My Pilates Past

As many of you know, I'm relatively new to running. I ran my first marathon in March 2005, and before that, I hadn't run seriously since high school field hockey. I did other things. I was an aerobics junkie in college and in I hiked a lot in LA. And, while everyone else was jumping on the yoga bandwagon, I was lengthening and strengthening with Sebastien Lagree, pilates instructor to the stars...

Sebastien Lagree - T.V. Guide Interview from Sebastien Lagree on Vimeo.

I haven't done pilates in a long time, and while one might think "she's training for a marathon - she must be in kick-ass shape" I'm only in one kind of shape. I do the same exercise over and over again. Sure, I add some hills on Thursday mornings and have gotten a little bit of speedwork with the track sessions I've attended, but otherwise, it's just running...

Today, I decided to change that. I went with Lisa to Charlestown Yoga studio where they also have a pilates class. It was awesome! New areas were definitely challenged - like my hips and core! There was a funny moment, though when I realized my running muscles are in pretty good shape. We did something that was all about the quads and the instructor was shocked that we weren't shaking and quaking. I could have held that position for hours, because I've got quads of steel with all of the pavement I've been pounding.

Anyway, I'm psyched to add another type of training to the mix. Maybe it will help shave off some of this weird hip fat I seem to have gained. Maybe not! Hopefully it will help give me a stronger core to make the marathon even easier and more fun!

As a special treat, here's a video clip of Sebastian the French Adonis who taught me to be lean and mean and how to have a (his words not mine) "tight ass." It was a fun class. They were glamorous days, with Jewel as a fellow classmate some days and random TV stars you knew but couldn't name on other days, all just doing their thing. LA and the glamour. How I miss it, sometimes.

Here's Sebastian again. Enjoy!