Friday Five: 5 Reasons to Include Yoga in Your Training

Happy Friday everyone!  This has been a super long week and I am thrilled that tomorrow is Saturday. I can't wait.  Phew.  In the meantime, I'm joining up with the Friday Five link-up hosted by Cynthia at You Signed Up for What, Mar at Mar on the Run, and Courtney at Eat Pray Run DC for this week's Friday Five topic - Five Reason to _____________!  Hmmm... Five reasons to sleep in... Five reasons to eat more chocolate.... Five reasons I really should get a pedicure.... getting off track here.  So I settled on: 

Five Reasons to Include Yoga in Any Training Plan

1.  It is the perfect counterpoint to endurance training.  High impact, repetitive activities like running and biking take a toll on your joints and muscles.  A regular yoga practice stretches and strengthens the muscles that support your other activities, increasing performance.

2.  Injury prevention.  This is a prime example of do-as-I-say-not-as-I-do.  I try to do yoga on a regular basis.  However, I'm 100% confident that if I was better about it I wouldn't have nearly the number or severity of running-related injuries I do.  Tight muscles that are never released, imbalances in your muscles, weakness in your core - all of these lead to injury.  Yoga is a reset button that prepares your body to repeat your workout the next day.  Without the reset, these imbalances and tight spot build up and turn into injury.

3.  Peace of mind.  The meditative aspect of yoga is tremendously powerful.  I find a yoga class to be one of most calming activities in my weekly routine.  While there is something to be said for the endorphin-driven stress release of a hard workout, it's just not possible to always push it hard in order to de-stress.  At some point your body revolts.  Having a way to calm your mind while restoring your body instead further stressing it (physically) is a valuable tool to have in your arsenal.

4.  Building good habits.  Even if you are training for an IronMan, chances are you're only actively training 15-20 hours a week.  But you breath, sit, walk, and move around in your body 24/7.  Yoga teaches an awareness of your body, your posture, your breathing, and your mind that you can practice any time.  Sitting at your office desk, waiting for the train, getting ready for bed - you can "practice" yoga anywhere.  I've said it before - I'll say it again - It's all mental.  Yoga is very helpful for the mental aspect of training.

5.  Variety.  Did you know there are several kinds of yoga?  Power yoga offer quick transitions through poses for a tough strength workout while you build flexibility.  Bikram (hot) yoga is the same sequences in a specific order in a warm, de-toxifiying room.  Restorative yoga focuses on injury prevention.  Yoga for relaxation.  Yoga for runners (my favorite DVD).  Prenatal yoga.  Iyengar. Hatha.  So many kinds of yoga to try, and so many to use depending on what your body needs on a given day.  Moreover, while classes are ideal, there are a plethora of DVDs and free videos on various internet channels, so you can practice at home.  My most common practice space is my kids' playroom.  The biggest challenge there is getting them to clean it for Mommy.....

Do you do yoga?  What is your favorite kind?

The Thoughts We Carry With Us

Most people are familiar with the phrase, "You are what you eat".  While I can somewhat agree, I think a much more powerful truth is that

You Are What You Think

The older I get, the more I realize that the connection between the body and the mind is infinitely deeper than most people appreciate.  Or rather, we all agree that it is there, but the idea of training your mind is not one that is popular in our culture.  Meditation, yoga.. sure.  These have migrated into popular culture.  But day-to-day, moment-by-moment discipline of your thoughts is not something you're likely to find multiple hits on Pinterest for.

Several weeks ago I made a resolution against negativity, realizing that most of the comments regarding my workouts (both to my coach and to myself) were pretty negative.  The way I thought about my training was conditioning me to associate hard workouts with pain and small disappointments, rather than choosing to dwell on my accomplishments and the positive effects of my exercise.

Happy moment.  A hit!

Similarly, I also joined the 100 Happy Days challenge.  Every day I choose at least one moment to share with the world (via social media) that I am grateful and happy for.  Some days have been harder than others, but overall this daily practice of being present in my own life and paying attention to the joyful has been illuminating.

Eastern practice speaks of a person's life energy, their vital force, as chi.  Chi exists within the body, and between the body and the outside world.  Most illnesses and pain are a result of blocked or imbalanced chi. Practices such as Tai chi and meditation, as well as Reiki, acupuncture, etc. seek to balance and improve the flow of the life force in the body.  Whether you are a subscriber to western medicinal theory or not, the idea of a person's energy being positive or negative is fairly cross cultural.  All those hippies in the 70s talking about beautiful purple auras can't be wrong.

Taking this idea a step further, I believe that positive energy attracts more positive energy.  Meaning that, if you strive to keep your heart and mind open and peaceful, you will be more open to opportunities, ideas, and outcomes than you would be immersed in negativity.

Your body's energy is controlled by your mind.

I recently listened to a fabulous podcast by the Another Mother Runner crew.  They were interviewing time- and life- coach Jill Farmer for time management tips.  Jill asked her audience to consider the fact that every time you think a negative thought like, "I don't have time to do all this", your sympathetic nervous system kicks in with the same flight-or-fight response that would occur if a predator was bearing down on you wanting to make you its lunch.  The lower functions of your brain do not know the difference between stress from an overstuffed calendar and from an immediate threat of physical harm.  The biological reaction is the same.  Adrenaline floods the system, cortisol goes up, heart rate increases, and you feel fearful.  Repeat several hundred times per day, and you are literally changing the biology of your body and mind (and your chi).

Conversely, if you are able to recognize these types of thoughts when you have them, you have a chance to turn the whole thing around.  Instead of telling yourself "I don't have time", tell yourself, "I can do this.  One step at a time".  Your parasympathetic nervous system reacts and brings your body back into a baseline peaceful state.  When you aren't feeling frenzied, you are more productive and can achieve more than you can when always "fleeing the bear that isn't there".

So what does this all have to do with triathlon?

A huge part of triathlon is mental.  Learning to control your thoughts and endure physical discomfort is a major part of endurance racing.  Every time I think I've improved on this, I learn a new lesson.  This past Monday night I went out on a group ride from a local bike store.  I didn't know anyone.  Rather than having confidence in my abilities, I second guessed myself (negative voice on the shoulder) and joined the "slow group".  It was the wrong decision.  After a few miles I joined the main pack, which was made up of about 50 men (only).  All those men and one lucky girl.  I ended up pushing myself and having a fantastic ride.  Negativity lesson learned.

It's raining men!

We constantly set goals and have dreams, both in our athletic and outside lives.  Can I do a full Ironman?  Can I break a two hour half marathon?  Should I start a new business?  Can I apply for that job that I really want?  Ultimately it is our minds that allow us to take the first steps towards those dreams.  That accompany us along the way, whispering in our ears that we will either fail or triumph.  So why do we spend so little time thinking about how our thoughts affect our bodies and our lives?

As you may have guessed, I am myself currently facing one of these Big Dreams.  Plus a Big Decision.  (I promise to be more specific when I am able to do so).  It is big.  It is scary.  I am finding myself going through cycles of hope and elation followed by self doubt and negativity - usually several times a day.  It is exhausting.  Last week when I had my freak-out, I was letting my negative mind get the better of me.  This week, I've been much calmer.  Not because anything has changed - our family schedule is even nuttier, work is tougher, Oly training starts next week and my Big Dream is still there.  I've been making a conscious effort to control how I think about all of these things.  That is what has made the difference - my internal mind, not anything on the outside.

My kids know all about this

On a side note, all this stress has been great for my training, since a big coping mechanism for me is exercise.  In addition to that ride, I've done a 2000m swim set on Tuesday, and a spin class/run brick followed by strength training on Wednesday.  My body finally demanded a rest day today.  Whew.

Best quote from the podcast: "It's impossible to feel fear and gratitude at the same time".

The irony is that I wouldn't be even considering my Big Dream if I hadn't made this commitment to being positive.  The road that led me to this place is absolutely based on previous leaps of faith that I was capable of more (even if my mind didn't 100% agree all the time).  More professionally, more athletically, and more personally.  It all ties in together.  Which is why I'm writing on this subject tonight.  To remind myself that I am in control of my thoughts, my mind, my body, and ultimately my life.  I am reaffirming my commitment to staying positive and attracting more positive energy and opportunities.  To chase amazing experiences and improvement in all aspects of my life.

How do you focus on staying positive?  What keeps you centered?

Taper Snooze

I am having a problem with the snooze button.  

As in, I am hitting it far too much.

It's taper week for me, in preparation for the Old-Fashioned 10 Miler this coming Sunday.  This past weekend I ran my last long run in prep for this race - a 9 miler from my gym on Saturday morning after my Total Immersion class.  I had a good amount of hemming and hawing about how and when to get this run in - between the cold temps, the predicted storm for Sunday (which never happened), and a birthday party on Saturday afternoon, Friday night I was in a tizzy as to whether I should treadmill it, brave the cold, do it at home, do it at the gym, do a spin class instead.... decisions are so hard.  But I truly feel superstitious about The Running Gods - fickle deities that reward effort, but also dole out injuries to unsuspecting disciples like the vengeful gods of old.  I feel like training mostly inside for an outdoor race is testing the limits of their patience, so after driving my planned route to make sure sidewalks and shoulders were mostly clear and the footing would be ok, I headed outside.

Golden arches pit stop.  This and the playground
is all McDonalds is good for.

Love these

The route I chose starts with the first two miles up a fairly decent grade, so my pace naturally was slow.  Sheriff gave me no specific pace goals except to attempt negative splits in the second 4.5.  Which I figured I could do, since the second half was more or less downhill.  (What goes up, must..... yeah).  It was overall a nice run.  Beautiful sparkling snow, blue skies. A bathroom stop at McDonalds was much more comfy than some of my usual accommodations.  I couldn't remember how to reset my Garmin, so I ran totally by feel. 

Once I made it back to my car, I checked Strava and was pretty disappointed with my overall pace.  Nearly 12 minute miles.  Wasn't I supposed to be getting better at this?  My midweek treadmill runs were much closer to 9 and 10 minute miles (albeit shorter).  What the heck?

Love Strava.  It give you medals for even crummy runs.

So this run didn't do much for my confidence going into this weekend's race.  But I know I am being silly.  For heaven's sake - I actually RAN all nine miles, something that I couldn't do even a month ago.  Afterwards Sheriff told me not to worry about the pace, but that yes he did expect me to run faster at the race and my half marathon in March.  Ok.  Maybe less looking at scenery, more learning to set Garmin better and sticking to a pace.  But also, I have to remember that I've not been running very long in the grand scheme of things.  Hummingbird (a consistent 8-9 minute mile pacer) told me a while ago that she didn't crack 10 minute miles until she got serious about her training last fall.  This sentiment was echoed in today's post by Sue for This Momma Runs for Cupcakes.  This is my beginning.  

Saturday afternoon we had a birthday party of a good friend's baby son.  We had a lot of fun making his cake.  Then on Sunday I was supposed to have a trainer ride, but my body wanted a rest day.  So I took the kids to the gym to play in the kid gym and to swim.  After an hour of playing and running around the gym, I took the kids into the pool, only to have my little guy (who has had a cold for weeks just like the rest of us), tell me that his ear hurt and he wanted to go home.  He was lethargically floating on his noodle - not getting his had wet or jumping or splashing or anything.  So I packed up my wet and crying kids and headed home.  Sheriff's comment on that workout in Training Peaks - "Having kids sounds tiring."  Oh yes.    

Spaced Out Birthday Cake

Sunday evening, after being in charge of the kids all day (Jedi was on a baking binge in the kitchen), I really needed some yoga.  I told the kids, "I am taking over your playroom.  I have played with you all day.  For the next 45 minutes, I get to be the most important person in this family.  You are welcome to stay and do yoga with me, to play quietly in the leftover space, but you may not fight with eachother or bother me.  If you do, you will go to your room until I am done."  Yes moms, it's ok to say you're important.  The kids nodded solemnly.  I picked an advance Vinyasa flow video (a style that moves quickly through postures so you get a good amount of flexibility and power).  To my surprise, the kids followed along for nearly the whole 45 minutes.  They did great.  They also thought Mommy trying to do a headstand was hilarious.

So now it's two days later, and I haven't worked out since.  Yesterday's trainer ride got snooze buttoned.  And then further cancelled when I decided a craft night out with girlfriends was much more what I needed than another sweat session in the basement.  I set the alarm this morning fully ready to atone.  It went off, I got up, brushed my teeth, changed, and then went back to bed.  Again.  My body is still sore from the long run and from the yoga session (which despite the cute kid pictures was H-A-R-D).  My body and spirit seem to want rest.  And that is okay.  It is taper week, after all.

I did however, pack a bag for my lunch break, so three miles or so need to happen during the day today.  I warned Sheriff I was going to be an exceptionally bad athlete this week, but I have to draw the line somewhere.

How long did it take you to get to your pace goals consistently?
How do you fight the snooze button??  Motivate me!