May: A "Challenging" Month

I pulled off a personal best 5K at lunch today ... running ... and am now sitting here wondering where the heck that came from. It's my first run in my second week on Nike Women's Half Marathon program, which I started with no particular half marathon in mind, but for which I will be ready sometime in July. So that's challenge one: maintaining a regular running schedule because, turns out, I enjoy it.

So every day I'm up running around at the crack of dawn, and as luck would have it, the new neighbourhood features rec trails almost as close to home as the Humber trails were to the old apartment. Meanwhile, while running I can't help but notice all the bits of mountain bike trail I recognize, which means in theory, every time I ride my mtb home from work, I could add in a Don Loop + Taylor Creek and probably accomplish 50% of the ride off-road. Wow! More investigation required, possibly tonight.

Challenge two: push ups. I'm helping out with a girls' soccer team -- the Wildcats! -- and they are the stars of my Saturday mornings. At 12-13 years old, they are just a great group of young ladies and I'm glad to be "part of the team" for the next six weeks. To keep them in touch with their training between Saturdays, I've issued the "Push Up Challenge" and today, we're up to 19! We started at one, and we add one every day. On our last session, we'll reach our goal of 50. I like to lead by example, so I'm determined to share the glory with my young champions.

For the next seven weeks I'm also "Living My Moksha" through the local hot yoga studio and their healthy challenge. Every week we focus on one of the "seven pillars" -- this week is "Be Healthy", so the challenge is to practice yoga every day, and also to cut out processed foods from our diets and our cupboards. So far so good (she said, on day two.)

And my spin class has embraced the famous cycling workout, 30/30s, aiming to complete an entire class's worth of the agonizing intervals. That challenge is nearing its conclusion, with the big day coming on Monday, so wish them luck, or better yet, join us! It will be my first class teaching at RPM's brand new location! Double exciting!!

That leaves only one more challenge, but since it's still under consideration, I'll just go ahead and leave you hanging.  Stay tuned!

"Live Your Moksha" 7 Week Challenge

I just spent a few days in California and while I had a good time surfing, relaxing and spending time with G, even the palm trees and sunny weather couldn't penetrate my cloudy attitude.

That just won't do -- life's too short to get stuck in "broody Kristen" mode.

So perhaps as an answer to my new-found awareness, the universe plopped this in my lap. And I'm looking for some moral support. I'm calling it "Spring Cleaning" but for the soul. The yoga studio hosting the challenge is calling it "Living Your Moksha."

It's seven weeks long, and focused on "yoga off the mat" — one week for each of the seven pillars. In their intro they say, "Yoga is not just something you do, but something you are. It’s in the way we talk to people, wait in long line ups, how we eat, even how we argue." I'm hoping to add a bit of that yogi peace to my day-to-day — because goodness knows I am not talking, waiting, eating or arguing with any kind of grace or eloquence lately. And hey, they're even promising some magic.

We get our challenges delivered to our inboxes and then it's up to us to put our minds to completing them. Stuff like:

• Be Healthy Challenge: No processed foods/toxins in the home


• Live Green Challenge: 7 days of vegetarian/vegan eating


• Be Peace Challenge: 1 hour of silence daily

I am really hoping I can convince one of you out there to join me in this — it starts May 1 and it's only $10 to sign up, plus whatever costs you need to cover for yoga classes (though that's not the focus of the challenge). Some Moksha studios are apparently even offering a discount. If you want to know more about the challenge, check out their website, or the facebook community.

Hope you'll think about joining me!

Namaste, Bitches.

Moksha!

I don't know about you, but I am a happy subscriber to "Thoughts to Keep you Moving", the blog-in-your-inbox put out by Peter Glassford and Steve Neal. On Tuesdays, they send the "workout of the week" which is a great bonus because each coach puts one in, thus providing two workouts that I don't have to come up with myself. Happy days!

This week, Peter asks that we take a yoga class. That made me realize it has been forever since I last went to yoga. And yet every season, it is a goal of mine to keep up my practice at least once a week. So with newfound determination, I plan on visiting the Moksha Yoga Studio on the Danforth. They have a ton of classes to choose from, it's close to home, and they even have a $20 introductory special that gives you a week of unlimited yoga.

(As an aside, most yoga studios in Toronto have that deal so I figure if I just go to a different one each week, I'll save a ton of cash and do a ton of yoga! haha.)

The other thing I like about Moksha is that it is HOT. Meaning they jack the temperature up to about 37 degrees to allow you to get deep into your stretches. Plus when it's that hot, I find it is much easier to focus on breathing and my practice. And it helps get rid of the toxins in your body by sweating them out. Don't settle for mediocre heat! I used to be a member at Extreme Fitness and they promised a hot yoga practice, but when I went, it was "warm" at most, and the poses were more active style than the long holds I'm used to in raised temperatures. In proper Hot Yoga, you should sweat. A lot.

I know being in a hot room for 90 minutes isn't everyone's cup of tea, but if you're a cyclist, (or any kind of athlete!) definitely consider hot yoga. Moksha's website says, "Many cyclists come to the studio with chronic knee pain. With time, however, hips, calves and hamstrings start to open up, knee pain diminishes and can eventually disappear entirely. Cyclists also report an improvement in low back and shoulder pain."

If there's a hot yoga studio near you, check it out. Bring your mat, a big towel to cover it, a hand towel for brow-wipes, a water bottle (and electrolyte drink if you need it!) and a headband.

They say not to eat for 2 to 3 hours before, but I find that hard to handle in the heat, so I usually just have an energy gel 15 minutes before class, and another one right after so I don't bonk. And wear clothes that you can sweat in! Lots of girls just wear shorts and sport bras and guys usually just wear shorts.

Can't wait to get back into yoga. Thanks SNPD for reminding me!