My friend Lauren is a pretty good yoga model and a super fast runner. She spearheads a run club through her company, Lauren Leonard Health, which I attended for the first time last night. With the weather we had this past winter in Boston, I chose not to run outdoors much for fear of being hit by a plow. All the sidewalks were either sheets of packed down snow-turned-ice or were covered in a 9 foot-tall hardened snow wall. It was the first time in years that I didn’t run multiple times per week, which had a huge impact on my running fitness level.
FUN FACT – the last of the snow in Boston melted today. TODAY. That’s right, July 15th.
When I started running again in the spring I felt like I had never run before. I was reliving 7th grade track all over again. I understand why some people say that if you see them running, you should run too, because something is chasing them. They hate running. I see again how easy it is to quit when it’s that hard, as opposed to sticking through it until you become stronger. There have been moments where I thought maybe this is the year I got old, or running isn’t for me anymore, rather than being a realist and acknowledging that I just have work to do.
It was humid last night, and raining a little, but Lauren pushed our group through 800 meter repeats. There were points where my whole stomach was in a cramp and vomiting didn’t seem far off, but I kept going, and I was faster than I expected. Maybe I won’t feel like 7th-grade-me forever.
Lauren is creating a training plan for me to get back into running after this hiatus. I asked her for help, since I clearly wasn’t making it happen on my own. It will involve adding 3-4 runs per week to my Crossfit routine. Stay tuned for updates.
You can learn more about Lauren and the incredible run/yoga/nutrition trifecta that she offers on her website here.
And now, some yoga.
DOWNWARD DOG POSE
Sanskrit Name: Adho Mukha Svanasana
Pronunciation: AH-doh MOO-kah shvah-NAHS-anna
adho = downward
mukha = face
svana = dog
Good for: stretching & strengthening the whole body
Directions
1. Start by getting onto your hands and knees on your mat. Be sure to keep your wrists directly under your shoulders and knees under your hips.
2. Curl your toes under so that your soles are facing toward the mat.
3. Straighten your arms and legs, pushing your hips toward the ceiling. Spread the fingers and ground down from the forearms into the fingertips.
4. Spread your fingers wide, evenly applying your weight throughout your hands. Outwardly rotate the upper arms broadening the collarbones.
5. Rotate your upper arms out to open your chest. Let the head hang, move the shoulder blades away from the ears towards the hips.
6. Keep your shoulder blades down and away from your ears (don’t shrug). Let your head hang, relaxed.
7. Rotate the thighs inward, keep your hips raised and try to push your heels into the floor. Squeeze your quadriceps – it will take some of the weight off of your arms.
8. Start by holding this pose for 30 seconds, working your way up to 3 minutes by adding 10 seconds to your time as you feel comfortable.
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