So someone here, I can’t remember who, recommended the ‘Yoga with Adriene’ 30 day challenge and I thought I’d give it a whirl. Day 1 was sabotaged by children yesterday, so today became Day 1 Take 2.
Lordy! I thought I was reasonably flexible from climbing, but when Adriene lithely got into position and blithely asked us to listen to our body telling us where we were tight, I wasn’t sure which bit to pay most attention to! It was definitely more of a work out than I had been expecting and in hindsight, not to be treated as a warm up for a run.
Actually, it was very good. I have tried a few YouTube yoga videos in the past and this was the first one where I felt I was doing it properly, due to her clear instructions.
I felt quite heavy after the 40 minute session, somewhere between relaxed and grounded. Really, I would have preferred at that point to lie back, put some cool cucumbers over my eyes and contemplate existential matters, but there was a run to do!
It’s blowing a hooley out there today. 18mph winds from the south. It felt like the south was very much in my face a lot of the way. The volume through the bone conductor headphones wasn’t loud enough to combat the gusting bellows. Turning it up would have required taking my gloves off to fiddle with the phone buried in a zipped pocket or the tiny buttons on the headset too small to see without glasses. Too cold for that, and too much effort in my post-yoga state.
Despite the fact it was a chilly wind, I found myself overheating. I’m going to put ‘peri-menopausal’ out there to see if it comes up as a tag. I stopped twice to strip off and ended up doing the last 1k in a sports bra and leggings. In a blustery January! My white (and less toned than I would like after Christmas) belly was held in check only by the two knots of the discarded tops. Thankfully only the postman saw me as I plodded homeward along the muddy track.
I did a steady 6k in the end, with only a few pitstops for the disrobing and catching of breath. I’m quite pleased overall; I got out there, ploughed through adverse conditions; and Garmin tells me this activity was ‘highly impactful’ as opposed to ‘overreaching’, has bumped me back up to the VO2max ‘excellent’ category, and says I need only 52 hours rather than 72 hours to recover. A plodding runner takes comfort from these things!
2020 total: 3 runs, 17.8km.
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ktsok
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Superb, did you find doing the yoga before the run beneficial? I do this and i think it makes a huge difference. I can also relate to the menopause. Yuck. Its grim, I have had 3 years of hot flushes now and the clothes on/ clothes off game is becoming tiresome! Well done on your run too
Gawd, it just gets better and better for us ladies, doesn’t it?!
I’m not sure if it was beneficial... I was warmed up, but I felt a bit sluggish. It’s difficult to say if the two are connected - sluggishness can be caused by many things!
Yes, I often do yoga for runners which i really like too. The yoga i do pre run is usually 15 to 20 minutes so its short and usually a power flow so it energises me to get going! Do you do yoga post run?
I am brand new to yoga, ju-ju. I climb rocks, which involves a lot of flexibility and strength, but found the deep breathing in the yoga poses quite challenging.
We get told to do dynamic stretches before running and longer, deeper stretches after. This Adriene routine seemed more suitable for after a run... it was a long stretches, slow breathing, and I felt relaxed afterwards in a I-fancy-a-snooze way!
I’ll stick with the 30 day challenge, keep it separate from the runs and then if that works, will try a yoga targeted at runners, thanks for the tip.
Yoga and a run, brilliant. The wind really is picking up, 58mph where I am according to bbc weather app. Thankfully I got out and ran this morning.
Funny you say your yoga was sabotaged by the children, last night I was trying to get rid of pain in my neck and was on the floor and the dog tried to join in😊😊
I popped the link on the Strength and Flex forum a few weeks ago and so many people replied, I was really surprised! 🧘♀️
I’ve used Adriene’s videos for a couple of years now and love her. There’s something for everyone and she’s good at recommending modifications for certain poses. The difference in my strength and flexibility to when I first started with her is amazing, and I’m sure yoga has helped keep me (*touch wood*) injury free with my running.
I’m so glad people have been enjoying the current 30 day challenge. There are others on her YouTube channel too, so I’ll go straight in with a different one in February! 😀
Well done with your hooley 6k. I chickened out of the wind and did 5k at the gym on the treadmill instead! 😅
Ah that must be where I saw it. Thanks for the link, I enjoyed it and will try to make the time each day to keep it up. Staying injury-free sounds good to be sure.
Had I a treadmill option I may have gone for it today! It was a bit of a battle - but refreshing!
Well done you. I did a 10 minute yoga for beginners this afternoon and found it really nice and relaxing but also more challenging on the muscles than I expected. I am struggling with so many injuries and illnesses at the moment I was grateful to be able to manage that. I have been so frustrated not being able to run but looking/listening to the weather outside today I am almost glad that I can’t!
Oh no E, sorry to hear that illness as well as injury has visited you. It’s that time of year, I guess... I saw your post a month ago about the metasomething - did you get an official diagnosis? Treatment? What’s the prognosis?
Yoga looks good - a lot of my climbing buddies do it and are in fantastic shape, I just haven’t made the time for it before. I’m glad you are able to do that, at least. It isn’t the same as pounding the pavements though. On a dry, still, light evening!
Sorry E that you are feeling rubbish. Adrienne seems to come in app format too and you can chose sessions by duration which sounds a good idea. Get better soon x
Turns out it was a stress fracture..... then I put my back out moving a desk, then I had a cold/flu thing over Christmas followed by labyrinthitis! Am thoroughly fed up of it all now and itching to get back out. At least the other illnesses have forced me to fully rest the foot!! (Always a bright side)
My balance has been seriously messed up for the last week. It’s like being really drunk, without the fun of actually being drunk! It’s getting better though and I am determined that is it now..... that’s my three things, nothing else now!
Well done! Yes I definitely recommend yoga after a run if you can organise that, it’s good for stretching out. There is an adrienne video for runners that is good too. Love the cat photo, am not quite there yet!
6km in 40mins with intermittent clothes-faffing is pretty remarkable stuff. Especially with a 24m elevation gain. Lucky you’ve done a bit of climbing, that’s almost hands-and-knees stuff. 👍🏻
I started yoga with Adriene and thought I'd just do it every other day that I wasn't running but I am now trying to do it every day. NEVER before a run though. Life does frequently get in the way so I am only on day 19 - however I am truly enjoying it and do feel quite relaxed and somehow taller after each one. I am also feeling core muscles moving that I didn't know were there so it is obviously having some effect!
Well done! I’m still on day 7 I think. I’m considering permanently changing my lounge layout to make it easier - at the moment I have to move chairs and a coffee table to make space!
I tend to do it in the bedroom - door shut! Yesterday she told us to hold our arms out to the side and I couldn't- my wardrobe was in the way!🤭 Guess I'll need to re-think my space 🤣
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week3run1 ✅. 3 x 17 mins with 1 min walks. 
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