March 12, 2017

Renewed in 60 minutes – On my Weekly Training Recap

Elaine @myRUNexperiment Fitness, Weekly Training, Wellness fitness app, Lymber, Nature's Whisper, restorative, yoga 38 Comments

This week I took a step back in training. Although, my mileage is still low as I build up for a trail half this summer, it just made sense for me to take a recovery week. I’ve mentioned before past troubles with my right hamstring. While lately I haven’t felt any tightness, I figured it would help to have a rest week.  It was a semi-stressful week at home and I looked forward to Friday’s restorative yoga session called ‘Release and Renew’.

I’ve been taking yoga classes for at least a decade now but I always stuck with the same style of yoga – Vinyasa (or Power Yoga) which got its roots from Ashtanga, quickly flowing from one pose to the next with each breath.  I discovered the Release and Renew class using the Lymber app.  I was looking for a class to go with my friends on a Friday night and this one sounded interesting.  According to the description posted on Lymber, ‘This 60 min level 1-2 flow class focuses on breath and movement to help you release the day and week leaving you feeling renewed for a great weekend!’

Lymber is a newly designed app that offers a wide array of fitness classes from different studios/gyms throughout San Diego.  Classes range from yoga to bootcamp to boxing (I want to try next) and even personal training sessions.  You can set a filter to find a specific class within a specific timeframe and location.  The best part about it is you pay only for the class you schedule.  No membership required or any other restrictions such as using a set of passes within a month.

So Friday night, I dropped off my girls at a friend’s house and was ready to feel renewed.  Unfortunately my friends couldn’t join me anymore so I did it solo but it was fine because the studio was actually full.  Nature’s Whisper Yoga is a small studio that largely caters to parents with small children.  They have prenatal yoga classes, baby wearing yoga classes and even offers childcare so the parents can practice yoga.  How come I only discovered this now?

The room was dark with candles lit.  Slow, meditative music played in the background.  Unfortunately the studio is located on a busy street so I also heard dogs barking and cars zooming by. But I only thought of how this would force me even more to concentrate on my breath and ignore the outside noise.  We used a number of props – bolster, strap, blocks and a blanket.  And we flowed very slowly through each movement releasing tension with every breath.  My favorite part was when we cupped our hands so we could place what was inside of us that felt like a burden, then exhaled it out through our open mouths.  The hour went by quickly and as we laid in Savasana, I truly felt relaxed.  60 minutes of breathing was the perfect stress-reliever.

This Week’s Workout Recap:

M: Strength Train and 2k Row (another PR! Almost 20s faster!)
T: Intervals – 2 sets of 6 min, 2 min, 2 min with a 2 min rest in between
W: Backyard TRX
R: Trail Run for 30min
F: TRX and Kettlebell exercises (AM), Restorative Yoga (PM)
S: Off
Sn: 5 miles (walk/run) – At San Diego Half Marathon as a Race Spectator

In support of MDA Team Momentum

I haven’t watched a race in a long time!  Because a few of the runners I coach on MDA Team Momentum was running the SD Half, I decided to move my weekend run to Sunday so I can be there to support them.  Sunday morning I actually overslept!  I heard my phone ring with my sitter on the other line waiting outside of my house.  Worst feeling ever to be jolted out of sleep!  I got ready very quickly and was out the door in less than 10 minutes.

Fortunately, there was no traffic and I found a parking spot close enough to run to our meeting point around mile 2.  The race had just started so I only missed the first several runners.  After the runners we knew passed, we ran/walked up a 300ft hill for almost a mile to around mile 12.  We got there early enough so we ran around the park to pass time.  I saw one of the guys I am coaching ran by on his way to a fast finish.  I texted him afterwards to congratulate him and he told me he just ran a PR.  He was very appreciative to have my support.  It was a fantastic way to end the week!

What is your preferred style of yoga?  Would you rather pay for a monthly membership or a la carte for fitness group classes?   Have you ran a race to raise funds for a charity?

I am linking with Holly and Tricia for their Weekly Wrap.  Thanks ladies for supporting active women!

Disclosure: Lymber provided me with a credit to test out the app and sample the classes offered.  If you live in San Diego, check out the app and get $5 off your first Lymber class by using the code RUNEXPT1-26.