Hill Running and Yoga

This morning I went running as planned. It certainly is easier to get out of bed when you know you are meeting someone. The "warmer" weather was an added bonus. It was 2 degrees when I left home and it only got down to 0 today.

We had an adventure before we started running. The group was meeting at the bottom of Red Hill Lookout Road. One of the women who was joining us drove into a ditch when she was parking. We tried pushing her out, but we couldn't get any leverage with one of the wheels. Fortunately, someone had a four wheel drive. A quick phone call to their partner, asking them to bring recovery gear, and it was all sorted. I'm a "call the RACV" driver so I was very impressed by the competence displayed by the various parties involved in the rescue.

As you will have gathered from the name of the road, the hill leads to a lookout. You get fantastic views of Canberra up there, not that I spent much time looking at them this morning. I'm not sure how much elevation we gained on the run, but the hill is 725 m high and Canberra's elevation is 580 m, so it will be 145 m at the most. We ran a total of about 4 km today, which included our warm up run at the base of the hill and one and a half trips up to the top and back, so I figure the hill run was about 1 km long.

I was really pleased with the run. When we started, we'd been advised to take it slowly. Brad suggested we bound if we were able, but told us not to worry about it if it was too much to think about. I tried it at the start, and it did feel good, but all too soon I was focussed on putting one foot in front of the other and breathing.

To my surprise, I ran quite a way before I dropped to a walk break. Before I stopped the first time, I picked a landmark ahead and reached it. I took that approach for the rest of the run. I aimed to make the running sections longer than the walking sections. For example, I'd run two catseyes and walk one. I also tried to keep the pace up while I was walking.

It was such a good feeling to get to the top. Lola ran the whole way up, and I arrived with her, so I felt like I made good time, all things considered. Running down was a blast! It seemed like a long way down, which made us realise just how far we'd come up. When we were all at the bottom, Brad and Krissi turned us around to start all over again. I hadn't expected that, but I was happy to do it. I was quietly proud of that, as it meant that I was feeling strong and that I was in a good space mentally.

Before we reached the turnaround point Brad told us that he'd like us to try to surge the last bit. I was following the others up the hill, thinking I didn't have a surge in me. When I got close Krissi was encouraging me to take off, and my feet just went. I powered up the last little bit of the run, totally surprised that I was capable of going any faster. I had a moment of madness where I was going to suggest that we run the rest of the way to the top, but I managed to keep my mouth shut.

At the end of the run we did our stretching and you could tell people were on a real high. It took a while before people started to leave.

My legs have felt progressively more tired as the day has worn on. At the moment I'm feeling stiff and sore. A hot shower before I go to bed sounds like a plan. I was glad it was Yoga tonight, as the stretching really helps. That's why I first went to Yoga.

Tonight Michelle didn't tell us what type of Yoga we were doing so I stayed back after class and asked. It was a combination of style, and was kind of a Power Yoga thing. I'm keeping track, in case I ever decide to find a yoga class outside the gym. Tonight's session really flowed. Not so much of the downward dog but plenty of good stretches and balancing work. I'm definitely getting better at the balance work.

I got the spot in the front and centre of the class, which was terrific, as I had a great view of what Michelle was doing. I did have a moment's anxiety about everyone seeing what a klutz I was, but I quickly got over it.

On the home front, Dad is out of hospital and is recovering well. He sounds in excellent form. Mum has gone into hospital overnight and she will be having her angiogram in the morning. She should be home tomorrow. I'm going to stay at home tomorrow night, instead of in a hotel. I know it's a little antisocial on the work front as I'm travelling with a colleague, but I explained the situation to them and they understand.

Thanks for all your well wishes. They are much appreciated.

Oh, and JayKay .. I'll give Body Attack a go. After all, if I can run up Red Hill I can survive an energetic gym class.