5 Miles and Counting!

A couple of weeks ago, I actually ran five miles... it felt amazing.  And since then I've been consistently running 3 miles easily - in WI, DC, NY and this week hopefully in Boulder.  I'm really enjoying my runs - even the hard ones.  I am excited about this year; optimistic about so many things in my life - Iain, my work, my family and my new hobby - running.  And I hope we kick the Governor out of office too :-)

Running in NY

I am at my second home in Malden-On-Hudson, NY with my fiancee Iain - here for a glorious week.  I love Thanksgiving and the holidays and it's a treat to spend so much time with Iain.  We went to the Rhinebeck Farmers' Market yesterday and got our organic turkey.  We drove through the countryside and looked at houses and talked about the future and travel and family.  We got lattes and strolled around Woodstock.  We made gluten free Dundee cake - delish (just substitute Pamela's Gluten Free Baking Mix for the flour). And I ran 3.5 miles through the sunshiney NY countryside yesterday morning and enjoyed every minute and every mile.

Three Miles

I ran three miles yesterday. It was really fun and I felt victorious - especially because it was so much fun.  I am a slow runner (about 12 minute miles) and I took it really slow the first mile yesterday and it never felt like work.  And the last mile felt like floating.  It was a amazing.  I am becoming a real runner. 

Velvet Morning Run

Wow my run was amazing this morning.  It was a soft damp morning and so perfect for running.  I ran from my house to Deb's house - about 2 miles.  And it was a great run, so easy and fun.  It almost (almost) never felt like work.  The air felt like velvet against my skin.  LOVE!!!!

The Only Way Is Essex... I'm warning you. Don't start.

Okay ... busted.  Love reality tv and my newest obsession is the rather ridiculous show The Only Way Is Essex (TOWIE for those in the know).  I'm sure part of this particular obsession is my relationship to all things British (Monty Python, the Stones, the love of my life (Iain), lots of Virginia Woolf, sticky toffee pudding, Dickens, Dorothy Sayers and on and on).  But seriously, this show is one of those great train wreck half hours of guilty pleasure - a completely ridiculous reality show that you know isn't real.  And like sticky toffee pudding too much of it is probably not good for you - but it's hard to stop.  Oh... fake boobs, spray tans, glamping, vajazzling.  It's reem.  Sigh.  Don't start.  Trust me.

Thankful

It snowed yesterday and in my slightly higher than normal elevation neighborhood it actually stuck.  So I woke to find a snow flecked leafy crunchy universe; some little snowflakes fluttered around as I went on my first real cold morning run.  I was a little nervous about the ice and a little nervous about my back which I had wrenched over last weekend while raking leaves.  But everything cooperated this morning.  Good music, chilly but pretty weather and my slow shuffle didn't seem to bother my back at all.  On my cool down walk I bumped into neighbors, petted a couple of friendly dogs. I just finished a quick gentle yoga session and ... found a lot to be thankful for this morning.  A hot shower will be the delish icing on my cupcake of a day.

Hot Yoga? Not So Much!!!

I have to admit that I do try to be nice about other people's yoga obsessions... I really do.  I get that people get religious about their yoga, but I have been getting more and more annoyed with the hot yoga fanatics -  there are more and more injuries that result from this form of yoga and more and more people who crow about it.  It makes me sad and a little angry because I've seen people rip hamstring muscles, throw up, faint and generally have a really bad experience doing yoga this way.

So try a little tenderness.  Try some Type B yoga.  Sit on the mat.  Breath.  Stretch.  Do poses mindfully and slowly.  Hold them long enough that you can tell what's happening.  Be in your body; watch your own reactions.  It's not supposed to hurt; it's not supposed to move so quickly that you can't ground your experience.  Be mindful; have fun; relax.