Yoga For a Nap

She's a beauty, eh?

I desperately wanted a nap today but there was no way I could squeeze it in; too much to do at work landed me there 35 minutes past check out time (gasp) and I'll be lucky to get to bed tonight before midnight. Home to writing and laundry and dinner and dishes and okay, skipped the dishes (that's what my kids are for); I had to get to the gym. On my plan: 10 minutes easy followed by 20 minutes at race pace (oh how I wish that were a 7:30) followed by 15 min easy.

Why on a treadmill at the stuffy gym when I have such gorgeous views seconds from my houses? Be-cuz, my friends, I vowed a couple months ago that after Portland I was going to venture past my comfort zone and broaden my horizons in areas that I have longed to do yet never can manipulate into my marathon training (okay, I'm back to marathon training but going at it a bit differently this time around. Sorta). So after a fairly decent run on the treadmill, with race pace being 8:20 and not the 7:30 I dream of, I ended my 15 easy minutes 5 minutes early and headed to.....drum roll.....YOGA!!! (btw, I got the okay first).

I bought the mat a couple months ago on clearance at REI - I'm not one to let exercise equipment sit for too long. Especially this awesome highlighter yellow and florescent green mat (I was a little sad walking into class and noticing many shades of pink mats *sigh*). Tonight was the
night; time to give it a try!

Here's what I learned in Yoga today:

- My instructor, Ellen, is amazingly flexible.

- I will never be Ellen.

- I don't have a lot of balance.

- Chicks all wear black capri lycra pants; men wear baggy shorts.

- Women are more flexible than men (aside from me).

- I need a new pedicure.

- I need to sit closer to the instructor so I don't pull a muscle in my neck as I constantly turn my head to the left to see what the heck a 'monkey pose' or 'down dog' is.

- To bring water if I go directly after running 4.75 miles.

- My feet are really ugly.

- There is no way I will ever be able to balance on only my hands with my elbows resting on my knees, feet off the floor.

- Yoga's awesome at stretching my overly tight hamstrings and quad muscles - which will make me run better :)!

- The 160 beats/minute, pump-me-up running music I listen to will NEVER be heard during yoga class.

- I cannot simultaneously "breathe" and move.

- Something is off with my left hip flexor.

- I do not relax well (I didn't actually just learn that; was I expecting a magic wand here?).

- That the words "let"........."go"............ mean to release your mind ; not to stop clinching my mat for fear of falling over. Ouch, that hurt my hip!

- That my left side is more dominate than my right (indicative also by weight training).

- This better help my running, as all the articles I've read claim.

- I am no way going to have time to shower before I work out tomorrow morning with t-man. Ewwwww.

And finally, that yoga was way more rocking than a nap. If I can learn to relax about 15% .... and exhale when Ellen tells me to and stop holding my breathe.