Boston 2014

The short story
It was a great day. I felt reasonable good, never hit the wall, and finished strong. Given the issues I've had this winter, I was pleased with my time. My official time was 3:16:48. I'll be going back to BayState to work on my PR. ;)

Water stop woes
It's no secret that water stops and I don't get along. It's embarrassing really. I can't run and drink water from an open cup. Why oh why can't I drink and run at the same time!

Since training wasn't awesome this winter and I didn't find a hydration belt that I liked, I decided to run belt-less. It was a good opportunity to learn to drink from a cup while running. I mean, there are like 25 water stops, I was bound to pick up the skill along the way, right?

Here's what happened as I ran through water stops:

• Water stop 1: Grab a cup of water, throw water in face...nope that's not how you drink and run at the same time. Moving on...
• Water stop 2: Grab a cup of water, squeeze cup to a point, get a few drips in mouth, throw rest of water up nose. Still learning obviously...
• Water stop 3: Grab cup of water, squeeze cup to a point, get more in mouth...nice. Choke as swallowing. Oops.
• Water stop 4: Grab cup of water, curse because it's only half full, but get all the water in mouth! Too much to swallow at once though....Choke again
• Water stop 5: Grab water, empty some out, make the spout, drink the water in smaller sips!!!! Nice.
• Water stops 6, 7, 8, 9, 10....as my daughter would say "easy peasy". I got this running and drinking water thing down!
• Water stop 11: Grab a cup of Gatorade by mistake...gross.
• Water stop 12: Grab a cup of water, throw water up nose again...guess I shouldn't have gotten so cocky.
• Many water stops go by uneventful, then somewhere late in the race...Grab a cup of water, and almost ram into someone who seemed to take the term "water stop" literally. This was a common occurrence the last few miles. Runners would grab a cup and simply stop running right then and there. Then I had to become accomplished at running, drinking, AND dodging. Who am I kidding...I didn't dodge very well, but it's fair to say that I can now drink water and run at the same time.

25 water stops later, and now I should be good to use the provided hydration in races. Though I think at Boston using the water stops does lose some time. There are so many people, it's hard not to slow down.
 
Best part of the race
Running by the Wellesly girls. There were lots of high fives, and crazy screaming, and one runner dude yelled out, "Woo hoo! New PR! 7 kisses!" It was awesome. Trust me...

Worst part of the race
Technically it happened before the race, but I'm about 99% positive that I got peed on in the starting corral. To the gentlemen who pee in starting corrals...just because you can, doesn't mean you should. If the fairer sex can hold it, then so can you. (This happened to me last year too.) Ew. Enough said.

Splits & Stats
Net Time 3:16:48
Overall 5655/31931 (This makes me feel like I at least earned my 7000 bib number.)
In Gender 700/14356 (Female)
In Division 563/6979 (F18-39 Age Group)

I think my Garmin short changed me a bit. It reported 26.15, and I KNOW that Boston isn't short.

Split	Time	Distance	Avg Pace
Summary	3:16:49.4	26.15	7:32
1	7:22.8	1.00	7:23
2	7:08.3	1.00	7:08
3	7:10.0	1.00	7:10
4	7:19.9	1.00	7:20
5	7:28.2	1.00	7:28
6	7:15.2	1.00	7:15
7	7:11.5	1.00	7:11
8	7:17.6	1.00	7:18
9	7:14.2	1.00	7:14
10	7:25.2	1.00	7:25
11	7:20.6	1.00	7:21
12	7:27.7	1.00	7:28
13	7:24.7	1.00	7:25
14	7:28.6	1.00	7:29
15	7:31.7	1.00	7:32
16	7:16.9	1.00	7:17
17	7:32.2	1.00	7:32
18	7:43.6	1.00	7:44
19	7:41.3	1.00	7:41
20	7:57.4	1.00	7:57
21	8:16.3	1.00	8:16
22	8:03.0	1.00	8:03
23	8:09.9	1.00	8:10
24	7:14.7	1.00	7:15
25	8:14.9	1.00	8:15
26	7:37.6	1.00	7:38
27	:55.2	0.15	6:04

And...that's all I have! I hope you had a great day too!

I ran 3:07:11: Nick was worried when I didn't finish sooner

Nick still has nightmares about a certain race, where I had trained well enough to possibly run 3:20, but wound up running 4:15. (It was a very bad day, but one that I'm proud of.) Now if I miss the mark by even a measly 2 minutes and 11 seconds, he worries. He's so cute. After I finished the BayState Marathon on Sunday, he said to me "I was so worried!" With furrowed eyebrows and a smirk I replied, "I was only 2 minutes behind my goal of 3:05". To which he said, "I know, but I thought you'd be faster and when you didn't make it by 3:05, I thought you might be hurt." I actually thought this was really sweet. You see, Nick is ever the engineer. He's almost always logical and data driven. He's been keeping track of my training and really believed that I could and would run faster.

So does that mean I had a bad day on Sunday? No. It was a spectacular day. I felt good. The virus that has been plaguing our home seemed to lift Saturday, I've been getting a reasonable amount of sleep (6-7 hours), and there was nothing wrong with my legs. All great omens come race day. The weather was beautiful being sunny and 50-58 degrees during the race. The 3:07:11 time I posted is a 4.5 minute personal record, and I was the 3rd female finisher. Coming in 3rd really made the day. I might have been a tiny bit disappointed that I didn't go under 3:05 had I not had such a nice finishing place.

If I was feeling ready to go, the course was flat and fast, and the weather was cool, then why wasn't I able to post my initial goal? Well, it was probably a combination of going out too fast and a nasty headwind. My first mile was 6:52, which was good, but by the 8 mile mark I was averaging slightly under 6:45 pace. That was based on the race clocks not my Garmin (looking through my Garmin splits it reports some of my miles being in the 6:37 range). I didn't look at my Garmin at all during the race. I tried to run more by feel, but I guess I was getting a little a head of myself. I crossed the half around 1:29, which I didn't think was too too fast, but there was also a 14 mph headwind for a good stretch of the course. The course is a loop done twice, so there were portions with a tailwind too, but from what I've read the two don't cancel each other out. A runner doesn't gain the same benefit with a tailwind, as the deficit that is acquired with a headwind. You can check out the Daniel's calculator where you can enter headwinds and tailwinds and predict what times might have been. Using the Daniels calculator and guessing that roughly half course had a tailwind and half had a headwind, it seems I might lost 3-4 minutes there. That combined with running a little faster than I should have for the first half probably accounts for my finishing time. My legs were dead after about 17-18 miles, and by the time I hit 20 I was telling myself to "just keep running". Really the finish couldn't come fast enough. My two final miles were 8:10ish (and I was surprised they were that fast), because at the time it felt like I was running slower than 10 minute pace.

Now I would hate for anyone to think that I'm complaining. I am so happy! Overall, my race experience was great. There were a good number of men running near me, and they were all supportive. Guys passing would say things like "you're crushing this race" or "you're awesome". A few times I found myself in a group of guys, and they were always friendly. Spectators seemed excited to see the "3rd female". So as much as the last 8 miles were a suffer fest (which was probably my own fault), everyone was just amazing. My parents, Nick, and the kids were all at the finish. And I ran a 4.5 minute PR! It really was a great day.

Running the race also made me realize even more how great the Greater Lowell Road Runners (GLRR) are. (The GLRR hosts the BayState Marathon.) Technically I'm member of the GLRR, but I don't really participate. I just don't have the time right now (or my priorities are just elsewhere at the moment), but every single person I've met from the group is so nice. Some are fast and some aren't, but all of them are great.

Here are some post race pictures! I'm sure they're boring to you, but it's the first time I remembered to take some pics with my phone after a big race, so I'm excited to have them!

 Ahhh, family photo!

 Nana and Grampy get in on the action

 My ladies and me :)

And Nick and me

What's next you ask? Some rest and recovery for now. Then I have my sights set on Boston, though I don't know that Boston is the course for me set any crazy PR's, but a solid time would set me up nicely for another go of it next Fall. :)

Providence Marathon Race Report

The short report: The official time was 3:22:38. On the up side, that's a 4 minute PR. On the downside, I think I'm in better shape.

Now, the slightly longer version...

Pre-race week:
My right arch was killing me. From the symptoms, it seemed like plantar fasciitis, but I'm positive running isn't what started the issue. It must have been a bad pair of shoes I wore to work. While running didn't cause the issue, it definitely exacerbated it. I ran an 8 mile tempo at half marathon pace about a week out. Before the tempo there was a twinge, but it wasn't much worse when I finished. The next day I ran easy, and after that it was full blown pain. It hurt to walk even. I took the four days leading up to the race off and actively did the whole RICE thing. Friday before the race my arch finally stopped hurting while walking. I stepped up to the line pain free and well rested...though I was wondering at what point (during the race) my arch would start to hurt.

The race start:
My race plan was loose. Based on my training, I figured somewhere  between 7:20 and 7:40 pace was reasonable, but I didn't want to force any particular pace, so the plan was to go out and see how I felt. My first mile was 7:20, and it felt right, so I went with that. The first 16 miles were 7:21 pace, but...then things got complicated.

Mid-race:
The first 16 miles were good to me. There were more hills than I remember, but I was handling them. I was drinking and taking gels at my normal rate, but at around 15 miles I stopped sweating, and though I was still drinking I just stopped sweating. It's probably worth mentioning that the temperature was comfortable in the fifties, but it was 90% humidity. Maybe that's why I had an issue? I don't know, but by 16 miles my legs really started burning. It was strange because it felt like the last mile of a 5k when I'm having asthma issues, BUT my breathing was great. My breathing and heart rate were both great. But my legs were burning. At that point, I just had to hang on. Over the next four miles, my pace slowed, but I was still hanging on.

The race finish:
The last 10k was a struggle, which is pretty typical for a marathon. My breathing and heart rate were still great, but the burning in my legs was bad enough that running down hills hurt (like walking down the stairs the day after a marathon hurt).  I just kept moving forward, and slowing down. The last 10k was over 8:00 pace per mile. My official time was 3:22:38, which is 7:44 pace.

Reflections:
I guess maybe I went out too fast, but the pace felt right at the time, and I don't regret my calculated risk. Would I have run faster overall if I had gone out at 7:30 pace? Maybe. Maybe not. I do know I'm much faster over shorter distances right now. Perhaps I simply didn't have the endurance necessary to cover the distance at my initial pace. That happens to runners all the time...

The awesomeness of the race:
I felt great! (Well minus that whole leg rebellion thing during the last 10 miles.) No nausea! I wasn't crazy tired after either, but my legs hurt enough that I knew I gave all I had for the day. (I actually had trouble sleeping last night my legs are so sore.) No arch pain at all! No other pains! I remain injury free, and ready for a speedy recovery! And it was just a great day. The kids had a great morning with Nick, my parents were biking all over the course offering me water and Gatorade, and we all had an awesome lunch together afterwards! Just an overall great day for me.  (Huge thanks to Nick and my parents!)

One last item:
I ran this one for you, Connor! You are one tough little man fighting DMD!

My mom insisted we get my number in the pic...

My littlest lady has the bluest eyes ever! (Actually so does my other little lady...)

Me at the end of the day. My t-shirt says Sunnydale High School. Anyone know what that's from?

Providence Downtown Jingle 5K RR

Race Week:
The week of the race wasn't ideal. Nick had to travel, the kids were sick, there wasn't much sleep to be had...blah blah blah. I even had trouble with a few of my easy runs. I run with a few people at work, and generally we run around 8:30 pace. Yes, I struggled running 8:30 pace for seven miles, which seemed like a bad omen, but I chose not to think about it...too much.

Race Morning:
Because Nick was traveling, my parents invited me and the little ladies to stay with them Saturday night, which is really the only reason I was able to run the 5K (thank you mom and dad). I did my typical race morning routine. Coffee and toast with peanut butter and banana, but the race start was at 11:15. I prefer earlier races. The earlier the race, the less time I have to become overly nervous. And I was nervous. Partly because I didn't feel that great, and partly because I had told myself this was the last 5K for a while.

Around 10:00, my dad drove me down to Providence. We parked a mile away from the start and ran in. Even with running to the start, we were still 45 minutes early. If I hadn't been nervous, it would have been a lot of fun watching people. Tons of people were dressed up in all kinds of Christmas decor. Christmas music was playing. The atmosphere was cool. I did feel out of place though. I was in my typical race attire, while everyone else was in long sleeve shirts and running tights. I stuck out and received a few weird looks.

Race Start:
This race was awesome! They had a countdown clock, music, and a great announcer. I loved how everything was organized. Anyway, I lined up right at the front, which always makes me feel self conscious. The worst part of racing for me is waiting at the start. I feel so much better once the gun goes off.

Mile 1:
According to the clock at the mile marker, I ran a 6:02. My Garmin didn't agree with the mile markers. I wonder if the Garmin was inaccurate due to being in the middle of the city? Either that or the mile markers weren't in the correct place. In any case, I had to believe the race mile marker. I was a little disappointed. I wanted to run 5:55 - 6:00 for that first mile. There were three women ahead of me, but not too far ahead.

Mile 2:
I didn't feel any worse for mile 2, but the clock read 12:12, making that second mile 6:10. Now I was really irritated. I knew that I was going to need to run the third mile faster than the second mile to break 19 minutes, but I have never been able to do that.

Mile 3:
I'm guessing you probably read Mary: Iron Matron, who recently wrote a post entitled "How bad do you want it." I'm not nearly as contemplative about such things, but I must have wanted it pretty bad because the clock at the three mile marker read 18:15, which means I ran a 6:03 third mile. I passed the third place female, and really fought with the second place female. She passed me in the final 100 meters. Not because I was slowing mind you. I was hauling, she was just faster.

Results:
I was the third place female, and my official time was 18:52. The other two women were only a few seconds ahead of me, which really made the race more exciting. I felt like I was running in college again. When we crossed the finish the race director grabbed us and gave us our loot right away! I was so excited. He said he didn't want us to have to wait around for an hour, which was great because I never wait around. We each received a $50 gift certificate to a local running store.

Reflections:
My goal going into the race was 18:40. Actually, let me rephrase that...going into the race I believed that if I had a good day I could run 18:30-18:40. I'm sure that sounds ridiculous, given that it has only been the last few weeks that I've run in the mid 19 range. I feel weird even writing it. But I've been getting faster. And how exactly am I getting faster? Eh, I don't know. I suspect it might partially be a mental thing. Last year I read another great post over at Mary: Iron Matron entitled "Kicking Some Ass." Again, I rarely contemplate why I run. I find it satisfying, so I keep doing it. But why? I don't know. And how am I suddenly dropping minutes off my time? Beats me, but maybe Mary is onto something...

Anyway, I'll post my training notes next time, but I'm such an odd runner I'm not sure how useful they'll be to anyone else.

Recovery is hard

A whole month blogging hiatus! Yikes! Recovering from my marathon has been tough. I haven't been injured. But my running mojo has disappeared, and although I keep trying find it, I haven't been particularly successful.

After the marathon, it took about two weeks for me and the family to fully recover from our ailments (which included a ridiculously scary Emily vomiting episode about 5 days after the marathon).

With recovery in full swing, I started running regularly again. I even did a few speed workouts, which went quite well. I thought I might try to run some fast 5K's this summer. It's been a long time since I've broken 20 minutes, but I've been pretty close the last couple years. Well I ran a 5K last week (see awful picture above), and I was sorely disappointed. I wound up running 21:09. Granted it was at noon in 90 degree heat and I was the 6th overall finisher out of 50, but not even breaking 21 minutes was a huge disappointment. Also, my knees were killing me afterwards. Not IT band hurt. I know my knee issues aren't caused by running. It's from being on the floor a lot with Emily. The last few months we've moved her diaper changing area to the floor (just to be safe). It's a killer on my knees...

Even before the 5K, my running has just been lackluster. I'll have a good day here and there, but mostly I'm just blah. Part of the problem is sleep. I average 5-6 hours of sleep a night, which simply isn't good enough for me, but that's where I am. Emily is the happiest, cutest baby during the day, but she really struggles in the sleep department at night.

I had been planning on running the BayState marathon in October. After Providence, I told my friends and family that I'd be doing the half instead. I woke up this morning and thought to myself...I want to run the marathon in October. I don't know why, but I do. Nick told me I need help, to which I replied "good point, maybe I should get a coach." He shook his head and said, "that's not what I meant." Nick tells me fairly regularly "You're crazy, I love you, but you're crazy with a capital K..."

So here I sit, thinking about running BayState. I guess I'm still undecided, but right now I want to run.

Cox Providence Marathon Race Report

Thanks so much for the kind comments! I wasn't even sure that anyone would see the post given it had been a while since the last time I posted. Anyway, on to the race...

The race itself is actually less interesting than the events surrounding the race. The entire week preceding the marathon was quite simply a disaster. The kids woke up with low grade fevers about a week before the race, which turned into a nasty chest virus. Nick had to travel for work. There were several visits to the pediatrician's office. Kaylee wound up on prednisone. Emily had croup. Then of course I got sick too. The low point was when Kaylee had a coughing fit and vomited while I was trying to get Emily ready for bed. Emily was already grumpy because it was past her bedtime and she had croup. I didn't want to put her down because crying would only make the croup worse. Blah! Disaster! Obviously, I survived. My mom came and helped out a couple days, which was nice not only for the extra set of hands, but for the company too. Then Nick came home about 24 hours before the marathon and had a fever too. Lovely.

I didn't even think about the marathon most of the week. On Thursday afternoon, I asked my mom what she would do if she were in my shoes. Would she run? She said she'd go to the race and make the decision at the last minute depending on how she felt. So that's what I did. To be brutally honest, I did not want to run. I was tired. And I was afraid. Once I make the decision to start a race, I want to see it through if at all possible, and it could have been a really bad day. I was definitely more sick than my last marathon and less rested, where I suffered greatly and wound up running a good 45 minutes slower than I expected.

I learned a lot from my last marathon debacle though, and tried to step up to the line with a plan that would hopefully see me through the race relatively unscathed. I have asthma and when I get sick, it gets worse. During my last marathon, I didn't realize that one of my inhalers greatly increases my heart rate. As a result, what was a comfortable pace during training, wasn't a comfortable pace on that day. Half way through the race I started having chest pain, and from there I had to alternate walking with running in order to finish. It. Was. Ugly.

What I've learned since, is that running doesn't actually impact my asthma as long as I adjust my pace properly. Also, my increased heart rate due the inhaler is fine as long as I adjust my pace. The key is to ignore what I think I should be running and simply run at a pace that breathing is easy. That, of course, isn't always easy to implement.

My second issue was going to be lack of rest. There wasn't anything I could do about that. I'll say it again, I was afraid. It could have been a really really bad day. I was also scared that I'd not only have a bad day, but then be extremely exhausted and go home and not be able sleep because the kids were still sick. At the same time, I didn't want to skip it and then regret it. Definitely a pickle.

Anyway, I went. I was not enthusiastic. I was not mentally prepared. I was tired. I was scared. But I ran, and I'm glad I did. The whole race was a struggle. Even the first mile. Did I mention that I was tired? I am amazed that I was able to run the time that I did.

A lot went wrong leading up to the race, but everything that went wrong was out of my control. I tried to maximize what I could control, which was:

1. My training. It was solid. I knew that. All of my training paces were actually right on for a 3:22 even though my goal was 3:30. Also, when I started having IT band issues I immediately backed off. I stepped up to the line with no injuries. My IT band was fine throughout the race, and didn't hurt after.
2. I needed to be focused on being patient and running what was comfortable for my breathing. The entire race was a struggle, but I just kept telling myself to get to the next mile. I never really hit "the wall," although I did slow down once I hit mile 24.
   
3. I needed to fuel. I drank 50 ounces of electrolyte sports drink during the race, and I was ridiculously thirsty when I finished. I couldn't have done this without my parents. They were on the course and swapped out my bottles more than once. I have never drank so much during a run. I think it must have been because I was sick that I needed so much. I also took a gel every 30 minutes until I got to mile 20, when my stomach decided no more. I am certain that the race would have been a complete disaster if I hadn't fueled well.
   

That's it. It wasn't the time I trained for, but sometimes there are factors that are out of our control that change the game. I'm please that I was able recover and still run a reasonable race. Which, by the way, was an 11 minute PR. I'm also happy that I actually qualified for Boston, even if I can't get a number because my qualifying time is barely qualifying...I think it's sort of funny. It's like my brain and body knew just how fast it had to run to qualify and refused to run any faster. ;)

Oh, I'd also like to give a shout out to Pam, who made the first 10 miles of the race bearable. She ran up to me and another girl, Shelby, who I met at the start and asked if I wrote a running blog! So cool to have someone recognize me! She talked the whole time, and I mostly listened because I couldn't really talk. It was the best part of the race.

This was taken around mile 15. Looks painful, right?

I didn't look too bad at the finish though...

Hampton Half - 1:36:11

This will be short. Maybe I'll write more in a few days. I ran the Hampton half marathon today. My goal was to run 1:40 or better, and I wound up with 1:36:11! Yay! Not a PR, but it's been a rough winter for me (with a new baby and yucky sicknesses). Therefore, 1:36 is looking pretty good to this running lady.

The race went went okay. It was cold and windy and after 7 miles or so my chest started to feel tight. Running hard in the cold is a trigger for my asthma. While I was running, I felt like I could run faster, but I felt like I couldn't run faster. Yeah I know that makes no sense, but to me that's what the asthma feels like. I feel like I should be moving, but just can't seem to do it. I did manage to run negative splits for the first 10 miles. My first mile was 7:42 pace. The miles just kept getting faster until I hit 7:08 pace for a couple. Around 10 miles, I started slowing down a bit. The last three miles were still faster than 7:42 though, which felt good.

I didn't taper for the race. My mileage this week was right at 50. The half was important to me, but the marathon in May is more important, and with my lack of good training this winter I didn't feel like I could afford to taper. I'm glad I didn't taper, I'm not sure I could have run much faster in the cold anyway.

According the training calculators out there with a 1:36 half, I should be able to pull off a 3:22 full. I don't know what my training paces will be yet, but with the new Boston marathon standards I'll probably train for a 3:30 and hope for 3:35.

Oh and I'd like to say congrats to my mom who ran 2:02:01. Go Mom! She actually wanted to run slower than that because she's running the Hyannis marathon next week, but I think the cold probably made her move faster.

I'd also like to say congrats to Ana-Maria, who is a running rock-star! She ran 1:32 and was the 3rd female finisher! Awesome!

Maybe I'll have some pics later in the week!

My Mom breaks 25:00 in the 5K

I haven't been blogging much. It may have something to do with the crazy baby and toddler I have. Nah, that couldn't be it...

Seriously though, things are going well for me, blogging just hasn't been one of my priorities. My running is so-so. The last three weeks I managed to run an average of 30 miles a week. I'd rather be around 45 miles a week, but it's just not in the cards at this point. I'll get there soon enough I'm sure.

I have most of my speed back, but I need to get some of that endurance back too. The long run is where I'm lacking. My longest run since the birth has been 9 miles (at 7:35 pace). My longer runs tend to be faster because I'm trying to get in as much mileage as possible before the baby objects.

The turkey trot was my first running test. My goal was technically to run around 21:45. Secretly though, I wanted to run 19:58. I wound up with an official time of 20:25. Last year, less than a month before I was pregnant, I ran the same race in 20:19. And this year the course was slightly longer! So I didn't achieve my secret goal, but I'm still pleased with where I'm running. The race didn't kill me. I ran hard without feeling completely wiped later, which is sort of important when there's a newborn around. I feel faster than I did last year, and I don't yet have a good mileage base (for me). My next test drive will be a half marathon in February, where my published goal is 1:40. I haven't decided what the stretch goal should be yet. I will say that I'm playing it relaxed this year. I just had a baby and I'm not really looking to set any PR's. Mostly I just want to run. I know that after the first year (or two) finding time to run and sleep and eat well will be easier, so for now I'm playing the patience game.

Here are my race stats:
Thanks4giving 5K 2010
Age Group: 1st
Female: 4th
Overall: 26/827 (top 3%)

Now on to the important news...my mom did, in fact, break 25:00 at the turkey trot! According to the official results she ran 24:59! She is simply amazing! She's only been running for three years now and she's doing incredible. She'll be running the half marathon in February, but just as a training run because she's running the Hyannis Marathon the next week.

Oh, and I realize some of you might be wondering about post pregnancy stuff. No, I haven't lost all the weight yet. I'm still lugging around 5-6 extra pounds, but last time I was 5-6 pounds heavy until Kaylee was a year old, when breastfeeding was greatly reduced. I'm expecting the same will be true with Emily. Even with the extra weight, I do fit into all my clothes. And obviously it doesn't seem to be slowing my running down. To be completely honest, I'm not trying to lose weight. I eat when I'm hungry and try not to when I'm not. I don't plan to worry about it until I stop breastfeeding. My total weight gain for the pregnancy was 23 pounds. Pretty typical.

There's one last tidbit I'd like to share with all the mamas out there. For some reason, people keep telling me I should have a whole bunch of kids because clearly I was meant to have babies given how smoothly the pregnancy and post pregnancy have gone. People seem amazed that I already look just like I did before I was pregnant and that I'm already running. At first, I was a bit taken aback. All I could think was "I didn't think it was all that easy and I certainly don't look like I did before I was pregnant." Now I've started telling people, "maybe I make it look easy, but it's not."

I know that I don't write about how easy or hard all the pregnancy and post pregnancy stuff might be. I'd like to write more, but I just haven't had the time. I just wanted you to know if you might be pregnant or have a new baby at home and find things challenging, that I do too.

I swear my face isn't as fat as it looks in this pic...

Aren't my mom and dad cute?

Can you do pull ups or chin ups?

Last week I was all about push ups, how great they are, and how I don't do any other upper body strengthening exercises. Then I saw Michelle's comment asking if I can do an unassisted pull up, and I realized I had failed to mention the true genesis of my upper body routine.

My college coach also had us lifting weights. I could bench 3 sets of 10 of more than a 100 pounds, but I still couldn't do a set of 10 push ups correctly. And to make matters worse, I was gaining weight. I am one of those people who will gain weight when lifting heavy. Once I realized this, I stopped lifting and focused on the push ups. After a while, I realized that exercises like push ups don't make me gain weight and they make your arms look great. There are a few other exercises (besides push ups) that fall into that category. For instance, pull ups and dips are incredible upper body exercises. Similar to push ups they work the whole core. Dips aren't too bad to do. In the past, I've worked my way up to 3 sets of 7-9. Pull ups, however, are wicked hard! The only way I've ever been able to do an unassisted pull up (technically a chin up) is by buying a pull up bar and hanging on it every day. I'd hang and pull and pull and pull some more. Eventually I was able to do 3 unassisted chin ups. There's no way I could one now, but I still have the bar...I'm tempted to pull it out and start hanging on it again.

Push ups, pull ups, and dips combined make for a kick butt upper body workout. The only reason I don't do dips and pull ups is primarily a lack of time (or perhaps laziness). Usually if I have a little extra workout time, I run. I do still have that pull up bar though...

Moving on to another interesting topic, have any of you heard of Athlinks? I don't remember how I stumbled upon it last week, but it's crazy. I looked up my name and it found all kinds of race results! Even a few of my college races. I'm not really sure what it's used for. Other than stalking fellow runners perhaps? It was cool to see some of my official results though. I've only been keeping track of my race times for the last two years, so anything before that I'm never really sure of. Do any of you use Athlinks? If so, what do you use it for?

I guess I haven't mentioned my training yet. Last week wasn't bad. I managed to run 47 miles thanks to my new treadmill. Say what you want about the treadmill, but I love it. Yes, it's a bit monotonous, but I can do it with my toddler playing nearby. Kaylee is so good when I run. She never goes near it while it's on, and is generally happy playing with her toys and listening to her music while I run. So yeah, it's awesome.

Training Journal 1/11 - 1/17
Total Miles Run: 47
Total Time Running: 6:46
Average Pace: 8:38
Total Stationary Bike Time: 1:35
Push ups: 4 sets of 15 (pitiful I know)