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It’s been three days since I ran my first half-marathon, but I’m still riding high after such a great event. Although I’ve been feeling pretty sore, particularly in my left foot, I can’t help but smile every time I think about all that I accomplished on Sunday.

So what have I been doing the past few days while riding out my soreness? Stretching. Lots and lots of stretching.

Yogify me, captain!

I knew I wasn’t going to do much running this week because I ran the entire half-marathon. Throughout my training plan, I set myself up to use the run/walk method because I simply didn’t think I was ready to run 13.1 miles straight. Once I was at the race though, the energy from all of the women completely captivated me and pushed me through each and every mile. Not once did I feel like I desperately need to walk.  In fact, when I did walk, I kept feeling the urge to pick up the pace and run again. It felt glorious.

Run, Sam, Run!

But on the flip side, it meant I had some seriously sore feet after the race. My knees were killing me after the race too, but that pain subsided by Monday. By Tuesday, I was craving another workout but didn’t want to push my body past its limits. So what’s a girl to do?

Yoga!

Streeeeeetch!

I love the Warrior 2 pose.

Don’t get me wrong, I am not a yoga expert by any means, so I made sure to head to the class offered by my campus gym. These photos are just some additional stretches I did at home afterward. I don’t incorporate enough yoga into my exercise routine and I really need to get into it more often. After all, it improves my running and lets me do cool things like this:

Another favorite but trying to get closer to the floor.

And this…

I like to think I look peaceful in this one.

It felt fantastic to stretch out my muscles so well after running for such a long distance. My muscles were praising me afterward, much like they did after I took a class at Strala Yoga. I’m still very much a novice, so I can only hope to one day bend like Tara Stiles.

Extremely bend-y.

For now, I’ll keep trying to touch my toes some more. And I’ll always make sure to fit in my all-time favorite corpse pose.

Just chill.

It has quite a morbid name, but it feels oh-so-good.

Are you, like me, new to yoga? Or more of an expert? Ever given it a shot? I’d love to hear everyone’s thoughts on it, and any tips to stretch me out some more!