I did a relatively long run today with my running partner Scoop. By relatively I mean not as long as I have done in the past and not as long as I will be doing later in the season but the longest I have done in a while. It was hard but is getting easier and overall felt good.
Then I went to yoga class, mostly to support Julie who opened up The Bija Studio yesterday.
Oy vey. What I have learned:
#1. I love running. I adore how running makes me feel. I like how running shapes my body (read: keeps me on the thinner side). I do not want to live without running, even as difficult as it has been lately.
#2. Running does NOT compliment yoga, although yoga certainly compliments running.
#3. Today's vinyasa class was insanely difficult, yet felt wonderful. Possibly because I was tired from the run, my balance was worse than usual, my hips were tighter than usual, my hamstrings were more inflexible than usual -- and I didn't care. I had neither the energy nor the desire to muscle my way into or through any asanas. The surprise was, it felt really liberating. You know how in garudasana/eagle you wind one leg up and over and (attempt to) tuck your toes around your calf? Well, I kind of wound it around and used it as a kickstand. On both sides. No attempt to balance whatsoever. And my standing leg wasn't even all that bent, because my quads were burning. Guess what? Nothing happened! No one laughed or pointed or called me a dork. ANd I still feel like I benefitted from the pose. That could be repeated in some variation for all the asanas today, in terms of both my level of "expertise" and my level of perceived benefit.
#4. A protien-based snack would probably have prevented the energy crash better than a pear, no matter how delicious and juicy that pear may have been.
Tuesday, March 4, 2008
Sunday, March 2, 2008
Hold me accountable
As of today, I am not going to drink alcohol until March 28th, when I will celebrate my dad's 70th birthday. I usually have a glass or two of wine at night, but have decided that forgoing booze will jump start the weight loss I am so desperate to achieve.
Abstinence should be easy this weekend, because I will be in LA at the SYTAR conference, a.k.a. symposium on yoga therapy and research. I'm pretty excited, as this is right up my alley and couldn't come at a more perfect time-- the week before I begin classes for Finding Om. For those of you who have not been reading, that is the yoga class tailored specifically for binge eating disorder upon which I am basing my doctoral dissertation. I am really psyched to be able to go and listen to all the successful yoga researchers, do yoga every morning with "celebrity" teachers, and just generally soak up the energy.
If I'm motivated I may try to get out and run in the warm weather before 7am yoga, at least for 20 minutes or so.
Abstinence should be easy this weekend, because I will be in LA at the SYTAR conference, a.k.a. symposium on yoga therapy and research. I'm pretty excited, as this is right up my alley and couldn't come at a more perfect time-- the week before I begin classes for Finding Om. For those of you who have not been reading, that is the yoga class tailored specifically for binge eating disorder upon which I am basing my doctoral dissertation. I am really psyched to be able to go and listen to all the successful yoga researchers, do yoga every morning with "celebrity" teachers, and just generally soak up the energy.
If I'm motivated I may try to get out and run in the warm weather before 7am yoga, at least for 20 minutes or so.
Friday, February 29, 2008
T minus 20 hours
Tomorrow at high noon is the arts and crafts birthday party. I love my daughter very much, but this week has been hell. We've been stockpiling beads and baubles for the visors, glitter glue, stickers and construction paper for the thank-you cards, and icing and sprinkles for the decorate-your-own piece of cake. Currently my right wrist is in pain from cutting fringes in fleece, which the kids will tie and stuff and turn into pillows.
I like the idea of being a homemade mom-- baking the cake myself, making the pinata (which is drying on the deck right now), stuff like that-- but there are limits. Too bad for me, I am way too far into this to go back and order the precut pillow kits online. I thought I was being so clever. Stealing their idea AND saving money. Yeah, the joke's on me for sure. Good thing my wine cellar is stocked, because it's going to be a long, achy night.
And what does T-minus mean, anyway?
I like the idea of being a homemade mom-- baking the cake myself, making the pinata (which is drying on the deck right now), stuff like that-- but there are limits. Too bad for me, I am way too far into this to go back and order the precut pillow kits online. I thought I was being so clever. Stealing their idea AND saving money. Yeah, the joke's on me for sure. Good thing my wine cellar is stocked, because it's going to be a long, achy night.
And what does T-minus mean, anyway?
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
It's a match
I found out yesterday that I will be doing my internship at Confidential Health Consultants here in Colorado Springs. They do mostly substance abuse treatment with a forensic population (read: people with a criminal record). I have no experience in that area, which I made clear in my interview.
However, I definitely want that experience, and see a connection between substance abuse and eating disorders in the sense that both are a form of mind-body disconnection. I will have finished my dissertation at that point, so will have experience looking at how yoga helps eating disorders. Maybe I can use that to work similarly with the substance abusers.
Of course, it would be a lot better if, at that point, I have yoga teacher training and can do the teaching myself rather than beg services from others. I actually do have training-- I went to Baron Baptiste's teacher training level 1 bootcamp in the summer of 2006, which was awesome. I haven't taught at all since then, however.
In other news.. ran 9 miles this morning, which was a bear. It is one of those beautiful sunny days that remind you that spring will actually arrive one day, so that was a pleasure. However, while training for the stair climb I conveniently forgot to run. Wow, I can feel it now. But I'm coming back. Mt. Evans Ascent in June, and thinking about a marathon before I start internship in October. Maybe the Portland marathon on October 5th. Has anyone reading this done that? I'd love to hear what your experiences were.
After my post-run shower (which I took about 5 hours after the run) I oiled my hair. Not a very American practice, I know. An Indian woman did it as part of a haircut I got in Kovalum, Kerala, in southern India. I found it just loveley. Since my hair is curly and tends toward being dry and frizzy, oiling it every so often really works for me. Oiling my hair makes me happy, too, because it reminds me of a really wonderful period in my life full of travel and adventure and not a whole lot of responsibility.
However, I definitely want that experience, and see a connection between substance abuse and eating disorders in the sense that both are a form of mind-body disconnection. I will have finished my dissertation at that point, so will have experience looking at how yoga helps eating disorders. Maybe I can use that to work similarly with the substance abusers.
Of course, it would be a lot better if, at that point, I have yoga teacher training and can do the teaching myself rather than beg services from others. I actually do have training-- I went to Baron Baptiste's teacher training level 1 bootcamp in the summer of 2006, which was awesome. I haven't taught at all since then, however.
In other news.. ran 9 miles this morning, which was a bear. It is one of those beautiful sunny days that remind you that spring will actually arrive one day, so that was a pleasure. However, while training for the stair climb I conveniently forgot to run. Wow, I can feel it now. But I'm coming back. Mt. Evans Ascent in June, and thinking about a marathon before I start internship in October. Maybe the Portland marathon on October 5th. Has anyone reading this done that? I'd love to hear what your experiences were.
After my post-run shower (which I took about 5 hours after the run) I oiled my hair. Not a very American practice, I know. An Indian woman did it as part of a haircut I got in Kovalum, Kerala, in southern India. I found it just loveley. Since my hair is curly and tends toward being dry and frizzy, oiling it every so often really works for me. Oiling my hair makes me happy, too, because it reminds me of a really wonderful period in my life full of travel and adventure and not a whole lot of responsibility.
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
Dare I admit...
that I am sore from Bikram yesterday? I know it is very hot in that room, which is kind of hard to bear, but I usually don't think of it as a terrible difficult workout. What does this say about me now?
Facts to work with:
*I feel kind of sick.
*I didn't work out for 10 days.
*I am still jet-lagged.
*I ate like a total pig on my trip and feel gross and blubby, despite having eaten well and relatively lightly since returning home 2 days ago. But I did have a glass of wine both nights.
*Weight loss takes time, especially as you get older.
What are your conclusions? I don't have a very easy time giving myself a break, it's true. Logically I know that in a few days I will (hopefully) feel fine and ready to rock and roll with my workouts. At the moment I feel fat and like I am sliding down a slippery slope.
Facts to work with:
*I feel kind of sick.
*I didn't work out for 10 days.
*I am still jet-lagged.
*I ate like a total pig on my trip and feel gross and blubby, despite having eaten well and relatively lightly since returning home 2 days ago. But I did have a glass of wine both nights.
*Weight loss takes time, especially as you get older.
What are your conclusions? I don't have a very easy time giving myself a break, it's true. Logically I know that in a few days I will (hopefully) feel fine and ready to rock and roll with my workouts. At the moment I feel fat and like I am sliding down a slippery slope.
Monday, February 25, 2008
A good day with Bikram yoga
I woke up this morning with the intense need to sweat. I never get headaches, but I had a raging one this morning, so running didn't seem like the best idea-- especially since spring training needs to start any day now, and I like the idea of going into it healthy. So the obvious way to sweat without too much exertion: hot yoga.
Oh boy, did I sweat. Yoga teachers say that every day is different and to honor your body as it is today. I am not competitive with other people-- there are always women in the class who are tons more flexible than I am. I do, however, tend to push myself pretty hard in every class, even if I feel tired. I guess that is where my competitiveness comes out. I can't out-flex you, but I may be able to out-muscle you.
So where I can really get an objective pulse on where my body is day to day is through the difference in my perspiration levels from practice to practice in the overly heated room. Some days I barely break a sweat until around eagle. Today I was dripping by the end of the (hated) opening pranayama.
Baron Baptiste says that breakthroughs in practice don't come when you're trying super-hard, but when you've basically given up, whether from exhaustion or a temporary ego break or whatever. That is what I felt today. I fought with myself all morning about going to class, and almost didn't get out of the car once I was in the parking lot. Finally I decided that even if all I did was lay on my mat and sweat, it was better than turning around and going home.
I had a great class! No major breakthroughs, but my balancing poses were a lot steadier than they often are. I wonder if that is because I haven't been running much lately. My friend Julie, who is a yoga teacher and studio owner, ran a half marathon recently. She said that as a result of her running, her balancing postures suffered greatly. Since training is about to ramp up, I guess I should enjoy it while it lasts.
Anyway, I really just relaxed into this practice and honestly and truly didn't care how I did or whether I was impressing anyone. Funny how it turned into such a pleasant class. Headache even dissipated a bit.
I always feel like I hate Bikram style, and there are lots of things I don't like about it. But sometimes it sure does hit the spot.
Oh boy, did I sweat. Yoga teachers say that every day is different and to honor your body as it is today. I am not competitive with other people-- there are always women in the class who are tons more flexible than I am. I do, however, tend to push myself pretty hard in every class, even if I feel tired. I guess that is where my competitiveness comes out. I can't out-flex you, but I may be able to out-muscle you.
So where I can really get an objective pulse on where my body is day to day is through the difference in my perspiration levels from practice to practice in the overly heated room. Some days I barely break a sweat until around eagle. Today I was dripping by the end of the (hated) opening pranayama.
Baron Baptiste says that breakthroughs in practice don't come when you're trying super-hard, but when you've basically given up, whether from exhaustion or a temporary ego break or whatever. That is what I felt today. I fought with myself all morning about going to class, and almost didn't get out of the car once I was in the parking lot. Finally I decided that even if all I did was lay on my mat and sweat, it was better than turning around and going home.
I had a great class! No major breakthroughs, but my balancing poses were a lot steadier than they often are. I wonder if that is because I haven't been running much lately. My friend Julie, who is a yoga teacher and studio owner, ran a half marathon recently. She said that as a result of her running, her balancing postures suffered greatly. Since training is about to ramp up, I guess I should enjoy it while it lasts.
Anyway, I really just relaxed into this practice and honestly and truly didn't care how I did or whether I was impressing anyone. Funny how it turned into such a pleasant class. Headache even dissipated a bit.
I always feel like I hate Bikram style, and there are lots of things I don't like about it. But sometimes it sure does hit the spot.
Sunday, February 24, 2008
I Ran the Republic
Returned from Prague last night at 9 and got up this morning at 4 to drive into Denver to do the Run the Republic stair climb. Well, I got up at 4 because of jet lag. The alarm was set for 6.
Europe in a nutshell: Prague is gorgeous but cold. Amsterdam is wonderful and 2 days was not enough to do it justice. Lithuania... is where my brother-in-law, his wife and their two kids live. Not too many superlatives about it, although it does win the grey award. And the creative use of potatoes in every dish award.
I am way too tired to go into details about anything. I feel bloated and exhausted and kind of gross overall. I did some stair climbing the first morning in Prague, but the hotel workers who use the staircase thought I was so nutty that I felt too uncomfortable to do it again. Did about 15 minutes of yoga every day until Lithuania, which felt good. But overall I feel like I haven't worked out at all for the last 10 days, which is compounded by the astounding amount of food I managed to shove down my gullet. Or maybe it's just that the food was so much heavier than what I usually eat. Bla bla bla. I spend 10 days in Europe and all I can talk about is how fat I feel. Does this cycle ever break?
Here are my official results from this morning, cut and pasted from the website. Pretty good, all things considered. If I do it next year I'd like to come in under 11 minutes.
Run the Republic Stair Climb
- Results
date: Feb 24th, 2008
location: Denver, CO
Summary number of finishers: 1877
number of females: 1033
number of males: 840
average time: 00:15:39
Debby Patz Clarke bib number: 1309
age: 41
gender: F
overall place: 491 out of 1877
division place: 23 out of 209
gender place: 132 out of 1033
time: 11:38
pace: 0:
Europe in a nutshell: Prague is gorgeous but cold. Amsterdam is wonderful and 2 days was not enough to do it justice. Lithuania... is where my brother-in-law, his wife and their two kids live. Not too many superlatives about it, although it does win the grey award. And the creative use of potatoes in every dish award.
I am way too tired to go into details about anything. I feel bloated and exhausted and kind of gross overall. I did some stair climbing the first morning in Prague, but the hotel workers who use the staircase thought I was so nutty that I felt too uncomfortable to do it again. Did about 15 minutes of yoga every day until Lithuania, which felt good. But overall I feel like I haven't worked out at all for the last 10 days, which is compounded by the astounding amount of food I managed to shove down my gullet. Or maybe it's just that the food was so much heavier than what I usually eat. Bla bla bla. I spend 10 days in Europe and all I can talk about is how fat I feel. Does this cycle ever break?
Here are my official results from this morning, cut and pasted from the website. Pretty good, all things considered. If I do it next year I'd like to come in under 11 minutes.
Run the Republic Stair Climb
- Results
date: Feb 24th, 2008
location: Denver, CO
Summary number of finishers: 1877
number of females: 1033
number of males: 840
average time: 00:15:39
Debby Patz Clarke bib number: 1309
age: 41
gender: F
overall place: 491 out of 1877
division place: 23 out of 209
gender place: 132 out of 1033
time: 11:38
pace: 0:
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