Namaste Runners

Because photographic evidence of me doing yoga
does not actually exist. . .

Anyone who even casually runs can speak to the value of cross training.  Running can take a toll on your body if you go too hard, too far, too fast.  Getting back into running after roughly a year off means that I need to work my body back into running slowly.  However, with weight loss also being a focus of mine, I want to move each day so I've been alternating my running workouts with walking and yoga.  While it's been a while since I had practiced yoga, I quickly remembered why I love it - especially as a runner.

Yoga presents a modified rest day in a physically demanding week.  Taking your body through stretching and strength exercises works your muscles in a totally different way.  I'm hoping this will help strengthen my core and create those long, lean running muscles that I'd love to have!  I also firmly believe that yoga will help prevent injury throughout the months ahead of training.  Then there are the mental benefits.  Taking an opportunity to slow down in the busy world of being a mom, wife, Assistant Principal, and many other things to many other people is important.  Lately I've been using The Biggest Loser's Weight Loss Yoga video which ends up being about 30 minutes.  Bob Harper talks me through a variety of fast moving poses.  Those days of yoga are among my favorites during the week and I anxiously await them on my training calendar.

So how did this week go for me?  Pretty well!  I kept to my Galloway training plan and did 2 - 30 minute sessions during the week and a 4 mile run on weekend.  I also kept to my plan of working out every day by walking or doing yoga on days I didn't run.  I ended up heading over to the Y for one of my 30 minute runs on the elliptical which was quite frankly awesome.  I think that might be my new go-to piece of equipment when winter weather keeps me indoors - all the motion of running without any of the impact.  I was able though to log my 4 mile run outside on Saturday morning before the winter precipitation and polar vortex set in.  This coming week is a step back week in my training with my weekend run only scheduled to be 2 miles before upping mileage the two weeks after that.