Health, Life

Well, the thirty days have passed, and I amazingly finished my 30 day challenge! It was not without a few struggles, however, so here’s a quick recap:

Monday was class #27. I was already exhausted from doing a double the day before, and the heat was terrible. It was bad even by yoga standards,but with my stopped up nose I felt like I was suffocating. Lying on the floor I realized that the entire situation was absurd.  I left class for the first time ever. When I came back 5 minutes later and stepped on my mat I started crying, I just couldn’t control it.Not a high point, but I made it through to the end.

Tuesday I did a double (Classes 28 + 29). Got through it okay, but it was straight to bed afterwards.

Wednesday was my last class. It was uneventful but happy, as my friends had agreed to come and do the class with me. Great stuff, and there was a round of sweaty hugs after it was all over.

Now that it’s over, I think I will keep going 3-4 times a week, in addition to the gym/biking, until the classes on my card run out. After that I’ll have to reevaluate whether I want to continue doing this craziness.

Several thoughts and tips from the whole experience:

1. The bikram 30 day challenge is crazy. Doing yoga that frequently is probably not good for you. My body is seriously blown out and while everyday aches and pains from sitting at a desk for 8 hrs/day have gone away, new pains are in their place.

2. The challenge is doable. Decide on a schedule and stick to it. This way you aren’t wasting time thinking “Oh, when am I going to yoga today?” you just know, and you go.

3. It’s probably not a good idea to go on vacation during your challenge, but I did!

4. Even if you don’t go out of town, you will have to do some doubles. Don’t worry, it’s not that bad.

5. If you are a woman take your clothes off ASAP post-yoga. Don’t walk around in them and get bubble tea or whatever the hell on your walk back home. You will get a yeast infection!!!

6. After class soak your clothes in cold soapy water. This will help keep the stink at bay.

7. Be prepared to do mountains of laundry.

8. Drink water, coconut juice, lemon water, kombucha, anything, everything, all day long. If you must drink alcohol go light.

9. It can get pricey renting a mat, towel and water every time, so try your best to bring your own materials. However, renting a towel can be worth it just so you don’t have to deal with the mess.

10. You may not lose weight. I don’t think I lost a pound, which really frustrated me (Two hours + of exercise a day for 30 days, what the hell???). I did, however, lose half an inch+ on my stomach. My abs and quads are super strong and defined, and at the gym today running was … EASY. I didn’t break a sweat or breathe hard at all. So… definite improvement, but not a tip of the scales.

Life, Travel

Hello From Austin, Texas!

Last week Ryan and I took off for a quickie trip to Austin, Texas. We had just missed South By Southwest (SXSW), the huge music and technology festival, which was by design. SXSW is notoriously a drunken multimedia mess, and we were in search of a calm retreat. We’d both never been to Austin before, and really wanted to get to know what the city is really like (when there aren’t an extra 25,000 people there).

Some cities are great for visiting, others are great for living. Austin seems to be one of those rare cities that is both cool to visit and seemed totally livable.

I have a few photos from the trip, so I’m breaking this up into two parts.

On Wednesday we took off for Austin, and with the lovely flight delays that American Airlines provided us, we barely made it. Once we were in Austin, we caught a bus ($1!!!) downtown, and then hoofed it to the apartment that I’d booked on airbnb.com. Then we wandered down to the local bar and ate and drank way too much.

Thursday we walked down to the local bakery and had treats for breakfast. We walked past this love note engraved on the sidewalk, and I could tell already that this city was going to be silly.

Afterwards I was still hungry, so we stopped by the Whole Foods across the way for a little something extra. I was really impressed by the electric vehicle charging station and the bicycle parking + repair station. So progressive!

After more food we wandered over to Lance Armstrong’s bicycle shop with the intention of renting a bike. There was really nobody around to help us, so we left not sure quite what to do. With no plans, it was straight to the drink.

Much better.

While we sipped margaritas we harnessed the power of the internet to rent a car. Yes we lasted maybe 3 hours in Austin without a car. Tragic.

Things were much better once we’d gotten the car (70 bucks for several days, totally worth it). We moved on to South Austin, and got haircuts at a shop that offers you a beer the moment you walk in. I am noticing a theme in my vacation!

A couple wearing matching flip flops, t-shirts and camouflage shorts were in the barber chairs getting matching mohawks. Their parents and a friend were there for support. Perhaps they were getting hitched?

The parents in the background watching…

Afterwards we went vintage shopping. The vintage scene was alive and well in Austin, but also seriously overpriced. 17 dollars for nasty modern Converses??? Please.

We did stumble upon a really cool toy store though. Toy Joy was near the UT campus and carried all sorts of geeky toys from The Settlers of Catan to Aquasaurs to Asian bug eyed Hello Kitty knock offs. Heavenly!

Choose Your Own Adventure Books are coming back! Can you believe it?

For dinner we headed to the Alamo Drafthouse, a movie theater that serves dinner as well. You just write down what you want on a little pad in front of your seat. Great place! Really laid back, and it was awesome to have a pitcher of beer and dinner while we finally saw The King’s Speech. I don’t know if it was really best picture worthy, but it was lovely to look at, what with Colin Firth and the army of Corgis.

We got there a bit early… Our waitress was kind enough to indulge.

In the same strip mall area was The High Ball, a 60s style lounge/bowling alley/music space. There was a rockabilly country band playing so we danced a little, but really couldn’t keep up with the spirited dancing of the locals. All that swinging and two-stepping! Near the bowling alley twenty-somethings bowled and watched a psychedelic Russian cartoon about a dinosaur wanting to be born.

It was at this point that I knew this city was truly strange…

We did some more things worth sharing, but I’ll put that up another time. 🙂

Health, Life

Just got back from 4 days of nonstop overeating and overdrinking in Austin, TX. Feeling kind of fat and bloated.

Did a double today. It was bearable, but I’m absolutely useless now.

Four classes left to go in three days. I’m tempted to do two more doubles in a row, just so I will have earned the right to celebrate with a “Triple Double” cocktail. What’s in a Triple Double? Hmm I don’t know. But it sounds like a fun drink, right?

Possible ideas include:

  • Coconut Juice (with rum???)
  • A fine Tripel beer
  • Sweat
  • Cayenne
  • EmergenC

Mmmmmm

Health, Life

Today was another class with more than 60 people. Similar to Day # 7, I almost lost it mentally and was tempted to storm out due to claustraphobia and frustration. Again I held it together. Oh how I wish this were over!

My last eight classes of the challenge are scheduled as follows:

  • Tuesday 6:30 pm class + 8:15 pm class with Jill
  • Wednesday 6:15 am class <– yes that is 6:15 AM.
  • Vacation in Austin Wednesday-Saturday
  • Sunday 2 classes 4:30pm and 6:30 pm
  • Monday 6:30pm class
  • Tuesday 6:30pm class
  • Wednesday 6:30pm class

The end is near, but oh my goodness these next couple of days are gonna be rough. I am a fucking mess. Legs ache terribly. I wake up, open my eyes, and feel the soreness instantly. I am no good at any of the standing series due to pain. Riding my bike, even getting up from my seat at work I am in pain. My knees are shot. My foot pain is back.

What to do? Ugh.

Life, Lists

What I’m Excited About- March 20, 2011

A short list this week as I’m currently cooking chicken and biscuits and have to hoof it to yoga in less than an hour.

1.There are ten classes left for my 30 Day Bikram Challenge, and factoring in my vacation, I’ve got 8 days to do it in. Crunch time. It’s funny, ten classes feels incredibly close and doable (with a little suffering), and yet at the same time, feels totally unreasonable. I can say that when this is all over I’m looking forward to having a social life again 🙂

2.Wednesday I’m going to Austin for a quickie vacation. I haven’t really done my research, but I hear there are bats, good food, and swimming holes!!!

3. Oh, I also scheduled a trip to Chicago. More on that at another time.

4. As if that wasn’t enough vacation in store for me, I also need to schedule several weeks more vacation to get myself down to an acceptable limit at work. I don’t really have the funds or the desire to go anywhere else immediately, but it’s fun to think about.

5. Did I mention that I was making chicken and biscuits? They’re going to be delicious. Can’t wait to eat them tonight.

6. Last but not least, my friend Alyssa is going to Mozambique in April with Habitat for Humanity. She’s going to build houses, save the world, etc. etc. She is currently raising money for her trip and has a ways to go to make it to the $1600 goal  (you can check out the details here). Normally I am a bit jaded about whether fundraising for a cause actually accomplishes anything, but I know Alyssa (she’s no-nonsense and quite awesome) and I feel good passing on some cash to help her do good in Mozambique. You should donate too, if you like. She will be very grateful and might even make you some macaroni and cheese, or sing you a song. Actually, I am quite sure she will, HAHA.