Live, Run, Grow

So, as you may have noticed I have been somewhat “speechless” since the Walt Disney World Marathon in January – yes, there have been a few sporadic posts here and there (other than my training recaps which are really just for my purposes), but they’ve all felt some what forced.

There are a few reasons for my recent absence:

1. WORK – I am getting completely overwhelmed and exhausted by work recently, the hours keep adding up this time of year (70+/ week) plus I have a 45 minute commute each way on top of it.  That’s enough about that though, I don’t want this post to turn into complaining about work hours (which is easily could!)
2. WORKOUTS – I’ve been struggling to even get runs/ workouts in so when it’s come down to BLOG or WORKOUT I’ve always chosen to workout
3. POST RACE BLUES – so I think I mentioned this in a previous post, but I feel like I’ve really been struggling with a sort of “post race blues” since my marathon in January.  For about 9 months I was completely consumed by this goal of running a half marathon and then running a full marathon and then…it was over.  That was it.  This huge goal I had been working towards and focused on of so long (that also kept my distracted from stressing about work) was over and done with and I’ve pretty much felt completely lost.  My running has become uninspired and blogs posts are non-existant, I truly LOVE the runDisney races and I am literally craving my next one.

I’ve decided I need to get out of this funk though.  There is nothing I can do about my work hours right now, it is what it is so I’m going to try my best to stop complaining and try to keep up with my running and blog posts as best I can.

As far as workouts go, since I started working out regularlyI’ve been pretty much only running and doing the elliptical – I am LONG overdue for some variety and I’ve been meaning to start doing yoga again (I haven’t been to a class since I moved to NY almost 3 years ago!), not to mention it’s on my “goals and growth” list.  So, I found a yoga studio in the town next to me and went to a class last night!

It really was fantastic and was the much needed change of pace I was looking for.  When I’m running or on the elliptical I tend to still stress about work and other stuff (I even check my e-mail on my phone when I’m on the elliptical), but there is truly nothing like yoga to completely lose yourself in.  As soon as I rolled out my mat I felt myself start to relax, the teacher’s voice was incredibly soothing and I was able to focus on myself and my body moving through the poses.  One of the best parts of the class was that they had live music!  I guess it’s not something they do very often, but I just happened to catch it at my first class, it sounded just like a music track you would normally hear in a yoga class but there were two musicians sitting in the corner of the room playing and chanting, it really added to the experience.  I’m hoping to go to another class tomorrow and make it a regular habit, I definitely need that “me” time carved out every once in awhile.

The other thing I did recently was register for the Disneyland 5k and Half Marathon!  Unfortunately, it’s still about 6 months away so it’s not really an immediate “fix” for my runDisney race craving, but at least it’s something to look forward to.  I’ve never been to Disneyland so I’m really looking forward to it, plus my mom and my sister both registered to do the 5k as well!

I know work is only going to get busier over the next couple of months, so I’m going to try to do my best to keep some sort of balance to my life (I can pretty much hear those of you who know me well laughing…), but I’m looking forward to the summer when I will really have the time to get back on track and focus on moving forward with my life and goals.