Running away

Wow, I've fallen behind here. Another week has passed and three more runs. Monday I hit Rockwood Park again and tried going down the big hills first and then continuing the run, but it didn't seem to make much of a difference in terms of energy levels.

Wednesday I had a long and fabulous run in good old (read: flat) Shediac. I didn't think it was going to be a good run since I woke up in a "mood", didn't really feel up to it etc. But according to the Running Room folks if you get past the first 10 minutes you'll be able to keep going. And I did. Besides, in Shediac I could explore down old dirt cottage roads, look at Shediac Bay and when inevitably I had to move out of the cottage neighbourhood I explored up some of the newer roads and found some dirt trails running beside the highway. Before I knew it I'd done 6 k but I wasn't back at my own cottage yet, so I tried a short sprint to the water's edge then walked the beach back to the cottage path. I was enjoying breathing out all my bad mood (as we're taught in yoga), so I kept taking long breaths and then breathing out for a very long time until I hit the bottom of my lungs. I love that part, where you've got no air in you. It feels great. But I started to worry I would hyperventilate. Then my meditation self said, "you're just convincing yourself you'll hyperventilate, that's just a thought. Besides don't you have to breathe fast to hyperventilate?"
Anyways, it turns out, that yoga breathing is great for running - or so says John Stanton of Running Room fame. There was Globe and Mail feature on running yesterday and he's asked what the best breathing techniques are. Apparently we should be breathing like swimmers or yoginis - deep belly breaths not short puffs high in the chest.

So to continue the yoga theme after 7k, it was still so beautiful I did a little "yoga on the beach" in addition to my usual post-run stretches. It being cottage country on a Wednesday morning in June I figured no-one was around - the most likely person to see me was a doctor so I figured she'd understand. Anyways it was great, lots of hip-opening stretches and leg stretches, a couple sun salutations and I was ready to head back sans "mood".

Today I got in another 6k in Rockwood again, after some costume adjustments. What do people do with their keys and Ipod etc as the weather gets warmer and you can't wear a jacket to shove it all in? I finally jammed the car keys into the little pouch on my sneakers (made for one flat key not big old car keys with zapper attached) and then tied my shoelaces through the key ring for extra safety. Luckily my running pants had just enough room in the hidden pocket for the Ipod. I hope I don't have to carry anymore stuff.... Anyways, this time I managed two 15 minute stretches (the second, I have to admit was tough). The seven minute walk up the big hills this time, does make starting again hard but at least this time I had the company of some bikers who couldn't make it up those hills either. And this time instead of ending where I usually end I kept going around the Lilly Lake path which was pretty nice. Thankfully I hit the end of my second 15 minute stint just as another, final, hill loomed (okay I may have slowed down in order to make sure this happened...). I was pretty winded by then but since I've set a goal of completing 100k by my birthday in July I have to keep going! I'm over half way there so here goes nothing...