Harvey's Lake 8.2 Miler

I decided to do this race as a tune-up for the St. Luke's Half Marathon in two weeks. I thought it would let me know where my speed and fitness was. Overall, I am pretty happy with how I did. I was aiming for 8:00 pace, and according to Garmin, I did 7:47.

First, the weather forecast was horrible. It was supposed to be rainy, windy, and cold. I made arrangements for my mother-in-law to watch Caden, as Aaron wanted to come and see me race for the first time in awhile, and it was much too cold to bring him. I woke up on Saturday morning and I went outside and it wasn't that bad out! The temperature wasn't bad, and it wasn't raining! I decided to wear a tech t-shirt, a tech-long sleeve t, and a wind breaker. I didn't think it was cold enough for Under Armour, so I just wore black breathable pants. I brought a baseball hat in case it started to rain.

This race is about 10 miles from my house. It was around a big lake that is pretty popular around here. Our friend actually just bought a lake house there, so we will probably be spending some time there this summer. I anticipated this being a big race since it is a scenic, flat route. Apparently it used to be a big local race (before I got into running) and they stopped holding it. Many people were excited that it was back. Aaron and I got to the lake pretty early since they advertised that parking would be tough. I got my packet. I was kind of disappointed. The race cost $25 and we just got a cheap cotton T-shirt. I was happy it was teal, but it was still cotton! Well, once we got to the lake...it was COLD! You would think I know how to dress by now...nope! I didn't have gloves with me and I should have brought something for my ears. I couldn't wear my baseball hat because of the wind (it was my nice Boston Marathon hat that I forgot I had, and I wasn't going to risk losing it).

The race start was strange. We were lining up and all of a sudden, people started running, I didn't hear a gun, horn, or even a "go!". I hit my watch and took off. As usual, I took off too fast. I felt really good. In fact, I think I ran a really good 5k! BUT....this was an 8-mile race. I hung with my uncle for the first 3 miles, then he took off and I knew I didn't have the endurance to go ahead. I tried to keep my pace up, but around mile 4, one lady passed me. Mile 5, another did, Mile 6 another, and that's pretty much how it went! I think my speed is back, and I just need to work on my endurance. When these ladies passed me, I thought, go for it because I can't hang! I just did my best and I did better than I thought! I finished less than a minute behind my uncle, so I held my own!

When the race was over, I looked at the board, and I didn't think I was going to place. I was 11th Woman Overall, and most ahead of me were in their 30s. I always like to stick around for the awards to clap for the people who did place, and surprisingly they did a 26-30 age group! I ended up getting 2nd. I usually beat the woman who won, but it goes to show that my endurance is lacking. She passed me right at the end and there wasn't a thing I could do about it! Regardless, I lucked out winning a medal, and I am happy with my time. I'm not sure of my official time, but Garmin has me at: 64:09

My splits
Mile 1: 7:07 (you would think I would know by now!)
Mile 2: 7:24 (still too fast for my fitness)
Mile 3: 7:36 (this would be nice if I could hold on to this pace)
Mile 4: 7:42 (Hmm...I'm seeing a trend here)
Mile 5: 7:50
Mile 6: 7:51
Mile 7: 7:50
Mile 8: 7:51
Garmin has .25: 6:39 pace...at least I picked it up for a quarter mile!

Overall....not a bad race for someone who just gave birth 3 months ago. I tend to be hard on myself, but I beat alot of people! I'm not where I want to be yet, but I'm getting there. I honestly don't know if I have a 1:45 half in me now, but I am going to try. Like I said before, I have no plan, so I'm going to attempt a taper. I have no clue what I'm doing with half training, but we'll see. Either way, I should be proud I am out there and doing it!

And....on a side note....I am not lucky that I lost my baby weight...except for 3 lbs...I bust my butt!

Here is Caden on his 3-month bday with my hardware!

I"m Back!

I have been debating if I should keep this blog up. It started as a running blog, but my focus has shifted a bit since the birth of my son. However, I recently read through my Boston training, and it really was great to have all of that training documented. Yes, I keep a training log, but definitely not with as much detail. For that reason, I have decided that I do want to document this point in my life. So here is what is up for the last several months.

On January 16, 2011, we welcomed our baby boy, Caden into the world. He weighed 8 lbs 3 oz and was 19.5 inches long. I never, ever would have thought I would have an 8 lb baby. I wasn't even that big! Lucky for me, I was pretty much all baby! I had an epidural and loved it! I wouldn't say that childbirth was easy, but it wasn't as bad as I was thinking. Caden has been a joy and so far is a very easy baby. He started sleeping through the night at 8 weeks old (on my birthday, actually!), and with only a few early morning wake-ups has continued this pattern. At his 2-month appointment he was in the 23rd percentile for weight and 85th for height...my tall skinny boy! He was 11.3 lbs and 24 inches. Here are some pics of our handsome boy!



The first is his hospital picture, then the other two are obvious

Now for the running...I am kind of back!

My doctor told me to wait 2-4 weeks after delivery to start running. I waited 15 days. I had a half marathon to train for. I registered for the St. Luke's Half Marathon (formerly the Lehigh Valley Half Marathon). I will run this exactly 15 weeks post partum which after taking off 8 weeks (the last 6 weeks of pregnancy + the two weeks post-delivery) gave me 13 weeks to get back in shape.

IT WAS NOT EASY! I thought I would bounce right back. I thought after running with all that extra weight, once the baby was out, I would feel like a million bucks...wrong! It was hard. My core hurt the most. My abs were absolutely trashed. I actually had to wear a post partum support belt for the first few weeks back. My legs actually felt okay, but my heart rate was high and I haven't felt so out of shape in years! My first week back, here was my mileage:
Jan. 31st-1.5 miles
Feb 1st-1.5 miles
Feb 4th-2 miles
Feb 5th-2 miles for a grand total of 7 miles! I wanted to make sure I didn't build myself up too quickly and get injured so here is what the rest of my weeks looked like:

Feb 7-11th- 11 miles
Feb 13-19th-20 miles
Feb 20-24th-20 miles
Total mileage for Feb. 59.5 miles...not too bad!

In March, I started getting serious. I really do have a half marathon to train for.
March 1-5th- 23 miles with a long run of 8. I was started to feel more normal, just very slow for me.

March 6-12th- 31 miles with a long run of 10 and one day of speedwork (4x800)

March 14-19th- 32 miles with a long run of 12 and one day of 4 miles at tempo.

March 21-26th- 24 miles with no long run but some hill work and a 5k race (more about that late)

March 27-30th- 22.5 miles. This week is actually broken up. I always start my running weeks on Sunday, so I did do run a long run of 8 miles last week (just on Sunday instead of my usual Saturday because of the 5k), and one day of speedwork 5 x 800.

March Mileage: 132.5...back to normal!

April Mileage
April 1 and 2nd 6 mile at 8:00 pace and 13 mile long run -19 miles
April 4-9th 34 miles (I am running 14 tomorrow, but I am counting it now because I know I will get it done.)

I feel pretty good. My long runs have been slow, but my speed is returning. I decided to run a 5k to see where my speed was, so on March 26th I ran a 22:46 5k! I placed 4th overall and 2nd Age Group. I NEVER thought I would be able to run it that fast. It was the first time I really challenged myself post baby, and I couldn't be happier with the results. I am still struggling with my long runs, so I'm not totally confident in my upcoming half, but I did run 13 miles last weekend in about 2 hours (the day after a 6-miler at 8:00 pace), so I know I should be able to at least run a 1:50. Ideally, I would like to PR (my unofficial PR is a 1:46 in the Boston Marathon), but I don't know if this is realistic. I am running 14 tomorrow, and have an 8-mile race next weekend, which should give me more of an idea of where my fitness is. I am not following a plan, just mixing it up with speedwork and long runs, so we will see.

Oh...and where is my baby when I am logging these miles?? Lucky for me, the treadmill knocks him out! I put him in his bouncy seat and 5 minutes into my run (with the TV and treadmill on), he falls asleep. One of the benefits of running through pregnancy is I guess he is used to all the noise! Plus, Aaron watches him while I run long Saturdays, and when it is nice out, my mom comes to watch him while I run outside. We do have a BOB, but the weather hasn't really been nice enough to take him out in it yet. Next week, I anticipate Caden will make his debut in the stroller!

So in a nutshell...that is what I have been up to in the last 3 months. I will do my best to update regularly (for anyone who still reads this thing)!

Oh yeah...I am registered for my 3rd Steamtown '11 (my 5th marathon!)