Daily Archives: June 10, 2011

Caring for Your Yoga Mat

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I am by no means a yoga-guru, but I have picked up a few things since starting yoga last November.

How to roll your yoga mat.

I know most people simply start at one end of their yoga mat and roll it up: Quick. Easy. But not all that sanitary.

The technique I’m about to show you prevents the side of your yoga mat that you practice on—and lay down on—from ever coming in contact with the side that touches the floor!

I start by laying my yoga towel directly on top of my mat.


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I then fold it in half (almost all the way—I’ll explain why in a bit).

I fold it in half like this because then the part of your yoga mat and towel you use (and that your face and body comes in contact with) never touches the underside of your yoga mat (the part that touches the floor!).

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I then start by rolling the yoga mat from the folded end.

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The reason I do not fold it in half exactly is because when I start to roll the yoga mat, the top half always bunches up. (I only do this because I am OCD and want the ends to match up—or at least come close to matching up.)
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The yoga mat completely rolled.

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I then keep it together with a hair tie.

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How to clean your yoga mat.

As with anything, there are a few ways to clean your yoga mat, but after a little research, I decided to give the bathtub method a try.

I started by filling the tub with warm water and detergent.


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This is the detergent I used.


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I then completely submerged the yoga mat in the water.

I took a soft cloth and then wiped/gently scrubbed the yoga mat.


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Finally, I hung it outside to dry.

It took longer to dry than I thought it would. I thought it was dry after a few hours, but then when I squeezed the mat, a little water still came out, so I let it dry overnight. However, Craig’s mat was dry within a few hours.


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To clean my yoga towel, I simply washed the yoga towel in the washer with other like-colored items. (I just followed the directions on the tag.)

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A new find . . . .

When I was at Target this afternoon, I discovered a make-up line that might become my new best friend. Especially for the money-counscious shopper I am. (Side note: It is amazing how easily I can talk myself out of buying something simply because I don’t want to spend the money for it. Ha!)

E.L.F.

eyes. lips. face.

(Please don’t tell me that this has been around forever (which it probably has) and my isolation-ness while living in Alaska has kept me in the dark about this brand.)

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I bought two packages of the eye shadow and they only cost $1.12 each!

I was stoked!

I don’t wear eye shadow every day, but it is fun to play with on a special night out!

I think most of you will find these for $1.00 a piece, but since everything in Alaska costs more (because of the greater distance they have to ship everything), I get to pay an extra $0.12. Lucky me.

I usually don’t make an impulsive by like this, but I randomly came across a YouTube video of a gal (who was definitely a make-up guru) who kept referencing e.l.f. products, so I knew they were okay.

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Question

What is your favorite line of cosmetics?

I use a wide variety of brands: mostly items from Target (so “drugstore” items that are relatively cheap), but I do LOVE Clinique’s foundation and powder!

Marathon Comparison

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There is just something about running in the morning. An afternoon run just doesn’t compare to the serenity of the morning!

The mornings are where it’s at for me! :)

Before heading out for my run this morning, I quickly ate 3 Clif Shot Bloks from this package. I didn’t want to bonk like I have been recently.

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I only ran 4 miles with 3.5 of those miles at my “marathon pace,” so it went by pretty fast. I was tired, but I really can’t complain too much. (There wasn’t snow on the ground!)

I plan to do one more day of light speed work next week, but other than that, it is all about the rest until next Saturday!

Distance: 4 miles (3.5 miles at marathon pace)

Time: 32 minutes

After returning from my run, I quickly toasted a bagel, spread some Laughing Cow cheese on it, and then was out the door again to meet up with my friends Jen and Katie.


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My set of wheels this morning:


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Once again I biked to Kaladi Brothers Coffee to meet up—and catch up—with my friends!


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The bike ride was good, but I went from WEEEE yesterday to OWWW-weeee today!!

My butt was SO sore today! It was actually quite a painful ride, but I made it there and back with a total of 50 minutes of biking. (I hope this doesn’t jeopardize my taper! I plan not to do any more biking until after the marathon.)

While chatting with my friends, I enjoyed a bowl of overnight oats along with my coffee.


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Just a little more than one more week until marathon #2!!


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My first marathon was Grandma’s Marathon in Duluth, MN.

I thought it would be interesting to do a little comparison of the two marathons.

Grandma’s Marathon 2010:

- 2100 women finishers

- 5500 total finishers

Mayor’s Marathon 2010:

- 380 women finishers

- 840 total finishers

Grandma’s Marathon:

- 26.2 miles on paved roads along the beautiful shores of Lake Superior

Mayor’s Marathon:

- First 4 miles along a very busy and noisy 6-lane highway.

- 7 miles of gavel/rocky trail.

- Chances of seeing a moose or bear: likely! (Oh, but don’t worry, Mom, there will be a volunteer riding his 4-wheeler up and down the trails, holding a gun!)

- We will have some beautiful views of the mountains though and I guess running in the foothills of the mountains is pretty cool. (That is just as long as I don’t get mulled by a bear. Actually, I am more worried that I will have to stop for a moose and miss qualifying for Boston by 30 seconds!)

- There will definitely be less spectators.

If you can’t tell, I’m not super thrilled about the course.

If I wanted to do a trail race, I would have signed up for a trail race. I want to do a road race, so I shouldn’t have to run 7 miles on a trail with miniture-sized boulders. (I went to check the course out one weekend, and it is definitely not going to be a very fun part of the course.)

And I want lots of spectators cheering for me!

Sorry, I’m just a little bitter about it.

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Question

What was your favorite race (marathon or not)?