Is practicing yoga religiously everyday sufficient to carry you through a 10km marathonrun without doing any training? Yes and No.
If you are thinking of running all the way for 10km, no way! Maybe it is possible for a 5km run but not 10km.
Well, even though I did not come in at the first 10 ( DOH… ), I think I did a respectable run + jog + walk. In total I probably ran around 7km with the rest walking and thinking about going to loo…
Everyone around was energetic and all raring to go. But even at the 2.5km, some were already walking. Actually I impressed myself with the first 4km running without any stop or drink. But the moment I stopped jogging, I could not feel my legs… they felt as if they were floating… I think yoga did help a bit especially with the leg muscles.
But since this is my very first 10km run, I did not have any idea of how looooooong a distance was 10km. Oh boy… it was long… never ending… it was the longest when I was heading for the U-turn point that signifies the half way point of the run. I was like “okok, getting there, perhaps round that corner…er… ok… maybe the next one… oops… no?… but I see runners back the other way…. what? not yet?… good grief…. not YET? ” This is perhaps what Bo meant by adding more pain to suffering… haha…
I did the last 0.5km with a finale dash to the finish to bypass some weary runners. I wanted to do the “Weeeee” with the hands above like in shows where marathon runners dash passed the finishing line… but alas… there was no ribbon to re-enact that moment… oh well… ;P I must really thank my running buddy who is another yogini, Dorothy for her great support during the run. So, ok… we supported each other in walking… HAHA… great to have someone to walk with and run to the finishing line! 
The best part is…. I went for yoga class after the 10km run with Dorothy. Ha. I surprised myself. I can’t even jumped back to Tadasana from chaturanga. I think both of us are quite nuts. But hey, I am sure glad I came back to yoga class yesterday.
Why? COs today, I cannot even walk down the stairs proper…both my legs are in pain! But it’s been a long time since I felt this familiar ache in the legs after a great workout!
Hope to jump back to yoga tomorrow!
OM~
Hi,
Glad to read that you are a marathon participant too. I can’t say if there’s any official way of training for marathons, knowing there are freaks around me who tackled marathons without much training. My friends and I completed the AHM recently, and it was quite an uphill task for me but a breeze for my peers.
How does yoga helps? The only two benefits that I can think off-hand is flexibility (leading to lesser injuries) and breathing techniques (which is crucial for long distance running). Yoga still doesn’t build alot of strength through the power training we do. Afterall, the running techniques and pronation of our soles etc are issues which most casual runners left out.
haha … would not have made the final dash without you, buddy … and … YES … !!! we are DEFINTELY nuts, crazy, gone bonkers, going for a yoga class after completing the run …
the next day, climbing down the stairs… arghhh… is a nightmare for me … ;p
KUDOS to our great conquer(s) … ! ;p
brave souls….
Yo Doray
Ya… it is still painfully hard for me to go down the stairs. The worst part is that my toilet at home is those old squatting types… so just imagine… *yikes* took me a few seconds to squat…
Now I realized the beauty of toilet bowl. Imagine my joy and relief yesterday when I went for yoga class and can use the modern toilet in the yoga studio aka toilet bowl… haha..
Hi Ed
Thanks for the insight! Freaks? Nah… we are all just a little nuts…
You are right, at the end of the day, I can feel that I am “soleless”… haha… For breathing, I believe yoga do help if one had been practicing pranayama. Sadly, the 2 important aspects of yoga, pranayama and meditation is not as widely practiced by yoga studios.
But definitely if I am going for another run, I will definitely plan out a more gradual training for any run above 5km.