Sick of Being Sick

I think if I make it through this upcoming half marathon with a halfways decent time I will be extremely surprised.

I feel like for the past month I have been on-again off-again sick. Bill and I have just been passing sicknesses back and forth to each other and since we are both run-down they totally take their toll on us. I used to be able to get over something like a cold in a couple of days tops, but now I'm lucky if I get over them in a week. So my running has definitely been suffering.

Last Sunday (the 10th) I did get out for a nine-miler. And it actually felt really great. But I got sick right after that and haven't run in an entire week. I have so many missed runs this season it isn't funny. But I'm not going to dwell on it. It is what it is. And I have found that it is much better to wait until the sickness passes completely before getting back out there to work out. So even though it KILLS me not to go out for a run today I'm going to have to skip it.

I do have two fun upcoming things though in the world of running!

Firstly, I signed up to train with Team in Training again for the fall season. I think this is the best thing I could do. I need some structure to my workout plan because with all that is going on (work, baby, running) I've found that running is often put on the chopping block. Plus, it will be great for me to get out of the house twice a week and be around adults. And of course, Team in Training is also just fun, and it's nice to raise money for something worthwhile. Our first group training session starts the Tuesday after the Flying Pig Half Marathon. Already!

Also, this week I will be covering the JackRabbit NYC Running Show. Its the first year JackRabbit is putting it on, as sort of a kick-off to the NYC running season. It's only $10 for a ticket and for the price of the ticket you actually get $15 off event merchandise (awesome!). There are all kinds of exhibitors plus a lot of cool speakers. I am especially interested in seeing Scott Jurek and going to the Women's Running session. And there is a barefoot/minimalist running panel which should be interesting.

I'm also going to be looking for something fun to run in for the Flying Pig Half since none of my running clothes fit me anymore (in a good way! I've lost a ton of weight!)

Anyway, I am super psyched because I have press credentials for this show which means I get to go early to check it all out! Can't wait for Friday!

The More Half Marathon

Post-race with my favorite cheerleader

I was so nervous for the More Half this weekend. I have no idea why. I felt totally prepared. But there I was, packing my bag (and Liam's) super early the day before, carb-loading, laying out my outfit, checking my alarm clock a dozen times, going to bed early. Bill was like "Are you nervous about tomorrow?" I said "I must be. I don't feel like it, but I'm acting like it." I usually blow half marathons off as I would any other race but I was treating this one like it was the full.

It's kind of funny how much other stuff you have to worry about when you are racing as a mom. I guess mainly just the breastfeeding thing...making sure all of the timing works out. Luckily it did. I also realized that the days of seeing Bill cheering me on at 50 different places on the course were over. But that is fine by me. I am happy to see them once (especially since Liam is there!).

My plan I announced to the world was that I was going to try to do a 10:30 pace. My plan in my head was that I would be happy with any pace with a 10 in front of it. :)

I knew that I had to run this thing smart because I had some nasty hills scattered throughout the course (it was two and some change loops of Central Park). I also know that I have a tendency to run fast in the beginning and regret it later. I planned on keeping it nice and easy on the first six and then figure out if I needed to go faster after that. I wasn't going to worry about the first mile too much because that's always the "finding your pace in the madness of the crowd" mile. I also was going to only look at my pace on the mile, not my overall pace.

My first mile felt like I was dragging, but nope, I was clocking a 9:48. Whoops. Time to slow it down. I found two girls going at what felt like a snail's pace, but looked like the pace I was supposed to be maintaining. I forced myself to get behind them. Sure enough, the next mile I did was 10:30. Yay! Right on target! But oh no! They stopped for water. So I had to concentrate concentrate concentrate to keep the same pace. Unfortunately I could feel myself getting faster.

I kept the next mile in the low ten range and told myself to SLOW DOWN.

As I rounded the top of the park (the dreaded Harlem Hill) I decided to stop for my GU. It was a little early, but I found that since I've been feeding Liam I need them more quickly in my runs and more often. Let me tell you, it was the BEST GU I'VE EVER TASTED. (It was Strawberry Banana.) I kept putting my tongue up to the top of my mouth to get the aftertaste because it was just that good. Then I started laughing to myself (not out loud) because four years ago I was literally choking these things down and I could only do vanilla.

That mile was a 10:15. I was kind of mad about this because not only did it include Harlem Hill (and therefore should have been slower) but it also included a long water/GU break. So this is where I started staging this inner battle in my head: Should I just run and not worry about pace? I seem to be feeling good...No, 10:30 is an admirable goal considering how I've been running and I need to slow down to do that. But I feel so GOOD! But you are only in the fourth mile. But in the Bronx Half you ran how you felt and got a huge PR! But that was... and so on and so on. In the end, practicality won. I decided to stick with the original plan.

Boy, I am glad I did! Because after I finished Harlem Hill the second time it was game over. I only had three miles to go but I was so tired. My legs didn't hurt or anything, I was just lethargic...like I wanted to go to sleep. Yuck. At this point I was just working on maintaining. I was in the low 10 and high 9s for the past few miles anyway, so I was very happy.

I almost didn't want to look at my watch for the next mile because I knew it was really slow. But surprise! It was a 10:04!

I knew I would see Bill and Liam soon and was soooooo looking forward to that. And Liam really was the cutest ever. If I hadn't been so incredibly exhausted at the point I would have stopped for a Liam kiss. But I knew if I did that there was no way I would finish running.

As I was coming up on the finish I finally looked at my overall pace: 9:58!!!!
Whoo-hooo-hooooooooooooo! I was so proud and happily accepted my medal.

(Later on I checked the results and they had me listed as having a 10:03 pace. Stupid Garmin. It had me running more than 13.1. I am still counting the 9:58 pace.)