Yoga: should I stay or should I go?

Just over a year ago I attended my first yoga class. I was so stressed that everything in my body hurt. I called my mom to see if she knew anywhere to get a massage on a Sunday night and she suggested yoga. I went to the world's most boring restorative class at a far away studio. But something felt right. So on my mom's suggestion I went to her studio, a place called Moksha Yoga.

It was hot. It was hard. But I felt better.

For one quiet, challenging hour I felt calm. When the class was over my mom asked me what I thought. The only thing that came to mind was that if I ever had to face torture I'd be somewhat more prepared. I hated the heat and the non-stop sweating and how standing still  in poses was so brutally hard.

And yet, I showed up the next day. And the next. And those days turned into an intro month. And that month turned into a one- year membership.
That membership ends in 4 days. And now I'm debating what I want to do. Should I continue (at the cost of about $99 per month) or should I look at joining gyms? In fairness I've been saving, and thanks to my lack of Starbucks purchases I've budgeted for it.
But, it's still expensive.

My year of yoga has been intense. I learned a lot about yoga, about breath and movement. More importantly I learned about myself. I learned that I need to be kind to myself. I learned that to love others I need to love myself. I learned I can do far more than I would have thought I could, and that sometimes it's okay to give less than everything I have.
I've learned calm. I've learned stillness. I've learned to leave everything outside of the yoga room and take an hour completely for myself.

I've lived it. Not every second or every class. I didn't become a yogi like some of my teachers. But somehow in the last year I've become more me. 

I found myself on the mat when things were tough. I stared running and never stopped yoga because somehow it made my unattainable dream of running a half marathon realistic. 

And now my year is over. I don't have a bonus. And the price seems high. And so I'm debating whether or not to take on monthly payments. 

So ... what the heck do I do?

Meetup Madness #rundisney

Hanging out with my new Bestie!

If you follow the #rundisney excitement, you may be aware that the meetup, a social media event prior to runDisney races is a pretty big deal. I was lucky enough to receive one of the coveted invtites!

I was getting make-up tips for Sunday!

Getting Ready

My plane outfit consisted of a sparkly shirt and tiara!

On Thursday we arrived in Orlando late. We arrived giddy. We hopped off the plane into this crazy humid weather (much like my hot yoga classes) and I had to be up 4 hours after we arrived at the airport. When we checked into our hotel I didn't really unpack. I knew I had everything ready to go for my early moring wakeup.

• Outfit - check
• Shoes - check
• tiara - check
• makeup - check
• spi-belt - check
• instant coffee - check
• deodorant - OOPSIE!

My morning started off, well, in the frazzled way that most mornings seem to in my world. I was in a foreign country in a little hotel wearing running clothes and a tiara at 4:30 am, running around on a mad quest for deodorant and a temperature reading in Celsius not Fahrenheit. When I finally solved that problem (they had free stuff at the desk - mind you it smelled worse than I probably would have au naturel) my "chauffeur" for the morning showed up in a giant, unlabeled taxi van, and I wasn't sure if I was on my way to epcot or a scene from a horror film. What's with Florida taxis and no metres?

Since the deodorant chase put me well behind schedule and I hadn't had coffee yet, I asked to sit in the front seat and use the cup holder because I figured that I'd be much more capable of escaping (and faster) if I had some Starbucks in me. ( the instant via kind - because like I said, I came organized. deodorant aside). But, while I was calmly drinking my coffee, the driver, who in the end offered me a deal on my cab fare ( or what I think was a deal because NO METRE)  told me all sorts of stuff about his 20 years as an Orlando cab driver. I interjected with random comments about how this was my first time running in a tiara, asking his opinions on sparkle skirts and discussing my upcoming race. It was an odd conversation, but he did say that he thought the tiara would be okay for a short run (though risky for a half marathon), he was absolutely 100% in the Team Sparkle Camp with me and he thought my race strategy was good. We even did a minor detour so he could show me where the corrals were for the race.

The meet up begins

epcot in the dark. Beautiful

Amazingly we got to Epcot early. I hopped out of the cab, and while I was looking around and trying to breathe (I was practicing some yogic breathing - good thing I was alone - it did ground me) I turned around to see another cab pull up. Out came Jodi and friends. Holy crap was I excited to see a friendly face!

And with that the meet-up began!

At this point I'd like to invite you to play Laural's  meet-up recap drinking game. I suggest you take a drink every time I type OMG because it was that kind of day (shots of wheatgrass, of course)

There was a lot of mingling, and for those of us who hadn't met some of the runDisney stars there was also a lot of quiet "OMG, that's ..." being said quietly. I may have said it the most! I saw Kelly from Team Sparkle and couldn't say anything because she's a total runDisney celebrity. (she later ran with me ... OMG!) She had the best outfit. Loved it!

The I saw Jeff Galloway. OMG again. He actually looks so much like a good friend of ours, and my marthon mentor Lou, that I was blown away.

Then there was Heather (formerly from Running with Sass) who writes Through Heather's Looking Glass. She threw me for a loop because when I read people's blogs I kind of hear them in my head. I was shocked at her accent. And then she ran super fast (OMG!) so I didn't actually say anything. But, still.

AND THEN. I was chatting with Jodi and she lost her mind. I thought that maybe NSYNC had snuck in to sing for out, but no. It was the Another Mother Runners. BEST. MOMENT.EVER! Jodi started bouncing and screaming. It took me a second to figure it out. We all need our super fan moments. I'm glad I captured this on camera! And I almost started to cry because Jodi was so excited.

Post-freakout photo opportunity :) 

I'm short, okay! This photo is blurry. Can we guess who took the photo?

This is their other super fan! Who knew?!

All the excitement aside, it was picture time. Once pictures were over it was time to RUN!!!



At this point I should say that there's one big difference between Canadian runners and American runners. North of the border everything is measured in metric, eh! So, I train in kilometres, not miles.

We were given the option to go with the Galloway led run-walk group or the group led by the winner of previous races, Rachel Booth. I was already leaning toward the run group, but when the announcer said "we'll be doing an easy 5:30 pace" and laughed I was sold! Guys! I do training runs and sometimes go that pace.  Actually, race pace for me is about a 6 minute kilometre. Speed training is a 5:30 kilometre.

What he was implying was we would be running a 5 minute and 30 second MILE not a 5 minute and 30 second kilometre. OMG!

They didn't actually run that fast. But, they were fast. I basically sprinted most of the 5k to keep up.

Run run run! I'll take pictures from the back.

Lucky for  Jodi and I, our new Mother Runner friend Dimity ran with us. Okay - kudos to Jodi who could totally keep up a conversation about injuries and stuff. Part of me wanted her to have a moment. The other part of me really was thinking breathe in. breathe out. Pace yourself. But, kind of a dream to have that run!





There were a few stops. We saw the fairy godmother and snow white. And then we got to the Boardwalk entrance. It was locked because epcot was still closed. While someone ran to get the keys and everyone started chatting I took the time to breathe. Really. It hit me at that moment that all the OMG moments aside, we had this awesome running thing in common and what everyone was talking about was just running and health and the weather. It was running talk. And Disney talk.

When we started again I slowed a bit. Thankfully Jodi kept my pace, and we chatted a bit. The Boardwalk was lovely, and the run was fun.

As we continued along I bumped into Kelly from Team Sparkle skirts. In the many months leading up to the race I googled costumes and she came up over and over. Seriously, running with her was a pretty big deal to me.I'm not sure if she figured that out from my conversation. It was a little like when you're drunk, but you sware you're not even tipsy, so then you keep talking but you realize after the fact that you said a whole lot of *awesome* things. (my personal favourite was the seemingly random "I felt like a real runner the first time I ran in the snow" - which is cool to say in my little Canadian running group - probably not to a runner from California. OMG Laural stop talking!)

I didn't have a running pic, but this is Kelly

So, it was cool that she kept talking while I kind of gasped answers after that. I also tried to breathe. Also tried not to cry because it just seemed so amazing I was here and this person whose products I love was there. And, seriously, she's found something she loved and made it into a business. AWESOME!

We made it to the final destination - about 5km away and I was drenched in sweat. No complaints. I'll take that over snow any day. The run part was done. It was time to PAR-TAY! Or at least eat breakfast and listen to really really cool speakers.

The speakers were amazing! The highlights included listening to Ali Vincent, the first female winner of the Biggest Loser and Rachel Booth, the winner of the Princess Half.  I was inspired. I learned a lot. I had a ton of fun.



Lots of people won prizes. I didn't. But, who cares. I had the time of my life!

I think the biggest lesson of all of it was that dreams come true.


It's been a roller coaster year! Last year at this time I was running on my treadmill, putting in maybe 3k a day, with no real goals. Then one day I decided to do it, signed up for the Princess Half Marathon, and here I was, less than a year later, running with the fast group and being thrilled to meet running idols!





Amazing Amazing Amazing!

I'm soooo grateful to all these incredible people who inspired me. And I'm so grateful to my friend Princess Jodi. It would not have been the same without you!

Training ...

A few months ago I read the book Spirit Junkie by Gabby Bernstein. I was pretty inspired by this book. I went and met her and heard her speak. And I was totally influenced by what she spoke about. It's hard to outline it all here, but basically it was all about figuring out what you want in life, believing in yourself and believing in miracles.
Inspiring.
One of the key things I got out of this was that I needed to really figure a few things out.
Like how to be happier in my life with what I have. And, it's been pretty amazing to step back and look at the things I have in life to be grateful for: my family, friends, job, health, etc.
But when you start to get all introspective and grateful is that you statart listenng to youself, and over and over again I kept thinking "join a running group". Seriously. One day I was in yoga and I kep thinking I should really run with a group. weird - not my thing.
And then ...
I signed up for a half marathon and realized the only way I could hit my goal was by joining a clinic to learn how to run. And, by default that meant running with a group. And we got our training schedule - keep in mind I'm still working on 10k training and this schedule seems intense - and it's a lot of running ... with a group.
I have no idea why this is such a weird concept to me. I think it's because for me running is a morning thing. A super early morning thing. And I love it because no one can see my akward stride, my crazy pulled back hair, my spandex running pants (that aren't totally flattering), my red face OR hear me sing along to my music when I need a boost.
BUT. I'm kind of surprised, after a couple runs, how i'm kind of enjoying it. I like the idea of other people setting a pace, and telling me when to take a break. I like that at the end you get, and give, high fives. I was afraid I'd be the slowest in the group. I'm not (at least not at the distances we are doing at this point), but at the same time I like that the plan is that they don't leave the slowest person behind.
I think I'm learning to have a little more patience with myself.
And run run run!
I loved this picture from lululemon. So true.

Run Princess Run

A few years ago, when I was training for my first 5k, a friend of mine sent me a picture of a running skirt. It was pink with a crown on it, and it was to advertise the Disney Princess Half Marathon. 

One Day.

I tossed the idea around numerous times. The thought of running 21km sounded incredible and also insane. Especially after I ran my first 5k and about 1km in thought I may die. Nice thought. Not happening.

Life went on, and every so often I’d debate signing up for a running clinic. And I never did. I put in my runs, and work to run a 5k, wish I could run further and then content myself with the fact that some people aren’t runners. I’m one of those people. My marathon is the 5k.

This year that changed. I don’t know why. I ran past that mental block. I just kept going. I started to change my mind set. And just keep going.

I kept going to a 10 k.

And when I ran over that finish line I knew exactly what was next. The Disney Princess Half Marathon.

Crazy? Maybe a little. When you look at training plans and think about all of the training that you need to put in to get there, I think crazy is a pretty fair assessment. But, crazy in a good way. I love Disney. And I love challenges. And nothing makes me happier than facing something head on.

So I signed up for this race. It’s in Disney World in February. My whole family is going. Mike and the kids will cheer me on while I run 21 km (or 13.1 miles which sounds infinitely better) through Disney World and Epcot. Dressed as a princess.

And then we will have ourselves a Disney vacation. Bonus for my family? I will already have run through Disney, so I may not be quite as anxious to make them run around the parks every day. (why yes, I have run for fastpasses!) In fact, there may be one or two mornings when I sleep past 6 am and don’t wake everyone up when I’m on my second cup of coffee with “who’s ready for a magical day?!”  And if all it takes is 6 months of training and a grueling race to let my family sleep in. I’ll do it!

Truthfully, I’m frightened by this. It’s huge for me, and it’s a lot of running. But, I’m also really excited and pretty sure that I will be ready when the time comes.

Run run run!

Quarter Marathon! Check One off the Bucket List

This weekend I ran in The Durham Quarter Marathon. That's right, 10.54 km!
The race was on Saturday. I signed up on Tuesday. Crazy, right? I'd been thinking about trying a 10k for awhile. I was pretty sure I had trained enough and that physically I was capable of it. I was completely lacking in the believing in myself category though. Here's the breakdown of race day!

(at the starting line!)

4:20 am - my alarm went off. This is when I normally wake up to run, so I was ready. I had a shower, and I'd read to eat a bagel and cream cheese. Awesome. I love bagels. I avoid them usually (carbs, white flour) - so this was a yummy treat!

5:20 am - I was more than ready. I put all the race stuff, plus snacks for the family in the car. I woke up Mike and the kids and we brought them to the car. It did not take them too long to wake up and get excited for the road trip ahead. They didn't know what we were doing because I really didn't tell many people - and my kids tend to overshare!

5:30-5:55 - The hunt for an open Starbucks!!! We finally gave up, grabbed coffee at Timmies and we were finally on the road to Oshawa (a good hour away).

7:00 am. - We arrived just as they were setting up. I had no idea how busy the race would be. It turned out it was pretty quiet. So we parked, got the race kit, and then took the kids to Tim Hortons to kill some time. I ordered 2 chocolate timbits for myself. My nerves were kicking in as I didn't even make it through one!!! We then just killed time for the next hour or so, stretching, playing with the kids, enjoying the entertainment and making our way to the starting line. Closer to the start they announced the pace bunnies, so I walked over and introduced myself to my pace bunny, Steve. I told him it was my first 10k (well 10.54) and I wanted to cross the finish line by 1:20. He was a 1:10 pace bunny (the slowest!) and he said stick with him, and if I needed to slow down I could. I never run with people, but this was pretty cool.

8:30 am - we were off. This was the first race I've ever done where I've started slow. I really wanted to hang out with the pace bunny, and he started, you guessed it, ON PACE! I will always do this from now on. I enjoyed the start.

1km - This was a cool first km. I usually stress the first kilometre. When i run in the mornings it always takes me awhile to find my pace and breathe and sort of shake things out a bit. I felt strong from the first step. When my nike+ app told me I'd hit my first km I was shocked.

2-4 km - This was remarkably easy. The pace was slower than normal and I was totally enjoying the scenery. I was listening to my music, but every so often Steve (pace bunny) would check in. I'd get a thumbs up or a smile. I loved this aspect. At one point he told me to swing my arms more and watch my breathing. (on the hill). I liked the encouragement without constant chatter. I think he would have talked the whole time if I wanted.

(that's me in the pink waving - right next to me is Steve the pace bunny!)

5km - I'll admit when I hit 5km I felt amazing. Normally I'd be exhaustend but I wasn't. Maybe this was a combo of adrenaline and training and you know the whole pacing myself thing. This is the moment in the race where I got a bit emotional. I pulled a bit ahead of Steve and picked up my pace a bit. I wasn't really trying to change my time, I just wanted to be in my own space. I realized that this was the halfway point and I was doing okay. I didn't really expect the sudden wave of emotion. I probably should have stayed on pace, but I don't regret having that moment of running alone and totally feeling it all.

6-8km - Of course there were hills. I need to train on hills. This was just a challenge. I couldn't find a rhythm. I'd lost Steve (gah!) and I freaked out a bit. These 2 km I kept telling myself "just keep going." Right around 8k there was a street closed and a police officer standing there keeping cars away. I started to walk and she yelled "keep running. just keep going." I wasn't expecting that. It made me laugh. I kept running.

8km - I'd never run this far. This was when it got hard. I slowed down. I wanted to quit. The thing is,  I wasn't tired or sore. I just hit a mental block. Luckily at this point Steve caught up to me. I was close to tears, and because we were by the lake and i'd slowed down so much I was shivery and cold. It was so nice to just run with someone. I yelled "this is soooo hard." He said "It's supposed to be. You're fine. Stick with me." There were all sorts of signs at this point. Funny ones. I just kept going. When I stopped he'd say "keep running."

9km - Seriously? Another km to go??? I think I was a bit walk run walk run. But I kept going. At 9.5 Steve said "you have 6.38 minutes to go. You can do it." I took off. I wanted to be done. That last km was tough because most of it was up hill. Everyone started to walk. BRUTAL. Finally it got flat. I ran. Finally I saw Mike and the kids at the end. They were cheering. I just kept going. The finish like was sooooo close.

10km. - WHAT????  My Nike+ app alerted me to the fact I hit 10km and I was impressed. I was also on a hill. Another half a kilometre did not sound like a good idea. I really wanted to quit. I was determined to find some sort of hidden energy reserve. (at this point I actually thought of one of my yoga teachers who always says "find that extra bit of energy" and I was seriously searching!). We were still going uphill. I wanted to die. And then I saw flags in the distance. And I took off. There was that little energy. Yay! I saw Mike and the kids and I slowed down enough to wave. Ha ha. Not really. That was me speeding up. Whatever. I ran past them to the finish.

10.54 km - I finished. My time: 1:11:09. I wanted to do this is in an hour and 20 minutes. Shaving 9 minutes off that rocked my world!

(almost at the finish line. Those are the flags.)

So, I was glad that was over. I finished and then turned around and found Steve and gave him a big sweaty hug because I really thought at 8 km that I may just sit in the grass for awhile. I don't think he was expecting it. And it cracked everyone up. A woman said "usually you don't hug the pace bunny." Well, you know. Learn something new every race!

Recovery after was pretty good. Immediately after I was super thirsty and kind of just wanted to get away from everything. I was kind of stunned, and really just wanted to sit down and not do any of the after race stuff. I felt a bit gross, but I think I was also a bit dehydrated. Once I had lots of water and juice and walked I was fine. I went to a baby shower after and it was great. And then the next day I got up and felt great enough to do a yoga class. I was a little sore, but I felt way better after yoga - I think because I needed a really good stretch.

So ...

Here's what I learned.
1) I like running with a group. I've done enough running now that I felt pretty comfortable with letting someone pick a pace. I liked not being alone. (but I like running alone too).
2) Pace. Pace. Pace. Pace. I don't pace anything in my life. I should probably try to start with running.
3) If I want to keep doing this I should probably join a clinic. I've avoided this mostly because I've been kind of self conscious. I was worried I wouldn't be able to keep up. I think I proved I can. Actually - after I drafted this I went to the Running Room and signed up for a 10 k clinic and then I will do the half.
4) I really really really want to run a half. This was amazing. I want to keep going.