Cross training: Yard Raking

I went for a lovely run this morning in the sunshine with a friend. That alone is enough to cheer me up! As I ran I noticed that lots of folks had neat little piles of leaf and branch litter in their yards. Spring clean up in anticipation of bigger things to come had started! Of course this inspired me when I entered my own yard after my run and I thought, what better way to cool down and to work different body parts.

I grabbed the rake and started cleaning up the branches that had come down over the winter, plus some leaves that were left from the Fall. As I did this I bent down and noticed lots of new growth in the garden that was coming up under all this debris. What a treat. This made me very happy.

I did this exercise for about half an hour – just enough to cool down and not too much to strain those gardening muscles that had somewhat atrophied over the winter – you know what I mean. In other words, work your way into gardening, without causing yourself any injury. Actually this makes me think that yoga studios should offer spring classes aimed specifically at gardeners to loosen up those upper body muscles. Look for it, no, ask for it: Spring Yoga for Gardeners!

I know this blog is about running, but here’s the thing… If you are a runner and a gardener like I am – and that includes yards and balconies! – use your run to look at the botanical beauty that surrounds you and think about how you can incorporate that into your own garden. In my garden, I try to replicate a forest with ferns, salal, Oregon grape and moss growing amongst the cedar, fir, arbutus and maple trees. All my trail runs are a huge inspiration to me. Isn’t it nice when running can be more than just a physical exercise! And that the raking cool down can be doubly beneficial too.

[My sympathies to you Easterners who received yet another dump of snow today… Your turn will come. In the meantime, head into a yoga class so you will be ready when it does.]