Presidential Towers (9 March 2014) Coming back from Vegas, I was pretty run down. Various viruses had been floating around my office, I was particularly susceptible after that race, so I opted to take it pretty easy all week. I did some easy rides to keep my legs loose (and my brain sane), spent a lot of time in the steam room trying to make peace with my lungs, and slept…
For the past few weeks I kept thinking about my Aon climb back in January. I had spent the previous few weeks regenerating all the muscle that I lost while running, moving, and traveling and had felt dead legged for weeks. I didn't feel great going to the start line that day, and five floors in my legs confirmed it as they turned to lead; at floor ten it felt like…
After racing at Sears/Willis last year I decided that I'd focus it as my goal race in 2013, working to break 20'. However, a few days later I decided to sign up for a marathon just three weeks before Sears/Willis. Bad idea, lesson learned; I'm not doing any serious distance run training until I've kicked the stair climbing bug from my system. I think I peaked about a week too early…
As many of you know, I've never been much of a runner. I ran in high school when I played field hockey and softball but I rarely ran outside of that. About two years ago I started hanging out with more runners and slowly got sucked into their world. I started with a 10k last October and, on the eve of heading off to Asia, I registered for a marathon. At…
When my training buddies learn that I teach yoga, they almost always ask me to give them a reason that they should practice. They have heard that yoga could help them improve their sport specific performance, yet no one has actually explained why that should happen. There are many reasons but I'll cover the key elements I generally tell athletes. 1. Improved internal communication Yoga provides a controlled environment, allowing for…
Bay Staters love locals who accomplish great things; they also love their sports heroes. The best example of this is Doug Flutie. If you ever want to start a fight in Massachusetts, walk into a bar and tell someone that Doug Flutie was overrated or was too short to make it in the NFL. The subject of Marathon Man, Bill Rodgers, is another figure who is among those folk heroes in…
I will be offering a workshop for endurance athletes on 20 July from 5-7pm at Tranquil Space Arlington (3528 Wilson Blvd Arlington,VA). This workshop will be focused on learning what poses may be beneficial and which are counterproductive at various points in your training cycle. From there we will discuss how to incorporate these modifications into an all levels class so that you can still enjoy your weekly yoga class without…
Heading to Peru, I was particularly concerned about the altitude. The only time I had ever really spent at altitude was a weekend in Denver while I was already sick. I knew that the primary issue at altitude is lack of oxygen and I had been doing a lot of hypoxic training this spring and summer, but I really didn't know how it would translate.While most athletes are familiar with the…
For those of you who know my love of binding, twisting, and inverted poses, my latest love will surprise you. I've taken to practicing this pose daily, either before practice or just laying in bed: supta virasana.I find that many yoga classes I take focus a lot of the back body: hamstrings, calves, back. Practicing supta virasana, I feel a deep stretch in my quads, hips, abs, and shins; my feet…
Now that I'm back to my regular yoga practice, I have noticed some major changes that I have had to make due to running.1. Replace Warrior One with High LungeI rarely practice warrior one anymore. This used to be a staple of mine; I always practiced it and I always taught long sequences based on it. Since I've started running I've noticed that the torque on my ankle is too much.…