Post-Marathon Blues

It’s officially been three weeks since I ran the Chevron Houston Marathon. It was a tough day and my body was pretty beat up afterwards due to some lingering injuries (read about that here), so I decided to take some time off. In fact, yesterday was my first run since the race, making it one of the longest hiatuses I’ve ever taken. So, what was I up to in my almost three weeks of no running? Other than the obvious resting and eating, I found the time to cross-train at some of my favorite studios in the city. I’ve had people ask me for studio advice before, so here you have it!

Houston Yoga Studios

There are so many incredible places in Houston to practice yoga so this is really just an abbreviated list based on where I’ve been practicing lately.

• Revolution Studio: They offered an incredibly kind special to runners the week after the marathon, one week of free yoga when you presented your bib! I was craving gentle, non-heated yoga and these classes really hit the spot.
• Yoga EaDo: I teach here, so maybe I’m biased! I love the beautiful space and the fact that the majority of students are also athletes. Teachers here really cater to stretching out sore muscles and managing fatigue.
• Yogaleena: I practiced here last night for the first time and it is the cutest! Ending my week here was simply perfect. My friend Frances taught a wonderful class and the tea served after savasana is icing on the cake.
• BIG Power Yoga: In my first week of recovery after the marathon, I stayed away from Powerful Flow classes here. My body just wasn’t ready for the heat! Yin and Devotional Flow felt incredible and the energy of the studio is something that will always keep me coming.

On my list for next week is to check out one of Houston’s newest yoga studios–Black Swan!

Houston Spin Studios

After week-one of recovery mode I was craving cardio! My hip still wasn’t super happy with me so I opted to take some spin classes instead. The intensity of the cardio is great, but it’s still super low-impact.

• Revolution Studio: One of my favorite things about this studio is that their classes are staggered in a way that you can easily fit a spin + yoga sesh (or hustle & flow as they call it) into one morning or evening. The music is awesome and the class will kick your butt! Bonus? The River Oaks location is right next to my all time favorite Houston restaurant, Pondicheri!
• Ride: I’ve enjoyed this studio since I first discovered in by using ClassPass. There’s nothing better than a 6 am dance party…in my opinion. 🙂

Strength Training

Now that I’m feeling healthy again, it’s time to get stronger and faster. That means picking up a weight or two.

• CrossFit EaDo: Everything is bigger in Texas, and this box is the biggest in the state. Needless to say, they have a lot of opportunities to get strong and workout hard. I’m a huge fan of their boot camp  classes which take traditional CrossFit WODs and remove the heavy weights and highly skilled movements. If I keep going on the boot camp train I’m sure my goals of strong + fast will be fulfilled!
• Park WODs: Nope, this isn’t a studio. My fiance and I have had some pretty good workout equipment for awhile, kettlebells, TRX straps, etc. and we live right next door to a park. However, the issue has always been transporting the equipment, so we finally got a wagon and are now working out in the park! I love being able to workout outside, I think that’s what initially drew me to running.
• Pilates: Pilates is also great ways to build strength (core!) and I’d like to get back into taking a class or two a week. HIP Fitness, Body Rock Pilates, and DEFINE are a few of my faves.

I also just bought a brand new Jolyn training suit so I may need to make a splash in the pool again soon!

How do you beat the post-marathon blues? I’d love to hear about your recovery and cross-training stories. I’m always a tweet away at @Lindsaylm.