The 98th percentile, bikram yoga, and everything else

I've been working on this blog post in bits and pieces for the last week but FINALLY getting around to publishing it!

Registration opened up for the 2014 Disney Wine and Dine Half Marathon last Tuesday at 10 AM CST. I put a reminder in my calendar. When it popped up, I turned it off and promptly forgot about it.

During lunchtime the next day, I was surfing the internet and a Disney advertisement popped up (gotta love internet cookies). I thought, "Oh yeah, I should probably register for Wine and Dine. I wonder how full it is?" I went onto the Run Disney website to take a look.

To my complete surprise, the Wine and Dine Half was already listed at 98% full. Worse yet, I was met with the glaring disclaimer that "Events may sell out before percentages can be updated."

Ruh roh.

I did my best Speedy Gonzalez impression and blew through those registration pages as quickly as I could type and click.

I zipped through so quickly that who knows if I even selected the right shirt size or entered my birth date correctly. Nevertheless - I got in!

BUT - if I end up with a race shirt that fits me like a dress, or if I end up in the "10 and under" age group, then we'll all know why.

Shifting gears -

I've been wanting to try bikram yoga for a really long time. Through the magic of Gilt City, I found a great deal on a 5-class pack at the Bikram Yoga West Loop studio. I gave it a go this past weekend.

I'd heard a few things about bikram yoga that made me uncertain about how I would like it. Namely:

• The 107-degree room temperatures, of course, and their potential effect on the body
• Instructors generally do not demonstrate the moves during class, they just talk you through them
• A standard set of 26 poses that are always done in the same order
• Classes are 90 minutes in length (the longest yoga class I've ever done previously was 55 minutes, and that already feels long to me)
• No music

I was most concerned about how I would react to the heat. The last thing I wanted was to succumb to nausea in the midst of class. Generally it's not a good idea to blow everyone's zen to smithereens.

I prepared by taking a couple of salt capsules and hydrating fiercely in advance. I think I overdid it, though, as I found myself needing to use the restroom during the middle of class. (We were instructed to try to stay in the room during the entire class, though, so I held it.) Add bikram to running races as times where it's challenging to get the hydration strategy down.

The verdict after my first class? Thumbs up! The heat didn't bother me at all, I was able to follow along easily by watching the other students, and I didn't even think about the fact that there was no music. The 90 minutes went by pretty quickly, too. I felt really good afterwards - very limber and refreshed.

I do wonder if it would get tiresome doing the same set of 26 poses during every bikram class? We will see how it feels after I've gotten a few more classes under my belt. But as of right now, I am looking forward to doing more bikram in the future.

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Other random notes:

• I just saw that the Chinatown 5K announced its date for 2014. It is none other than July 12 - my birthday! This is going to be a really fun way for me to celebrate.
• Maggie hosted an awesome clothing swap this past Saturday. I just love these types of events. They are such a great way to catch up with friends while cleaning out your closet and getting some amazing new-to-you stuff. I picked up some fabulous items that I've already begun wearing. Can we do things like this more often!?!?
• I've been battling a scratchy sore throat, stuffy nose, and overall tiredness since this past Sunday. My ears feel clogged, too. It's made it tough for me to be on my A-game.
• I had three miles on my training plan yesterday. I wanted to do my best to stick to the plan despite not feeling 100%. So I slugged it out on the treadmill. It was slow and very ugly, but it got done. And call me a wimp, but I will think again before attempting to run through cold symptoms in the future.

Wah, wah, wah

To end things on a more positive note, I am going on vacation tomorrow! So even amidst my sporadic posts, I will be away from the blog for a little while. Good luck to everyone running races in the near future (I've heard of a ton of St. Patrick's Day-themed ones...!) I look forward to catching up with everyone when I get back!