Yoga brain...it's definitely a thing. Megan and I first realized it last week when we were in the locker room after class and could barely hold a conversation because we couldn't complete sentences. That's how zenned out we were.



I've pretty much decided yoga brain is the best thing ever. Probably because it's the only time my normally very active mind is calm and quiet.

The sense of calm after yoga means that there aren't a million thoughts and worries flying back and forth in my brain. I'm temporarily able to forget about my never-ending to-do list and all my typical worries and anxieties just fade into the background for a few hours.

I'm normally a pretty anxious person. I stress and worry about weird stuff. Not to the point where it's debilitating or anything like that, just in the sense that my mind is always going a mile a minute, and it's really, really hard for me to calm it down sometimes.

This new Monday night yoga routine that I've started has really helped with that. It's crazy to me that I can walk into the studio with a million things on my mind and walk out an hour later without a care in the world. I'm calm and at peace, and it's a pretty incredible feeling.

I've always used running as my therapy in the sense that when I'm on a run, I can turn a problem over and over in my mind and come up with solutions. I can look at whatever is on my mind from different angles and find the best way to approach it.

Running is good for my soul in that way, but yoga offers something different. Yoga offers me the chance to give my mind a rest from constant problem solving. It allows me the chance to just be present and not worry.

And right now, with everything I've got going on in my life trying to balance work and school and social commitments, I need that.

This morning I ran the most fun race I've done in a long time - the Across the Bay 10K.



The race course starts on Maryland's Western Shore and then you run 4.35 miles across the Bay Bridge and finish on the Eastern Shore. The race was so cool because normally the only way to get across the Bay Bridge is to drive. Usually in some pretty crappy traffic (especially in the summer on the way to the beach). And driving across the bridge is a little bit terrifying.



But running across the bridge was one of the coolest things ever.

The weather was perfect and we got to watch the sunrise as we were starting the race. I started in the second wave, which took off at 7:10 a.m. -- which meant my morning started super early. Because the race allows so many people (I think 25,000), runners need to take shuttles to the start that are spaced based on when your wave starts. Waves started every 10 minutes between 7 a.m. and 9:20 a.m.

I parked at the Naval Academy football stadium in Annapolis and had to be on my shuttle by 6:20 a.m. The shuttle system worked well, and I got to the start line with plenty of time to hit the bathroom, snap some pictures and get ready to go.

Once the race started, you pretty much head straight out to the bridge. It was kind of surreal running on a major highway that is normally closed to pedestrians.



Being that this was a bridge race, we pretty much started climbing right away too. When you're driving the bridge, you know you're going up a little bit, but when you're running, you realize just how much climbing you do. The first 2+ miles were basically all uphill. But it was a gentle climb, and I actually didn't mind it too much.



The views from the bridge as we climbed higher and higher were truly majestic. You don't get to enjoy them when you're driving across the bay because you're too busy worried about traffic, but running across, you can soak in how pretty the view really is.



As we crested the bridge and started our descent down the other side, my left hip and knee started acting up. Running downhill for long periods of time can actually really mess with my form, and I could tell that things were a little out of whack. So I walked for a little bit to loosen things up.

It's funny that I didn't feel the need to walk once on the climb up the hill, but it was the downhill that I needed to stop -- the part of the race where most people were happy to coast.



When you step off the bridge on the Eastern Shore, you still have about 1.5 miles to go, which I actually didn't love. I almost wish the course could have been flipped and you ran the 1.5 miles to get to the bridge and then cross the finish line sooner after getting off the bridge. The bridge is the most exciting part of the race, and once I finished crossing it, I was like OK, that was fun, now I want to be done.

But I slogged on and finished the last bit of the race, crossing the finish line in 58:03. Not too shabby for a race the day after Maryland homecoming (aka a long day of tailgating and not eating nearly enough food to fuel for a race...oops).

After crossing the finish line, I grabbed my shirt and medal. I am pretty in love with both. Seriously great race swag.



Then I went to find the shuttles to take me back to the Western Shore. I didn't stick around for any of the post-race party because I had to get back home for my cousin's baby shower so I was super pumped to see there was no line and I was able to get on a shuttle right away. About 25-30 minutes later, we were back at Navy's stadium, and I was ready to head home.

I have to really hand it to the race directors for putting on an amazing race. With all the logistics for a race with that many people, where no one can drive to the start or finish, to run a stretch of road that is normally closed to pedestrians, I was shocked everything ran so, so smoothly.

This was truly an awesome race, and I'm so glad I did it. If you're looking for a fun race to do something you don't normally get to do, I can't recommend this one enough.

Yesterday afternoon, Megan asked me if I wanted to catch a yoga class with her. I haven't set a foot in a yoga studio in years. I mean years and years.



I don't know why. I used to teach yoga. I know how awesome it can be both mentally and physically, but I guess I was just picking other workouts instead.

So last night, I knew my hour on the mat was probably going to be pretty humbling. A lot of my flexibility was gone. My tight runner legs were really evident from pretty much minute one. And all those planks and down dogs made my shoulders tremble.

But man it was a good class.

I left feeling so zen and calm. It was the probably the first time in months that I didn't feel little pinpricks of stress attacking my brain. I told Megan I had some serious "yoga brain" going on. And that calm and centered feeling lasted for hours.

Megan and I are probably going to make Monday night yoga our new thing now that neither of us are training for any long distance events. It will be nice way to start the week -- something a little less rigorous than my normal crazy routine.