The 30 day challenge....Update

Approximately 17 days ago I set off on a 30 day Bikram challenge....I made it successfully through 12 of those days (Yay me!). And now I sit 2 days later having not gone to yoga for the last 2 days. :(

When I set out on this journey it was to give myself something of a challenge while I was on a 'no run' ruling. And believe me it was challenging. The first week was amazing. Each day I went and I felt wonderful. I was motivated and excited each day to go. It was how I felt cleansed at the end of the day. Then in the second week I had a few days of being 5 minutes in and thinking "dear lord get me the hell out of this room."

But I pushed through those times and when I got out I DID feel better. It was my own inner struggle. But I think I then pushed it too hard. I thought I could do everything at once. I could do yoga AND my personal training sessions (which kick my ass to the wall by the way), and I'd be all happy and fit and things would be great. Well apparently I'm not superwoman. Go figure (and damn I'd been banking on that fact!). On day 13 my body failed me. I just didn't have the energy to do it. I fought internally with myself for several hours before class saying 'Yes you can do it. You've had tough days before and its just one of those.' It wasn't a fight to prove how bad ass I am. Or how fit I was. It was a fight to prove that mentally I could concur anything, and I felt by NOT going that I was somehow failing myself.

So hours later, I had to come to grips that maybe I should listen to my body and that it wasn't a failure on my part. And that maybe the failure would've been if I had pushed myself to go and ended up fainting or getting it injured. I made the decision not to go and to preserve my energy and start again the next day if I felt I could handle it. And I'm even more grateful now that I could understand my body's limits because the next day I got sick and was in bed for 2 days.

I'm only now feeling back to 100% and reevaluating where to go from here. I know that to just hop right back in would most likely put me right back into bed, so for now I'm going to just plan to go to try and do yoga when I can along with my personal training sessions. I think for me the lesson in all this is realizing that while I love and need to be ambitious I also need to not view every set back as a failure. There are twists and turns in the road, and its how you respond to where your path takes you that really defines you. Without setbacks there is no room for growth. And what I want most in this life is to constantly grow and improve myself. Hopefully I can be that person.

My 30 Day Bikram Challenge

I was only about a week into my true "No Run" ruling by my doc, and about 2-3 weeks into my seriously cut back running schedule when I hit a breaking point. Although I'd started to hit up the gym and do more weights and other types of training, my mind and body were both feeling a little less than happy. I wasn't getting nearly the workout I wanted, or was used to at this point. These days I'm used to getting home and running at least 4 miles, or going out and doing the bike, hitting up yoga class, or SOMETHING. And while I've been hitting up the bike and elliptical at the gym, it just wasn't the same because I didn't have those 3-4 times a week where I was able to get out and run.

Running has become a huge cathartic activity for me. It allows me to get out and workout my frustrations with the road, to feel challenged, to have a goal to strive for. And lets face it....if you know me you know that I'm goal driven. That I do best when I have something to aim for. Because I'm a very determined person. I don't like failing. And we saw what happened after college when I all of a sudden did not have a clear set goal path in front of me. I became lazy, I put on weight and became a generally unhappy person. 

Well I'm determined not to let that happen again. Now, let me just say first off that I KNOW I may be a little overworried at this point. REALISTICALLY I know that having to stay off my running schedule for a few more weeks won't kill me and won't dredge me back to the horrible place I was a few years ago. I really DO know this. Especially since I have been keeping up my good eating habits, and my other workouts. BUT, I also know the difference between how I feel when I'm really happy and when I'm not, and how thats affected by the amount of activity I'm getting on a daily basis. 

SO I was in search of something that might give me a new goal for the time being while I heal my knee, and rehab myself into better running shape. Low and behold I already had my answer. I'd received it at the beginning of my training by a good friend of mine (Miss Bulgatz). Bulgatz and I had started talking about training activities for my half way back at the beginning of my training in July. She'd done a couple half marathons before and told me how much easier her second training had gone when she'd added Bikram yoga to the mix, and that was after she'd just finished a 30 day Bikram challenge (doing 30 classes in 30 days - no days off).

Now I'd already been doing bikram/hot yoga on and off throughout my training. I mean you all should know considering HOW MANY times I'm pretty sure I've told you that I LOVE hot yoga. That WAS me right? I said that? I'm not just pretending I'd written that somewhere? Or am I?

Well, 4 months later we come full circle and I started talking to her about it again. And I thought more and more about it. It really made sense. 30 days of going to a class that is fully focused on stretching and strengthening your entire body (and mind might I add). It seemed like JUST what I needed. A brand NEW focus to keep me going and challenged, as well as something that will help strengthen me toward my end goal of doing my half marathon. BINGO! Ding ding ding ding ding! We have a winner. 

So today I sit here on day 6 of my Bikram challenge. Yes I've almost completed the entire first week successfully (woohoo)! And I won't lie to you its been challenging. And I know it will only continue to be challenging as I go on. BUT in the 5 classes I've taken so far I feel happier on a daily basis, I feel more focused, I feel stronger, and my flexibility has already improved dramatically from day 1. The 30 days ends on Tuesday, November 29th. This little plan takes me directly through Thanksgiving (which I think is a complete blessing!). Not only will it keep me focused/balanced, it will help me survive the first of the holidays this season without going overboard. 

I can't wait to see what the rest of the challenge brings my way, and how I feel at the end given how I feel after just this first week.

My First Official 5K Run

This past Saturday was my very FIRST official 5k run of my training program. Now I've WALKED a lot of 5k's before, but this is the first that I've ever run...and definitely the first one since I've started the whole process of training for the half. Needless to say I was slightly nervous. I'd been running a 3 mile distance for the last 2 weeks so as far as distance goes I wasn't concerned, but everyone says that race day is different. The adrenaline and such can throw you off.....well let me tell you they are RIGHT

Race time was at 8:15. I was up by 6 and getting out the door by 7. We arrived in Woodinville at Redhook Brewery by 7:30am. I picked up my race packet, including my bib and tracking chip (I felt SO official! Dorky yes I know but it was COOL! ha). And then I had a good half an hour till race time. Lots of stretching and looking around. It was a much larger race than I had anticipated. There was a 10k portion with about 400 people, a 5k run with 55 runners, and then a 5k walk. Not sure how many walkers but there were a LOT of families and strollers!! The run benefited Seattle Children's Hospital (kinda fitting given the week we'd just gone through).

Starting the race I think I made my number one mistake.....starting with the bulk of the pack. It was VERY crowded, and so I ended up trying to dart up past the crowd and make a break for it. BAD IDEA. My pace to start was most likely WAY to quick. Also - it was a lot warmer out than it had been over the last month or so of my training. I'm not one used to running in heat...or humidity. Makes a big difference. I also learned as I started my run that my iPod had not synced up that morning....meaning the two new songs I'd REALLY wanted to add to my playlist were not there...DAMN

BUT I made it the first two miles without stopping. At a really great pace...but then my tank started to run out. Throughout the third mile I had to stop a few times and do 20 second intervals of walking. Regain some strength and energy. But I finished the full last portion of the race from the last turn on the road to the entrance back to Redhook Brewery, and picked up to a nice sprint to finish it off.

Overall, I finished at 30:05, a pace of 9:41/mile, and placed 19th of 55 runners. Given the fact that I had to walk a portion of the third mile, I'm pretty damn impressed with my timing. Shows just how much I'd set the pace at the beginning. And overall, the race itself was a huge learning experience. Made me fully realize the importance of doing some races before the big day in December.

My next 5k run is on September 11th around Greenlake. So close to home! End goal for this 5k is to run the whole thing and pick up the overall pace time. :-)

I've posted links to the race results as well as my Athlinks account! Given that I'll be running more races I learned about Athlinks from a friend (thanks Ryan), in which I can claim my race results all in one spot :-D

Check it out!

Covey Run 5k Race Results
http://onlineraceresults.com/race/view_race.php#racetop

My Athlinks Account
http://www.athlinks.com/racer.aspx?rid=101108156