No More Running

I have been dreading writing this post. I am officially done running until after I give birth. I made it to 34 weeks and 1 day. I ran 5 miles December 5th, and now I can't walk without pain (for the last 2 weeks). I am super bummed because I fully intended to run up to the day I give birth, but my body has other plans. I am currently limping around like an old lady. I went to the doctor this week, and he wasn't sympathetic at all. He told me it happens when you are pregnant, and will go away once I give birth. Yesterday, I went to a chiropractor, and he told me that it isn't sciatica pain. He said that is the commonly used term whenever pregnant women have lower back pain. Mine is only on the right side, down near my butt. He said it is most likely inflamed vertibrate. It is a painful condition, but not serious at all. He adjusted me and did some ART on the area, and said he should be able to get me better, but I won't be 100% until after I give birth. I really don't feel any better, but I have another appointment on Monday. I feel better being proactive rather than just sitting around in pain.

It took me this long to come to terms with this. I know I am lucky to have made it this long, but I can't help but feel disappointed. I keep thinking about the fitness I am losing, and the extra weight I am going to gain. Luckily, all my extra weight (23 lbs of it) is in my stomach. I'm really not as big as I thought I would get, but I have always been body conscious, and running helps me feel better about myself. Now, I am resigned to the couch! I work all day (which is exhausting and painful), then I come home and just lay on the couch until it is time to go to bed. I have been incredibly blessed with an easy pregnancy, so if this is the worst I have to put up with, I am lucky (at least that is what I keep telling myself).

On a positive note, the nursery is just about finished! I still need to organize the baby stuff, but I feel pretty good about our progress. I am still hoping the baby comes a little early....1/11/11 perhaps! I have 3 more days of work, then I am off til Jan 3rd. I am planning on installing the carseats, sterilizing all the bottles and pacifiers, and getting the clothes put away (I have been washing things here and there). Here are some pics of our nursery.

Pregnancy Update

I am almost 33 weeks and much has changed since my last post! I definitely look pregnant now. Actually, I am pretty fortunate and am not huge, but my belly is definitely noticeable. I finally caved and started wearing maternity pants at 30 weeks. I still occasionally wear my regular pants with the belly band, since I only have 3 pairs of maternity (and am not buying more), but for the most part, I wear the maternity. I am now going to the doctor's every two weeks and everything, thankfully, looks perfect. My weight gain is fine (+17lbs so far!), baby is measuring right on and appears to be head down (for now), blood pressure is still low (100/60), and all my lab work came back fine.

Now for the running news....I am still going strong! I actually gave up running outside about 2 weeks ago. My parents were on my case, plus, I was starting not to trust myself on the sidewalks. Many of them were covered with leaves and chestnuts, so I was afraid I would take a spill. Now, I am resigned to the treadmill for the remainder of my pregnancy. I am currently running 5 miles 5 days per week. This is pretty much the same that I have been doing the entire pregnancy. My pace has slowed way down (about 9:15 per mile), plus I stop about 2 times per run to recover. I just figure that I am still running decent mileage and every mile counts! Once November is over, I may need to reevaluate. 5 miles is getting really tough! I did buy a Gabrialla support band and that has been a lifesaver for my back.

Our new nursery and bathroom is starting to come together. Poor Aaron has been working like a madman to get everything finished. The room is now carpeted and the furniture is assembled. He still needs to put in the closet organization system, and put the vanity and toilet in the bathroom. Then, we can start decorating and putting the baby stuff away. I had a fabulous shower and got pretty much everything on our registry. This is one lucky baby boy! It's hard to believe that he'll be here in less than 2 months. I have a feeling that he is going to come a little early even though every keeps telling me that first babies come late. 1/11/11 is a pretty neat birthday to me!

It's a boy!

OK, so I am a really bad blogger! I announce my pregnancy and then don't blog for 10 weeks! All is well with me. I continue to feel great and am still running 25 miles per week with relative ease. Baby Boy is measuring perfectly and is kicking up a storm. I truly believe that staying so fit is helping me have a healthy pregnancy. I haven't gained much weight and am still wearing my regular pants (with a belly band). I am wearing loose fitting tops with some maternity thrown in there, mainly because I think I look like I put on a few pounds rather than pregnant. I can definitely still hide the pregnancy, but I am getting to the point where I'd like to have a bit more of a bump! I'm sure it is coming in the next few weeks as the baby continues to pack on the pounds.

I miss running! I went to the Steamtown Marathon yesterday to cheer on my uncle and it was hard to stand on the sidelines. The ironic thing is that I was so burnt out after Boston that I wouldn't have ran Steamtown even if I was pregnant! Running has just become such a big part of my life that it's hard to sit back and watch, even though I am super excited for the next stage in our lives. I think I am going to register for the Lehigh Valley Half Marathon on May 1st as my "comeback" race. It won't be a PR performance, but it will get me back out there and in shape. I am pretty confident that I will be able to finish, even though it won't be pretty. This will set me up perfectly to train for a fall 2011 marathon! By having a goal, it keeps me motivated and reminds me that I can have a running life post baby! I may be getting up at 5 AM to run, but that is the price I will have to pay.

Our house is a mess. Everyone keeps asking me about a nursery and I have to laugh because it's not even close. We have an enclosed finished porch/room on the second floor of our house that we pretty much used for storage. It runs the length of our two spare bedrooms, so we decided to install a jack and jill bathroom with a walk-in closet for each bedroom. After that is finished, we will work on the nursery. My goal is to have the nursery finished by the end of November. Aaron has been busting his butt trying to get the latest project finished and the dry wall is being hung this week, so hopefully, we will meet our deadline. When there is a little more progress, I will post some pictures.

That's all for now. I promise I will update more often!

The REAL reason I haven't been racing

Well, some people have noticed that I haven't run a race since my heat exhaustion incident on May 2nd. And, no, I haven't given up running. In fact, I ran 114 miles in July, which isn't bad considering I went on vacation to the Caribbean and spent a long weekend in D.C. My running philosophy is that when I race I want to see results. I don't like to just go out there and say I ran a race. Every time I hit the starting line, I expect and like to see a PR. Well lately my priorities with running (and the rest of my life) have changed. And the reason is.....


I am pregnant! Yep, 16 weeks to be exact! I figured that it is time to come out to to the rest of the world, although those close to us have known since we came back from vacation on July 18th. I found out on May 8th (Mother's Day). Aaron and I had the plan that we would start trying for a baby after the Boston Marathon in April. Well, let's just say that this is a Boston Marathon Baby as I conceived about a week after it. Our baby is due January 18th and so far, everything has been great.

People often say that I am a lucky person, and honestly, I have been extremely blessed with this pregnancy. I am sure many women out there will hate me, but I have not felt different at all since finding out. I never had nausea, fatigue, heart burn, bloating, etc, although my face is broken out like I am 12! I feel perfectly normal. I often forget that I am actually pregnant. I could say it is because I am in such good shape, but I know that isn't always the case. I know many fit women that had very hard first trimesters. In my first trimester, I actually lost half a pound (maybe I wore different shoes or something that day!). I had genetic testing, 3 ultrasounds, and everything looks good so far. I went for my 16 week appointment today, and I gained 2 lbs and the baby was so active they had a hard time finding the heartbeat. They would find it for 5 seconds, then lose it, then repeat! It's amazing because I can't yet feel a thing. I think I still look perfectly normal. I can still button my pants, and if you didn't know, I don't think you can tell. The nurse told me today that because I have good muscle tone in my abs that I may not really look pregnant til 20-22 weeks. I hope I am that lucky!

Yes, I have still been running. I am trying to get in 25-28 miles per week and have no trouble doing so. My doctor encourages exercise and as long as I feel up to it, I can continue. On hot days, I hit the treadmill and I now always carry a water bottle with me. I have been stopping halfway through each run just to make sure my heart rate isn't too high, and it's usually around 140-150, which isn't that high. I actually lent my Garmin to my father-in-law because I don't want to run by pace anymore. I have just been running by feel and taking it easy. I imagine I am running about 9:30-10 min miles (ok, 9:00 on the treadmill). Obviously, if I need to stop for medical reasons, i will, but as long as I and the baby are healthy, I plan to run the entire pregnancy. I have done extensive research on the topic (If interested, there is a great book by Dr. Clapp called Exercising Through Your Pregnancy), and there are many benefits for a baby whose mother exercises, so I am pretty determined. I know this is controversial, but I am confident in my decision and would never put our baby's health at risk. I am glad that times have changed and that it is now encouraged to stay active thoughout pregnancy.


I still hope to keep this blog running related, but the focus will obviously shift. If you read this for the training, there won't be much on the topic! This blog will now be a combination of running and pregnancy (baby). So let this new journey for Aaron and me begin!

June Mileage

I haven't been blogging much because there is nothing really new and exciting as far as my running goes. I have been holding steading at around 28 miles per week. For June, I ran 119 miles, which I think is pretty good since I'm not training for anything. It has been nice to just run for run and not worry about pace or hitting a specific mileage goal.

On another note, my sister got married on Saturday. Her wedding was gorgeous and everything went perfectly. I'll post a picture of me and the beautiful bride below. I was the matron of honor.

July is going to be a very busy month for us. This weekend we are going to DC to visit Aaron's sister. We will see some sights and go to the mall for the fireworks. It should be a good time! Next week, we are going on our cruise! We leave out of Tampa and are going to Cozumel, Cayman, Honduras and Belize. It's my 15th cruise and I am finally a Platinum Member on Carnival, so VIP status for us...yay! It's actually not that big of a deal because my parents have been VIPs for years, so when we travel with them, we get the perks. This vacation is just Aaron and I so it's nice to attain it ourselves. I hate running on the ship because I have to use a treadmill (no way am I counting laps on the deck outside..it's like 8 times around is a mile). They have a 30 minute time limit which doesn't allow me much mileage. I then cover up the time and hope noone says anything. I hate being "one of those people," but not enough to follow the rules!

Happy 4th!

I've been boring lately

It has been awhile since I blogged because my running has not been that great. After my last race, I took about a week off before I attempted to run again. Since then, I have been trying to run between 25-30 miles per week and keep my long run between 8 and 10. I figure that this should maintain my base and allow me to race various distances this summer. I have my eye on the inaugural Wilkes-Barre Half Marathon on Labor Day, but that is it. I skipped my town’s Memorial Day 5-miler because the heat has really been bothering me and it was 88 that day. Plus, I feel like my speed isn’t up to par. I haven’t been doing any quality workouts, just easy runs, so I didn’t feel “race ready.” It killed me to miss it, but it was the right move.

I have been very careful since my “incident.” On very hot days, I have been running inside. However, that does not help me get acclimated to the warm temperatures. I ran 4 miles on the levee last Friday, and I really thought I was going to die! It was about 85 and sunny. I was aiming for 6, but it didn't happen, which is rare because I barely ever cut my runs short. When I reread my old posts, I really am a whiner....I complain in the winter about the cold, and now I am complaining about the heat. Now that I am off from work, I can get up early and get my runs in, which will be nice.

I think that taking it easy for a month will have a positive effect on my running. My body feels good and it is nice to not “have” to run every day (although I am trying to run 5 days per week). I was trying to talk Aaron into running the big 4th of July 3-miler and he agreed! I told him that we could run it together and I won’t burn him! He can probably run about a 24 minute 3 mile without training, so I agreed. Last year, I had a great race, but it will be nice to run together for fun. I wish he enjoyed running, so this may be a start.

Also...I have finished my 7th year of teaching! Time flies!

Crash and Burn

Well, I do have a story to tell. I am embarrassed about what happened, but since I always blog about the awesome runs I have and PRs that I set, I have to "keep it real" and blog about the bad as well. Plus, if anyone can learn from my experiences, then it will make the event a positive thing.

Post-Boston
After Boston I took off 8 days. I was going to take off two weeks, but I felt I had a really easy recovery. My legs were never that sore and by 4 days post marathon, I only felt a few knots in my hamstrings and quads. After 6 days, I felt completely normal. So 8 days post marathon, I went for a 2 mile jog on my treadmill. I felt the knot return, so I stopped after 2 miles. That night, I rolled my muscles out really good and took another day off. 10 days post marathon, I ran 4 miles outside slowly with no watch. I felt okay. Not great, but not terrible. The next day, I ran 4 more and felt much better. I didn't wear a watch, but I felt I was running my usual easy run pace.

Here is where the stupidity comes in. My local running club has a "Triple Crown" racing series. I ran the first leg in March, and that left me in 6th place. The 2nd leg was on May 2nd. It was a 5 mile race. I started thinking that I could just run the race for fun, and with some luck, leave myself in decent standings for the last leg. I knew deep down, I should never run a race that soon after a marathon, but I was so hyped up after Boston, I felt like I was invincible. Here's what went down.

Sunday, May 2nd Cherry Blossom 5-miler
I woke up on Sunday and went to register for the race. It was about 85 degrees and the humidity was high, so I decided to carry my handheld water bottle with me. I knew I wasn't acclimated to the warm weather, so I decided it was worth carrying during the race (even though it was "only" 5 miles). My parents wanted to go, even though I told them it wasn't necessary. Aaron was playing paintball with his friends, and I guess they wanted someone to be there. I have gone to races by myself and my uncle is usually there anyway. Regardless, they insisted on going.

After I registered, I ran into my uncle and my parents. I did my warm-up and was already sweating. I complained to my uncle and a friend from work (who was there with her children) about how warm I was. We went to line up, and I put myself towards the front of the women. The gun went off, and it was a really crowded start. We were on top of the levee in Kirby Park (which I run often), so it wasn't a huge path. I took off to distance myself from the crowd. Well guess who ran a 6:45 first mile...not smart. I saw my parents at mile 1 (because we did a loop in the park) and I yelled to them that I went out too fast. My dad yelled to take it easy. I am way too competitive for that. I kept pushing.

By mile 2, I didn't feel right. My stomach didn't feel nauseaus, but just didn't feel quite right. I knew I should probably stop and take a DNF, but my pride wouldn't let me do that. I knew my parents were there, plus several students that I have taught, so I kept pushing, saying to myself that it is only 3 more miles. Well at mile 3, I had to stop to walk. I walked for about 10 seconds, then started running again. At mile 4, I had to stop again. Some guy stopped in front of me, so I stopped with him. I told him I felt dizzy and he told me he felt the same. The whole time I kept making myself drink my water.

At mile 4.25, I had nothing left. Two women passed me, and there wasn't a thing I could do about it. Now...here comes the big finish.

First off, I don't recall finishing. I remember stopping to walk about 50 yards from the finish. Then my dad tells me I started running to the end. My dad tells me I was zig zagging all over. He thought I had a cramp because of the way my left leg was running. As soon as I crossed the line, my dad was waiting next to the chute (it was a small race...200 people). I told him I was dizzy. The race officials told me to just go under the tape, but I told them I wanted my time recorded. They told me it was and my dad took me to sit down (actually right under the official clock). He said my lips were grey and I was bone dry. Not an ounce of sweat on me. At this point, I remember what happened. I sat down and started throwing up. I kept complaining that this was a repeat of the NJ marathon and how could this happen to me again. I then got sooo hot. I started dumping water over my head to cool down. My mom got me a bunch of water and I kept dumping them over my head. At this point, I started to get dizzy. I layed down and really felt like I was going to pass out. My mom brought me gatorade and I tried to keep that down, but I kept vomiting. Every time I would sit up, I would get dizzy and feel like I was going to pass out. My friend from work Tracy came over, and I asked her if any of our kids from school saw this, and she said yes, they all did.....great! At this point, I was okay, just very nauseaus (I hate this word...for some reason, I just can't spell it and I am too lazy to spell check).

I then decided that I just wanted to go home, so my mom was going to drive my car home and my dad was going to drive me in his car. As I started walking, I collapsed. I couldn't get up. I started crying hysterically. My mom kept telling me that it was only a race and who cares how I did. I wasn't crying over that, I just had no control over my emotions at that point. I have no idea why I was crying. I felt ok to walk, so I tried again with my dad supporting me, and I collapsed again. At this point, my dad said my eyes started rolling around. All I remember is that I couldn't think. My dad would ask me questions, I couldn't respond. I remember him saying, "Tell me right now what day it is, or I am calling an ambulance." I immediately answered "Sunday." Now keep in mind, my parents owned an ambulance company for 20 years, so they are medical people. My mother is a nurse and my father an EMT. He said that he was very worried at this point. They got me under a tree where there was a breeze and just poured water over my head. Of course, the race directors and many people were extememly concerned, but my dad told them that he had it.

Finally, I felt like I could walk to his truck. All I remember was concentrating on putting once foot in front of the other. I was so dizzy, I could barely see. I made it to his truck and just kind of slumped there.

At this point, he was afraid to take me to my house, so he took me to his. I started to feel better on the drive there (it's only about 2 miles away). I made it into my parent's house and sat on the couch. My mom got me a coke (my uncle's suggestion) and I drank that. Very shortly, I started to feel much better. After a half hour, I took a shower and ate some soup. I was then able to drive home.

The whole rest of the day, I felt terrible. I was very nauseated and couldn't keep anything but ginger ale down. Around 8, I ate some toast and kept that down. I woke up the next morning and felt alright so I went to work.

3 days later, I still don't feel back to normal. I just feel "off" and tired. I promised my mother that I would take another week off, which I also think is a good idea. I am trying to figure out what happened and I think it was a combination of several things. First, I wasn't recovered from Boston. I know darn well that you shouldn't race for 26 days after a marathon, but my ego got the best of me. I felt like Superwoman and that I could do anything. While I may have felt ok, my body must have still been out of whack. Second, I don't think I hydrated enough before the race. While I drank 20 oz during the race, I think it was too late. Third, my body isn't acclimated to the warm weather and I pushed it too hard. I looked up the symptoms of heat exhaustion, and I had almost every one. All of these things are stupid mistakes, but I guess we live and learn.

The ironic thing is that this is exactly one year to the day that I did this to myself at the NJ marathon...weird.

As for the race, it wasn't as bad as you would think. I got third in my age group and a 39:29 time. While it wasn't my best, it was still under 8:00 pace. I also moved up into 4th for the Triple Crown. Several people from the first race didn't show up for this one, and only one girl who was behind me beat me. So my plan actually worked out, but it definitely wasn't worth it. I hope I can run my hometown race on Memorial Day. It is around my neighborhood and I run the course at least once a week. For now, I am going to take it easy and ease my way back into training.

Also, I am definitely NOT running a fall marathon. I am giving my body a much needed break. I ran 4 marathon in 1.5 years, and despite this last disaster, i am going to slow down and relax a bit!