plantar fasci-what??

I don't know if I've mentioned it in my blog yet, but I will be moving to Seattle this summer. Hans and I have been traveling back and forth between Seattle and Mobile for the last two years so this is going to be a terrific thing for us, but... I kind of love living on the Gulf Coast. Last night, I walked from my apartment to a yoga class downtown. My friend Trish and I yoga-ed it out and strolled over to one of my favorite places for dinner, The Royal Scam. We sat outside in beautiful 70 degree weather and I had sweet tea and an amazing bowl of crab and corn bisque. It was a perfect Wednesday night! Okay yes, I KNOW there is going to be PLENTY of yoga and seafood in Seattle, but gosh I finally started to lay down some roots in Mobile and it's time to start all over again. *sigh*... okay I'm done whining.

It's been about 4 weeks since I ran my first ever marathon in New Orleans and I have to say, not much has happened since then! I was itching to run the day after my 26.2, but I felt some tenderness and discomfort around the arch and heel of my left foot. I was limping pretty badly for the first few days and then it went away, but I could feel that my arch was still really stiff. It would flare up again if I wore flip flops or walked around barefoot so I did the nuttiest thing...

Currently, the least attractive shoes in my closet.

Chaco sandals, people! Holy smokes am I a believer. These guys are sooooo comfortable- I'm embarrassed for how much fun I made of my friends who wore them. And they really seem to help whatever weirdness is going on in my left foot (my google research seems to suggest that it is plantar fasciitis- HELP!!!). 

I ran a bit last week, with my long run being 5 miles on Saturday. I may run again this Saturday, but I'm going to be taking it easy until this funk goes away. Even spin class aggravates it. That sucks! The silver lining is that I've gone to yoga three times in the last week and I'm remembering how much I love it. :)

First yoga of 2012!

So I totally meant to run four miles after work today... but I took a nap instead. I think I'm just exhausted from the holidays, honestly. I set my alarm for 5:20 so that I could throw on my favorite pair of pants and meet Trish for 5:30 yoga at the Y.

Lululemon Wunder Under Pants- favorite pants in the world

Of course, I'm late for yoga. That's okay though, because promptness wasn't one of my goals for 2012! Maybe next year... Also, of course, it's INCREDIBLY crowded!!! People were right on top of each other in this tiny yoga studio. And yoga is probably the shittiest class to be late to because it's soooo quiet. I mean, if I tried hard enough I could probably have heard people's heart rates pick up in their annoyance with me. The spot next to Trish was ocupado so I settled for the last available free space- directly in front of the instructor, who I had never met because I had never taken yoga at the Y.

Not really a good start! But gosh, was it a great class... We started with flowing through some sun salutations and it felt AWESOME to sink my heels into downward dog. I also wasn't as weak in chaturanga as I thought I would be

Chaturanga Dandasana 

(PS- who is this BABE?!!)

We did some core/hip strengthening work which I felt really strong in. We also did my all-time favorite stretch, pigeon. It was especially sweet after my 10-mile run yesterday. Surprisingly, the hardest part of the class for me was the balance! Things I used to kick ASS at, like eagle pose, were totally impossible. I felt every tiny muscle in my feet and ankles burning for rest. I'm wondering if not doing yoga has made my stabilizer muscles weak... and if that has contributed to the pain I've been feeling in the arches of my feet. 

In the book Born to Run, Chris McDougall talks about a dude whose flat feet had caused him all kinds of running injuries. As a last ditch effort, the guy abandons shoes altogether and the muscles in his feet eventually developed to where he had a strong arch and he stopped having foot pain. He also went down a half size in footwear! Okay I might not have all the details exactly right, but I think it's interesting. 

day of rest!

Ahh... I've been waiting all week for this day. The day my feet, knees, calves, quads, hamstrings, core, and BRAIN gets to recover from all the mess I put myself through since my last day off (last week Tuesday). The day that my "workout plan" says STRETCH and that's it! No spin class, no weight lifting, no running, just resting and recovering.  And maybe some Ben & Jerry's.

Sometimes it's hard for me to take a day off from working out. I'll get out of work and think "You know what? I feel fine today, and today is a perfectly good day to train so why waste it!" but Hal Higdon has a lot to say about the benefits of rest and I figure he probably knows better than I do. Ed Eyestone of Runner's World Magazine says that a rest day is as crucial to his training as a long run. Does that mean I'm off the hook for tomorrow's 14-miler????!!

Back to the subject of stretching, behold- one of the best tricks I learned from Chris G at Synergy Yoga.

The Pigeon Pose

*cooo... cooo...*

It can be difficult and painful at first- but once you're able to relax into this pose, it works wonders for hip/glute tightness! I like to listen to classical music while I'm stretching because it makes me feel like a beautiful, graceful ballerina (or maybe it's because I get so damn tired of Ke$ha and Lil' Wayne by the end of a workout). Last week, I listened to Claude Debussy's "Menuett" as I stretched each hip flexor and I'm telling you- it totally transported me. Duuude...

And for the days when I'm feeling EXTRA fancy...

But gosh- that looks like way too much work for this rest day. And you can't devour a pint of Ben & Jerry's Chubby Hubby with your arms all twisted up like that!