I Heart NY

I absolutely LOVE Summer Streets and look forward to it every year. Such a simple concept...close down Park Avenue from East 72nd Street to Chambers Street to anything but bike and foot traffic from 7am-1pm. I'm sure it's not so simple to pull off, but it is really one of the coolest things.



Unfortunately because I seem to have a penchant for sleeping in on Saturdays now, I have missed most of Summer Streets. This weekend was going to be my last chance to participate, so Bill and I made sure we got out there to run.

This year it seemed to be more popular and crowded than ever. It seems like a lot of businesses along the way were offering cool perks too. At several places you could wait in line for a free bike and helmet rental. At another place you could get a free roller blade rental. Whole Foods sponsored a "Picnic in the Streets" where you could get free ice cream and a bunch of the gyms were doing free workouts on the side streets. There was also a lot of fun stuff for kids, like face painting and crafts. It was so crowded with bikers and runners that at sometimes it was a bit frustrating. But at the same time, I love that it is so popular. It just emphasized to me (again) what an active city New York is, and how big of a deal running and biking are here.

I know I say it every year, but there is nothing like running under the New York Central Building on the Park Avenue Viaduct. It is amazing to drive under in a cab at night, but even cooler to run.

The run? It was a little rough. Bill and I realized that I really HAVE to do a long warmup and some stretching before attempting my run/walks now. Otherwise my calves tighten up on the outside and the pain is almost unbearable. I didn't do said warmup/stretching, so there was a lot of stopping and stretching in those first couple of miles or so. So I made the goal to reach Union Square (around 16th Street) and then hit Chipotle for lunch. At first I thought that was a wimpy goal, but as I kept running and my calves felt so tight I was thinking maybe it was an ambitious goal.

So Bill made me stretch on the side again, which actually helped.

I revised the goal to make it to the END of Union Square (like to 14th Street). There was a real bottleneck here with bikers and runners sharing a single road lane of traffic. Some (tourist?) girls who looked like they were maybe just very confused and were walking the WRONG WAY walked right in front of me, and to avoid running smack into them I jumped up onto the curb to bypass them, then jumped right back onto the street and SNAP ! twisted my ankle. Uh oh. Ow ow ow ow ow.

I was so mad at myself. I know that I can't do crazy things like jump up and off of curbs anymore. My joints are just too loose right now. So stupid! Argh! I was cursing myself as I walked around on the curb and rolled it around. (Bill said not to be so hard on myself...after all my choices were a twisted ankle or running hard and belly first into the two girls running into me. Seeing as that I am so pregnant, I guess I made the wiser choice.) And it seemed like after a few ankle rolls the pain was pretty much completely gone. In fact, I felt so good that I wanted to continue to the end.

We were now on Lafayette (Park Ave turns into Lafayette somewhere around the East Village) and I was really enjoying myself. In fact, I looked down at my watch and noticed that I had logged over 4 miles!!! A new record! The last time I did anything more than 2.5 miles consecutively was the last week of June...that's right...my half marathon before the third trimester!

I was really pumped now! So we ran all the way down to Foley Square, (okay, after seeing my friends Gina and Michael across the street on bikes and running over to talk to them for quite a bit). 5 miles! 5 miles! Hurrah! NOW I didn't feel so stupid for signing up for that race on September 11th :)

TNT Reunion!

Last night I got to go to an "Alumni" practice in the park with Team in Training. I think that this was mostly to get us to sign up for the next season, but knowing that I will not be doing that until NEXT fall season I just used it as an excuse to see my old friends/coaches and get a workout in.

Luckily there was a separate workout for us alums. I guess they realized that we wouldn't be in the same shape as the regulars at practice. It consisted of a lower loop of the park, nice and easy (1.7 miles) and then some running drills.

I was so glad that people were taking "nice and easy" seriously. Knowing that I haven't really run more than 3 minutes solid without a walk break since the beginning of my third trimester, I just stayed towards the back of the pack. My goal was to do the whole 1.7 miles without stopping, but I didn't know how I would feel.

Let's just say I could definitely feel soreness in my legs due to my loosening ligaments. Yowsa. I DID, however, make it 1.5 miles into the workout without stopping. And then I walked for a bit before finishing at Bethesda fountain with the rest of the team. I was proud of myself because I kept up with the back of the pack (one of the alums told me that the only reason she ran fast as she did was because I was right behind her the whole time and she knew I was in my 8th month of pregnancy). And even after walking, I was only like 20 feet behind the last person all the way to the end.

I felt good breathingwise and body tempwise but my legs were SO SORE. Kind of like they were in the first two miles of my last half marathon. (Guess its all of that relaxin  causing my ligaments to stretch again.) So instead of joining the team for the calisthenic part of the cross-training (which I shouldn't be doing at this point anyway) I stood close by at the tree and streeeeeeeeeeeeeetched. That pretty much fixed everything (and I'm still not sore today!). I was able to join the rest of the alums for things like walking squats and squat twists, which I could still do with the best of them.

But the BEST part was talking to all of my teammates who are training for fall marathons. It was SO GOOD to see them again! And all of the coaches ran over and gave me big hugs. I have to say, it didn't hurt that all of them thought I looked great/not-as-pregnant-as-I-am and were amazed that I was running. I was especially excited to see Coach Christine because I have been reading all of her articles about pregnancy and running on about.com. (She is one of their running experts.)

We all went out to a bar in our stinky running clothes afterwards, and I devoured a gigantic cheeseburger with fries as if I had run 10 miles instead of 1.7 :)

Running Ptttttt

I have not had the best relationship with running this past week.

On my Tuesday night run with Bill (same boring course, same low-mileage, same 3 minute run 2 minute walk) I felt like I was ridiculously slow. I THINK it might have been because I felt like Bill was continuously 3 steps ahead of me (which he was for most of the run). But when I checked my time at the end of the run, I really was only 1 minute off of where I normally am. And that's 1 minute for the whole thing, not pacingwise.

I am just really tired of feeling slow. I see other girls running in the park and I want to hit them. Especially when they are wearing cute little shorts and tight fitting tanks. Me, on the other hand? Well, my options at this point are my baggiest shorts from Target, which aren't even running shorts but those generic type "sports" shorts made out of thick synthetic material and any of my longer running shirts which are tight and I can't keep over my belly OR one of Bill's shirts which look ridiculously boxy and male on me. Not attractive. Oh and did I mention that on top of this I am a total sweat bucket during my runs? At this point I am not going to invest in maternity running wear because I have less than 8 weeks to go. So I guess I will stick with my two options and just begrudge the other girls in the park.

And don't even talk to me about my weekend run. Or should I say "the run that never happened"?

I pretty much didn't want to go. Besides I had twelve million other things I needed us to do this weekend (crazy nesting syndrome) so a run was just going to take up precious time that I felt I didn't have. Bill and I even mapped out our distance so that we could run to the park, around the loop and to Home Depot so that we weren't wasting any time. Well, the run to the park sucked. And then I about had a mental breakdown about how much I hated running and felt like there was too much to do to be running right now. I was reminded that it is never good to do a workout when you feel like that, so we revised the plan to just walking to Home Depot. I guess we got some of the mileage in at least. And sadly enough, my legs totally felt it like I had actually run a lot of mileage when I woke up this morning.

I know, I know. Quit running, right? I put in a good effort and if it's not going well I should quit.

But that's not it. I still don't hate running. I just want to go back to the days where I was jauntily sweeping around the park loops at a good pace (without walking) in a cute outfit with some fun running friends, getting excited about my fall marathon coming up. I miss pushing myself to where sometime I felt like I was going to puke, and getting PRs, and (believe it or not) doing hard hillwork sessions. I know I will get back to this again (Bill keeps reminding me that this is why we got a good running stroller) but I am frustrated that it is not now.

I was invited to a TNT alumni run tomorrow, which I am pretty excited about. If nothing else it will be nice to see everyone again. I don't know how much of the actual run I will be able to keep up with, but we'll see.

Lots of Energy

I don't know where all of this energy is coming from...definitely not from sleep because a full night of uninterrupted sleep is something I haven't had in a long time. Perhaps it is the two iron pills I am taking a day to combat my anemia. At any rate, I am NOT complaining.

I finally feel back on track with my workouts. I am not saying that I am doing amazing things on these workouts, just that the frequency of these workouts is more what I wanted them to be.

For example, Monday I went on a run with Bill, Tuesday I did my prenatal resistance band DVD and Wednesday I even got some weight training in! Tonight I plan on another run with Bill, another DVD on Friday and then Saturday we are planning on a nice, long run. (Long being like 5 miles, which will probably take forever).

I just can't figure out my runs lately though, and I've pretty much given up on trying to do this. I mean, last week I was hardly working out at all and I felt GREAT on my little run. This week it was a bit rougher. I stuck to my intervals (3 minutes run and 2 minutes walk) but it was a lot harder. I do still feel like I'm running up and down instead of forward. It's kind of crazy. At least last time I didn't have any crazy back pain afterwards.

I really really want to sign up for another NYRR race, probably the Fitness Magazine 4-miler. But I don't know. I would be 36 weeks by then, so it's probably not a good idea :) I don't really want to go into labor in Central Park. Unfortunately, August races are few and far between (I'm not really up for any more half marathons :) , so I think my racing career might be put on hold.

Bill thinks that when I do get back into racing next year that I will be crazy. I think he's right. I told him I'm going to come back from a practice run and be like "BILL! I was hitting 6:45 miles! For 5 miles!" and then the next week I'm going to be like "I don't understand...why can't I go any faster than 10 minute miles! For 2 miles?"

Running...My New Sleep Drug

OK. This week I finally actually feel for-real pregnant. Mostly because I am back to not sleeping again. It is basically just impossible when you get up 7x or more a night (yes, I've counted).

I felt like I had tried everything. I stopped drinking so many liquids after 3pm (I would NOT recommend this to anyone but me...I am a camel I swear) and started just consuming ice instead, I ate at a reasonable hour, I do relaxing activities like reading before sleeping, I even gave up my favorite past-time...three rolls of smarties while reading in bed (which I share with my dog). NOTHING was working.

So last night I made Bill go on a run with me. I think he didn't really want to because he didn't get home until 8. He even texted me like "Are we still going on a run? I won't get home until 8." And I texted him back "YES. I was waiting for you and NEED to go on this run." Seriously, I am going stir crazy. And the workout videos are not even helping anymore.

Usually I welcome a week without running. It gets on my nerves a little, but not enough to actually do anything about it. But it has been too freaking long without a run! Stupid weather. (I am not "allowed" to run unless it is less than 85.)

So last night we went on our favorite short Riverside Park run, which is 2.5 miles. I actually felt pretty darn good (ok, pretty darn good for my new running norms). I notice that I am now running more up and down than forward, but hey, it's still running.

Even Bill noticed. He asked how I felt at our turnaround, and I think he was surprised to have to ask so late in our run. I'm usually huffing and puffing by then.

The secret? I think it is because I'm finking out on my numbers. I used to run 4 minutes and walk two, but now I am down to a 3/2 ratio, which feels much more doable. Oh well. At least I am out there I guess. I figure this is something that everyone goes through eventually because even NYRR said something about women starting off running in their 1st-2nd trimester, eventually moving onto a run-walk, and then a walk-run. (Besides, even with this ratio I am keeping a 14 minute mile, which makes me feel pretty good, because believe me, during the walk breaks I am in no way shape or form walking fast.)

One thing that does suck is that after a run my lower back hurts the rest of the night. I looked it up in my Running Through Pregnancy book but all it basically said was "Yes. Your back will hurt when you run while pregnant." They attribute it to all the relaxin and the fact that my posture is off. Oh well. It is really more of an annoyance than an actual pain, and besides, I will take that any day for the benefits of running.

And? I slept last night!!! I only got up....TWICE!!! That is a record for me.

They say the key is doing a run 3-4 hours before bedtime and that's what I did. Amazing! Makes me want to run every night.

Working Out

All right. It needs to stop being so damn hot here. Really. I am following my rule of "no running unless it is less than 85 degrees out" which is meaning "no running". It's not even less than that in the morning. I guess it wouldn't make a difference since I feel like I need my sleep more than I need my running.

So what HAVE I been doing? Lots and lots of DVD workouts.

But here are some things that I am calling "accomplishments":

• I am still working out in my 7th month of pregnancy!
• Working out actually makes me feel GOOD
• I am gaining weight and inches perfectly, (according to my doctor) which I attribute to the working out
• I don't look pregnant from the back
• I actually have to make modifications to my third trimester workout video to make it harder (I don't use a chair to balance for the squats, lunges, stretches, etc)
• I can stand on one leg to do my quad stretches for 45 seconds without losing balance!
• My belly is still rock solid! (although like a big, round, rock)

I also have really been digging these things called labor lunges. They are SO COMFY and relaxing. They are meant to be done in the delivery room to relax you, and when I heard this in the second trimester I was like "What?! I don't think so!" But now I am truly considering them for that. (I couldn't find a link to describe what I am talking about...basically it is a wide second position plié where you rock side to side, bending deeply in your knees.)

Some lady at the running store also told me to stock up on GU for the delivery room. Why? You need the calories and can't eat solid food! She said her sister swore by this when she was in labor for 17 hours.

Also, it seems like Kara and Paula are making people realize that you can run while pregnant...well, maybe only in the running community, but it's a start. NYRR even has a pregnancy article now! So take THAT all of you chastisers! (Actually, I haven't met too many, but the ones that I do tick me off!)

Running on Vacation

Or, haha, maybe I should title this post "NOT Running on Vacation".

This was actually the first vacation I've taken since high school where I actually did pack my running shoes. So that was a good start. I also packed a couple of workout DVDs and my resistance band. All of this was sort of in vain though.

I started out the week in a very positive way, with a run down the beach with Bill. We decided to cut it to a 20 minute run (even before we started) just because running in the sand is exceedingly difficult. The goal was to make it to this pier we saw (which turned out to be a lot further away than I thought). We ALMOST made it. But let me tell you...

Running on the beach is a whole different ballgame. Automatically my legs were TIGHT. It might have helped if I was running with my running shoes instead of barefoot, but come on, how can you not run barefoot on the beach? I did see some other runners that afternoon though, and they seemed to be manuevering better in their running shoes.

It was fun, but I guess I thought that heading to the beach every morning to read my book was more fun, because that's what I did every other day.

Luckily, it seemed to not affect my overall fitness. When I got back to NYC we did a nice little run on Monday and yesterday I was able to get in a decent resistance workout. I'm hoping for a nice 4-miler in the park on Saturday. Now all I have to do is convince Bill. :)

Liars!

This Sunday Bill and I ran the Stratton Faxon Half Marathon in Fairfield Connecticut. This half marathon had lots of selling points for me. For one, it was perfect timing...the last week before my third trimester. It also was billed as being flat (it even says on the website "The course is flat and very fast."). Also, it is on Jennings Beach, so I was looking forward to spending the day on the beach afterwards. And it is just a short train ride away from Manhattan.

Of course, even being a short train ride away, we still had to get up at 3:30 am in order to be there on time. Yuck. It was okay though, because it's been so hot here and it's made me so tired that I actually fell asleep the night before at 9:30 pm, giving me a full 6 hours of sleep.

Running all of these New York Road Runner Races made me actually forget what it's like to run a non-NYRR race. First of all, they kept talking about how huge this race was...the largest that they've ever had. They were warning us about the course being so crowded, which was kind of funny, because they had a record 4800 runners. The weekend before, Bill and I ran in a little 5 miler in Central Park that had 5000 runners, and that is pretty much typical for summer races.

Also EVERYONE got a technical shirt...even the people running the 5k. And you just went up to the booth and they gave you one. You didn't have to get an "x" on your number or anything.

The port-o-lets were the cleanest port-o-lets I have ever seen...before the race AND on the course (yeah, I had to stop twice on the course...pretty sad).

Also, it is SO NICE to run through pretty, scenic neighborhoods. Don't get me wrong, Central Park is beautiful. But I run there every week and know it like the back of my hand. The whole course actually reminded me a lot of the Flying Pig. I could have sworn we were running in Mariemont a few times. The crowd support was also about equal to the Pig's, which is pretty cool for a half marathon.

The start was kind of weird though, because they had women in one place and men in another. So Bill and I didn't meet up until after the first mile. I have to say, even with my run/walk plan I had a very rough start. My legs were in so much pain because my calves were so incredibly tight. It was probably a good thing Bill wasn't running next to me for that first mile because I was in bad shape mentally. He got an earful though when he saw me.

I was like "I don't know. I'm going to see how this goes, but at this point I'm not finishing this thing." All I could focus on was my leg pain even though Bill was telling me to focus on something else like my breathing, which pretty much just made me want to punch him. (Yes, mentally I was at mile 24 of a marathon.) He asked when we should consider stopping and I said I wanted to go until at least mile 5 and then see. He later told me that he thought this was kind of funny because since it was an out and back course I might as well do the whole thing at that point. Obviously (and smartly) he didn't tell me this.

We stopped on the side of the road in someone's yard and Bill massaged out my calves, which actually did help.

Except, there were SO MANY FREAKING HILLS on this "flat, fast course" that every time I started to climb one again my calves would seize up. So we Plan B'ed it. Every hill, we walked up. This of course, threw my intervals off, so we decided to play the intervals by ear.

We were definitely running at the back of the pack, which I definitely did not like. I know I used to run here all the time, but I was mad that I was running here now. It was so sparse (running populationwise) and it made me feel like I wasn't running a race. Plus I was like "I am definitely not going to make it before the cut-off." AND there were CARS on the road. Ergh. Not something I want to have to pay attention to during a race.

At about mile 6, I started feeling really good. I was even picking up my pace on the running part, and I was able to do 6 minutes of running at a time when I fell off of the intervals because of the hills. I was able to have a nice, fun conversation with Bill without feeling an urge to punch him (I swear, it's just the running thing...the whole time my mind was like "He is just trying to help. He is so supportive. He is the best husband ever." but it was also like "SHUT UP. Just SHUT UP." I am glad that he ran the Pig with me that one year, because he went through the same thing with me, and now he understands. :)

We were actually having a really good time, despite the fact that we were now regularly climbing steep Hyde-Park-Blast-type hills.

We were also doing this back and forth type thing with this other group of runners, who, at about mile 10, decided to change their run to a run/walk. My inner goal was to beat them.

Before we knew it, we were at the end!!! (And we passed the team in black that kept being behind and then in front of us.) And let me tell you, it was the first race where I didn't want to pick up my pace when I saw the finish line. I just didn't have any more left.

I was actually happy with myself even though my time was way off what I am used to. (I got a 2:46.25, which is a 12:44 pace. Last year, in similar weather conditions and on a hillier course in Queens I got a 1:54.07 which is an 8:42 pace. I only point this out because I am amazed at how much your pace can change without you having any control over it.) The medal was also nice, and I wore it all day, even over my swimsuit when we were hanging out at the beach afterwards.

And besides being super-chafed and having swelling feet, I felt pretty good physically. Definitely good enough to scarf down the free after-race food (a hot dog, an apple, two pieces of pizza and a half pint of fruit punch). :)

Lead Legs

The funniest thing happened in the last week...I feel like my legs are made of lead. It kind of stinks because:
1. I feel energized
2. I feel strong/am not injured
3. I had a great run 2 weeks ago

It is crazy...I don't feel sore or tired or anything, just like my legs are heavy. In fact, it feels like when you have a really hard workout and have a bunch of lactic acid buildup. Bill thinks it is the 17 pounds I have gained, and he makes a good point. I mean that is like over a 12% weight gain.

At any rate, it has made me re-evaluate my workout plans. This past weekend I had 2 long(ish) runs. One eight-miler and one five-miler and I decided to experiment with them. I had been meaning to try the whole run/walk thing, and I found this the perfect opportunity.

We started out with 4 minutes of running and 1 minute of walking. I soon found out that one minute was NOT enough rest time. It seemed like just when I was getting to where I felt "good" we had to pick up running again. Bill suggested a 3/1 combo, but I told him what I really needed was more REST. I already had my watch all set up though, so I wanted to continue the 4/1 for the 8 miler and switch to a 4/2 for the 5 miler the next day.

Yeah, well that didn't really happen. Because when I got to the little hills on the west side of the park they killed me. So we pulled over and I reset my watch and we did 4/2s. OMG what a difference! My energy was back, and just when my legs were starting to feel heavy again I was up for a walk break, which made me recover. Plus, the walk time is a great time to rehydrate. I actually felt like I could have done another 5 miles at the end, so that's good!

The next day in my head I wanted to run the whole thing (since it was a race), but I was willing to see how I felt. Since it was crowded (the first sold-out race of the summer, which meant 5,000 runners) I told Bill we would run through the first run walk run cycle (10 minutes) just to get past the crowd and then see how we felt.

Haha.

I think I should have just stuck with the run/walk and not worried about the crowd.

Oh well, good learning lesson. I was actually pretty happy with my race, even though it seemed dreadfully slow. I just have to keep reminding myself "You are running because it is good for you...not because you love it so much right now."

So the plan for this weekend's half marathon is definitely run/walk 4/2. I am looking forward to the nice flat course on the beach and then just hanging out on the beach afterwards. I am definitely ready!

Pregnancy PR Plus

This past weekend I ran the Women's Mini 10k. This race is sort of a big deal because it was the first women's-only race I think ever (it started in 1972 and is called the "mini" because it was sponsored by "Mini" Razors). It ends up drawing a lot of elites like Linet Masai and Lornah Kiplagat. But this year I was very excited because Kara Goucher and Paula Radcliffe were running it as a "fun run" since they are both pregnant (and both due a week before me!). I love, love, love Kara Goucher, so I was very very happy. I was hoping to snap a picture of them before the race and even had my camera on me.

Anyway, I always like this run, because it is very "girl power" AND you get to run up Central Park West for the first part, instead of being stuck in the same old Central Park loop.
It was a muggy day (66 degrees but 78% humidity) but at least it was overcast and a little cooler than I was used to. I had no time goals, but wanted to run with a good effort and just see how it went. Since it was a women's only race I was in the red corral (the second fastest) and I think it kind of screwed me up. Even though I was telling myself to take it out no faster than a 10-minute pace, I think I got caught up in the race pace. I THOUGHT I was holding back, but when I looked at my watch at the half mile I saw I was doing an 8:40 pace...whoops. I slowed down immediately, knowing there was no way I could hold that.


I was glad that I did because those hills were killer. Even the slight elevation on the way to the downhill part of Harlem Hill was tiring my legs out. I was keeping a nice even 10:16 pace though and felt pretty good. I was also making sure to stop at every single water stop because I could tell that I needed them. With my good head start of a 9:48 minute mile and the following 10:16 I decided to make a mental goal of beating my first ever 10k time, which was a 1:09.


The back end of Harlem Hill got me though. I was really fighting the urge to walk because I wanted to run the entire race. I decided to allow myself a little walk break when I got to Lasker Pool, at the bottom of the hill. But then I saw that the 3 mile marker was halfway up the hill and quickly revised my plan to make it to mile 3. That allowed me to run half the hill and walk half of it, and I felt that this was much more justified :)


Even with all of the walking and water breaks I was still not that far off my goal. That last mile was an 11+ pace, but I was getting my energy back now that all of the bad hills were over.


When I hit Cat Hill I didn't even feel like I needed the water stop, but I stopped anyway.


I don't remember what my 5th mile was, but I know it started with a 9, which made me ecstatic. I felt great...great enough to pick up the pace for that last mile.


I did feel like it was the longest mile ever. When I got to the 800m to go sign I was like "Really? A whole HALF MILE?!" I didn't know if I could keep up the pace. I must have though, because I saw Bill just after mile 6 and when I looked at my watch I saw that I was flying! I shouted to Bill "9:20!!!" I was super pumped! I haven't seen those kind of numbers since before pregnancy! I was definitely going to make my goal.

I dug in and concentrated and finished with a 1:02, 10 minute pace flat! I was so happy! So happy that I didn't even really care that I got the ugliest carnation the guy handed me after the end :)

THEN the best part!!!

Bill and I were walking back the race course to cheer on our friend, Bess when who do I see signing autographs? Kara Goucher! It took some needling, but Bill convinced me to stand in line and get my picture taken with her. ( I was like "NOOOOOOOO! I am NOT a ten-year-old girl!")

I think she is probably the nicest professional runner ever.

First of all, she noticed my "Running for Two" shirt, which she said she loved and then started asking me all kinds of questions ("When are YOU due?" "How do you feel?") I told her I got a pregnancy PR which she said was great and then told her that she was inspiring me to keep running. She was like "I don't see why not, right? I mean, if you feel good you should!" and then she said "We'll probably be singing a different song in the 9th month though, right?" Aw. She was very nice and I felt very happy to have talked to her for more than 2 seconds like everyone else. Her husband Adam was there too, but I was mainly just startstruck by Kara. :)

Me and Kara Goucher!

Sadly, I missed Bess' finish, but we all went out to celebrate our run afterwards with some greasy diner food :)

Bess, Gina and Me before heading to brunch

Japan Day Race

I don't know WHY I am trying so hard to get in my 9+1 races to qualify for the 2011 New York City Marathon. I already have guaranteed entry since I forfeited my guaranteed entry this year. I guess I always need a goal in running and this is it for me. I also like running races because it makes sure that I am still running and staying in shape.

At any rate, after my very hot 6-mile run on Saturday, Bill and I woke up early to do the Japan Day 4-mile run on Sunday. It was still hot, and there was no sign of the rain that they were talking about all week, which kind of made it worse (recorded temps were 75 for the 8am race with 79% humidity).

But I am SO GLAD that we ran on Saturday. It made Sunday so much easier, mentally and physically.

One thing I did forget was that the summer races are CROWDED. Especially in the middle of the pack where I run now. The whole time we were on everyone's heels and there was never any room to pass...not that I really needed to pass anyone.

I felt like I was putting forth a good effort, which made me realize the truth about effort vs pace.

I was telling Bill about this during the run. When I ran competitively it was a whole different ballgame than how I run now. Last year it was all about time, no excuses. Even though people were telling me that things like heat, humidity, whether or not you had a long run, or a hill workout or a speed workout the day before, etc affected your race, I was always trying to PR, no matter what. I remember being really upset with myself last year during the Women's Mini 10k because at practice I was averaging 7:40-8:15 pace on 10ks and on that race I averaged an 8:33 pace. And it was hot that day!

But running during pregnancy has taught me that those things really DO matter. I can tell when my body is pushing hard, and time is not always a reflection of that.

In this race we were doing a consistent 10:37 pace and it felt just as hard as those 7:40s that I used to do at practice.

I have also really been able to tell the difference between pushing it so that I get a good workout and knowing when I need a break. My OB says that this is why athletes do well in pregnancy workouts. She said that athletes have a much better understanding of how their bodies work, and they are the best measurerers (hmmm, not really a word, I know) of their effort levels. Studies have shown that when pregnant athletes need to stop or take a break, they do. So that's what I do...I push to get a hard workout, but not so hard that I will hurt myself. It ends up being pretty rewarding, and I have almost always felt good afterwards about my runs.

I even made it up Cat Hill without stopping (Cat Hill has been my Achilles Heel on my last 2 long runs) even though it was in the third mile of the 4 mile race.

So I was pretty happy with my 41:50 (which averaged out to a 10:27 pace!). And I felt GREAT afterwards. Great enough to walk the 2 miles home and scarf down a sausage sandwich from the corner bodega. :)

Hot Time Summer in the City

I have to say that I was not thrilled to wake up to 79 degree temps on Saturday morning. Not to mention that it was also muggy and that in the half hour that it took me to get ready it had already climbed up to 83. Yuck.

The plan was to do my 10 miler with Bill (nice and easy, but still...). I guess I should also mention that my pregnancy running book recommends not running when it is over 85 out. This had already screwed up my plans earlier in the week when I was supposed to do a 3-4 mile run and it was 85 out (at 7:30 pm!). Bill and I ended up walking the 3 miles, which made me feel pretty lame, but I figured it was better than not getting out there at all. ( I swear though, it was a good 10 degrees cooler by the river where we were walking on the way down, then in the park, which is elevated, on the way back...and they are RIGHT next to each other!)

Well, we had decided on 2 5-mile loops, or maybe a 5-mile loop in Central Park and then running over to Riverside to run by the nice cool river (but also in the hot sun with no shade). We were going to play it by ear.

Into the first mile I had already decided that 10 miles was out. I had already done a little walking (which I have no problem doing, but have never done before the end of the first mile). Bill and I decided that 6 miles was an admirable goal.

Shortly after that, we decided that 6 miles run/walking was an admirable goal.

I went through 3 and a half 16oz bottles on that 6 miles and a GU!!! (Unheard of! I do not take GUs until the 6th mile AND I usually go through about 8oz of water for every 6 miles).

We did finish our 6 miles. And it seemed to take forever...but even with all of the walking and stopping to get water our pace averaged out to 13:17, which I think was actually okay.

We ran into one of my running friends from TNT on the way back, and she said that it was so hot and unbearable that her group in the morning only did 2 of the lower loops (1.7 miles). Yuck.

If we have a lot more days like this, I think my pregnancy running days are numbered.

Afterwards, Bill and I went to Chipotle and I scarfed down 3 tacos (which I can never usually do) including grabbing a fork to get all of the rest of the meat that fell out. And then when I got home I had to have something else because I was still starving.

Luckily, I was smart concerning my hydration...because my pre-run weight was EXACTLY the same as my postrun weight! Hurrah to me!

Being Sick is the Pits

So I ended up taking a WHOLE WEEK off of working out because I had a cold. Yuck.

I learned two things from being sick while pregnant:
1. Your immune system is very very much down, which means it is a lot easier to catch things like colds. It also means that it takes a much longer time to get over colds. I caught mine on the 17th (a Monday), and had to take off of work because it was so bad for THREE DAYS. I never do that. It still wasn't fully gone until the following Sunday. And I still have a nagging cough left over. Blah.
2. You can't take any drugs. Oh yeah, and no herbal supplements either...so even Airborne is out because it is an extra dose of Vitamin C.

Normally this awful cold would have been gone with a half day of rest for me...but I was not so lucky this time. As a result there was no running. Also no weight lifting, no stretching, no yoga, no working out. Pretty much I just laid on the couch and watched tv. It sounds like fun but it isn't. I think I was driving Bill nuts.

So when I got back into the routine of things last week about all I could muster at once in the heat was a measly 2.5 mile run. And it SUCKED. It was like I had taken 2 weeks off of working out instead of one. I even had to walk a couple of times, and then stupid things started happening (like my foot cramped up so badly that I had to take my running shoe off midrun. Seems I have a potassium deficiency. While I eat 3 bananas at work a day, which takes care of it, being sick at home I kind of had forgotten to do this.)

I MADE myself do a weight workout on Friday, lifting the lighter weights I have and it was hard too.

So on Saturday I was pretty much dreading our 8-miler.

Luckily I had lots of moral support from Bill and my friends Gina and Donna who joined us for the run. It was muggy out, which made it tough, but we muddled through. I only stopped to walk twice, once being at the killer Cat Hill (but I was proud of myself for making it through the first time...it was the second time that got me). We ended up averaging a 10:29 pace, even with the walking, so I was pretty happy.

It also made me feel like "Yes, I CAN do this half marathon that I signed up for at the end of my second trimester!"

Check THIS Out!

Seems like my most favorite runner, Kara Goucher, is also running pregnant! My friend Gina forwarded this article to me over the weekend. And her and Paula Radcliffe are due about the same time that I am!

So is it weird that this makes me feel more positive about my future running experiences? I mean, it's definitely not like "Well, if Kara can do it, I can do it." Because I read that she did 70 miles last week. Erg. I did like 10 miles last week. And I like that her "slow pace" is an 8:15 for a 10k. That is like my fast (non-pregnant) 10k pace! (But if her SLOW pace is 8:15, and her racing pace is like 4:58, that makes me not feel so bad about my new 10-11 minute long run pace). That article does make me feel like "Yay! I can do it!"

The other cool thing is that both of these ladies are running the Women's Mini 10k in June, which happens to be in Central Park, which I happened to sign up early for this year.

(Ironically, I think I am going to get in my 9+1 pretty easily this year, even though I deferred my entry to the NYC marathon for this year to the next...so I wouldn't even HAVE to do 9+1 to get in!)