My baby is growing up!

wooooahhhhhzzzz It's April already? When did that happen? :) I can't believe it's been over a month since my last post?! sheesh. (bop myself on the forhead) My first Olympic Distance Tri at the Big Rock Triathlon is next week! gaahh! AND HALF IRONMAN IN 100 DAYS!!!??? OMG. Training has been going well despite the awful weather we have been getting on the weekends. It'll be sunny all week, and then BAM! Rain on Sundays. WTF. I've done a couple of good brick workouts though! They include:

• 26 mile ride 5.5 mile run brick


• One hour spin plus 4 miles treadmill indoor brick (hate these!)


• One hour spin plus 8 miles of BRUTAL HILLS OF DEATH in the rain!


• 26 mile ride 6.2 mile run brick

Olympic distance: bring it on!

What about the swim, you ask? Well..... I'm winging it. It's what procrastinators do best :)

I wanna talk more about my bricks, but first, I am so excited to show you how my baby is growing up!

And of course, by Baby, I mean my road bike

duhhh ;)

And by Growing Up, I mean, get triathlon friendly updates! So this has nothing to do with bicycles, but look at all the goodies I got at our last tri club meeting! I loooooooooove Clif bars. have you ever tried the Mojo Bars? deeelish!

PS- if you are looking for a new flavor of energy gel to try out, I highly recommend the Citrus Clif Shot. It tastes AMAZING! Plus, it's got some caffein too, which I find really works for me. Yum!

Ok onto bike parts. In preparation for my upcoming triathlons, I decided to blow most of my paycheck (...yikes!) on bike upgrades. They are all still entry-level items, but I cannot WAIT to try them out and feel more like a legit triathlete!

To start, I needed to ditch my clunky and heavy mountain bike shoes and pedals for triathlon shoes and speed pedals.

My new shoes: Louis Garneau Tri Speed Shoes

Photo from Triathletesports.com

It's blue and white, matching my bike! It is SO much more flexible than my current shoes, and OMG so much lighter! I also tried on some carbon soled shoes, but they were about double the price, and I know that I am not a good enough rider yet to really benefit from a couple of ounces lost from my shoes. Plus, these shoes are prettier ;). Not that it matters, but.... haha. I will still use my old shoes a lot though, for the indoor spin bikes, but I will be doing most of my riding in these shoes now.

To go with the new shoes I also got new pedals:Speed Play Light Action

I have the black color. (picture from Nytro.com)

I actually have not had a chance to try them out yet....But I will let you know when I do!

I am also getting new tires through a friend with hook ups. Serfas SECA-RS Road Folding tires:

(photo from serfas.com)

How awesome are these tires with the blue trim? Again, it complements my bike's complexion. :) It's also 700X23, so it's skinnier than my current tires, which will really help with speed! They aren't racing tires or anything, but definitely an upgrade! Also from Serfas I will be getting new bar tape. Mine's been peeling away for some time now...oops! Oh, and it you are in the market for new bike stuff, Serfas is really awesome brand, because their stuff is seriously like half the price of some of the other brands! My friend clued me into this brand, and though they aren't triathlon specific, they've got some asweome shades, clothes, road bike shoes, and accessories. Check it out! And of course, no triathlon bike is complete without aerobars. Enter: Profile Designs T2 Plus!

Photo from (Profile-designs.com) According to the website, it has an "aggressive s-bend postition." Sounds good to me! I'm kinda scared about trying out the aerobars on the road.... I know it changes your balance, steering....pretty much everything.... and seeing how I'm basically the most clumsy person on the planet....I am just hoping I don't do a face plant out on the road! Any tips for begginner aerobar users I should be aware of? To go with my aerobars I also got this cool looking water bottle as a raffle prize from the tri club meeting:

Profile Designs Aqualite Bottle that goes in between the aerobars for easy access hydration on the ride. I was super happy to win this prize! This bottle has a 22 oz capacity, and an extra long straw. I have a tendency to forget to hydrate on the bike, so seeing that straw right in front of my face would be a good reminder to drink up.

Phew! That was quite the shopping spree, huh? My baby is growing up right before my eyes! And I feel like such a proud parent.

Alright. This is a monster post because I have been a slacker blogger and need to cram a lot into one post in case I slack off again. haha

Bricks are getting better! I run so much faster off the bike, so I find it exhilierating to do bricks. One of the toughest workouts I've done in a long time was the brick with the Tri Club two weekends ago. It was raining so we decided to ride the indoor spin bikes for an hour and then go for a run in the rain. The spin sesh was tough, but pretty standard. Then we set off on the run in a really hilly part of town. I desperately needed to run 10K to boost my confidence, so I pretty much begged and convinced everyone to run 10K with me, instead of the usual 5K. We set off....and within a mile we were facing the steepest hill I have EVER attempted. WTF. In the rain, too! Good gosh this hill was killer! But I kept thinking about how this would help me in my hilly half Ironman and kept trucking along. Slowly but surely I got to the top..... only to discover another killer hill a half mile later. Let me tell you about this hill....I couldn't even run DOWN this stupid thing it was so steep! And we had to run UP it. Insanity I tell you, INSANITY! My gosh my calves were burning! And we were only 2 miles in! Thank the heavens the rest of the run was not as steep, but we had rolling hills throughout. At mile 5ish it was decided that our run would be extended.... so 8 miles later, we finally finished out killer hilly rainy run. And you know the best part? I beat all the boys. I was the only girl there, and beat all the boys. What a confidence boost! ;)

But OMG I am in desperate need of more hill training. My calves were sore for a good 5 days after that run! Phew! Long post.

This weekend is spring break time in Palm Springs, and though it's the crucial weekend before the race, I will not be able to ride my bike. Oh well. I am going to make up for it by doing my first 10+ mile run in over 3 months! agh! wish me luck!

Thanks for reading, and Hi to my new followers! :)

As of late

You know it's been a while when both of your parents email/call you needing to know I'm still alive. Granted we live half a globe apart, but I took that as a sign that it's time for an update!

Well... an "update" would be an overstatement. I haven't been up to much lately, to be honest. I'm still not "training" yet, although I have been diligently working out; putting time on the bike, on the run, and working on those 'muscles.' We just began new classes at school, and also began a new internship which is getting interesting.

A couple of weekends ago, we celebrated a very special occasion.
James' sister got married in Newport, OR!
It was such a fun, romantic, sweet wedding, and I very much enjoyed getting time to spend with James ;)
Since photos are more fun than my rambling on and on anyway, here goes in no particular order:

Instead of a wedding cake, they had wedding cupcakes. How cute is that? They had Red Velvet Cupcakes, and the groom's sepecial recipe "Ghost Pepper Chocolate Cupcakes." They were both yum!
I can't remember the last time I got all dressed up?
The happy married couple!
James found his heaven at the Rogue Brewery. Have you ever heard of it? They seriously have like, a bajillion beer flavors. I don't even like beer, but even I have to admit their beer was pretty tasty. We ended up going to three different Rogue Brewery locations in three days. Obsessed much? haha
And I found my heaven at the Tillamook Cheese Factory.

They have Squeaky Cheese Curds.

Need I say more? :)

I was serioulsy like a little kid in a candy shop. Instead I was an awkward quarter life crisis girl in a cheese shop. hahaha. Oh well. One of these days I will be way more awesome I promise.

In terms of training, my ride this weekend looked like this:
Pretty much glorious.

As for now, I need to um.... sweat off my "holiday weight".... eeeek! My Half Ironman training will start very soon. This weekend I have a local 5K that I am running, along with the monthly Triathlon Club Mixer, and next week I am running a 5K and 10K. Lots of running in my future!

I guess that about sums it up... just more quater life crisis stuff and training stuff.

How is your week going? I hope every one is having a great week. Oh, three day weekend coming up! wooooo hoooo!

Please don't hate me....but its 75 and sunny

Yikes! I am very very late to the party, but happy 2011! I can't believe this is my first post this year! Opps.... slacker, much?!


I hope you all had a lovely holiday season. I know I did! I got to see James for the first time in 5 months! That was such a lovely treat. Although it's super tough being apart again, I get to see him in a month which makes things a little bit easier! Long distance thing sucks, but it does make the time we have together THAT much more special.

Here's a picture from when we went to the farmer's market, and another from when we went to an all you can eat Korean BBQ place. Hey. I need all the protein I can get! haha, well, that's what I told myself as I managed to stuff my face.

Well onto the training front! I am on a streak! I haven't had a rest day since mid-December! Haha, with the Holiday Break from school and work, I have had the pleasure of working out to my heart's contempt. Does it make me a weirdo, the fact that I look forward to the holidays so I can fit in MORE exercise rather than taking a break from it? haha. Maybe I am a little cookoo.

Well anyways. Yesterday was a GLORIOUS bike training day.

Please don't hate me. I know a lot of the country is snowed in.

Southern CA? 75 degrees. Clear. Sunny. Flowers on the side of the road. Shimmering blue beaches. BEAUTIFUL. I got a tan.

It's 70 degrees again today, and gonna be 80 over the weekend.

Don't hate me. ;)

I was really excited becasue my friend from the grad program got a bike for Christmas, and wanted to take it out for a spin. It worked out perfect because I was planning for a long ride too!

She introduced me to a new bike ride, which was.... OMG SO breathtakingly beautiful.

We rode up and down one of the most expensive zip codes in Southern CA; Palos Verdes. It was a perfect morning for a ride, with the sun, ocean views, and rolling hills. I haven't ridden hills in a long time, so I was a bit apprehensive about how my legs would hold up, but since I need all the hill training I can get for the Napa Half Ironman in July (!!!!Gahhhh!!!) I went for it.

But with views like this..... I seriously did NOT even notice many of the uphills! I was literally having SO much fun marveling at the views and enjoying my new bike buddy and having such a blast that the first 20 miles literally FLEW by. BTW, my friend, who was only on her fourth ride EVER, totally kicked SO much butt! I wish I was that much of a baller rider on my fourth ride!
I mean.... seriously. How beautiful can it get? I was captivated. My friend and I schemed ways to live in some of the ocean front mansion properties along the ride. Donations for my Mansion Fund are currently being accepted, if you feel so inclined :)

I thought the hills would kill me, but one thing I hadn't realized it how much energy you can recoup and save when going downhill. The good thing about rolling hills is that after every uphill is a downhill. Coasting down the hills helped me conserve a lot of energy, and sometimes, I would even be able to get halfway up the next hill without even pedalling, from all the momentum I gained going downhill!

I have been doing rides that are flat as a pancake, and though that's nice too, you have to constantly be pedaling. There is no opportunity to stop pedaling and coast, like you can when going downhill. It's a very constant effort, as opposed to rolling hills, which is intense effort followed by less effort. Kind of like interval training, I guess. I didn't realize how much this constantly varying effort levels would keep things fun and interesting.

But of course, the views were the best part! After the first 20 miles, my friend went home, but I just HAD to take advantage of this perfect weather. After saying goodbye, I set out with the intention of doing maybe ten more miles, but it was just SO MUCH FUN I ended up doing the entire 20 mile loop again, for a total of 40 miles. Fatigue set in big time at mile 35 and my quads hated every hill for the next five miles, and I was definitely glad to give my legs a break as soon as I hit 40 miles. But dang! That was a fun ride.
I definitely will have to come back here for some major ass kicking hill rides and bricks. I am so terrified and excited at the same time. 6 months till I am a half Ironman! gahhh!

Though it's time for me to finally switch gears and start writing my paper I have been putting off for two weeks, I hope you all have a wonderful Friday and weekend! OOH! And it's a long weekend too! yay

Turkalicious triathlon on the horizon

Gobble gobble!

Dang. I can't believe it's already Thanksgiving week?
Before grad school began, my weeks seemed to d-r-a-g on, but ever since my new crazy stage of my life began, I seem to have gone on fast-forward or something! Not that I am complaining.

So even though it didn't rain like they said it would this weekend (grr weather channels always get it wrong!) I didn't get my revenge match 13 miler in. That's ok. I decided to have a "restful" weekend; 90 min of adrenaline filled, heart pumping spinning on Sat, 4ish miles on the treadmill and a "Body Pump" class on Sunday. I've been enjoying the lifting classes at my gym; they really do a lot of arms/shoulder work that I otherwise wouldn't do on my own. Since my arms are noodles, hopefully these classes will beef em up a little.

Also, I've been eating more beef and a Japanese seaweed called Hijiki to up my iron intake. I was feeling super light headed and tired last week, and upping my iron helped a lot! (Hijiki image source)

Another reason why I wanted to take it semi-easy this weekend, is because I signed up for my final triathlon to top off the 2010 triathlon season!

I signed up for the Turkey Triathlon 2010 which is the Sunday after Thanksgiving.

I'm super excited about this race. It's going to be cold as heck though! The swim will be in a lake as opposed to the ocean, and I hear this race is quite hilly, which will be good practice for the Vineman Half Ironman. It will also be the "longest" triathlon I have done to date; half mile swim, 14 mile ride, 4.5 mile run. Apparently, the slight increases in the distance is enough to really notice the difference. Hope it's not too tough! I'm not going to "race" this one, but just try to work off some of the Thanksgiving feast, and get more experience with the whole triathlon thing :)

But actually, I am mainly excited for the triathlon to receive this:

How ADORABLE is this medal? Turkeys doing a swim bike run! After I saw this medal, I absolutely HAD to race this event! Seriously. It's got to be one of the cutest medals ever.

T minus 6 days till my third triathlon!

....gotta go rent a wetsuit :)
Happy Monday and thanks for stopping by!

Get Your Sweaty On! My Indoor Cardio Workouts

Moving on from the craptastic 13 miler fail last Sunday.

Revenge match will most likely not come till December as they are forecasting mad rain this weekend. Which means workouts will need to be indoors.

With the time change, and the changing of seasons, I bet a lot of you have/are recently moving a lot of your workouts inside, away from the dark, cold, wind, and rain.

Though nothing beats a great run/ride outside, there are times when I do need to take my training into the gym. And you know what? I can still get in a kick ass workout!

I wanted to share with you two of my favorite kick butt elliptical and spinning workouts, along with some of my favorite workout songs of the moment!

Shveaty Elliptial Workout:

(Image source)

I used to HATE the elliptical and wanted to shoot myself out of boredom. However, this workout keeps things interesting, and I've actually come to like the elliptical! I love it for when my legs can't take another run or another beating. This workout can be shortened or lengthend easily by adding/subtracting sections, or making each section longer. This plan is for 30 minutes.

Warning: You will be SWEATY!

PS- Resistance and incline difficulty really depends on the machine. My levels are just based on the particular elliptical I use.

Minutes 0-5: Warm up at a steady pace. (Incline: 5 Resistance: 5)
Minute 5: Hill sequence 1 (Incline: 5 Resistance: 10)
Minute 6: Incline: 5 Resistance: 11
Minute 7: Incline: 5 Resistance: 12
Minute 8: Slow Down at Incline: 9 Resistance: 4
Minute 9: Backwards Hill Sequence 1 (Incline: 5 Resistance: 10)
Minute 10: Backwards at Incline: 5 Resistance: 11
Minute 11: Slow Down at Incline: 9 Resistance: 4
Minutes 12-15: Repeat Hill Sequence 1
Minute 15: Slow Down at Incline: 9 Resistance: 4
Minutes 16-18: Repeat Backwards Hill Sequence 1
Minute 18: Slow Down at Incline: 9, Resistance: 4
Minutes 18-26: Sprint repeats
Set to Incline: 5 Resistance: 5 or 6

1. Pedal easy 20 seconds, Sprint 20 seconds X3
2. Pedal easy 30 seconds, Sprint 30 seconds X3
3. Pedal easy 20 seconds, Sprint 20 seconds X3

Minutes 26-29: Repeat Hill Sequence 1
Minute 29: Cool Down

Awesome kick ass sweaty workout!

I also love to do solo spin sessions.

I get so incredibly sweaty by the end of this thing. It's adrenaline pumping, calorie torching, quad burning spin sesh. (bike image source)

Spin Session

Song 1: Warm Up. Light to medium resistance; work through all the positions on the bike, warm up each individual leg.

Song 2: Hills. Every 30 seconds, add a full turn of resistance. Once you can no longer physically continue pedaling sitting down, stand up and pedal.

Song 3: Sprints. Medium light resistance. Start at mountain position (postion 2) and pedal easy for 30 seconds. Then sit down and sprint for 30 seconds. Stand back up and ride easy for 30. Sit down and sprint for 45 seconds. Stand up and ride easy 30 seconds. Sit down and sprint for 30 seconds. Repeat till end of song.

Song 4: Rhythms (Jumps). Fairly heavy resistance. Ride Mountain Position for 8 counts, Position 3 for 8 counts. Alternate between 8,4,2, and single counts for remainder of song.

Song 5: Endurance Ride. Medium resistance. For the entire song, either in the saddle or off, ride at a pace beyond your comfort level.

Song 6: Hills (same as above)

Song 7: Sprints (same as above, except ride easy in the saddle, and sprint in Position 2)

Song 8: Lunges (medium to hard resistance) Position 2 for 8 counts, lunge back for 8, Position 3 for 8, lunge forward for 8. Repeat with 4 and 2 counts.

Song 9: Butt Blaster (heavy resistance) Start in Position 2. Whenever the chorus comes on, push back your butt over the saddle (like Position 3) and take all the bounce out of your ride. Really hold your abs in tight, and concentrate on busting through your butt and quads.

Song 10: Endurance Ride (same as above, but make it faster, or add more resistance)

Song 11: Hill Sprints. Start at light resistance, in saddle, ride for 30, sprint for 30. Add a full turn of resistance. Ride easy for 30, sprint for 30. Add more resistance and repeat.

Song 12 and on: you can repeat any of the above or cool down.

This is an awesome workout and you'll be gasping for air! I really try to crank up the resistance to get myself ready for the hills in Napa! I usually just ride until I reach about an hour.

Now onto my current Music Obsession: David Guetta! Seriously awesome musice to workout to.

Fave songs include:

• Memories,


• On the Dance Floor (featuring Will.i.am),


• Revolver (featuring Maddonna and Lil Wayne) and


• It's the Way You Love Me (featuring Kelly Rowland),


• Club Can't Handle Me (Flo Rida)

I also LOVE Pitbull's new song Hey Baby (Drop it to the Floor).

Having great music makes SUCH a big difference when working indoors.

So don't let the crappy weather keeping you from getting your sweat on! Let me know if you have any questions! Maybe I'll post my gut and butt blasting workout soon too.

Enjoy your Thursday!

What what! It's Marathon Week!

LA MARATHON THIS SUNDAY!

as in.... 144 more hours! holy smokes! Am I ready for it....???

I haven't written about it on the blog in hopes that if I ignored it/didn't mention it, it would be a non-issue.... but my right knee has been bothering me. A lot. So much so that I had to ditch out on the 5 mile run yesterday. Not that that run was going to make or break the marathon, but.... It was the first run I ever had to completely ditch. Uh oh..... I hope 144 hours, LOTS of Aleve, Foam Rolling, yoga, and adrenaline will carry me through!

Also, are there bloggers out there running in LA who would like to meet up? I would really really be stoked to meet anyone and everyone who are gonna be out there! Drop me a line here or email me at chocolateshoestrings@gmail.com! I am very excited to hear from you!

I just looked at the Marathon Course Entertainment page, and it looks like there's gonna be some good stuff out there for us. I am particularly excited about the Taiko drummers at mile 3, seeing that I'm from Japan and all :) (Taiko image source)

There are also 4 "Block Parties" along the way; I am having a hard time envisioning what those are gonna be like, but anything with the word "party" in it has got to be good! :) And with 25 bands playing along the way.... it's a 26 mile carnival/festival/entertainment bonanza! I am giddy with excitement. As long as my knee holds up long enough.....

Besides getting pumped for the marathon, and not running (meh...) I had a fabulous, albeit extremely short (it felt like) weekend. I did my third session of Bikram Yoga (love love love love love it!) and on Sunday I did a 1600 meter swim followed by a 11mile bike ride.
The swim was glorious. I took only one super short break during the 1600 meters, and I really got in a groove. I felt like I could go on forever, which was exciting, because I've never felt that way before! It just felt natural for the first time. Hooray! Progress! I then proceeded to take advantage of the extra hour of sunlight, and took my bike out for a spin. Does a Swim-bike constitute a "Brick Workout", I wonder? Does it qualify for a "Taper"? Hmm.... both excellent questions to ponder while you read the rest of this babbling random post :)

Despite my knee being not-too-good, I'm really not anxious about this marathon. Since I've already accomplished my goal of "running every step of a marathon" last time, I don't care if I take walking breaks this time, or stop and admire the bands. If I get a PR, hey, awesome! But I'm not counting on it. I just want to experience a new course, a "big race" environment, run with James, and have a fun day. No goal paces, no goal finish times, no expectations, no pressures.

I truly am excited for this weekend. Plus, I get to eat lots of good quality carbs brownies this week :) I just have to keep reminding myself to TAPER. That's gonna be the hardest, esp since my adrenaline is pumping and the weather is gorgeous.

LA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! WOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!! And let me know if you're gonna be there!

Hope you all enjoy the extra hour of sunshine! :)
(sorry about all the !!!!!s in this post. I am just sooooo excited today)
Peace

Feature Friday: Bikram Yoga

Happy Apple Fritter Friday! mmmm. I love this Friday ritual. Have you ever tried any interesting fruit fritters? In Maui I had a pineapple fritter and it was sooooo good. I wonder.... I bet a Peanut Butter fritter would be sinfully amazing.

So on to Today's topic. Bikram Yoga; aka oven yoga. Bikram yoga and I had an unexpected, yet pleasantly surprising reunion this Wednesday. I started Bikram 5 years ago, before it became the new "it" yoga thing. However, due to the cost (Hot yoga can cost major $$$!!!) I had to give it up for a while. (tears....) BUT! The studio near my house, the Bikram Yoga Santa Barbara has a special for new students ($20 for unlimited classes for ten days) so I eagerly signed up to escape the blustery cold weather we've been having. (Image source)

Ahhhh. Bikram. I have missed you so. I missed becoming a glowing red, sweaty, disgusting beast at the end of 90 minutes. I missed the heat guiding me further in my poses. I missed you! I can't believe we had to be apart from each other for so long!

Just to clarify, not all hot yoga is Bikram Yoga. Bikram Yoga is a specific series of 26 poses done in a room heated to 105* F. I have taken "hot yoga" classes that aren't "Bikram". I liked them both, but my heart is set on Bikram :)

Image source

Each pose is repeated twice; starting with the warm up breath exercises, the standing poses, and the mat poses. My favorite are the standing balance poses, such as the Dandayamana-Dhanurasana (Standing Bow Pulling Pose, #6), and the Padangustasana (Toe Stand Pose #12). My least favorite though, is the Dhanurasana (Bow Pose #19). The bow pose is hard! And since it doesn't include any Downward facing dogs, or Chaturangas, my shoulder and writst are happy campers :)

I find that the heat, though, is my absolute favorite part about Bikram. Ahhhhh. The heat. I don't know about you, but I would much rather be a tad bit uncomfortably hot and sweaty than a tad bit shivering cold. That's probably why I can spend hours at a sauna but hate hate hate wintery days. Anyways.

I often do "Bikram Yoga" poses in a non-heated room. Though I find the poses challenging enough, I somehow cannot get the same intensity, the same stretch, the same results without the heated room. Personally, I don't find 105*F to be uncomfortable; I could probably be comfortable a couple degrees higher. I find that the heat allows me to move further into my poses. And that extra inch or so makes a world of a difference in the intensity my muscles are working at. Also, strengthening moves that incorporate a stretch (also seen in Pilates) is less likely to make you sore the next day. Stretching myself beyond my usual range of motion helps me feel looser and more flexible.

I've now gone two days in a row, and though I do have a bit of soreness in my lower back muscles (my weakest muscles), my body feels surprisingly fresh. At the end of each class, my body feels like jello; like I can barely manage to eek out another move. So I know i have gotten a great workout. And unlike most other classes, I actually feel that I get a decent "cardio" workout with Bikram, because I can feel my heart racing after some difficult poses. And yes, I do think Bikram Yoga can assist in weight loss. Another great aspect is that unlike pumping iron, there is less delayed muscle onset fatigue/soreness after yoga. And boy! When I was a regular practitioner, my lower back muscles were STRONG! (probably thanks to these poses: )

Full Locust Pose (image source)

There are many benefits of Bikram Yoga, but there are just as many naysayers. I think Bikram Yoga is just one of those "personal preference" kind of things, just like barefoot running. It definitely does take some getting used to; and I do think it's a bit more intense and advanced than most yoga classes offered at the health clubs. Because the heat will take you further in your poses, you might not be ready for that kind of flexibility if you are a complete beginner. I would probably recommend taking at least a couple of non-heated yoga classes before plunging into Bikram Yoga.

If you've never tried it, but would really like to, here are some of my tips:

1. Google your city name and the words "Bikram Yoga."
2. Ask if your local studio offers promotions or discounts for first-timers. (most places usually do)
3. Maybe practice the sequence in a non-heated environment first. Yogadownload.com offers a great class called "Hot-Power Fusion"
   
4. Arrive at least15 minutes (20 is better) before class and get acclimated to the hot temperature in the room
5. Bring a BIG bottle of water and remember to hydrate WELL, both before and after class. (or else you will get headaches. trust me on this one)
6. Bring a big towel, maybe a change of clothes for after the class
7. DON"T be intimidated by all the devotees in the room with the skimpy shorts and bra tops bending like they're Gumby. You are there for YOU. Do what feels right for YOU. Don't overextend yourself the first couple of times. With patience you too will one day bend it like beckham. :)
8. Don't panic; it's natural to feel a bit dizzy and lightheaded at first. Calmly lay back down, take a big gulp of water, and return when you feel better. It's best to stay in the room.
   
9. Don't eat right before class.
   
10. Sweat! :)

As for me, I've got 8 days left of hot, sweaty gloriousness. I also have the LA Marathon coming up in 9 days. (which, surprisingly, I am not at all worried about, even though I should be.... hello ITB) I probably won't be able to go more than two or three more times (bummer!) but I just wanted to share my excitement for being reunited with Bikram again. Love! ahh. Happiness.

Well have a super super duper duper awesome freaking weekend! (remember daylight savings time starts on Sunday! yayyyyyy!)
Namaste. Peace

To double or not to double. That is the question.

Happy (?) Monday blog land! How was your weekend? Sunny? Windy? Chilly? Don't ask why I'm so obsessed about the weather esp since I live in CA where the weather is either "sunny" or "chilly" only, but I think it's just a remnant of weather anxiety from living in Tokyo for 17+ years. lol.

I had a tremendously fabulous weekend: I could get used to this tapering business! I felt like I had so much time on my hands to do what normal people do.... like go shopping all day, go to a cafe, go out for lunch.... things I've been missing out on since like.... April 2009!

Saturday was a big shopping day....at Target, Wal-Mart, and Nordstrom Rack. . What what! Yup. That's where this fashionista gets all her goodies. The only problem is.... all these stores are 45-60 minutes away from where I live. Sad I know. Even sadder are these facts:

Besides running shoes/clothes, the last time

• I bought a pair of jeans = 4+ years ago. And I live in Southern CA mind you.
• I bought accessories/jewelry = also 4+ years ago
• I bought shoes = November 2008
• I bought non-work clothes = 6+ months ago

um yeah. Pretty depressing. One of my new years resolutions for 2010 was actually to go shopping more often. I think I have the opposite problem from many young women... I need more clothes! I decided that every two months, I need to get at least one new piece of "grown up" clothing, in order to feel more ladylike and feminine :) So I got two shirts at Nordstrom Rack for $15(!) each, and a pair of shoes at Target for $19.99! And I got so much food at Wal-Mart, all for 60 bucks. It was unreal. Santa Barbara is so DARNED EFFING expensive. Most of the food at Wal-Mart was at least 30%-50% cheaper than at my local supermarkets. Def made the hour drive worthwhile (remember, I'm a broke-ass mofo). Stocked up on canned beans, sardines, spices, brown rice, and oatmeal. :) Yay.

Sunday was a quick and dirty 8 miler. Only 8 measly miles. I felt so.... incomplete. I mean...... breakfast was so boring cause I wasn't able to stuff my face silly. I didn't even get to carbo load on Sat night. Boo! 8 miles just felt so.... minuscule... like my weekend wouldn't be fulfilling unless I had one long, hard, painful workout. I was hell bent on making it a double workout day, to make up for the fact it was "only" 8 miles. As I wondered aloud whether I should go biking or swimming (or both) after the run, James had to remind me that we are in Taper Week; there is NO need to go all out so close to race day, I needed rest, and I didn't want to risk any sort of injury/pain. I was still not convinced.

It's only 8 miles.... it's sunny out.... it's the weekend.... I want to ride my bike..... Oh, the age old question; to double or not to double. That is the question.

I knew that if I got on the bike or in the pool after a short 8 miler, I would be too endorphined up, and would PUSH myself in the pool or on the bike. Don't ask. Maybe I like pain or something. I ruminated on the thought for a few miles, but finally decided to do the responsible thing and NOT DOUBLE. I know. Heartbreaking. Being an adult sucks. :) And you know what I did instead? You're not going to believe this: I went to the library. Yup. I am such a mature adult. I worked on a long-term project I am working on (not blog/athletics related) and gave myself a pat on the back. Shocking I know. :) I think that in the end, it was the smartest choice, because this morning, I woke up with fresh legs! Haven't felt that in a while!

It's going to be a tad bit difficult to tame my workout desires as taper week progresses. But I have to keep my eyes on the big picture (Marathon PR) and not the short term instant gratification (killer swim sesh or whatever). Oh the things you learn during training.

Well I'm off to brainstorm fulfilling yet "easy" workouts for the rest of the week. If you have any suggestions, throw them my way! Now have an awesome day and a spectacular week!

Fire Crotch

Literally, that's how I felt like last night during spinning.

For a whole hour.

Ouchyyyyyyyyyy.

The seams on my pants, my undies, and the seat were having a full on feud.
Total cat fight status.
Claws, fangs, everything.
On my crotch.

Ouchhhyyyy.

The instructor kept glancing at me, like "oh, you think you're so good, so tough, doing all the drills out of your seat. What a show off."

Truth is, getting off my seat was like taking a fire extinguisher to my crotch.
It felt glorious.

I still can't figure out why it was so disastrous. I even remembered not to wear butt floss a thong. I blame it on the pants. Maybe I need to Body Glide it up before the next class?

At least I had a bomb, sweaty workout and my quads got quite the unexpected workout!
And my crotch is back to neutral.

Phew.

Thank goodness.

(image source)

Three more days of work in 2009 and four more days till Japan!