wherein hot yoga helps my summer runnings.

And I'm back. Just like that, after a nice little blahggie breakie break. I've had a lot of blahggie writing thoughts stirring through my little head so I decided to go ahead and throw some posts back out there.
For now, what's on my mind ranges to everything from humid and hot summer running, hot yoga, my new love of Nike Free's and the fact that I started marathon training today. Really that's not a ton, but I always know when I need a break from blogging, it's usually when I can't think of anything interesting to write about during a run. But lately I've found my mind wandering to things I can write about while sweating it out on a run or during yoga.

Which brings me to my first topic. How hot yoga has helped me out in my summer running. And look. I get it, I personally love yoga. I'm devoted, I need it for a bajillion different reasons. However, I realize not everyone is a fan. I won't shove my yogi bidness all up in your face. But for me, yoga is important in my life and my running has only been enhanced by attending hot yoga classes at a new hot yoga studio in town. Why, you ask?

As I mentioned in my last post I hadn't been running a ton. I was focusing more on running for fun and fitness (not training) and looking more to growing in my yoga practice before starting another cycle of marathon training. Mission accomplished. The thing is, I knew the benefits of hot yoga for me have been beyond amazing. But I had no idea it would help my summer running as much as it has.

And this is all related because I made the decision to choose precious sleep over morning running this summer. My horrid sleep issues have been blessedly cured, so I'm not going to mess with that flow for now. Enough said. Which means I am left to run either over lunch or around 8p at night. If you don't know one thing about me, you should know this. I like to eat. So waiting until 9p for post run dinner is nearly torture for me. That's usually about the time I inhale SECOND dinner, not first dinner!

Therefore, I've manned up and chosen to run around 11a. Outside. Please note it's usually 85+ degrees (usually on the hotter end of that +) and ridiculously humid on an average summer day in Kansas. So I knew adjusting to late morning running was going to be a battle. Especially since I'm committed to doing speedwork outside as much as possible.

The amazing thing is that I was pleasantly surprised at how fast I acclimated to the heat and humidity this summer. Sure it makes me feel more wiped out after a run, and I may not be as fast, but I swear my paces so far this summer have far exceeded those of anything I ever thought I could do for summer training. Outdoors no less. During my five mile tempo run last week I started wondering how it was I was maintaining my pace and it hit me. HOT YOGA! Doing 75 minutes of yoga in a 99 degree room 3-4 times a week will really get a girl used to those summer temps apparently.

And then on Friday, after four days straight of running outside and doing hot yoga. I ate my joy in hot running and threw it up for lunch (yes, keeping with the vomit theme around here). My legs were shot. As in I hurt like I had run a marathon. Or worse. NO. JOKE. So much so that a 10 miler this weekend was cut short at three miles. Lame. And pitiful.

Lesson. Even though I'm feeling good while running in the heat, pushing it = a bad choice. Like milk on a hot day. I also learned several valuable lessons already during my hot runnings. Simple things. Like taking a bottle of water. With ice in it. And maybe wearing sunscreen. Perhaps go ahead and bathe myself afterwards. The list goes on, it's a bit embarrassing. I won't continue. So much for being the hot-weather-running-number-one-stunna' that I thought I was. I'm taking it a bit easier this week, but still pleased that I'm feeling good in my summer runnings.

At least I feel acclimated. That is a victory since I didn't feel like I ever acclimated to the heat last summer. So then at least there's that.

about santa fe.

We went to Santa Fe over memorial day weekend, it was also to celebrate our eight-year anniversary.

*samples at santa fe brewery*

*we took milo along for the trip, he loved*

*loredo chapel*

*loredo chapel*

*loredo chapel*

*loredo chapel staircase*

best part of my day.

Or worst, or maybe kind of a mix. So. The thing is that the Edder was running some errands when his car exploded during the lunch hour today (by exploded i mean a belt fell off or something, i don't know). He happened to have Milo with him, so while he was stranded waiting on both myself and AAA to show up, he let Milo out to run around since he was parked next to a retention pond.

The awesome part is that when I showed up both Milo and the Edder were back waiting in the exploded car with the windows down. So I pulled up, rolled my window down and was hit with a stench so bad I immediately wanted to vomit (there's a vomit theme on my blog lately, eh? and no, i'm not pregnant). Awesome. Apparently our curious, precious little Milo decided to roll around on a decomposed, rotting, fly infested snake while waiting for the car to be towed.

Holy goodness.

People. That was hands down the worst thing I've ever smelled. So much for getting stuff done over my lunch hour. That was a mess. The point is, despite his disgusting stinky smunk, I heart my dog. And clearly he was very proud of himself so I couldn't resist taking a picture of his pride. No worries, both the car and dog have been thoroughly scrubbed.

In other news, May is a busy month for everyone, no? I've been busy, clearly, but also just taking a bit of a break from bloggie land and running in general. Just waiting for inspiration to hit. It finally did today. Thanks stinky Milo! 

Despite another running showdown I have coming up next weekend at the River Run 10K against AP, I'm still not running very much. I'm not worried. FACT. I will win. I've been running casually, whatever pace feels good, how many ever miles I feel like going. It's been incredible. I'm happy. Meh. What I haven't done in miles I've been making up for by doing plenty of hot yoga at a new studio in town, owned by a running buddy. She's amazing. I'm addicted and have no plans of stopping through the summer.

I'm just resting up and taking a break before I start training for.... wait for it... waaiiiiiiittttttt....a fall marathon. My home town marathon no less. Yep, I decided to do one. More on all of the above later.

For now I have more birthdays (they are endless in my family, those May birthdays) to celebrate and a vacation to take!

the wichita half. and the best finish line photo ever.

The Wichita Half. Yes it's been nearly two weeks since the race, yes I've procrastinated posting a report on it. But not because it didn't go well, it DID go well. Very well. I've been reveling in it actually. I just haven't found the time to blahg about it, plain and simple. I've had other priorities to focus on lately, but here it is. Finally, my Wichita Half race report. TA-DA!

So. It was finally my day interwebs. I got my goal PR! To perfection. I hit the exact pace I had intended to hit. An 8:15 minute per mile average. You know if there is one thing I like, it's a nice even pace. I like myself an even split.

Official time - 1:48:10

What a relief. It was the perfect day for racing, cool and cloudy. As always there was a stiff breeze of about 17 mph, but it was nothing compared to real Kansas wind or what I've dealt with in past races so it didn't bother me a bit. The course was mostly shieled from the wind, so it was only windy for small portions of the race. Which was run around and beside our River area, it's a great course, nice and flat, plenty of spectators for a race in this town.

Despite being calm all week and sleeping well, the night before the race I started getting nervous. My nerves kicked in once we got home from a wedding reception for my dear friends and running buddy Shelley and her husband. I got home, I started doubting. Thinking about how I had barely run the two weeks leading up to the race, had worn high heels a good portion of my night and hadn't eaten that great the past few days. All of which translated into restless tossing and turning and two hours of sleep the night before my big race. No pressure. I woke up around 5:30a and thought, I give. I'm not going to do it today. What a way to start, eh? But then I had a shower, some non-crappy coffee and people started showing up at my house to head to the race. My spirits were lifted; I was feeling wide awake and AMPED. I felt ready after all.

There isn't much to say about the race. I am thrilled with how I ran it, I am thrilled with my finish time and PR, I am thrilled I finished strong feeling like I could have run two more miles at that pace or faster. This gave me confidence to set my sights on my next half goal, to be announced. And to be achieved who knows when.

*around mile 5-6 along the river path with wichita's 'keeper of the plains' in the background*

Onto the good stuff, the race highlights. Including all the fantastic running company I had along the way. I had a running buddy lined up to run the last four miles with me, but I was about a half mile in when I felt a tap on my shoulder and heard a "I thought that was you." This is the joy of racing in a smaller town, always running into someone I know! I love it. It was my personal trainer from a few years back. We exchanged excitement and decided to stick together. Until she blasted off at mile 5 and kicked some major butt. She was awesome.

I ran the next four miles alone, three of which got pretty rough. I just wasn't pushing like I could have... like I should have. But I didn't want to run out of gas, I was being careful. And with each passing half marathon I'm learning more and more how hard and how far I can push. Hindsight is 20/20 and I won't fault myself for the way I ran even one mile of my race. I reached mile 9 where my running pal AP was waiting to jump into the race. I wasn't feeling great (i needed some cliff shots) so his excited jumping and waving in a nice pretty pink shirt that said "Feed Me Ice Cream, I'm Pregnant" boosted my spirits and my pace. He was waiting with Edder and my mother-in-law, I grabbed my fresh Gatorade and gel from Edder, AP jumped in and we were off.

AP had strict instructions to keep me at an 8:15 average. I won't lie, there were times I wanted to just rest into a comfortable 8:30 pace again like I had done for a few miles there, but he wouldn't let me. I wasn't in the mood to talk, so he made up a game for us to play. And that my friends, was the most brilliant thing that has ever happened to me in a race. He told me I had the rest of the race (about 2.5 miles) to pass 10 people. He was all, "I'll count them down, but you and me, 10 people." I nodded but was thinking there was no way I could do it. There wasn't a runner close enough to easily pass. There was a big pack a bit in front of us and I thought I couldn't catch them. But we did. I passed more than 10 people. That strategy worked, it distracted me, it gave me a way to push myself and it was highly gratifying. I picked up the pace the last two miles (8:03 and 8:01 splits respectively) and crossed the finish line running as hard as I could. And it felt amazing to look down at my Garmin, hit stop and see a 1:48:08 (pretty darn close to the chip time)!

This is where the finish line photo awesomeness comes in. Oh yes. In the 'passing game' we ended up chicking quite a few dudes. I passed mostly men, which I didn't really think about at the time, I just wanted to PR. Badly. Apparently one guy, who I now affectionately call "Pre Lives," decided he wasn't a fan of having me 'chick' him. Right. So he did the manly racing thing and sped up. Fair enough, I don't fault him a bit, good for him for picking it up! But apparently this dude also thought it totally acceptable to elbow a girl at the finish line too. Not so commendable, actually kind of lame. Note to male runners: you know, just to make sure a chick doesn't beat you that one second across the timing mat, elbow her. Manly.

However, due to the sheer fantasticness and hilarity of the finish photo? I can't be mad. I PR'd, I got what I wanted, so meh. Even though I was less than thrilled at the time his elbow shot into my shoulder. Again, looking at the picture... the headband, the shirt... all of it? Made me laugh. A lot. Well played sir. You didn't get chicked. And the look on my face is clearly saying, WTH?! Awesome. I'm deeming this my most priceless finish line photo in the history of my racing. I might get this sucker framed... PRE LIVES!!!

 *"pre lives" showing me up after shoving his elbow into my shoulder! please note AP's pink shirt... if that ain't a racin' shirt, i don't know what is*