Snowmaggedon

I actually prefer the title "Snowverload," actually.

We are pretty much dug out (finally). Well, mostly. Our neighborhood does an admirable job of plowing the streets, since it hires plows to clean the streets and doesn't rely on the state and county plows (which were understandably overstressed). So in spite of the 30 inches of snow on Saturday, I went for a morning run on Sunday -- managed the full 4.5 miles, with a couple of slowdowns for patchy snow on the street, and a couple of stops to chat with friends and neighbors. Pretty amazing! And really beautiful, since the snow was still on the trees, but the sun was out and the sky was bright blue. So all in all, the snow didn't really affect my workout routine -- plus there was all that shoveling! Good thing, since I don't have a treadmill.

I have recently discovered I have a bit of a macho streak, and it was certainly well-fed the last couple of weeks. Even this morning, I got a "you're so brave!" shout-out from a woman walking to the Metro. I said to her what I've generally said to people when they are surprised to see a runner in the snow or even just in the cold -- once you're out there, it's really not that bad! In fact, in can be downright exhilarating. But I have to admit, I enjoyed that little ego-stroking, and it made me feel really tough.

Yoga Every Day

Well, almost every day. Last year I took a yoga class three times a week for six months, and really liked it. The strength and flexibility benefits were slow, but definitely noticeable. And I think the time spent breathing deeply is important. However, it was just too time-consuming to go to an hour and twenty minute class three times a week. So after my six-month membership was up, I decided I would try to do yoga at home for 30 minutes or so three times a week.

Well, that was almost a year ago, and I haven't been doing a very good job of keeping it up. At most I do it once a week, and many weeks I haven't done any yoga at all.

So I've decided I will try to do 15-30 minutes of yoga every weekday. I've been doing it as soon as I get home, before I look at the mail, or read the paper, or start making dinner. I change my clothes and roll out the mat in my bedroom, and start. I am very much a creature of habit and routine, so I'm hoping that if I start doing this regularly enough, it will "take" and I'll keep it up. And the fact that it's not particularly time-consuming helps a lot. It's also a nice de-stresser at the end of a usually stressful day.

One thing I am looking for is sources of yoga poses, so I don't get into a rut of doing the same routine every day. Yoga Journal has a build-your-own-routine feature on its website, so I will be trying that, and there are also some yoga routine iphone apps which I want to check out.