Quick Run Post

Quick being the post, not necessarily the runs ;)

Wednesday I got a 4-miler in, pushing around 9:15 per mile, not bad! Then Thursday my hubby and I climbed Mt. Woodson and came back down in just under an hour! Not bad for 1 1/2 miles up 1200 feet!! Then back down of course ;)

Yoga tonight then an 8-miler for Sunday. Coming along!

It's Friday Night! Let's Get Crazy and...

Do Yoga!

I know, don't freak out. I'm such a Friday Night party gal ;) Just kidding, there was a time for going out with girlfriends partying but that ended oh...16 years ago? These days there is nothing better than peaceful, relaxing things that quiet the mind and bring peace to the soul. Enter yoga...

Working on King Cobra Pose Bhujangasana...I thought my head was much closer to my feet!

Working on Lizard Pose Utthan Pristhasana..I'm really starting to like this pose! Elbows to floor in this deep lunge is a victory for sure.

Lizard L

Lizard R

Hands Under Feet Forward Fold Pose Padahastasana

Downward Facing Dog Pose Adho Mukha Svanasana...I took my tank off to make an important point. In this pose it is easy to forget but it is important to really draw the navel to the spine.

Chair Pose Utkatasana

 Standing Head to Knee Pose Dandayamana Janushirasana. I was happy to see I am now able to fully straighten my legs

 

 

 Here is a step-by-step progression

Goddess Pose Utkata Konasana

Corpse Pose Savasana (with block under my Thoracic region)

A Two-Legged Inverted Staff Pose (Dwi Pada Viparita Dandasana) just felt right-I love this pose

Yoga Headstand

A few I felt like

Today's run made me surprisingly sore and stiff! Yoga was just the ticket. Here are a few pictures from my little session. More often than not these days when I set out to do some yoga, I don't necessarily follow a plan, I just start with some sun salutations then follow what I feel like my body needs and wants to do for that day. Sometimes easier poses feel hard and sometimes I surprise myself with some harder poses that I can't usually stick.

Standing Split L (Urdhva Prasarita Eka Padasana)

Standing Split L

My crow is coming along. In the progression of crow, it helps (me) to place the knees to the outside of the elbows. As I progress in the pose, I find that I can now raise my gaze forward as opposed to down on my mat, and as I do that, my arms are lengthening out more. Next I will work on squeezing my knees more into my armpits, so that my legs run parallel to my arms.

Crow (Bakasana)

Staff Pose (Dandasana)

Upward Plank (Purvottanasana) This pose is great for tightening the butt! Then what I do is lift one leg with my toe pointed and continue to alternate until I can't stand it anymore!

Headstand (Sirasana)

Four Miles

Today was 4 miles as I face the fact that the La Jolla Half Marathon (2 of 3 of the Triple Crown Series) is only 18 days away. Let's just say 3 weeks so I feel better, ok? Well it went ok. I'm feeling pretty out of shape and unmotivated for no apparent reason. I mean the weather is perfect, and even cooler this week. Basically I want to train to finish, and I'd love to PR (post-surgery PR that is).

Spring Break Recap

It's April! Our family just got back from a great Spring Break trip to Arizona. We enjoyed some spring training baseball and explored the Grand Canyon. It was good times! While there, I went on two shorter runs, a challenging hike and a 22-mile bike ride. I would have liked to do more but it was the whole family together and even though it is vacation, Moms have a lot to do! Here are a few pictures

How I spent the 95-degree day...under an umbrella with a margarita!

An unforgettable bike ride

I also finished up the 30-day yoga challenge I was following on Instagram. What a great way to challenge yourself and try new poses. I will definitely do another one soon, but for April, I'm giving my followers a break from yoga poses every day.

One of my favorites from the month.

 

My husband and I rarely run together. We hike and bike together more often. He is not a fan of running, but today he told me he actually enjoyed the run, since we had each other for company. I am usually a solo runner, but I have to admit, I really enjoyed it too!

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Some run scenery:

At the Grand Canyon, we did some awesome biking along the miles and miles of paved bike trails. It's a great way to get around the park by the way, I highly recommend it.

I could not wait to get up early and sneak in a run (and a peak at the Canyon). Four miles at 7,000 feet was nothing to snark at. It was tough! When I wasn't taking walk breaks, I was sucking wind and freezing my tail off since I wasn't anticipating 40-degree weather plus frigid wind-chill. Somehow it was all worth it for the experience.

Am I really here? Surreal!

We also explored the inside of the canyon via the popular Bright Angel trail. We took our kids so we only went 1 1/2 miles down into the canyon since the way back up is twice as hard

I did a shocking lack of yoga on this trip. I brought my mat and everything but didn't really bring it out. I would have been sad if I hadn't walked out with some kind of yoga pose in front of the canyon though.

My boys biking the rim.