MOVE IT! 1/4 and 2/1 Complete

So, Week 1 of the MYB 4 for 4 challenge finally forced me to use a voucher I'd bought, due to expire on Thursday night, for bikram at a place near work. Five classes for $45, a pretty sweet deal. Except I was all out of sorts - exhausted (for various reasons), I'd played footie the day before and my hip was giving me some trouble, I'd slept funny and so I had an aching left shoulder and neck muscles. I didn't drink enough water during the day, either. Plus, as much as I am not a morning person, each previous trip to Bikram in the evening had been pretty rough, indicating that for exercise, at least, 7am is better for me than 8.30pm. When I ran a lot, the best time was about 6.45pm, straight after work, for some reason, but I can't often take a class at that time these days.

This is a long-winded, self-justifying way of saying I complete sucked at it. Absolutely awful. I managed maybe half the standing series and, pathetically enough, the mat series, too. I ache a little today, to show that there was some stretching. This was, in fact, the frustrating thing - my half moon pose was pretty good, still, hand to feet ok, and my triangle - when I could do it - was awesome, for me, at least. And the second set of fixed firm had my shoulders almost back on the floor, already. But I just could not keep up. It was rubbish, frankly.

This morning I completed the first piece of exercise for week 2. I had to rush out and zoom in a highly aerobic walk to the co-op because, as per usual, I was sluggish this morning and too late to make it on time without sweating. The walk back to the subway was accompanied by listening to the author of Born to Run on the slate sport podcast. Most people take him as a proponent of barefoot running but, from his discussion on that podcast, his main focus appears to be on recalibrating running styles so that the ball of your foot is the major place that strikes the ground, not the heel. It's intriguing. Given that I've tried various other things - physio, orthotics, support shoes - it's certainly beguiling to think there's this fix out there... Hmm...