training diary | Happy Yogis

Yoga. Run. Party.

Posted by Elle on Aug 22, 2012 | 0 comments

The title of this blog completely sums up our weekend in Vancouver. I just got back since Husband and I transformed our Vancouver weekend away to a full week in paradise (more on that later). We just loved it! We spent the weekend in a SeaWheeze oasis hitting the yoga classes, taking advantage of the massage tables, checking out the SeaWheeze store, and waiting in all kinds of crazy lines with 7500 like-minded, health-driven, vision board creating, neon-wearing people. Even the lead singer of fun. looked over the crowd to say, “Wow. You guys wear the sh** out of neon!” (yes there was a free fun. concert just for us lovely runners!) One thing was very clear, Lululemon didn’t just host a half-marathon, they created a community.

Oh, yeah, and we ran! The race was amazing and I surprised myself by running the entire 13.1 without walking or stopping! I may have staggered across the finish line and collapsed, but that is besides the point. I did it! I ran it in 2:38 which wound up being about mid-pack. I’m totally happy with that. Every step of the race I was surrounded by cheering, excitement, and a beautiful view. People held up funny signs (our favorite was the husband holding the baby and a sign that read “Hurry up! My diaper’s full!”), transvestites cheered us on in stilettos, acrobats launched themselves off the roof of Lululemon headquarters, and we ran through a Lulu “party zone” around mile 8 that got us all re-ramped up for the coming 5 miles to go. Seriously great. Needless to say, that night we hit Gastown for some well-deserved celebrating. Only we couldn’t even walk down the stairs to the bar. The bouncers thought we were drunk at first (my husband had to walk down backwards and the rest of us somehow manged to get down without bending our knees), once he heard about the run he high-fived us and gave us the comfiest seats in the joint (which I would later fall-asleep in).

Apart from the SeaWheeze extravaganza, my sister and I were in absolute Lululemon heaven and sufficently tortured our significant others by dragging them all across Vancouver in a Lululemon pilgramage. We went to the Lululemon headquarters, the first Lulu store, and the infamous Lululemon Lab Store. We finally conceded and let them drag us to a brewery. It’s a hard life.

Even after the race we kept our event bracelets on which gave us instant access to new best friends all over the city. Somehow we were always amazed that we had so much in common. You ran SeaWheeze?? Us too!!! OMG you love yoga too?? NO WAY!! Yeah it was crazy like that. We were absolutely surrounded by amazing, beautiful, and inspiring people everywhere we went. It was incredible (did I say that already?). There are no words to describe all that went down last weekend, hopefully my pictures can speak for themselves. The one up top is me just arriving to the check-in location in the convention center. We were like kids in Disneyland!

Of course we couldn’t pass up doing yoga all over the city…

Headed on our pilgrimage (that’s me on the right with my sis)

SeaWheeze Store!!

Lounging in our new gear

On to a Lulu yoga class (with a beautiful view!)

So excited at the lab store

Race day begins, sporting our chips complete with Chip’s picture, get it? (Chip is the founder of Lulu!)

Starting line!

The whole crew post race (that is bro-in-law, sis, me, and my husband)

How we did this after the race, I have no idea…

Showered and watching the fun. show. We were a pretty dead crowd as you can imagine

The fun is over, but we still wore our wristbands all weekend. Until next year SeaWheeze… We will definitely be back!

SeaWheeze Half-Marathon Countdown

Posted by Elle on Aug 3, 2012 | 0 comments

Do you want the good news or the bad news?? Ok let’s start with the good: 8 days until I run the Lululemon SeaWheeze Half-Marathon and my training has been going AWESOME. I totally can do this! I have stuck to my revised training schedule and hit my 10-mile run on Saturday. Nailed it! The bad news? I ran maaaaajoooorr slow. And there was pretty much zero elevation gain. To be precise (thanks to my Strava app) I ran 10.1 miles in 1 hour 59 minutes. That is an average of 12 minute miles. I’m going to blame it on the heat wave of course, and also partially on my crazy idea to go for a run smack in the middle of a 90 degree day with no water or shade. So smart.

The first eight miles I ran in this peaceful sort of state where thinking that 13 miles was going to simply be another easy breezy run. No sweat. 13 miles is hardly anything to get worked up about after all. Then, when I was oh-so-close to home, delusion set in. I actually had to stop running because I was dripping so much sweat I worried I might slip. My mouth dried out so completely that I was trying to drink my own saliva (it was gross, sorry for the visual). I felt like I had been wandering through the desert for 40 years holding out all hope for a drinking fountain along the way. SO CLOSE. I only had two miles to go but they were HELLA-HOT. Those last two babies took me 15:34 then 14:19. That is some SLOW running. Or walking. Or whatever I was doing. Now that I think about it, I can hardly remember the torture. Must have blacked it out.

I did it though. Accomplished! Somehow I made it home. My husband came back from a bike ride to a melted heap of wifeness collapsed on our kitchen floor exhaustedly chugging water from a giant pitcher. But hey! If that is the worst that can happen- I’m feeling pretty good! I have faith that my beloved Lulu will provide refreshments for me along the way and that Vancouver won’t feel like the desert that Marin has been. I know that I can run! I know it will be fun! So if ten miles can’t knock me out, 13 should be no swear!

So in the vein of Lulu’s thirteen things blogs. Here are my own…

13.1 things I’m looking forward to at the SeaWheeze Half-Marathon:

Doing yoga with my sis and our men. All the time every day!
Shopping the limited release SeaWheeze Lululemon gear!! I haven’t bought anything at all the past two months in prep for this awesomeness.
Experiencing what has to be the most colorful half-marathon of all time.
Seeing fun. in concert!!
Checking out the Vancouver shoreline while running THIRTEENPOINTONE miles.
Drinking water (yay! hydration!)
Meeting other way cool Lulu obsessed runners!
Checking out the Lululemon lab store. (Not part of the marathon but I’m stoked about it nonetheless!)
Surprises! Who knows what Lulu has planned. All I know is it can only be good.
Being on Lulu’s home turf. I’m so excited to see B.C. It’s going to be incredible.
Cheer teams! Lulu is awesome at inspiration. We’ll be needing it!
Crossing the finish line of my first ever half-marathon!
Feeling major accomplished!
After party! We deserved it.

Image credit: Preparing with a Good Stretch by Lululemon Athletica

SeaWheeze Half Marathon: Training Diary Week 8

Posted by Elle on Jul 9, 2012 | 0 comments

5 Weeks to go and I’ve had to significantly modify my training agenda thanks to the beautiful chaos that my life has become. I love running, but not as much as the other amazing things I’ve been up to, so I’ve decided to give those things priority. This past week I spent 4 days backpacking through the gorgeous Sierra’s and it was WONDERFUL. That is quite enough miles for this week. As for my next few weeks, if I can get one run in per week I will be very happy. Here is the new schedule:

7/9 Week: 7-8 Mile Run
7/16 Week: 10 Mile Run
7/23 Week: 11-12 Mile Run
7/30 Week: 13 Mile Run
8/6 Week: 7 Mile Run early in the week. Then HALF MARATHON!

I do have quite a lot of traveling coming up so it will be really interesting to see how many runs I can get in through all of that. I’ll let you know how it goes! Wish me luck!

The Calm Before the Storm (SeaWheeze Training Diary Wk 5)

Posted by Elle on Jun 15, 2012 | 0 comments

source: http://pinterest.com/pin/234609461808466995/

I ran like my ancestors for 5.8 miles today and that is going to have to count for this week’s training. In fact, I wouldn’t even truly call it running, more like hiking while pretending I’m running. When I left my house I had the goal of beating my last time. Halfway up the enormous hill I changed it to just wanting peace. I have so many other fun things going on this week that a run just wasn’t in the cards.

I’m getting ready to pick-up 6 high-school girls and haul them up to Young Life summer camp where we will spend the next week! I’m so excited!!! The next seven days will be loaded with obstacle courses, singing, dancing, mountain biking, swimming, and endless late-night slumber parties with my girls. Seeing as the fun begins tonight, I just needed a moment to not be running around like a mad person (and thus not running in general!).

I love the beauty of Marin county! I especially enjoy one particular windy trail that reveals a vista of my small town snuggled into the hills. Every time I get to that view I can’t help but imagine myself as an explorer who has been trekking through the hills for months only to come upon this quaint village. It is especially breathtaking at night when the lights of the town are twinkling and you can picture people drinking wine until their lips turn red and eating plumbs by the fire for dessert. It seems like such a sleepy town, undisturbed by the world. It’s as if there is no other civilization around, just this tiny paradise nestled among the hilltops. Somehow I always get “O little town of Bethlehem” stuck in my head and wind up singing Christmas songs the rest of my run back to my hilltop home. It’s hard to believe I get to live here!!!

Now that I’m recharged, I’ve got some craft supplies to buy and my hair to get cut before the fun begins. Send me your good vibes while I’m away and I’ll see you in a week!

SeaWheeze Half-Marathon: Training Diary Week 4

Posted by Elle on Jun 12, 2012 | 0 comments

I have nothing in common with athletes except that now we have the same app. My husband got the Strava app this week and we have both become totally infatuated with it! Not only does it do all the normal running app stuff (tracks your run on a map, tells you how long and how fast you ran) but it also compares you to all of the other people who ran that same route!! So fun! Intimidating also, but definitely fun. After Garret’s first run with the app he discovered that some chick is beating him like crazy! (Needless to say he has a new mission on his runs).

So I tested it out and took to the trail. Check out how I fared:

Not too bad!! I ran 5.4 miles in 1:08! I also discovered that I am in last place for every segment on that trail except for one mile-long downhill section where I was 6th place out of 8! Now I have something to work towards!! So fun to use this thing!! I couldn’t use previous running apps that I tried because I don’t get internet or cell reception out here, but Strava uses GPS! Just dandy!

My second new infatuation this week is the discovery of another excellent yoga instructor. Once I find good teachers, it’s hard for me to stray- but I tried a new one this week and am so glad I did! Christian Allaire taught an amazingly powerful yet peaceful class and I loved it! Such a hard mix to get right! I felt sooooo amazing afterwards! Going again this week for sure!

I also went to another power class with my beloved Susan and am feeling strong!! I’ve never been able to hold plank so long!! I’m truly starting to believe that this half-marathon has nothing on me. Now I just have to make sure to do some solid training this week since I’ll be out at YL camp next week. Maybe I can squeeze a longer run in if I plan right. I need to work on my endurance!!

I hope you all had a good weekend!! Suck a beautiful one in Cali!