Wanderlust 108: A Mindful Triathlon 5K, Yoga and Meditation

I’ve always wanted to do a triathlon. I mean I have all the required skills to swim, bike, run.

What I lacked was the interest in racing, I’d prefer to just do all three sports on my own. But a MINDFUL triathlon, known as Wanderlust 108, now that’s a whole new twist on things and a great way to once again reinvigorate my meditation practice.

It’s easy for me to be consistent with exercise, but I keep going in phases with my mindfulness practice. Events like Wanderlust 108 not only remind me why I need those still moments, but my partners at goodnessKNOWS remind me that each attempt is still progress!Perfection has never been my goal, so I’m celebrating with them in my next step towards progress. Here’s my Wanderlust 108 review and breakdown for anyone who wants to know what to expect (spoiler: a great time).

First Step Preparation

Since there wasn’t much training required, I followed my normal protocols of getting prepped for a fantastic race day. Even if it wasn’t a real race, per say.

I started with my top priorities…what does one wear to a mindful triathlon?!

Knowing I needed to go from sweaty run, to something that would move with me for yoga and then something I could sit in without feeling disgusting I opted for my 3/4 capri’s, a light white wicking shirt, seamless sports bra and a hat!Next priority, what would I eat being there from 7-2?! I packed an apple because that’s always an easy go to, but of course my friends at goodnessKNOWS where there with all 6 flavors of their bars!

Real fruit, whole nuts and chocolate in bite-sized portions, it’s basically a food made just for me! I’m a grazer, so it’s nice to grab one square at a time and still know that once the bar is gone I’ve only eaten a serving! Plus did you notice I said chocolate?! Can you really go wrong with anything that involves chocolate ever?Find goodnessKNOWS near you and follow them on: Instagram, Twitter, Facebook

Wanderlust 108

Now that we have my super intense preparation out of the way, let’s talk about this crazy event! Arriving, there was an immediately different feel than any running event I’ve ever done…it was far more zen. Wanderlust 108 in any city is going to have the same vibe, just a different location.

THE RUN

And really, what would you expect from an event by yogi’s designed to include everyone?! I find running to be inclusive, but I know it’s intimidating to a lot of people. I love that they included the 5K because it gives people from these two different mindsets of sweat a chance to come together…and because let’s be honest there weren’t many diehard runners there so this injured runner was still one of the first 10-20 to finish.

I couldn’t say where exactly because it wasn’t timed and there were not race results posted. HA!!!! How’s that for blowing your running mind?! In fact, when I finished I checked my watch to find we’d only done 2.5 miles…which is apparently why the website in fine print says 5K(+/-).No biggie for me and my injured knee, but I was with some friends who were super excited to run their first 5K, so that felt a little sad to inform them they still haven’t run one. Kudos to my friend Amber who is just returning from time off and knocked it out no problem!

THE YOGA

Prior to setting out for the run, we placed our mats down and all took a big collective sigh of relief to come back and find them exactly where we left them. A bit of a trust exercise! Then as the sun peeked out from the clouds and we all began to feel on fire, we started to move.

And oh yes, there was even a moment where she made all 2,000 of us come in squished together, hands touching each others backs to truly connect and again practice trust as we leaned back. You couldn’t help but laugh and feel uplifted.This isn’t to say that through the sweat and laughing there weren’t also some great moves that loosened up the hips, the calves and the shoulders.

It was one of the better large group classes I’ve taken in a long time. Yoga instructor Chelsey Korus made you laugh, walked you through the basic moves and allowed you to embrace the difficult. For runners, this was a fantastic opportunity not just to open the hips, but to work on that mental training.

THE MEDITATION

As we wiped the sweat from our faces, the sun mercifully hid behind the clouds for us to move in to a guided meditation with Noah Levine.

Even though the microphone stopped working and people were quietly sneaking out at this point, it was great. There’s nothing like the feeling of being surrounded by others in silence with hearts radiating good energy.

Why just tell you about it, when you can see for yourself! Plus you can see more of the village and the extra activities like aerial yoga and hair braiding!

Overall I can’t thank goodnessKNOWS enough for inviting me out to experience Wanderlust 108 Denver. Now I definitely need to go experience their original Wanderlust Festival to take in even more of the yogi vibes.

Once again, it was a reminder that you don’t always have to know what you’re doing or even do it right to get something from an experience. You just have to be willing to show up…and eat the chocolate, always eat the chocolate is just sound advice.

How are you celebrating little steps forward?

Have you been to any Wanderlust events?

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This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of goodnessknows. The opinions and text are all mine.