not only have I run 4 days of the past 6 but every run makes my leg feel better. My fears are beginning to subside although the wariness continues. I will feel a whole lot better once I get my first workout under my belt.
I realized this week how much I enjoy the strength training aspect of my training-whether it is lifting, yoga, or DST I enjoy the process. I love how strong it makes me feel. I love how it defines my muscles. I love how it aids my running. I even love that shaky feeling I get when I push my body just a little harder than it wants to go.
Sitting in a little cafe in Bozeman, MT right now-the Home Page http://www.homepagecaffe.com/- drinking a delightful cup of coffee and listening to this little toddler holler her head off because "I don't LIKE tomatoes!!" At almost 5,000 feet in elevation Bozeman is home to Montana State University and a great place to train. My friend, Julie, lives and trains here and I am thinking it would be an excellent place to spend a few weeks this summer, training. Who's with me?
Today, I am on the top of my world looking out ahead and liking what I see.
Not only have I run 4 days of the past 6 but every run makes my leg feel better. My fears are beginning to subside although the wariness continues. I will feel a whole lot better once I get my first workout under my belt.
I realized this week how much I enjoy the strength training aspect of my training-whether it is lifting, yoga, or DST I enjoy the process. I love how strong it makes me feel. I love how it defines my muscles. I love how it aids my running. I even love that shaky feeling I get when I push my body just a little harder than it wants to go.
Sitting in a little cafe in Bozeman, MT right now-the Home Page http://www.homepagecaffe.com/- drinking a delightful cup of coffee and listening to this little toddler holler her head off because "I don't LIKE tomatoes!!" At almost 5,000 feet in elevation Bozeman is home to Montana State University and a great place to train. My friend, Julie, lives and trains here and I am thinking it would be an excellent place to spend a few weeks this summer, training. Who's with me?
Today, I am on the top of my world looking out ahead and liking what I see.
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