Ok, this is my last post on the St Jude yoga fundraiser, I SWEAR! And it’s only to talk about how much of a success it was! I’ve never organized or put on an event like this before, so I had no idea what to expect. The amount of people that came out and donated totally blew me away – 36 people showed up, and over $400 was donated to St Jude!!
We all squeezed into the brewery, and I led a 45 minute vinyasa flow. People that had never done yoga before showed up and did amazing! And the support from my friends.. no words.. The entire event just filled my heart up. This was such an important event to me, and I could not have done it without the support of strangers, friends, New friends, & family.
So thank you, thank you, to everyone who has supported St Jude… These children need all the help they can get after being diagnosed with cancer, and your donations help make the journey to recovery much less stressful.
If you would still like to donate, you still have time – a few days left to raise the last $600. And did I mention I’ll be matching every single donation that comes in?? So really, only $300 more! Every dollar is appreciated!
Ok. So just to give everyone a recap of what’s been happening in my life:
– New part time job (in addition to my full time AND teaching yoga) – and I don’t even really consider it a job, because it’s fun!
– Planning/packing for my NYC & Florida trip in 2 weeks!
– Teaching an arm balance workshop next Sunday
-I’ve cut my runs down to spare the tendinitis in my foot. So 3 runs a week instead of 4, and doing acupuncture 1x week, cryotherapy after my long runs, Rolfing, and Active Release Therapy. (let’s just say i’m taking a hiatus from running after this half marathon for awhile…) But, so far, so good! I am going for a 14 mile run on Saturday before I begin to taper… the race is 2 weeks away!!
Sometimes I feel like an old woman with my running injuries
I’ve been experimenting with fuel for my long runs, and I think I’ve figured out exactly what I need:
1 Gu + 1/2 banana at mile 5/6 AND mile 9/10 (I mix together beforehand & put in ziplock bags or reusable food pouches)
Taking sips of electrolyte water from my 12 oz handheld water bottle every once in awhile (I grab plain water along the route when I eat my gus).. BTW – just bought this, and I don’t know how I lived without it before!!!
My metabolism is fast and I burn through food really, really quickly. I joke that I need to run with a burrito in my back pocket to eat halfway through my runs.
Yes, this is a hamster eating a tiny burrito
Side note – I found out about Enduropacks online and it has been AMAZING for electrolyte replacement during my long runs. I struggle with that anytime I workout, so about 5-10 sprays in my water helps keep my levels balanced (the spray lasts a long time!). And no, I didn’t get paid or get anything free to write this… just another runner sharing tips that have helped me! 🙂
So what does everyone else take with them on long runs? Any tips on what to drink, eat, do, or NOT do??
Have you ever ran a race for charity? If so, what charity did you support & why? I’d love to hear your experience!
In my last blog post, I mentioned that I had joined MIT – Marathoners in Training, a local running group that was highly recommended by my boss & one of my favorite bloggers, Nikki at Will Run for Pizza. The cold and the cost ($120) has always deterred me from signing up – but, since it’s been a fairly mild winter, and I felt like running 20+ miles a week on top of my already busy schedule, I decided to join!
So far, the community has been great! My holidays were not the greatest, and I have been grumpy gills for basically the past month. Top that with getting up at 6:30 am on Saturday morning to run 7+ miles in the 15 degree cold on my only day to sleep in, you would think that I might hurt someone that early in the morning. Fortunately, I’m not that awake that early, and everyone in MIT is so welcoming! I ran the first half of my run listening to music, and trying not to focus on my frozen legs (NOTE: I went out and spent a few $$$ on warm running clothes after my run!!). The second half, I started chatting with another member in my pace group, which made the run much more enjoyable AND go by quicker.
By the time I finished my run, there were bagels & water waiting for everyone, and I was able to chat with one of the running coaches about training afterwards. Overall, I feel pretty confident about running my upcoming half in 2 months, although not so much about PR’ing. Ideally, I want to break 1:45, but I am completely ok with just breaking my last half time – 1:53. However, if not, totally OK – it’s all for charity, and I am going to enjoy my run through the 5 boroughs of NYC!
(Side note – if you would like to support my run by donating to St Jude, you can find my fund page here. Every cent helps, and your support is so much appreciated!!)
Anyways – a few things I have learned so far:
Always go slower, as you don’t want to wear your body out
Save fast runs for interval training days (I normally like to sprint at the end of my runs – I guess it’s better to just keep going slow & let your body rest!)
Get your miles in! The more miles, the more your body will be accustomed to long-distance runs
Run 14-16 miles before my half marathon – this will build confidence, and your body will be better prepared to run the 13 miles (coming from a yoga student & fellow MITer)
Test out drinking water/when to eat/different types of food to eat when training a few months out (I am awful at this! I eat a feast AND gu before my long races and get burnt out by mile 5… I am considering bringing a burrito with me to eat during my race ;))
I’ll be in California in less than 2 weeks, so I am going to have to figure how to get my miles in before or after my 10-hour yoga training days while traveling! With that being said – are there any good running spots I should know about in San Francisco? I have 3 entire days to roam about and do whatever I want, and running is the best place to explore & get to know the area!
For all you runners out there – have you ever trained with a group like MIT? If so, what have you learned from it? I’d love to hear from you!
Over the last few weeks, I was pretty much convinced by several people to join MIT – Marathoners in Training. It’s a supported community in the Columbus area for runners to come together and properly train for races, from 5k’s to full marathons. The group consists of beginners, athletes, and people of ALL ages… the biggest percentage of people in the group are actually 40 years or older!
MIT has trainers, coaches, pace groups from 7 minutes all the way up to 13 minutes, and is even supported by Clif… so basically, an all-in-one package deal for anyone. I know I don’t properly train, and I have IT band issues like crazy when I start increasing my mileage. With my busy schedule, I needed some structure and guidance to help get me in a good place to properly train. Between work, family, hobbies, yoga, and traveling, I don’t have time to research all this stuff myself. I’ve always thought about joining, but never committed, because who the heck likes running outside in the cold?! It’s also a huge time commitment, but you can decide your running schedule based on your personal schedule.
Take me back to warm running days & post-stretches at Audubon Park!
With that being said, I decided to bite the bullet and go for it. It felt right, and it’s been a pretty mild winter, soooooo… let the training begin! I will be running in the United Airlines Half Marathon in NYC in March – not much time to train, but definitely doable. I chose this race not just because I am itching to get back to NYC after spending last weekend there, but because it is all about charity. In order to run, you need to raise/donate a minimum of $1,000-$1,5000 to a charity of your choice. I absolutely LOVE this – so, I signed up, and committed to raising $1,500 to St Jude. Why St Jude? For several, several reasons, a few of them being:
It’s all about the kids – they have their entire lives ahead of them, and having an illness at such a young age is totally unfair. St Jude is all about finding ways to cure them 100% so they can live a full life!
Families don’t have to pay 1 cent for their childs care/treatment – St Jude takes care of it ALL, including travel, food, and lodging expenses for the family
Treatments invented at St. Jude have helped push the overall childhood cancer survival rate from 20% to more than 80%
The daily operating cost of St. Jude is $2 million, and about 75% of the budgeted costs of St. Jude are covered by public contributions – another reason why it’s one of the top places to donate to, as it changes so many lives and helps so many families! You can check out the Charity in more detail here.
So to all my wonderful followers – what is your favorite charity to support? And have you ever signed up to be a part of a running community/training group? Or run in the United Airlines Marathon? I would love to hear from you!
PS – if you are in love with St Jude & would like to donate towards my run, you can find my page here. Every cent helps, and your support is so much appreciated!!
For more information on starting out as a new yoga teacher, learning cues for poses, how to put together classes, and tips for teaching classes, check outA Simple Guide For New Yoga Teachers!
