A Good Sweat

Sweating Inside

There are a lot of things I miss about not running, but the one I miss the most…when I really dig deep…is a Good Sweat. A Sweat when you are so soaked, your shirt is sticking to you, you need a towel under you in the car on the way home, you are not thinking about whether people will notice how wet you are,  but more focused on your potentially offensive odor, and, lastly, you legitimately feel like your body just did some serious work. Running does that…especially in the Summer…and I miss it.

So, I’ve been on the search for a copy cat to the stinky, summer running sweat. I’ve tried it all…Hip Hop Yoga, Wearing thermal compression legging in the pool while water running (a fashion statement, if I should say so myself), the reclining bike, and other random exercise machines that most people just try to pass up at the gym (You know that Arm Bike they have in the back corner with dust on it…oh yes, I’ve tried it). All attempts failed miserably at even giving me a hint of the sweat that a good, sunny,  midday Summer run does. Not even close.

But, this weekend I was headed to Scottsdale, AZ for some R&R with my girlfriends. Normally, this would be an ideal moment for a 4am sunrise run to explore the Cactus landscape. Although running wasn’t in the cards for me this trip, I figured I had a serious shot at some sweating. Especially, given the 112 degree temps. “Stinky sweat, here I come”… was my mantra all the way down to AZ.  One thing I knew I wanted was not to just stay in the hotel the entire trip. I personally can’t think of anything worse in life than not seeing ANYTHING outside a resort. So, I took it upon myself to get a rental car and scope out the options for Sweat-potential.

Option #1: Hike Camelback Mountain (about a 2 hour roundtrip hike). I liked this option because a) I would get to see the local landscape and b) it would definitely provoke some type of sweat. But, the thought of 2 hours in direct sunlight in Arizona ended that dream pretty quickly. I never like when you have to choose between death (aka Skin Cancer) and Sweating. The anti-death option always wins. Every. Single. Time.

Option #2: Swimming outdoors in the Resort Lap Pool. This was a relatively safe option. I’d get to be outside (extra Sweat potential) and I’d get to Swim (which, is something I’m working on each day). But, at the end of the day the idea of looking up at the sunlight in untinted goggles gave me visions of eye wrinkles and sun-induced migraines. So, it was knocked off the list rather quickly.

Option #3: Random exercise equipment at the gym (minus the treadmill). This option just straight up sucked. No way was I going to fly to Arizona and workout at the hotel gym. There is literally no place less inspiring than a hotel gym. Awful. Awful. Avoid at all costs, people. Avoid.

Option #4: Sumits Hot Yoga. I did some serious Googling before I left and this place kept coming up in all sorts of fitness searches as one of the best workouts in Scottsdale. It is a HOT yoga studio (100 Degrees + 40% Humidity) that combines some of the “best” elements of Bikram (“best” equals none of the practice  when you feel like you are going to pop something out of its joint) + Power Vinyasa Yoga (fast paced, aerobics-like yoga) + Music that is actually good. This place quickly jumped to lead option and there was no going back.

So, now that I had my place, I needed a plan. Like most of my trips, I’m a believer in the early morning vacation workouts. You get to see a place before the tourists wake up and you get some much needed quiet time. Plus, you get to enjoy your travel buddies and activities without feeling guilty that you haven’t gotten your workout in. So, the 6:30am class it was.

Now, the hardest part of doing early morning vacation workouts is not that you have to get up, but that you have to explain to your other sane travel partners that a 6:30am Hot Yoga workout in Arizona is a normal idea.  For me, though, the good thing is that my friends know me. They know I do these “normal” things all the time on vacation and a 5am wake up call is standard. They have stopped asking “Why”, and I’ve stopped trying to convince them to come with. A mutual understanding is what I call it. Although, even for my seasoned friends, Hot Yoga in Arizona sounded extreme. But, at the end of the day they just smiled, nodded, and said “Whatever floats your boat”. A sign of good friends.

The alarm went off at 5:30 and I was pumped. I quickly chugged a Liter of water and got on all my wicking fabric clothing I could find. My first observation as soon as I got outside the hotel was, Arizona is hot. Even at 5:30am. Arizona is also sunny, even at 5:30am. Lastly, Arizona has a lot of traffic lights that do not change their timing regardless of what time of day it is (I sat at a traffic light for what felt like 5 minutes).  But, I did get to see the beauty of the Phoenix Valley and my fair share of Cacti. Success, indeed.

When I arrived at Sumits I was prepared for some stink. Hot Yoga studios typically stink…bad. So bad, in fact, that they make you question your decision time and time again. But, I was pleasantly surprised. It smelled great, the people were nice, and the studio was clean. Win win win so far. The class sealed the deal, though. It was fabulous. The instructor played around with changing up the lighting in the room to invigorate vs. relax, music vs. silence, and stationary compression poses typical in a Bikram-style with fast paced Vinyasa. It was great. Really great, actually.

Now on to the important details. Did I sweat? Oh boy did I sweat. But, the best part of it was not that I sweated, but that I felt like I truly worked for my sweat. The issue with most hot yoga classes is that I feel like the sweat is undeserved. You sweat because it is a billion degrees in there, but not because you were really pushing your heart rate. At Sumits, though, you worked hard. Your heart rate was up, you were moving, and sweating. You couldn’t tell if it was the temperature or how much you were pushing yourself. Just like a Summer Run.

So, there may be nothing quite like a summer run for a stinky sweat, but Hot Yoga comes close.

When you just can't Run

I'm straight up embarrassed to admit that it has been almost a full 5 months since my last post. I could try to come up with some clever way to tell you how busy I was (I was, but aren't we all?...not a good excuse) or how I had nothing interesting to write about (I can't tell you how many half written posts I have). But, in reality, I just couldn't bring myself to write anything fully. Call it Writers Block. Call it losing touch with your inspiration. I call it just not running. 


I haven't run a step since Mid January. Yep, you read that right. It's been over 5 months and there is little of progress. I've been to 5 Doctors, PT 2x a week for 5 months, gotten a Cortisone shot in a place that makes people cringe when I tell them. I've done 1 hours of PT exercises a day for 5 months, not run a step, and did everything every well-intended professional told me to do. Including not working out at all and no Core Fusion. I've gone to Acupuncturist, Herbalist, and subjected myself to all sorts of painful types of "alignment" and deep massage. The issue is that what I have is so rare most professionals have never heard of it before, let alone treated it. It just straight up sucks and I'm not going to try to sugar coat it otherwise.  I've cried, I've bitched, I've said it isn't fair, I've said how much it hurts. I've been dealing with being a Runner who can't run. And that person seem like me, but someone who is missing something. Because, I am. I'm missing something I love. It's made me look at the world differently and appreciate things more fully. But, deep down...even with a Half Glass Full mentality, it just makes me sad. Because I love running more than most people I know.


I'm not going to try to teach some profound insight in this post. I'm just going to tell you how it is. Straight up. What I've learned, What I miss, and What I can't wait to do again.

• I've learned that the body is an amazing machine. But, even machines break down sometimes.
• I've learned that machines can break down even if the driver did nothing wrong...and tried to do everything right (like cross-train, stretch, eat well, and listen to the body)
• I've learned that movement is something we should never take for granted. After 5 months of walking in pain, I'd take just a simple walk to the kitchen without "feeling it".
• I've learned that running 400 meters around a track 1x is a gift that I would joyfully embrace if I get the chance to again.
• I've learned that sometimes there is no explanation why.
• I've learned that even the most balanced life, with lots of joys and friends, can still be sad with an absence of something you truly love
• I've learned that what I did last year at Comrades was superhuman and amazing. My body gave me the opportunity to do that and I'll be forever grateful.
• I've learned that Pool Running requires a lot of perseverance and patience...especially when being kicked and splashed by old men swimming badly near you.
• I've learned to share with others what I know about running and that brings me joy
• I've learned that I am a pretty good coach...and can help people train for amazing accomplishments and that kind of is the same as doing it yourself.

A lot of people have started to ask me what I'd do if I "can't run again". I think that is a ridiculous thing to tell me. Yes, of course I will run again. I have 2 legs, 2 feet, and a perfectly healthy body. People run on a lot less than that. So, I'll be back. No doubt. And it will be glorious-- I can see it in my mind and it may just be the best day ever.




20 seconds after I finished Comrades and the joy was uncontrollable. That feeling is what forces me through PT and Water Running. I will feel that feeling again.