I’m amazed that I wake up to do my early morning yoga ritual. Today I almost considered blowing it off but it would take more energy to go back to bed than go to Sunrise Yoga. Making it routine, put on the kettle for coffee, shower if needed and throw on something comfortable and my flip flops. I felt really clean and fresh this morning, well rested and scrubbed from my workouts and spa yesterday. My feet were nice and bright from the soaking in the hot pool and the sea salt exfoliation I gave myself in the Kabuki steam room. I was feeling a little not sexy yesterday because I was being ignored by the hot guys, but I’m over that today. I’m not fat, I think I just got to do some weight training to tighten and define my upper body.
Monthly Archives: March 2010
7am yoga questioning if I wanted to sleep in and not go today but I was up in time and with the kettle boiling for some coffee knew I just had to get through today 1 activity at a time. No pressure, it being my day off–still alot of domestic stuff needs doing but I’d rather train and go to the spa. So yoga was a bit of a chore, but I woke up in the middle of the session and was fully activated to go and do an exploratory run at Redwood Regional Park in the Oakland Hills. The site of my first competitive trail race this season.
I’m kind of wondering if I’m in the right shape to do a 20k out on this course and as it was today I was only trying to do the 10k course but took an inadvertent shortcut and ended up 2 miles short. Starting out at the Canyon Meadow Staging Area and heading up the Bridle Trail to connect with Stream I was fine but should have carried on the Stream Trail to Los Tres Sendas to connect with the French Trail instead of doing what I did today by cutting over to Mill and to French. Was a little concerned about coming up short of miles in today’s training but really scouting the trail and the site is just as important. This is the mental component of endurance training and racing: learning how to get to the park, learning the course, picking lines and working on race tempo.
A little concerned about how the Bridle Trail starts out as a black top road, but cutting to French Trail it is all very windy loamy single track. The weather today was high humidity with occasional sprinkles and Redwood Regional is a lush post historic rain forest with a thick canopy of redwood and oak and deer resistant fern growing along the terraced trails so I never was showered upon. Looking forward to revisiting it on Wednesday and trying to figure out the whole 10k course and what distance I’ll do best competing in..
After the run I had a bit of recovery at Kabuki Hot Springs in Japan Town after a sashimi/tempura combo lunch at Sapporo-Ya. The ahi wasn’t so fresh but marinated and cooked a little in wasabi and soy was easy to get down. Hot sake on a cold day and crispy tempura… rice– I was hungry! Browsed Goodwill and bought a surge protector that charges a battery for spare power in the event of an apocalypse or blackout. Kabuki had hot guys cruising and I felt a little disappointed knowing that I am so not what many gays want. I’m still fat. I don’t know if its because I lack a directed ethnicity, am just scary, too queer or what. I’ve always known I was different and that is something I can’t change. I’m sure there probably someone out there that ain’t intimidated and would even possibly be attracted to me. I’ve said it before and I guess I’ll say it here one more time: Fuck those regular people. In any event, I still have work to do.
- 29 March 2010
- 10:35 – 11:43am
- 51:35
- 4.01 miles
- 12:51 avg. pace
- 4.67 avg. speed
- 717 feet climbed
- 566 calories burned
9 and a quarter miles done in my two trail running workouts got home with just enough time to contemplate Warrior’s Choice or Naked Yoga for Men. The flow that I got going with Josh decided me to continue with the 4oclock class at Gold’s Soma rather than the 6oclock donation based naked practice at Mission Yoga. Also knowing me I’d probably have more than just one recovery vodka soda with lime and end up blowing both yogas. So I had a nice long hot shower and changed into my black velvet yoga pants, black wife beater, Coach boots and a BORIS hoodie and tallied on down to Golds for @warriorschoice.
I got to the studio about 15 minutes early to grab my favorite spot near the front of the room in a puddle of sunlight. I composed myself to meditate and stretch a bit to loosen up from today’s runs. The class filled up steadily and before the practice Josh asked about any injuries he should know about and I didn’t pipe up but he came specifically to me and inquired. I confessed my hip and piriformis syndrome with sciatica but assured him that the yoga and awareness was working out the tenderness and spasms.
Got through class alright, but a little tired from all the running I did earlier and still had to modify for my hip a bit, but throughout the class I was feeling good that I have a good core of yoga instructors. At the end of the class Josh showed me a stretch specific to the hip. This gym membership is paying off. I am commencing my 7th straight week of yoga 5 days in a row.
Gets to sleep in a little for a 9am Sunday morning run with my activity partner Cameron. Beautiful day for outdoor recreation and fitness with the thrill of spring in the air. Drove out with Cameron to the Presidio Golf Club and did our loop to Immigration Point and back. Cameron started out pretty hard and I was impressed. His new shoes and new found endurance are paying off. He has a little problem with his knees and buttocks I’m sure now that every lower body muscle ache has something to do with piriformis syndrome.
Coaching has its benefits for certain. Stopped at the same Chinese Restaurant on Clement St. for some dim sum and ate most of it in the car on the way to drop Cameron off at home on Folsom Street. Headed straight out to get my own training done parking at the end of Van Ness Street to run from Aquatic Park to Fort Point and back. Even though NPS permit parking is only during weekdays I guess I got there early enough to get a spot where I usually do. Out of the car and watching the open water tri guys changing into their brand new wetsuits, torsos exposed and lower bodies clad in skin tight black neo-prene. Seeing these athletes in their topless casualness decided me to run without a shirt. It was sunny enough but just cool enough for it to be not so uncomfortable. Get a tan and a run in. Multitask.
So the run was good. So many people out. The Chico’s slice I had last night was fucking up my tummy a bit and the pot I smoked the night before that congested my lungs earlier on the trail had cleared itself out. So many Sunday recreators out on the Marina Green and Crissy Field and a fair number of hot runners and soccer players cavorting with no shirts. I had to take 3 potty breaks so my time wasn’t the greatest but it was totally appropriate for a casual Sunday afternoon run. I started wondering if I had miscalculated my mileage and ability for my upcoming 20 kilometer trail race on Sunday 9 May but I plan on checking out the course after 7am Yoga before I commit to registering at any distance.
Run complete in the middle of the Municipal Pier I walked back to the Contour to drop off my gear and then walked over to the Visitor’s Center of the San Francisco Maritime National Park where I had forgotten my black canteen on my last shift there. Walking past the beach at Aquatic Park I saw these two young lovers sitting on the sand in a heart shaped garland of flowers and it was a beautiful thing that made every passer by smile. One commented, “Only in San Francisco.” Yes. Only in San Francisco, indeed.
- 28 March 2010
- 11:22am – 12:42pm
- 1:18:23
- 6.74 miles
- 11:38 avg. pace
- 5.16 avg. speed
- 307 feet climbed
- 919 calories burned
- 159.6 lbs.
Sunrise Yoga, doubted I’d make it but my crazy yoga body woke up pumped for it so off to class I went. Yesterday I went shopping for some yoga clothes and found at Community Thrift the perfect pair of home sewed black velvet pants with red satin front and back pockets and waist band. Black Baroque crosses printed on the red satin fabric make these very Faerie/Burner yoga pants. I went to the Bombay Bazar to find a sarong to match and I did, sheer black with a red trim with points on one side. When I put the pants on in the morning with a black wife beater and the sarong it looked just a wee bit draggy so I left out the sarong. The black velvet pants made me feel very hippie flow in my wizardly yoga clothes.
I also packed a gym bag and changed in the locker room to continue the trail I’m doing from Aquatic Park to Fort Point. When I parked in an NPS Permit only parking spot and got out to arrange my gear it was pouring down rain. Two open water swimmers were doing the towel striptease changing out of their wet suits trying to get dry in the downpour. I got what I needed out of the trunk and equipped it inside the Contour. By the time I was finished the cloudburst had spent itself. I got through my whole run with the weather being cooperative.
Was steady but not impressively fast at all. Yoga is strengthening my piriformis muscle and the run today was pain free. Feeling really good about this course but it is just a bit to urban for me. Looks like I will finish it up on Sunday afternoon after a training run with Cameron in the Presidio and before @warriorschoice yoga or Naked Yoga for Men depending on how I’m doing with time.
- 25 March 2010
- 7:42 – 8:54am
- 1:11:13
- 6.73 miles
- 10:38 avg. pace
- 5.64 avg. speed
- 377 feet climbed
- 867 calories burned
Tweeted my daily aspirations, what I had planned today and noted that I felt more resistance than enthusiasm. Coffee, Yoga, Trail and NPS Volunteer Uniform. Out of coffee so didn’t do that, yoga was tough to get through but I felt like it was giving some attention to my sore hip joint. Trail after yoga seemed moot and now I’m waiting for the kettle to boil and I’ll have some coffee. I had to modify today’s practice and I’m still feeling the resistance. I actually feel quite low energy today and will take it easy as I need to. I’m going to keep my gym bag in the car in case I do feel like running after my volunteer gig and also take a pass to Kabuki Hot Springs if I find I’d rather have a hot tub soak. I’m just going to see how it goes without pushing it. I don’t know if its better to work through this hip or to totally rest it. It doesn’t hurt when I run but I don’t want to fuck it up any worse.