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HI!

Wow, I can't believe I haven't posted in so long. This week has just whirled on by, tornado style.

Saturday, I went to a vinyasa class hoping to get my sweat on and get a little zen before hosting a good bye party for one of my best friends. However, the class wasn't quite what I expected. The instructor, though sweet, was very dull. It's unbelievable how much a teacher's vibe can affect the class. The soft spoken gal led us through a series that felt a little jerky and awkward. Despite the heat and poses, I didn't feel very stretched out. We jumped into balancing poses before Sun B which really made my hips and IT band roar. Now that I've upped my practice, I see how important a good flow is. Throwing poses around willy nilly doesn't have the same effect as a well planned, sensible series that loosens you up, fires up your abs, sends you to sweat land, then slowly eases you into a cool down. As I've grown older, my body has started revealing all kinds of nagging creaks that doesn't seem to go away as easily as they used to. There was a time when I could throw myself, without stretching, into a deep, opening pose or a long run, but those days are long gone. I've become that athlete who hobbles down stairs, does half pigeon in her cubicle, and massages her back pretty much all day everywhere. Growing old happened awfully fast- and I'm only 23!

Because I'm only 23, I made an appointment to finally have my ITBS checked out. It's come to the point where I'm hobbling around and can barely go down a set of stairs. With the half marathon coming up, I want to make sure that I'm not on the verge of a more serious injury. The pain is really debilitating and distracting. I've had knee pain since I started playing volleyball in junior high, but, probably because I was in such good shape, the pain was never terribly concerning to me back then or in high school. I guess pain was revered on the crew team so having an injury that didn't get in the way of the sport was taken as a sign of dedication- sickening I know. Anyway, hopefully the doc will confirm that it really is just ITBS and send me off with an rx for RICE. I use a foam roller and obviously am a yoga junky, but I'm hoping that the doctor can give me more stretches that could provide the relief I'm not getting from that, usually reliable, combo. #tighthipsflatfeetproblems

This week was intense. Until yesterday, I didn't have time to do more than quick ab routine in my office or my apartment- technically workouts, but hardly sweat inducing. I have had time to eat a lot of ice cream though. I was feeling down about all of that, but I think that I can forgive myself for slipping this week. My dear, dear friend left on Tuesday for Senegal. He'll be spending the next two years there working for the Peace Corps. I think he's very brave and am so proud of him, but it's also very emotionally seeing a close friend leave the country for a few years. I also happened to have more homework than usual- funny how that happens? When I wasn't spending time with my pal, I had my nose to the books( or marker comps) and pretty much flailed my way to Wednesday. It would probably embarrass him if he read this, but it was actual the wise words of M, the Peace Corp friend, that gave me solace during this time of bad eating, wimpy exercise, stressful work, and piles of homework: Always look towards the horizon. In a goodbye email to his friends and family, M described the first time he went skydiving. He said the temptation to look down was great, however, when you look down not only is it completely terrifying, but you also miss the beauty surrounding you. Instead of looking down at all the stresses and disappointments, I need to look up at the horizon and see all of the great things going on right now. Yes, school is very hard, but I'm learning so much and have met really awesome people. Yes, work actually blows chunks 99% of the time, but some of my co-workers are really cool and I'm making money to pay for yoga classes! Yes, with friends moving away and other personal life nonsense, life can seem a little overwhelming, but for every nutty person who enters my life, there's also an amazing one who inspires me. Lastly, yes, working out for 100 days is tough when some of that exercise has to happen at 6AM, but HELLO working out feels GREAT! I'm sleep deprived, I'm overwhelmed, I'm probably drinking too much, but FUCK IT( yeah, I said it), when I look at the horizon, my life looks pretty freakin awesome :)

Back to business. Yesterday, my hips and IT Band were killing me so I opted to take a beginner's vinyasa class. So thankful I didn't push harder than that. Even in the basics class, my body was stiff as a board and highly resistant to any for of movement. I find that so interesting about exercise. One day, you're practically in headstand, the next going into Warrior I is more than a little uncomfortable. Running is the same, For every great five miler, there's a 3 mile jog that made 30 minutes feel like an hour.

Speaking of running, that's what I did today. After a wimpy snowpocalypse, the sidewalks downtown are finally safe for jogging, so I went out during my lunch break at school. I felt a little stiff, but the sunny weather and warmer temps ( 30 degrees woohoo!) motivated me to keep pushing. Once the ice is officially out of the picture, I'll be able to start training more seriously- that half marathon is right around  the corner.

Peace, love, sweat xoxo SR