Cross training

Yoga

Being injured has forced me to cross train more than I normally would. The other day I went to my Yoga class. After working and motivating myself, it is really nice to go a class and have someone else push you. My instructor is this short Indian man, who is incredibly centered and who carries himself similar to how a dancer would. At the end of his class I am always reduced to a sweaty exhausted mess. I like that a lot.

Yoga is good for meditation, because it helps me visualize and put my intentions for the future out there. The last pose of every class is savasana (the dead man's pose) where you lay on your back and seal your practice. I always imagine myself as a snake shedding its skin, and beginning anew. Lately I spend this time placing my intent on my running. I imagine my body being lean and long. I imagine my legs reaching out in front of me and my heartbeat being soft and content. I imagine my lungs as incredible vessels filling and distributing my body with energy.

Maybe all of this is pointless, but I really believe that placing my intent on my body is a very good way of preparing myself for training.