IMLP- Finally race report up!

IMLP

From the moment I arrived at the cottage we were renting in Lake Placid I knew that everything was “right”.  There were images of moose scattered throughout the cottage on lampshades, candleholders, and dishware and I instantly knew that my grandmother was with me. Reflections of my childhood summers at Big Moose Lake in the Adirondacks came to mind and I knew deep down that I was going to have a fabulous experience at IMLP. My grandmother was one of the strongest, kindest people that I have ever met. My first 70.3 her name was on the metal bar next to my race number where I racked my bike. My childhood summers had been spent swimming in Big Moose Lake with my cousins, biking on the dirt road on a pink bike that probably cost as much as a big tub of Powerade Perform, and running away from my parents when it was time to come into the cottage for the night. Everything was coming together.

Wednesday 7/24/13

My training partner and I awoke, ate breakfast and then headed out to mirror lake for a 1.2 mile swim (1 loop). I was incredibly nervous as my shoulder had been bothering me to the point that the day before I had eaten several ibuprofen. I knew that my swim technique was not fabulous as evidence by the one swim clinic I attended several months prior where the instructor informed me that I hyperextend my left arm to the point of pain.  No wonder my left shoulder always hurt after a 60 min swim. I tried to correct it on my own in the few swims I did the last few weeks prior to IM, but I knew that without a coach and trying to wing it on my own I probably wasn’t doing so hot. I knew I could “get through” the swim so decided not to focus on it.

The other reason for my nerves was that the last time I had swam in Mirror Lake I completely hyperventilated. (It had snowed in Lake Placid the week before and the water was freezing!!) I had never had that happen to me and was terrified of experiencing that panic again. Thankfully the water was 76 degrees that Wednesday.

We got in, easily found the white rope at the bottom of the lake that maps out the swim course and started swimming. I don’t know what it is about that lake but I felt fabulous. I felt like I was gliding through the water, was breathing effectively on both sides and had NO shoulder pain. What a sigh of relief!

Thursday 7/25/13

I awoke after some crazy nightmares around 350am. I was convinced that someone was going to enter the cottage through the window and murder me. I very RARELY EVER have nightmares and I certainly NEVER have trouble sleeping through the night. My poor brain subconsciously must have been on overdrive with worry about the race!

We got up and had fabulous coffee and then I proceeded to curl up on the couch with my blanket and watched “The Goonies” as it was drizzling outside. Perfect little morning.

Friday 7/26/13

The last workout before IMLP. 3 mile run out towards the horse show grounds. Everything felt great- I was pushing the pace a little bit when I looked down at my garmin and saw 8 min miles I figured I better slow down.

My parents then arrived in the afternoon and later that evening we attended the athlete dinner. The athlete dinner opened with the Olympic theme playing and Andy Potts came in carrying the “olympic torch”. Again, I felt like everything was coming together when I heard this music as this was the song I had used on my alarm clock all through the winter to motivate me to get out of bed in the dark to train.

 Saturday 7/27/13

We spent most of Saturday trying to stay off our feet and of course had to go check in our bikes. It was very hot without a cloud in the sky this day and volunteers were warning us to let some air out of our bike tires. After I racked my bike I leaned over to let some air out of my tires and automatically heard a “WHOOSH”. I had somehow managed to let out all the air in my tire! I walked around asking the volunteers for a bike pump but no one had any pumps. I frantically looked around transition for Alex or Paul but could not find them and did not have my cell with me! (one of the very very few times that I actually did not have my phone). I finally found Paul, had to take my bike out of transition into the expo, and found a bike pump at the bike mechanic tent. After I was thoroughly covered in bike grease we finally headed back to the cottage for a pasta dinner cooked by Caylin. Great food and great friends!

7/28/13 RACE DAY

 I awoke at 3:45 am- surprisingly I slept well. I got up relatively easily, had half a cup of coffee, some powerade, a bagel and a banana- I think?? (if my memory serves me correctly). We all (Mom, Dad, Chris, Megan, Paul, Laura, Caylin, Alex and Cathy) left the cottage and walked down to the body marking area. Paul made sure to stick by me because he had told me that I needed a “special” mark. After getting marked Paul asked the volunteer for the marker and put a big “V” on my calf. “V” for virgin. Super funny.

The Swim: 1:27

Obviously being my first 140.6 I have never started in a mass IronMan start, but I was not a fan of the rolling start. When the gun went off it was completely anticlimactic and I found myself swimming faster than a lot of the people that had lined up in my “corral”. I got hit multiple times (mostly by green capped boys) and decided it was time to swim wide on the left side. I know that I added some mileage by doing this but was happy when I was getting hit much less. I felt good the entire swim.
Swimming is clearly not my strength but my plan was just to get through it. Mission accomplished!

The Bike: 8:00

My plan for the bike was to be slow and steady as I did not want to have nothing left in the tank for the run. When I had volunteered at IMLP the year prior I had found a 30 something year old guy laying in the middle of the road about a mile from the finish line around 10pmish. He was clearly very hyponatremic and I’m sure he had multiple other electrolyte imbalances. That picture is something that I will never forget and was terrified of being in that position. I knew I could bike the course in 8 hours (as I had biked it the weeks prior to race) and I knew that would still leave me an extra hour to play with in terms of cut off times. Around mile 88 my quads started to burn and I remember turning to Paul (who had turned up around mile 70ish) and asking is this normal???!! Paul replied “yup, you just biked 88 miles completely normal”. I never was in any pain per say, just burning.

I should also mention that I had decided to change my Garmin to “multisport” option about 5 minutes before the race started. Had I ever used the “multisport” option?? Nope. Fabulous idea Laura, switch the Garmin to an option you have never trained with. So for 90 miles of the bike I had no bike data. No heart rate. No alarm telling me when to sip from my aero bottle. No cadence. And the little chart that I had taped to my handlebars telling me what time to GU,completely irrelevant as I only had the total race time flashing on my Garmin.

At 90 miles Paul wanted to stop at the aide station and stretch his back- thankfully I found a girl  that knew how to make my data viewable! So for the last  20 miles of the bike I had my data. The only other part of the bike course that bothered me was coming up the climb near Wilmington Notch campground- my legs were tired by this point and I was alone as I had left Alex and Paul behind me somewhere. Thankfully, there was a guy with a sign that said “smile if you have peed on yourself today” He was super inspiring and was yelling positive statements at me getting me through that little spot on the course. When I finally dismounted my bike I was nothing but super excited to run- my favorite part of the IM!

The Run: 5:18

Definitely my slowest marathon BY far.

As I left transition I felt so good and was just excited to be running. As I hit mile 3 I realized that I was running 9 minute miles and I should probably slow down. I slowed a bit, still feeling good- I saw Jamie around mile 4ish and he took one look at me and said “ You have way too much pep in your step”. As much as I wanted to stay and run with him so I could talk to a familiar face I pushed forward as I knew if I slowed it would be bad news. Probably around mile 6ish I saw a lot of people walking and thought.. Hmm Maybe I should walk? I felt good then but was scared of what I would feel like at mile 21 and couldn’t help thinking about the boy laying in the middle of the road last year. So  I walked bits and pieces.

At hour 11 I finally felt like I could have a BM- Had NOT had one at all before the race and was feeling bloated by this point. As I was in the port-a-potty I heard this poor girl outside asking for me to hurry up. Pretty sure she was outside vomiting. Later I saw multiple other women puking alongside River Rd and of course the nurse in me told the volunteers to give them chicken broth as I was pretty sure they were losing massive amounts of sodium.

Heading back into town to complete my first loop I saw my parents (My mother was screaming Laura Natalie!!!! Natalie was only ever brought out during my childhood when I was bad so I immediately stopped in my tracks) and ran over to them screaming only 13.1 to go!! I felt good. I charged up the hill, instead of walking like many were doing. I remembered back to the days of team in training and being taught to run up the hills of Mendon and not stop. 

I felt so good that I went into my special needs bag at mile 13 and pulled out chocolate chop cookies. Yes, you read that correctly. Chocolate chip cookies. Did I ever train with chocolate chip cookies ?? Nope. What possessed me to put them in my special needs bag I do not know. All I knew was that I was hungry for “real” food and did not want a single more vanilla GU. So I ate my chocolate chip cookies and immediately my stomach revolted. I thought for sure I was going to vomit or need to use the restroom. I ran down main st in Lake Placid thinking “don’t puke on main st. Don’t puke on main st” (crowds lined this street). Luckily, as soon as I was at the end of main st- headed up the hill near Liquids and Solids it started to rain. It only rained for about 5 minutes but it was exactly what I needed and I immediately felt better.

The rest of the run was fun. I enjoyed talking to random strangers and I noted all the signs up along River Rd. My favorite sign being “You win. Andy Potts never did a 17 hour IronMan”.

I felt strong the last few miles and was so happy to see my friends Dave and Margaret Brongo and Robin near the finish. As I entered the oval I’m pretty sure I was saying “oh my God, Oh my God, Oh my God”. My only regret is that I didn’t slow down to enjoy those crowds.

Crossing the finish line was amazing. I saw my family and immediately devoured 2 slices of pizza. They kept taking my picture and all I remember thinking was “Can I please just eat my pizza?” And in the end… I felt better after this IronMan than I did after my last marathon.

Goal complete.

Excited to truly race this event in 2015. Can’t wait to set a PR.

Amazing experience and amazing people I have met through this triathlon journey. I really can’t thank the people in my life enough!

Lake Placid Training Weekend 1

Lake Placid. The iconic town of the Olympic Games. The site of one of the most challenging IronMan courses. The site of where I will be competing in my first full IronMan.

Training weekend Number 1: The Weekend of FIRSTS

Saturday AM:
7amish: Mirror Lake
Full wet suit on and go to put on my swim cap- Rips open- FIRST time this has ever happened. Alex gives me his swim cap- we get into Mirror Lake where I immediately scream because the lake is so cold. I start hyperventilating in the water. FIRST time this has ever happened. We start swimming and I can not breathe. FIRST time I have ever felt like this. We swim only about 200 yards or so where I have to turn around because I am in full panic mode, not breathing correctly, convinced we may drown as it is foggy and cloudy out with no one in a kayak nearby.
We get out of lake and I can not stop shivering.

Transition at Alex's car:
I strip from my wet suit, take my bathing suit off and change into my bike gear. Still shivering when we leave his car and take off for our first loop around Lake Placid.

Bike- Loop 1:
It is drizzling out and I am freezing the first few miles. Then we start climbing- not a bad climb just a slow longish climb- the roads are awful- potholes everywhere forcing me to stay off the shoulder.
We reach the top of the Descent into Keene- terrifying- braking the entire way down into Keene- convinced that a car is going to hit me.
We reach Keene and there is a super cute little ADK cafe and shop. Turn left onto 9N? I cant remember the road- this is a great part of the course! Flater and pretty- on the way to Jay. My cadence was probably way to high here.
Around Jay we stop at a rest stop- I unclip and walk through the MUDDY grass to pee- Yup didnt realize at the moment but was completely messing up my cleats. Opps.
Jay to Wilmington- slow climb- biked it a little on the fast side. Opps
Whiteface to Placid- It starts drizzling at Whiteface, the headwind picks up and it is a slow climb- I took it too fast on the first loop. Mama and Papa Bear- not to worry- they seemed really easy to me after some of the climbing I had done before around Canadaigua.

Back at the car: Bananas GU, gas station stop, Ritz crackers with peanut butter
That loop didnt seem too bad.....Except I was about to die on the second loop.

Bike Loop 2:
Start off on the slow smaller climb and I realize my quads are starting to scream. Ouch. Fatigue. Did I mention that I really wasnt drinking too much??? Ouch.
Descent into Keene- it is now raining with a lot more traffic. I am absolutely terrified of the traffic. I brake the entire way down- and realize that I can't clip out- another FIRST- stupid mud.
I lose Alex at this point.
I reach Keene- recognize Tara's car and stop to lean against it as this is the only way I can unclip- I pour water from my water bottle over my cleats and pedals in an attempt to clean- doesnt really work.
Flat area to Jay- easy but quads still burn. I am tired. It is gray out. My training partner is no where to be found. I am mad now.
Absolutely destroyed by the time I reach Wilmington. I cry the entire way from Whiteface to Placid off and on. It is drizzling when I am near Whiteface. I am alone. And I hurt- the entire left side of my body- I can not even unclip to rest. At one point I lean against a guardrail next to the river near Wilmington Notch.
And finally head back to Placid. I could not tell you when I took a gel those last 20 miles. I did not have good nutrition at all.
I reached Alex's car- and literally leaned into him on my bike as I could not even unclip due to mud in my cleats... And I cried. I told him I didnt have this in me. I could not even imagine running one mile at this time.

Lessons Learned:

1. Proper Nutrition: Set Garmin to alarm every 10 min to take water/perform
2.Gel every 40 min, bring fig newtons with me- Buy eGels ( more calories)
3. take the first loop easy
4. Stop with the high cadence on the flatter areas
5. Do not brake on the descents- use to your advantage
6. Do not unclip in mud, gravel or anything that can remotely effect pedals
7: take flat tire class- If I get a flat I need to change it incredibly fast
8. Buy Gator tires
9. Use Chamois butter and body glide ( never have really needed in running but def need now)



Training Day 2: Lake Placid Half Marathon 2:02
My slowest half marathon (not counting musselman)
But Felt GREAT!!
I Stayed slow at the beginning and forced myself to run slow as I did not know how I would feel after biking 85 miles the day before. It was hard to slow it down. But I did. I ran 9:14- 9:42 the entire first 9 miles. I felt so good at mile 9 I started to pick it up. And the final 3 miles I passed half the field- running closer to 8 minute pace. Redeemed myself and played it safe. I was happy.

So the next 48 days.. I will be doing hill repeats, popping tires so I can change them quickly, foam rolling my quads like it is my job, eat clean, make a chart for when to gel on course and tape on bike, buy eGels and use them, and bike, bike bike- mostly hills.
So in 2 weeks when I go back to tackle the full 112 miles...I will be a stronger athlete- mentally and physically.

Happy 2013! IM BACK!

Wow 2012 went by pretty quickly!
Once again I have made the New Years Resolution to update my blog instead of merely blog stalking.

2012 brought lots of excitement:

PR'ing  in the NYC half marathon by a few seconds: 1:45:42  and a great weekend with my friend Allison!!

Mimosas post race with Allison!

This PR was also after being out til 4am in NYC 2 nights before the race with great friends...oopsy! But who can resist this NYC view:

snapped this great pic at the Team in Training booth:

I also experienced my first yoga rave in 2012....AMAZING!!!!!!! Who can argue with yoga, a dark room, techno music, flashing lights, and glow sticks- super fun and cant wait for the second annual one this SUNDAY!

Then it was on to Pittsburgh on my 31st birthday to celebrate with what should have been a full marathon...stupid IT band...so I ended up changing to half marathon at expo...for the price of ANOTHER 25 dollars to run half as far...great decision on my part though because the weather was ridiculously hot and my friends that ran the full all wished they had done the half in that heat!

Pittsburgh was definitely not a PR for me, but with injury and heat I'll take it. 1:52:05




Next was a nurse's week 5k that I talked my co-workers into running- great times!! I hate 5k's but this one was fun through the park with co-workers. A week after the half marathon and my legs were not ready for race legs- but good times! 22:31

Don't they all look so happy that I dragged them out there?? It's amazing how running changes your outlook on life- for me it so positive and makes me bounce off the walls with happiness!

Since I had my first Half IronMan in July- I decided in May that I better get on my bike- Here is a pic of my first outdoor ride of the season...I think we did 30 miles and I was cursing for half of it. My training partner Alex loves hearing me curse! 

Then we decided we better start training on Seneca Lake, where the Half IronMan course was held:

8am on a Saturday morning- yes please I am soooo excited to ride 50 miles. This was the day I believe we did our first 50-56 mile ride.

And I went back for more the next weekend or so:

Don't worry mom I am putting on SUNSCREEN!

Absolutely Gorgeous course- I honestly have to say I can't wait to get back out there and ride this Spring:

 
Next one of my favorite races: the Boilermaker- one of the world's most famous 15k's that the kenyans come to!!!!

 Here we are: Alicia, Jessica and Me- Happy Birthday to Jess this day!! It was so hot out but sooo fun- 15k was well spectated per usual and the kenyans were done when I was on mile 4. I finished in 1:14:23


Then came race day!!! The Musselman Half Ironman. I was so excited and nervous....the swim went absolutely fine...but almost had diarrhea because it was soooooo warm that day that the officials made the call last minute that it was not wet suit legal!!! I had trained in open water mostly in my wet suit! So off I went in my lululemon yoga top ( had to look cute ) and my tri shorts. Now let me tell you even with the lulu top tucked in my shorts there is significantly more drag when you are trying to swim over a mile in open water! But it all worked out.

THEN, the rain came- and when I say rain I mean the worst thunderstorm/rainstorm of the summer- BLACK sky, rain so hard I could not see more than 3 feet ahead of my bike, bike shoes filled with water so I felt like I was swimming! Oh and lightening - Awesome. At that point I just wanted to make it through the race alive. By mile 50 the rain stopped. Biking is my weak link so I just kept cruising at my nice comfy speed, being passed by half the racers.


On to the run-MY event. I knew I would make up time here. 13.1 miles- yup, I can easily do this. My legs were tired and it was super humid post rain- but managed to finish the half in 2:06. ( It also helped that my friends Julie and Evan were at mile 3 and 10 cheering for me!)

My first Half IronMan time: 6:25:22. I will take it. Nice little conservative pace worked well for me!

Time to celebrate!!!! good thing we brought wine and Alex's girlfriend drove us home from the race!

 YUM! I love a good sauv blanc and some (or a bag) of gold fish!!!

 Half IronMan complete


Since the half ironman went so well.......I decided when I was volunteering at Lake Placid IronMan that I was definitely signing up! We worked the last water station on the course at Lake Placid- what an eye opener- I saw athletes struggling at mile 138 like I had never seen in my life. I saw an athlete laying in the middle of the road half unconscious, most likely very hyponatremic. And I saw amazing amount of strength. COUNT ME IN!

Start of Lake Placid....I wanted to vomit for the athletes.

So the next day after being up til 1 am , we got up at 430am to stand in line and sign up!

WE ARE IN- JULY 28 2013!:

Alex and I with our official letters saying we are in (700 dollars poorer)

One of my most favorite runs of the year was in late July when I visited my friend Jesse in San Diego:

11 miles along the San Diego Bay and then ocean. Perfect!!!!!!!!! (Jesse thinks I am crazy)

Then it was time to train for Wineglass marathon- great marathon in upstate NY.

But first I did a nice little 5k with my co-worker who hadn't ever run before:

She did awesome and has signed up for another race!!!!!!


September 30th brought Wineglass Marathon- where I had it in my silly little head that I was going to qualify for Boston and made the rookie mistake of going out WAY WAY too fast and had stabbing IT Band pain at mile 10 - 26.2. Awful race for me.

Here I am at mile 23- good thing you can't see my face- filled with pain and frustration:

But I did finish- crossed the line in 3:58:36...not a PR but still sub 4. My own fault for being stupid.

And was so happy at the finish to celebrate with my friend Alicia who ran her FIRST marathon:

Wineglass Marathon not only gives you a medal blown with glass from Corning, NY, but they also give you a wine glass and local champagne. We each managed to take approximately 1.5 sips post marathon!

But good times and great learning experience for me!

I usually am not a fan of race medals, but this is the one race that each medal is blown with glass in such a unique manner.


Next up: Turkey Trot.
It was so warm in upstate NY for November and I was thrilled to be running in shorts!!! I also convinced the boy I am dating to join in the fun!!! (He is now signed up for his first half marathon!

Gobble Gobble- perfect day!

Near the start line- just strolling along- I promised the boy I would stay with him....and lost him at mile 2 - ooops!!!! To my defense there literally were 5000 other people running around me!

Everyone finished with smiles!!!!!

Throughout the fall I was also coaching for Team in Training (Leukemia and Lymphoma Society) and we just came back from the event the girls trained for: Disney Marathon

They did great! I personally would never want to run Disney for my own ( I was coaching) as I found it super annoying to get up at 2:30 am and get plowed over by people who suddenly stop because they want a picture of Mickey Mouse- BUT it is a GREAT event for first time marathoners.

 Fireworks at the start line

 Magic Kingdom- Day 1 Half Marathon

 Start line day 2- Full Marathon- Liana, Me, and Margie


Unfortunately, the heat was so high that Orlando was breaking records- but both my girls finished!

SO PROUD OF THESE LADIES!!!!!!! (Margie, Me, Liana)

I stupidly ran the half marathon on saturday- and then put in 15ish miles on Sunday coaching the full marathon and now my right medial knee hurts. So I was off to the doc this AM, xrays look fine, MRI in a few days just to be sure but doc is pretty sure just inflamed badly from overuse this weekend. He said not in the right spot for meniscus. Once again making smart choices. Ah well- at least I am learning these lessons pre-IronMan. I told him my training starts FEB 10th so I am not playing around- and he ordered the MRI!

I promise to be better about updates!!!
~LNK

Blogging....for real!

I promise I am going to be better about posting!
On quick lunch break so I figured I would try to fix up this blog a bit.

First, Scared to say this: ART has helped me overcome a minor setback....silly hip flexor, piriformis and IT band. While my doctor wouldn't let me run the full marathon, I was able to run the Pittsburgh Half Marathon. ( Pics to come)
I decided that I would just have fun with it...no trying to beat my PR...just relax, have fun, keep myself injury free and....walk if need be. Of course the weather helped me achieve that goal as it was super HOT the day of the half...I walked twice for the first time ever in a half marathon and took in the sights- the volunteers, the awesome signs, the spectators, and the sights of Pittsburgh. Finished in 1:52..definitely not my fastest 1/2 marathon..but I will take it with battling injury and the sun beating down on me.

Best sign ever: You have trained longer for this than Kim Kardashian was married!

Haha I was dying when I saw that sign- burst out laughing in the middle of the course. And that, my friends, is what running is about- having fun!

Pics to come!!!

Happy Thursday!
~Laura~

beautiful run

Happy Thursday!!!

It has been a great training week. Every day I meant to meet my new goal of blogging more often but unfortunately that has not happened! Ah well....baby steps.

Baby steps. Anyone ever see the movie "What about Bob?" Great movie. Baby steps.

Back to the training week:
Saturday: 18 mile run
Sunday: 15 min Elliptical, 1hr 15 min hot power vinyasa
Monday: 30 min swimming laps- 10 min transition to hour spin class (24 miles)
Tuesday: MXT (Midtown Extreme Training- extreme bootcamp) before work, 4.3 miles after work
Wednesday: 30 min swim
Thursday: 4 mile run

Backing off on the running mileage this week to stay healthy and injury free. I have found that cross training has helped me knock off some PR's even without high mileage.

While I really enjoy the cross training, also enjoyed a beautiful run part through the city and part through the park.

View from my run tonight

Other fun things this week:

- Read a really great book- completely not related to work or training- "The Bungalow" A novel about a nurse who falls in love during World War II while engaged to someone else.

-Didn't end up working too many crazy hours

- I heard from a patients family from several years ago

-Swam outdoors for the first time this season

Do you find cross training makes you a stronger runner?

Ever done a triathlon?

Double workouts and 18 miles

So, I finally decided it was time to get serious with this Half Ironman training plan (in the midst of training for a marathon).
Wednesday my plan called for a double workout (am and pm) so I started off the morning like I normally do on Wednesdays- 530 am swim. I swam 1200 yards and then did a bit of pool running. After work I ran 5 easy miles and felt great! I could have kept going but the "injury free" Laura said time to stop.

After a nice workout I decided it was time for one of my favorite protein packed meals:

Baked Chicken stuffed with spinach and cheese- super healthy! 

Check out the recipe here

And, because I am trying to be healthy....a side of roasted brussels sprouts. 

Today, I ran 18 miles at Mendon Ponds with the group- Great run.

Reasons why I rocked this run:

1.) I stuffed my face with Mexican food last night at this restaurant. 

Picture about 7 baskets of chips (for 5 people) and sides of guacamole. Best guacamole in Rochester hands down. I pretty much would have been satisfied with guacamole alone but ordered chicken fajitas as well. When I woke up this morning I was still full and tasting Mexican.    

2.) After the NYC half marathon I decided to utilize gels more.

 I have always been a fan of PowerBar gels- usually only the vanilla flavor. However, today I decided to use the chocolate with caffeine- soooo good and I was so full of energy I could have done 20 miles today!

3.) Cross training. 

This week I did power vinyasa, extreme boot camp, swam and ran. Nice little mix to keep the hip flexor, piriformis, and IT band happy.

4.) My minimalist shoes. (8.5 oz)

Adidas Boston 2

(sad that the Boston 3 is out...its slightly narrower)

Now, I am camped out in my compression socks in recovery mode. Ah, perfect Saturday!

What do you do to make long runs go well? Nutrition? 

Best kind of compression socks??

I use Zensah. 

Yoga RAVE!

Sunday marked the first time ever that Rochester has had.......a Yoga Rave!!

Harro East Ballroom- Rochester, NY 3.25.12

What you ask is a yoga rave?

Well my friends it is a combination of power vinyasa, dancing and savasana.

Put on thanks to Lululemon and my gym.

What a great time!!!

The doors opened at 6:30pm and from this point until 7:15 LuLulemon had provided body paint, glow sticks, blinking rings and lights to attach to your clothing.

BODY paint!!!! SO fun!

Julie and I decorated our arms and faces with paint before settling down on our mats and figuring out which limb to display our glow sticks on.

Hearts on my face!!!

Julie and I getting ready on our mats

The power vinyasa started around 7:15 and went until about 8:45. So incredible to be in a dark room, techno music blaring, doing yoga with glow sticks lighting up the ball room.

The instructors soothing voices came in over the techno music, creating a nice balance as we moved through the class. While I caught myself taking in the scenery a few times, rather than focusing on my practice, I still reaped huge benefits. Not only was this class fun and playful, but also physically challenging!!! (my arms are still sore 2 days later).

Next it was Dance party USA!!! For about 30 minutes it was mostly dancing,and big circles of love as we all gathered around and held hands while balancing on one leg. We even had a few "yoga trains" around the room. Wedding reception meets techno club while at the gym style!

What a great vibe in the entire room!! Everyone was happy, dancing around carefree. And those who aren't fabulous dancers (ME) could have the option to spike a florescent ball in the air through the crowd.  Or...You could practice your awesome yoga moves:

The night ended with an extra long savasana...What a great night!!!

What's your favorite type of yoga?


Ever been to a yoga rave?