Up and At 'em

So I'm getting back into somewhat of a groove of getting my fitness on! I've got 2 different types of yoga (fusion yoga and Bikram) in addition to my running, so I am feeling great about that!!!

photo from http://bikramyogasavannah.com/

I started my Bikram yoga classes (26 yoga poses and 2 breathing exercises in a 105 degree room), on a whim... it was mentioned in one of my fusion yoga classes and the idea of it just got me interested. The Bikram studio here in Savannah offers a $25 ten-day unlimited introductory period and I went 4 times in my intro span. The first 3 classes were awesome and I felt great --- thinking  "hey, this isn't so bad! I could do this multiple times a week if I had the time!"), but the 4th class last night was very challenging. I don't know whether it was my first PM class (the first 3 - I went in the morning) and had a kind of heavy lunch... or what. Because I was getting dizzy, almost to the point of blacking out, and felt just plain WIPED OUT! I really wanted to leave at one point, but they are really against leaving the room in the middle of the hour and a half class, so I fought through and tried to focus and do the poses to the best of my ability. I am glad I did.

The heat isn't so bad, but the sweat is the gross part. What I like about hot yoga is that because you are sweating, it feels like your body is working really hard. Also, I've had noticeably decreased body aches since I started.

Anyway, other than that, I've been running as well. Instead of listing my progress like I have done in the past, I will just post this screencap from my garminconnect.com profile which pretty much sums up the last number of runs since I last updated. My DailyMile.com profile has the FULL fitness training log.

The starred run is my 5K PR for this year so far - 30:12. I hope to break 30 minutes on March 9th. I signed up for the Savannah Shamrock 5K Run. I've run it a couple times before - it's a flat easy course, so I should be able to do it! I also just signed up for another 5K at the end of March. Woohoo!

2011 Savannah Bridge Run 5k and Runs since then (sadly, not too many)

The 2011 Savannah Bridge Run took place shortly after we moved back to Savannah. I can't remember if I did a "training run" before the race or not... Anyway, I ran the 5k race in 32:41, honestly it was better than I thought I'd do considering the lack of runs beforehand. This event is somewhat dear to my heart as it is one of the first races I've done and trained for, and is also the race that I have done the most. They have some of the best post-race parties: with yummy Brunswick stew and free beers!! Plus a lot of my friends have run it too. It's a great race. I posted some photos from this race in the Race Photos tab.

I only ran once after that in Dec 2011. And so far 3 times in 2012! My goal is to run at least every other day, with longer runs (eventually) on the weekends. I need to get in half-marathon shape by November!

Since Liam is in daycare now, I can use my lunch breaks to get a run in because I would not be able to otherwise. It's pretty awesome.

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1.
Wilson Bridge Trail
November 13, 2011, Sunday
7:46am
4 miles
44:10, 11:02 pace

2.
Savannah Bridge Run 5k
December 3, 2011, Saturday
8:19am
3.1 miles
official times: 37:19 (chip), 10:31 pace

3.
Newport (my Neighborhood in Savannah)
December 14, 2011, Wednesday
12:19pm
3.1 miles
32:03, 10:20 pace

4.
Tom Triplett Park
January 2, 2012, Monday
late morning
3 miles (approximate, I forgot my GPS watch)
n/a time unknown

5.
Newport
January 6, 2012, Friday
12:18pm
3.1 miles
33:25, 10:47 pace

6.
Newport
January 10, 2012, Tuesday
12:30pm
3.1 miles
33:25, 10:47 pace (NOTE: Exact same time as last run!)

Run updates

So much has been going on in the past few weeks, I have been neglecting my fitness a bit. I managed to get a run in during our visit in Savannah 2 weeks ago, but that was the last time I ran. :(

Also I think I've been bad on the excessive sweets... I need to get back into my "food for fuel" mantra. It's gonna be hard with the holidays coming up!!!!

1.
Ft. Washington Park
October 9, 2011, Sunday
5:57pm
2.33 miles
30:20

Not as much covered ground as I would have liked a 30 minute run to be!

I wanted to do the 3.1 loop we used to do which went through the forest trail, but I decided to take the super steep way down which included stairs. The normal way goes through a paved, winding road. But when I finally approached the trail, it was wet and had some yellow caution tape blocking it off. So I turned around to go back and decided to go through the grass since the path was wet. Of course I had to find a hidden dip in the ground. My foot unsuspectingly dropped into it and it took much balance and clumsy skill to not fall on my face. (I don't know how that didn't happen!) I must have pulled a shin muscle trying not to fall, because it was sore the whole week. I guess it didn't help that I took the same stairs back UP the steep hill. It was rough and I was spent after the climb!


2.
Tom Triplett Park, Savannah, GA
October 15, 2011, Saturday
9:52am
3 miles
31:15

Our good old running trail back in Savannah. It's mostly flat, but for some reason, I ran it just about the same pace as the hilly-incline Wilson Bridge Trail! I need more work!

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And that was unfortunately my last run. We didn't run this past weekend since we were out of town again. I am going to try to hit the Wilson Bridge Trail this Sunday morning. It's been cold here, so I need to break out my pants!