Return to Bikram

Originally uploaded by TheC2life

I attended my first class of Bikram Yoga in seven months tonight.

For those that don't know one type of Yoga from the next, Bikram Yoga is an intense form of Hatha Yoga which is practiced in a heated room, almost sauna like. The heat not only warms the body and muscles but also adds to the intensity of the class by placing you outside your comfort zone while you are taken through at least 20 different poses over 90 minutes.

I still remember back to the first class Bikram I ever did, almost a year ago to the day, I swear it almost killed me. This time round I knew what to expect and I'm quite happy with how I went, managing to complete all but a few of the poses and keeping my breathing well under control.

The last 15-20 minutes are brutal. The heat is almost unbearable but you try not to think about it. Keep it out of your mind and it is almost unnoticeable. Let it get to you and you will just wish for the class to end.

In between each of the floor series of poses you get a brief rest, known as Savasna. This is when you just lay in complete stillness for 30 seconds bringing your breath under control. I try to think of how many poses are left before the class is over and I can escape to the cool air outside the studio. That's all part of the challenge though, staying to the end and completing the class.

The hamstring stretches are the penultimate pose, followed by back twists and a final breathing exercise, then a final Savasna. I made to the end and I'm one of the first ones out the door.

**Warning - Locker room scenes follow **

After a class is always a strange feeling. The men's changing rooms are silent, it's like no one has any energy to talk, I know I don't. I have a cold shower to cool off and try and return my body's temperature to something more normal. The cold water is so refreshing , it cools and revitalises the body.

Afterwards I'm still totally drained, but I know it's all worth it in the end.

If you haven't done it yet, give Bikram Yoga a try.

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On My Bike

After pretty much having the winter off from any type of fitness activity, this month I have started cycling again in order to start picking up my fitness levels ahead of a hoped for return to running in the spring.

Here are some pictures of my 'wheels'.

I ride my stationary bike at least twice a week in the evenings for 45 minutes. I've started riding in the evenings as I'm really not that good at getting up early unless I have to, IE to make and early start for work good or when I was running to fit in an early run. Also if I'm not up and about early then I can't be blamed for waking the kids too early.

After I'm finished on the bike I generally stretch for a half hour or so as well as doing some calf raises and some self massage on my calves to try and keep them from getting too stiff while I'm not running.

Here's my 'road bike'.

I take this baby out for a ride in the weekends. The last ride was only about 45 minutes but I will build that up to an hour in the coming weeks. She might not look as sleek and pacey as some other racing bikes out there, but I can still get a good work out done on her. I like having the option of doing some off road mountain biking also, though this isn't that frequent either.

I'm also fitting in a small amount of strength training on my weights bench.

At the moment its just leg extensions to work on strengthening the muscles around the knee so that when I start running these will hopefully be up to the job.

Last weekend was Jack's 7th birthday and we celebrated by taking both boys plus three of his mates to the local wave pool. There was also a hydro slide there which they all loved. Here's a pic of Jack and Sam exiting the slide.

Bronze for Nick Willis in 1500 meters final

Nick Willis celebrates third place in the Men's 1500m Final
Originally uploaded by SPARC Beijing Olympics 2008

Nick Willis ran the race of his life to finish in third place and take home the bronze medal in last nights glamour event of the Olympic track and field programme, the mens 1500 meters race.
Willis, the gold medallist in this event at the Melbourne Commonwealth Games of 2006, took the hopes of the nation into the race with him. The nation was desperate for an Olympic track medal after a 32 year drought since the great John Walker won gold in the same event at Montreal in 1976.

Willis ran a smart race, staying on the rail throughout and managing to stay out of trouble also. He stayed near the back of the field for the first 1000 meters before looking to move forward over the last 500 when the pace went on. With around 100 meters to go Willis got himself into third place which he held on to through to the finish, finishing in a time of 3:34:16, just holding off the fast finishing Frenchman Mehdi Baala.

Bahrain's Rashid Ramsi took the gold medal in a time of 3:32:94 with Kipruto Kiprod of Kenya finishing in second in a time of 3:33:1.

Read more about the race here.

Olympic Bronze for Docherty

DSC_0281crop
Originally uploaded by sportsmatters

New Zealand triathlete Bevan Docherty got up for a third place finish in todays Olympic Triathlon in Beijing. It was a strong race from Docherty, the former world champ and Athens Silver medalist.

Docherty, who is considered a strong runner, along with a small bunch of fellow competitors quickly ran down the two leaders following the bike leg, and then maintained a good pace over the last 5 km in what proved to be a very tactical race. One by one the runners dropped off as they found the pace too quick, leaving just Docherty, Spaniard Javier Gomez, German Jan Frodeno and Canadian Simon Whitfield left to contest the final lap of the 2.5 km run course.

The tactics continued right to the end with no one wanting to make their run too soon. In the end it was Frodeno who kicked on with about 200 meters to go. Frodeno claimed Gold with Whitfield taking Silver. Spanish favourite Javier Gomez was the one who missed out.

Docherty seemed pleased with his effort afterwards admitting that he had no more in the tank come the finish line.

You can read more about this exciting race here.

All eyes now are on Nick Willis in the 1500 meters final tonight.

What have I been doing the last month?

No running I can tell you that. I tried out a few short runs last month but still didn't feel I was well enough over my injuries. I don't feel like I'm missing out on much as it's still the middle of winter here and very wet, certainly not nice weather for running (though I know you folk in North America put up with a lot worse in your winters!). So my aim is to stay away from any impact training until at least spring and build back up to some distance running for our summer.



It's been a busy month at home too with Michelle's parents staying with us for a month while they renovate there property having now returned home from their nine month tour of North America. We also had my mother staying for two weeks over the school holidays. It all made for a very full and often entertaining household. Some might think that a month of your in laws staying is enough to drive anyone crazy, but we all get on okay so it was all good. It helps that Jan is a great in kitchen and Bruce (yes another Bruce!) acts as a punching bag for the boys.



Here's a photo of them and the kids from when we were in Vancouver recently.







The other milestone in the household this month was Sam's 5th birthday party. With both boys now being at school it's like we're moving on as a family ahead into a new stage of our lives , leaving the pre school days behind us. Sam has taken to school really well and had been literally counting down the days until he could join his big brother each day. It's also a big challenge ahead for Michelle. Having put her Legal Exec career on hold seven years ago to stay at home with the boys, she is now going to be looking to re enter the work force on a part time basis.






Until next time, happy running.

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