I was doing so good on the blogging front a few weeks ago. Three posts in one week! Then I got sick and did nothing but sit on my sofa and blow my nose a bunch. That doesn't make for very exciting blog material.



But I'm back, and I think I'm maybe finally over my sinus infection/head cold/plague.

I've been hanging out in PA all week for Thanksgiving, and it's been lovely. In addition to being nice and relaxing, I've also finally felt OK enough to do some workouts.

Let me tell you, after doing nothing but yoga for two weeks, your cardiovascular endurance will go to crap.

I went to swim with my mom on Wednesday morning and was fairly certain I was going to drown by the time we finished our workout. And we only did a 1,500 yards work set.

Then on Thanksgiving I did my own version of a turkey trot because apparently Allentown doesn't believe in holding an actual 5K on Thanksgiving morning (this irks me every year). It's perhaps for the best I wasn't racing though because OMG my lungs were on fire during my run.

I went slooooow, and I got a nice reminder of what happens when you don't run for two straight weeks. But the weather here has been amazing this year, so I almost didn't mind how slow I was going and how pathetic my endurance was.

I went for another run today, that largely turned into a healthy mix of walking and running just for an excuse to be outside and soak up the sunshine. I will take 63 degree weather at the end of November any day.

Especially when you compare it to the weather we had in PA last year at Thanksgiving:



Snow in November is never cool.

So I think I'm finally healthy enough to get back on the workout wagon. I'm planning to swim with my mom again tomorrow morning, and maybe squeeze in another run on Sunday (though it's supposed to be a lot colder then). Here's hoping this was my one major sickness for the season, and I can power through the rest of cold and flu season unharmed.

This is a question I've been pondering a lot this week since I have been sick and have had zero desire to do anything but curl up on the sofa and blow my nose a million times.



Yet all over the Internet, in running magazines, blogs, etc, when people ask if you can work out while sick, the answer is always as long as your symptoms are above the chest/neck you're good to go and can work out if you want.

But I don't understand how someone can work out when their throat is on fire or their head is pounding. Running would just make that hurt more. So I've been doing zero workouts this week.

I got sick Tuesday night and after taking an exam Wednesday morning, I spent the rest of my day off curled up on the sofa with Netflix. (Side note: Why do I always get sick on government holidays?)

Since it was Veterans Day, it seemed only appropriate that I indulge in military movies. So I watched We Were Soldiers (for the first time) and Top Gun (for about the 500th). Netflix has started to recognize my love of Top Gun.



At this point I could probably recite the entire movie. I should be embarrassed by this, but I'm totally not. I got my love of Top Gun from my dad, who was in the Navy, and used to watch it all the time because it was always on TV. Check out these sweet old school photos of him my mom sent me.



Anyway, back to my sickness. I struggled into the office on Thursday, but threw in the towel and went to the doc this morning. Unfortunately I do not have strep throat, which means no antibiotics for me. Just good ol' rest and liquids and OTC decongestants.

Which I guess brings me back to my main question, how do people work out when they feel like this? All my symptoms are above the neck, but the thought of going for a run or even doing some easy yoga seems awful right now.

So I guess until I feel better, you will find me planted on the sofa.

Yoga brain...it's definitely a thing. Megan and I first realized it last week when we were in the locker room after class and could barely hold a conversation because we couldn't complete sentences. That's how zenned out we were.



I've pretty much decided yoga brain is the best thing ever. Probably because it's the only time my normally very active mind is calm and quiet.

The sense of calm after yoga means that there aren't a million thoughts and worries flying back and forth in my brain. I'm temporarily able to forget about my never-ending to-do list and all my typical worries and anxieties just fade into the background for a few hours.

I'm normally a pretty anxious person. I stress and worry about weird stuff. Not to the point where it's debilitating or anything like that, just in the sense that my mind is always going a mile a minute, and it's really, really hard for me to calm it down sometimes.

This new Monday night yoga routine that I've started has really helped with that. It's crazy to me that I can walk into the studio with a million things on my mind and walk out an hour later without a care in the world. I'm calm and at peace, and it's a pretty incredible feeling.

I've always used running as my therapy in the sense that when I'm on a run, I can turn a problem over and over in my mind and come up with solutions. I can look at whatever is on my mind from different angles and find the best way to approach it.

Running is good for my soul in that way, but yoga offers something different. Yoga offers me the chance to give my mind a rest from constant problem solving. It allows me the chance to just be present and not worry.

And right now, with everything I've got going on in my life trying to balance work and school and social commitments, I need that.

This morning I ran the most fun race I've done in a long time - the Across the Bay 10K.



The race course starts on Maryland's Western Shore and then you run 4.35 miles across the Bay Bridge and finish on the Eastern Shore. The race was so cool because normally the only way to get across the Bay Bridge is to drive. Usually in some pretty crappy traffic (especially in the summer on the way to the beach). And driving across the bridge is a little bit terrifying.



But running across the bridge was one of the coolest things ever.

The weather was perfect and we got to watch the sunrise as we were starting the race. I started in the second wave, which took off at 7:10 a.m. -- which meant my morning started super early. Because the race allows so many people (I think 25,000), runners need to take shuttles to the start that are spaced based on when your wave starts. Waves started every 10 minutes between 7 a.m. and 9:20 a.m.

I parked at the Naval Academy football stadium in Annapolis and had to be on my shuttle by 6:20 a.m. The shuttle system worked well, and I got to the start line with plenty of time to hit the bathroom, snap some pictures and get ready to go.

Once the race started, you pretty much head straight out to the bridge. It was kind of surreal running on a major highway that is normally closed to pedestrians.



Being that this was a bridge race, we pretty much started climbing right away too. When you're driving the bridge, you know you're going up a little bit, but when you're running, you realize just how much climbing you do. The first 2+ miles were basically all uphill. But it was a gentle climb, and I actually didn't mind it too much.



The views from the bridge as we climbed higher and higher were truly majestic. You don't get to enjoy them when you're driving across the bay because you're too busy worried about traffic, but running across, you can soak in how pretty the view really is.



As we crested the bridge and started our descent down the other side, my left hip and knee started acting up. Running downhill for long periods of time can actually really mess with my form, and I could tell that things were a little out of whack. So I walked for a little bit to loosen things up.

It's funny that I didn't feel the need to walk once on the climb up the hill, but it was the downhill that I needed to stop -- the part of the race where most people were happy to coast.



When you step off the bridge on the Eastern Shore, you still have about 1.5 miles to go, which I actually didn't love. I almost wish the course could have been flipped and you ran the 1.5 miles to get to the bridge and then cross the finish line sooner after getting off the bridge. The bridge is the most exciting part of the race, and once I finished crossing it, I was like OK, that was fun, now I want to be done.

But I slogged on and finished the last bit of the race, crossing the finish line in 58:03. Not too shabby for a race the day after Maryland homecoming (aka a long day of tailgating and not eating nearly enough food to fuel for a race...oops).

After crossing the finish line, I grabbed my shirt and medal. I am pretty in love with both. Seriously great race swag.



Then I went to find the shuttles to take me back to the Western Shore. I didn't stick around for any of the post-race party because I had to get back home for my cousin's baby shower so I was super pumped to see there was no line and I was able to get on a shuttle right away. About 25-30 minutes later, we were back at Navy's stadium, and I was ready to head home.

I have to really hand it to the race directors for putting on an amazing race. With all the logistics for a race with that many people, where no one can drive to the start or finish, to run a stretch of road that is normally closed to pedestrians, I was shocked everything ran so, so smoothly.

This was truly an awesome race, and I'm so glad I did it. If you're looking for a fun race to do something you don't normally get to do, I can't recommend this one enough.

Yesterday afternoon, Megan asked me if I wanted to catch a yoga class with her. I haven't set a foot in a yoga studio in years. I mean years and years.



I don't know why. I used to teach yoga. I know how awesome it can be both mentally and physically, but I guess I was just picking other workouts instead.

So last night, I knew my hour on the mat was probably going to be pretty humbling. A lot of my flexibility was gone. My tight runner legs were really evident from pretty much minute one. And all those planks and down dogs made my shoulders tremble.

But man it was a good class.

I left feeling so zen and calm. It was the probably the first time in months that I didn't feel little pinpricks of stress attacking my brain. I told Megan I had some serious "yoga brain" going on. And that calm and centered feeling lasted for hours.

Megan and I are probably going to make Monday night yoga our new thing now that neither of us are training for any long distance events. It will be nice way to start the week -- something a little less rigorous than my normal crazy routine.