I don’t consider myself a yogi. I like yoga and I’ve found it’s brought a lot of balance to my fitness routine. It’s a nice complement to all the cycling and running I do and allows me to get out of my own head every once in awhile. I’m a constant worrier and list-maker and too often become overwhelmed by my own emotions. Yoga creates that space for me.

This counts as a 30day session, right?

However, I’ve never become as addicted to it as Jill. I don’t “need” it or “crave” it or “desire” it beyond occasionally when my calves are screaming from do 80 hill repeats a few days ago. But Jill’s passion and enthusiasm for yoga is making me think about my practice differently. And now that I have a studio I love and look forward to returning to (Kula — thanks JK for the introduction!), I’ve started wondering how I incorporate yoga into my life more often.

So, because I am who I am, I’m going full-throttle. From Friday, May 10 to Sunday, June 11, I am doing a 30-day yoga challenge. Why (other than the obvious reason that I am crazy and have a tendency to take on too much at once) am I doing this? Let’s see…

I’m tired of running. I’m proud of my winter season (4 races, 4 PBs and my highest weekly mileage ever) and am looking forward to the fall. But I need a break. I beat up my body and abused my mind to get through this season. I once abandoned a run and came home crying (I’m sure Matt thought I had truly gone nuts that day). I lost toenails. I discovered foam rolling and YakTrax. I hurt in places I didn’t know existed. I ran in snow storms and rain storms and weird winter heat waves. I ran early in the morning. I ran late at night. I ran with others. I ran alone. I ran and ran and ran and ran and I don’t want to run anymore. (For the time being.)

I want a new challenge. I’m the kind of person that needs a goal or a deadline in order to complete things. I never understood running for fun. I understand running for racing. By turning this yoga challenge into a 30-day “move it or lose it” activity, it appeals to my super competitive self without abandoning the fundamentals of yoga that I hope to discover and reinforce during the journey.

If Jill did it, so can I. If you have sisters, especially sisters who are close to you in age, physical size and athleticism and have similar interests, you will understand this. If you don’t, just believe it’s healthy competition. Really, it is.

I want to embrace yoga. For all the reasons I’ve stated above and for more that I haven’t learned about yet. Jill swears by it, Jen swears by it, my friend Christina swears by it, my friend Erin swears by it. I want that.

We’ll see how this goes, and what I learn on the way. I’m really excited that JK is doing it with me. I’m not sure if I can do this alone.