Neglect Yoga and the IT says HEEEY!!!

So the past couple of weeks my IT band at the hip has been saying "HEEEY" a little too often for my liking.

So much so that I skipped out on two Dripping Springs 30+ milers because I thought it was an injury from cycling with the new shoes/pedals. So much so that I couldn't do my long run last weekend. This is a serious problem if I want to get geared up for the triathlon season. The achy hips screamed after I ran or cycled, I didn't know which to blame. I thought it was running...then I thought it was cycling.

Turns out I was wrong. It was neither.

The IT was just tight because I was neglecting my yoga practice. I realized this upon looking back at my training logs and seeing that I was just running, biking and swimming and then doing nothing else. A few push ups, weights, drills but no yoga. I think my body relies on yoga to keep it loose after all the pounding from running. And now, even more so it relies on it from all the time on the bike.

At the VERY LEAST, I'm doing yoga three times a week. That's at the least. There will not be happy hours scheduled over yoga. Dates and social events can wait, my body NEEDS yoga. It needs the hips stretched out in order to be efficient in racing. My body doesn't like to run if I haven't been to yoga. My body doesn't like to cycle if I haven't been to yoga. My body will swim, but that's a given.

I have realized lately that my cycling and running performance hinge on my yoga practice. No more excuses, I need to GET ME TO YOGA!

...Om...

Current book I'm reading: The Artist's Way