My gradual return to one of my favorite sports (running+soccer=happy eli) has been going much better than I thought. Somehow those little intervals of waddling I did almost up to the day I delivered must have maintained some fitness. I have been careful not to increase my weekly mileage too fast, because that’s how injuries get created. Especially in a girl that probably still has some joint laxity going on (case in point: my pubic bone hurts. I know. TMI). This past week I hit a whopping 20 miles run! Huzzah! Hurrah! Happy Days! Yahoo! My post-pregnancy goal has been to “attempt” to “train” for a “half marathon” this fall. I am putting this in all quotations marks because there is absolutely no formal training plan. I have yet to pick out this half marathon. And if I say I am attempting, my body will remain blind to what I’m putting it through.
Last week’s stats:
Monday–Rest
Tuesday–3.65 miles in 31′ (buttcrack o’ dawn run)
Wednesday–3 miles in 25:25
Thursday—Rest
Friday—2 miles in 15:40
Saturday—3.1 in 22:55 (Boy with Das Boot 5K)
Sunday—3.1 in 24:30 (Race for the Cure) and 4.2 miles in 35:40.
See what I did there? I did a double race weekend. The first race I actually raced. The second I ran with my Hubs. Saturday’s race was at 10:30 in Downtown Sandusky and was part of the North Coast Oktoberfest. It’s the 3rd year for the festival and race; and Hubs and I enjoyed a few Great Lakes brews the night before (our first date night since SBJ!). A Dortmunder and Oktoberfest later, and I was ready to race the next day.
Obviously this is the best way to hydrate. I was running a bit late to get to the race and arrived about 25 minutes prior to the start and was quite confused for about 5 minutes because I couldn’t find the start as there was no one there. My confusion resolved quickly as I finally found race check-in, but there still were hardly any runners there which was quite a disappointment to me! We lined up at 10:30 and there couldn’t have been more than 30 runners. No one wanted to stand on the start line and when the start was called, I found myself taking the lead of the race because no one wanted to go out fast. That’s a recipe for disaster for a girl that is not in her best shape yet! I ran a positive split race, as I got overtaken by 2 guys at about mile 1.5 and then spent the rest of the race running by myself with no one to help push me. I kind of shut it down and didn’t stay mentally tough (bad eli!) Finish Time: 22:55 (7:23/mile) which was good enough for First Female Overall due to the limited field size. I had the race distance clocking a bit long, as they made us run on the sidewalks the whole time?! Not my favorite running surface for sure, but I did enjoy the views of Lake Erie.
Sunday’s Race took me to Toledo to participate in a Susan Komen Race for the Cure. The turnout was absolutely awesome as there were over 15,000 runners/walkers that raised money for an excellent cause. I ran the race for my grandmother (even though she did not have breast cancer, she had lymphoma) and for Mike’s grandmother (a breast cancer survivor). Mike and I decided we would run together, enjoy the day, and shoot to run “8 minute miles” (as Mike ordered–no faster). We stuck pretty true to that, had zero mid-race arguments (which is why we usually don’t run together–love you Mike!!), listened to some great music along the route, and finished in 24:30 (7:54/mile). SBJ completed his first 5K with his aunt/Gma pushing him along in a little over an hour. A win on all fronts!
This week will be my last week of maternity leave. Ish is about to get real after that! My mommy, wife, and time management skills are really going to be put to the test!