Nike Women's (1/2) Marathon

I entered this lottery because everyone I've talked to who has done it told me how awesome it is. I didn't think I'd win a spot. I didn't think that I'd get pregnant so soon.

All I do know is once I got it I was set on doing it. Once I found out I was pregnant, it defined my identity as being an athlete.

The biggest obstacle I've had to overcome during these past 7 months was the limitations the pregnancy has put on me. I've heard it all: it's only temporary, it's so worth the sacrifice, you have the rest of your life to run/bike. I don't care. I didn't realize how much I depended on running as therapy, a reset, a stress reliever, until I didn't have it any more. I took this frustration and focused it on training for this 1/2 marathon.

Let me be the first to tell you that I didn't train more than 8 miles on any of my walks. Some serious crap went down (which I may share with you all at a later date) and I didn't stick to my plan. However, when the weekend of October 18th came around, I was ready to prove all my naysayers wrong. I didn't realize it would help me reclaim myself.

Race Day:Rosemarie and I in our hotel room, all Nike'd out

I did not treat this as a race at all. I woke up and got a chai latte from Starbucks of all things! I'm not Glenn. My race morning meal is NOT an apple fritter.

My Tri peeps and other friends before the race.
Everyone else was running.

We lined up in the wrong corral, but I was okay with it. We were with the 12-14 min/mile peeps. It was a big cluster, so I figured we'd be okay if we stuck to the side. When I found out I was pregnant and told people, I asked my mom to walk the race with me. Yes, she was a bandit. Little did I know my aunt would walk some of it with us.

Miles 1-10:
were great. Yes there were hills but I made my mom stop almost every mile to take a picture. I couldn't believe the views and the camaraderie of the walkers. I did stop before mile 2 for my first of 4 bathroom stops.

Me and the fireman that let me use the firehouse restroom.
It was clean and it flushed!

My mom was starting to take off a bit faster than I had planned. I had to reign her in, which is funny, since that is what I always do.

Me and mom at Pier 1

We spent the whole time talking about random stuff. It was fun. She went back and forth about wanting to walk the race again next year. She was all for in the first 5 miles, the hills made her change her mind, but I think she's back on board.

My aunt, me and my mom at mile 5.
There is ~ a 20 min difference between the clock time and our actual time.

The Golden Gate and me.

Miles 11-13.1 (or 12.99 if you trust nike+ thing down there):

Let me be the first to tell you, walkers are mentally strong. I will not compare myself, as a 1/2 marathon runner, to any of these 1/2 marathon walkers. We came up on 4 hours and I was done. I just wanted the race to be over. I wasn't really having fun anymore. Any of the give aways were gone before we got to them. But then we came upon some friendly walkers. They were still chatty, if not smiling. One pair even offered us licorice. We were bitching about our feet, the blisters that we knew we'd find at the end of the day. The fact that we swore they moved the mile markers. They were awesome.

My mom cut out right before the finish. I got my necklace, t-shirt (the wrong one which they want me to send back and are going to send me the right one), and food for us both. It was a pretty race and a good experience. I can't wait to run it, at least once.

I can't tell you how great it felt. To know that I could do it. To prove to everyone who said I was crazy, that I wasn't. That I still have some level of fitness, even if I don't have the same core strength or arm muscles, or even leg muscles really. That I'm still me somewhere in here.

13.1 miles in 4:36:44 ...

29 weeks pregnant. I did it!

I may have exaggerated the bump here...

Once I stepped up to the start corral, I knew I was going to finish this thing. I'll write a longer (probably longer than many of you all want to read) race report later in the week. I just wanted to let all my peeps in blogland know that I did survive. I did finish. My mom hung in for the whole time, even bowing out at the end as they were checking for bibs at the finish line. My aunt did a 10K+, after thinking she wasn't going to get out of bed until long after the sun rose.

My Aunt, me and my Mom

(The clock time was 20 min faster than our actual start time.)

I didn't I registered the tux wearing firefighters (although maybe I should have studied them more closely and gotten a picture with one like my friend Louise). I didn't even take a look at my finisher's shirt until I got back to my parents house! (I got a marathon one instead of a 1/2 marathon one, I'm going to see if I can change.) I just wanted to get back to my mom, who didn't get any of the glory, not even a picture at the finish line.

We may have finished faster if we didn't stop to take so many pictures! I'll post more of those later, too.

I'm Alive!

Yeah, I know. It's been almost a month since the last time I've posted anything.

Good news: Baby is doing fine. In fact, it's a male child. I should have known with all the melons I was craving...

Bad news: I stopped running again. The shortness of breath was getting to me and I was walking more than I was running.

I just got a new bathing suit, so I should be heading to the pool in the next few days. I did miss swimming. I know, check the date. Record it for posterity. I'm not sure that I ever thought I'd say that.

Well, have a great run/bike/swim everyone!

Two in a Row!

I ran today, and Tuesday. So it wasn't really "in a row" as much as twice when I had scheduled runs. Also, I got up EARLY (well ~6am) to do it.

The real obstacle to my running hasn't been the pregnancy, although I was plagued with fatigue something awful in the first trimester. It's been the heat.

I've started to get hotter faster, which just so happens to correspond to the weather getting hotter, and hotter. I guess my decision to skip out on America's Finest City 1/2, and throw away my hopes for a Triple Crown, was a good one. I can't imagine trying to even walk 13.1 miles in August. Although, with my luck, this year it'll be super cold.

Anyway, I'm just excited to be a "runner" again. Hopefully I can keep this up until Oct, maybe even Dec? (I know, I know, I'm probably delusional)

Pretty Run

Sunday I ran 4 miles from Big Corona Del Mar to the north end of Crystal Cove and back. I use the term run very loosely. It's really more of a walk/run, and I keep saying that, so I'll stop now. I'm really happy that I can keep running.

I took off a bit before 9, and that was a bit too late for me. I think if I'd have left earlier, I would have been able to go longer. Because the sun broke through, as it often does, and it got hot fast. I'm also glad I decided to bring the second 1/2 of my breakfast (PB & J) with me to training. I was HUNGRY when I was done.

So along with the super sniffer, and the gagging, I'm adding almost constant hunger to my list of things no one ever tells you happens, during the first trimester at least, while you're pregnant. It could be because I'm more active than the women I know who have been pregnant, but it's definitely something I wish I was warned about!