Ballet Conditioning

I taught Ballet Conditioning for the first time yesterday. A friend and occasional running partner teaches step aerobics and core rhythm classes twice a week and asked me to teach to add variety and difficulty. I was very nervous. I can sing in front of a group and be fine, but speaking is a whole other thing. Isn't that funny?

Despite my nerves and shaking, the class went very well. We had a surprisingly good turnout of more than 15 women, (mostly moms from the preschool). I got a lot of positive feedback which made me feel great for having stepped way out of my comfort zone!

Ballet Conditioning is a fantastic workout. I have found that it does amazing things to strengthen my knees, hips and ankles for running. Having had surgery on my bad knee once, this is a great way to prevent further injury. Not to mention what it does for your core! When done correctly, every move you make with your feet or arms-affects your core. I admit, it felt pretty good today to see various facebook status updates reflecting sore muscles.

I will be teaching once a month, which is a great motivation for me to keep up my cross training. I don't want to be up front teaching, having my muscles quiver with effort. More importantly, I know it will help my running. I try to remind myself that when I am tired and sore, and cross training just does not sound as appealing as curling up with a nice book.

This morning I had an easy 4 1/2 mile run. It was one of those runs that aside from the cold, was just relaxing. I was enjoying the music on my ipod, and even enjoying the crisp chill of the air-a welcome break from the rain.

Tomorrow I talked my occasional running buddy into 10 miles with me. I am hoping to do 11 total, but it will depend on time. My schedule calls for 90 minutes-what do you think of runnign for time vs. running for mileage? Praying the rain waits until lunch time to avoid a soggy run, but having a buddy to run with will make a huge difference either way!