Bikram Yoga (Hot Yoga)

Today I did a nice long yoga session called Bikram Yoga. The room is about 90 degrees, I believe and it's also 90 minutes of balancing and stretching movements. I had today off because it's the day after Thanksgiving, so I treated myself to a $20 class with a friend. I had hoped it would help out my hamstring, but it was still incredibly sore through the process. I do think it is something I will try to do occasionally. The problem is more the prices and the locations of the studios. I do think that the courses are incredibly beneficial and really to aid in clearing out toxins from the body.

Hill Workout

Yesterday happened to be Thanksgiving! What a morning for a great run. about 7 people from my running group showed up at 7am to do a short hill workout at Firehouse #8. The run was about 4 miles and I think the extra pressure of having some new people really encouraged me to go a little longer and harder up the hill. It was a perfect start to a really long day of indulging in food, wine and drink. The major downfall was that I had thought my hamstring was starting to heal, but apparently it hasn't. It was aching the whole time I ran. I am not 100% sure what I should do, but I think I need to take some extra days off, which is exactly what I do not want to do.

In the beginning...

I decided to start this blog in addition to the several other failed blogging attempts I've started. This one seems a little different though. It's about about the stuff I really enjoy and it's for my journaling purposes, not for anyone else's necessarily.

So, this is my journey to the half Ironman in July in Sonoma, CA.

Right now I have completed 3 full marathons, a few halfs and only one spring triathlon. I'm nervous because of the obvious-- I haven't completed even an olympic distance tri. I have a long time to train and that's what I need to do. Even with the marathons, I can easily get off track or distracted. This will have to be different and I'm taking the first step in that different direction by trying to lose 15 pounds.

I wouldn't say that I've struggled my whole life with weight because that'd be overly dramatic. I've been heavier than I'd like to be since I put on the freshman 15 in 2003. Gradually weight has come and gone, but I don't recall the last time I was under 140 pounds. 7 weeks ago, I decided, after I registered for the Vineman 70.3 that i needed to lose some weight. I want to be 125 pounds, which will make me a stronger athlete and more confident in general. I joined weight watchers in the hopes that their system would help me through the challenges and because I have read a book by a triathlete that used weight watchers as her tool.

It's been a struggle so far especially because I decided to start the weight loss journey during the holiday season. I had lost 8 pounds pretty easily, but have gained nearly 4 pounds of it back in the same amount of time it took me to lose it. I am realizing the dramatic shift in my eating that will need to take place in order to really reach my goal before February 20th (official training start-date).

I also can't stop training... I need to remain as fit as possible going into the official training as i can.

I am extremely excited for this new journey! I think I will struggle, but also gain so much from the experiences. I know I've already gained so much from just my running... so many of my good friends are people I met while running.

Here's to a successful training journey!