Tag: Joga with Jana

Monday Miles: Marathon Training Week #4

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This thing is two weeks away. The fact I’m running at all right now amazes me.

Let’s get right into it, shall we?

Monday: 5.1k in 40 minutes

I remember pretty much nothing about this run. I was tired and sore and got home too late to go to a yoga class. So I laced up the sneakers and got out there for a short recovery run. I didn’t last long, but I’m glad I got a few miles in.

Tuesday: Hot Hour @ Kula

Because I ran the day before, I felt comfortable taking a day off from running on Tuesday. My legs were feeling very stiff, and an hour with Linseed helped me loosen up. While this class is normally a 2 out of 10 on the difficult scale, my muscles screamed their way through this one.

Wednesday: 9.4k in

Another late run after a long work day. I did my usual long run East End route but mixed up the side streets in hopes to pass the 10k mark. I didn’t. Oh well, next time.

Thursday: rest

I woke up to rain and book club was that night. No running.

Friday: rest

Ooops. Again, a morning rain and evening plans. Oh, and laziness.

Saturday: Joga with Jana, 7.1k in 54:50

Joga was interesting. I recommend it, but know what you are getting into. By Saturday, I was worried about my weekly kilometre count, so I headed out in a snowstorm to rack up a few miles. It was slow and slippery, but it was done.

I still have yet to do a hill workout. This is not good.

Sunday: 6k solo, 9k PubRuns, 3k solo = 18k in 2:21:30

My favourite run of the month: pubruns! A complete recap of my monthly get-together with fellow book-loving runners (or run-loving book people) will be posted later this week, but I kicked off the planned 8k group run with 6 (slow) kilometres solo. I was soooooooore from joga. Unbelievably sore. And I went out on Saturday night, which is not the best pre-long run plan. But I’m stubborn and believe I can do it all! Who needs sleep? Or sobriety? The group met up at Broadview and Danforth for an 8k loop through Rosedale that was secretly 9k (thanks, Kendal). After some delicious brunch at Three’s Company (tomato soup, grilled cheese and salad — delicious!), I slogged my way through the final 3k home for two reasons: I wanted a 40k tally and I refused to pay the $3 transit fare.

 

Despite the chaos in my schedule, I’ve consistently hovered around the 40k per week mark. The double rest day, while not on the schedule, was probably for the best. But, if I ever want my weekly mileage to increase, that can’t become a regular occurrence. For week number 5, I’m keen to hit 50k. Let’s see if I can do it without killing myself.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Joga with Jana Vanessa

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What: Joga with Jana, 75 minutes
When: Saturday at 10am
Where: Energy Exchange (698 Queen Street East)
Who: Vanessa Montenegro

 

After a lukewarm introduction to EnergyXchange, their Twitter master kindly offered Jill and myself passes to Joga with Jana. They thought that with all my running, Joga would be more my speed. I was skeptical. What kind of name is “Joga” anyway? It feels so contradictory to the history and tradition of yoga. But when I told Jill, the Balser yoga master, she squealed. “I love Joga!” I was a little more intrigued, but as any Two Fit Girls reader knows, Jill is insane when it comes to yoga. Who does an impromptu 30-Day Challenge anyway?

 

Their website is flashy. Be prepared.

 

We headed over on Saturday morning to check it out. Sadly, Jana was out of town and Vanessa was subbing in. This worried me — the class is named after Jana, after all — but Vanessa was perky, polite and constantly moved around the room.

Oh, and she wasn’t afraid to kick our asses.

Here’s the thing: Joga is HARD. I thought I was in shape. I really did. But Joga is all about working the core muscles. Planks, planks and more planks. When you’re done with those, let’s balance. On one hand. And twist. It’s basically an ab workout disguised as a yoga class.

And that’s fine. Joga has a definitive identity and a core audience — athletes. It’s a great bridge into yoga for those who want a little more oomph in their ohms or sweat in their salutations. (Sorry, I couldn’t help myself.) There was no attempt to falsely embed a spiritual element into this class. The class was fun, the teacher was grounded and I left exhausted.

It was refreshing to (slightly) mix up the run/run/yoga/run routine of the past few weeks, and to know there’s a great option out there for the next time I want to take my yoga practice to the next level.

But, oh boy, do I ever need to do more crunches. How else will I survive my next Joga class?

 

 

Take this class if: you’re looking for a killer core workout.