Bad Yoga

As you are all aware, I am picking up my running mileage in the hopes of racing a solid 10 Miler in February.  If you read about running at all - or train - you know a little bit about 'speed work' and 'tempo' runs.  Now, as you may have guessed from the title, this is a yoga post NOT a running post, so I am not going to go into the mechanics of speed work or tempo runs, but here is the basic idea...you run faster than normal for set periods of time or distance.  Yesterday I did my first tempo run in ... oh ... a year maybe (4.5 miles total, 3 miles at 10K pace).  I've also added about 5 miles onto my weekly total the last few weeks.

Now, these additional miles and single fast run may not seem like a lot, but to tired, hardly running at all legs, it is a lot of extra work.  Enter the bad yoga.

I am amazed that I can practice yoga as much as I do and still wake up with hamstrings so tight I can't reach my toes.  Actually, these added miles and workouts are destroying my hamstrings (I also really, really need new sneakers).   Two Fridays ago I went to Victoria's Vinyasa class, then that Sunday I ran 5 miles with Meri and then went immediately to power yoga.  The next day I went to a (medium) power class at Revelation....and it was a disaster.  My hamstrings and hips were a nightmare and I actually had to pull out of a pigeon pose that I was barely in.  The only thing I could come up with was the triple header of power yoga with the 5 Miler in the middle was too much.  This past weekend I tried to learn from my mistakes - I went to Victoria's class on Friday, Ran 5.7 with Meri on Saturday then went to power yoga at Revelation on Sunday.  The  elimination of the Saturday morning long run/yoga double header seemed to work and I had a good run on Monday.  All was good.  Until yesterday.

Yesterday I did the previously mentioned tempo run at lunch then went to power yoga at night.  Wednesday night power yoga is usually medium hard but for some insane reason Kim was killing us last night.  And my legs and mind just could not keep up.  I must have fallen out of Eagle at least 4 times AND I almost threw up in Revolved Triangle from the combined heat and painful hamstrings.

Now, I am seeing a pattern here - are you?  Longer/harder runs and power yoga apparently do not mix.  Which is unfortunate because I do not see that combo going away anytime soon.  Eventually the Saturday double headers will have to stop because the long runs will get longer...but the Wednesday quality runs combined with Kim's power class...I may be able to tweak the schedule so they are not combined...or I can hope that I get stronger.  We shall see.