Postpartum Fitness (insert crazy laughter here)

Let's talk postpartum fitness. WAIT. Don't leave. Really.

More specifically, let's talk about a definite lack of postpartum fitness. Uh oh.

Lately, I've had several people ask me about what I'm doing to lose weight, and if I've been working out "all the time" because I hardly look like I had a baby. The answer to that is most definitely no, and I don't say that in a bragging way, I say it a little bit sheepishly. There is no exercise happening around these parts, my friends.

I'll be honest. I've lost all but about three pounds of baby weight. And I'm happy about that. But things are not as they seem, and the weight is not where I left it, if that makes sense. The number on the scale is about the same as it was pre-baby, but my body looks totally different these days. It's weird. And wiggly. Nice, right?

Here's the deal. I exercised all throughout my pregnancy...kind of. I skipped most of the first trimester because I was just SO TIRED, but once I got that second-trimester-energy-burst, I was back at it. I kept up with BodyPump and cardio (no running, because it just didn't feel good, but elliptical, treadmill walking, etc.) and continued working out in some capacity until about 38 weeks. I was pretty proud of myself, and even though I gained almost 40 pounds while pregnant, it never seemed like so much and I was pleased that I never "looked pregnant" anywhere but in my midsection. Yay, pregnancy fitness.

Then I delivered a baby via C-section and was completely knocked on my ass with recovery. Seriously, guys - a C-section is no joke. In fact, it is major abdominal surgery. (Who knew?!) It is awful. It literally never occurred to me that I might have a C-section versus a vaginal birth, and it certainly never crossed my mind that recovery from that surgery would be intensely painful and slow and hard. The whole thing pretty much sucked. I don't recommend it.

Apart from taking the baby for walks and pushing the stroller, I didn't do anything in the way of exercise for a full two months following delivery. I took it easy and worked on making sure I recovered well. Then, I was given the go-ahead for activity at 8 weeks postpartum by my doctor, with the advice to ease back into it and listen to my body. Wahoo! I was excited to get back into the groove. I downloaded the Couch-to-5k app. I went to a yoga class. I bought 5-pound weights and had my sister (a PE teacher) write out some workouts for me. I was ready to go!

And then those weights sat completely unused in my basement. The C25K app got moved into a folder of unused apps so it would stop taunting me. I never went back to the yoga studio.

I want to workout. But I just can't find the drive to actually do it. Every day there are about 1000 reasons why a workout, even a short one, just doesn't happen. Most of them are baby-related (duh). What's left is, I don't have a sports bra that actually fits. It's too cold / windy / rainy outside to run / walk. I'm too tired. And here's the truth, too: I don't like how my body feels right now. Things don't move the same way as they did before. I'm out of shape, my breastfeeding-boobs are out of control, my stomach is soft and jiggly, and my muscles are wimpy. It feels like I'm starting completely from square one with my fitness, and that's not a very nice feeling. It's discouraging. I worked hard for years to get to a place where I was happy with my body, and I was strong and confident. Pregnancy pretty much turned everything upside down in that arena, and now I "get" to start from the bottom. Awesome.

So it's easy to see why I've lost my fitness mojo, right? I know that it doesn't have to be all or nothing, and I can start to find ways to work a little bit of exercise in. I see all these other moms who are doing it (the "benefits" of social media, right?) It's just frustrating to think about starting again, and therefore I'm avoiding it. I push the thoughts of sweat from my head and  I opt instead to just sit on my squishy butt on the couch at the end of the day.

There's no real point to this other than to say, this is what life looks like right now. It's not how I expected it to be at this point, but really, nothing about pregnancy / birth / motherhood has been. Why should fitness be any different? This "season" of life is full of steep learning curves, I'm finding. What a surprise! (sarcasm.)

PS: I registered to run a five-mile race in the middle of May. I thought maybe that would inspire me to get moving. So far, not so much.

Group fitness frustration

Y'all know how much I love BodyPump, right? So let me tell you a little story...

On Monday evening, I got my booty to the gym with plenty of time to attend the regularly-scheduled BodyPump class. When I walked through the door, I noticed there was a substitute teacher - notable, but not a big deal. It was someone I've taken (other) classes from in the past and therefore recognized, so, fine. I set up my station and got ready for class.

Matching your shoes to your weights is critical.... ha

Right before the class started, the teacher started talking. She stated that she was not a BodyPump teacher and had never been, and had only been called on to teach the class a few minutes before. She said we were going to do weight-lifting exercises to music, but not the normal BP moves, and not choreographed to music. She was going to do the best she could. 

Hmmmm. 

Immediately, people start looking at each other skeptically, murmuring and rolling their eyes. This is a class with a lot of regulars, and a very popular teacher. Perhaps not the best start for the sub...

What went on during the class was confusing, at best. The music was blaring, the microphone was way too low, and the moves were choppy and disorganized. The instructor was clearly uncomfortable and unprepared, through knowledgeable in weight lifting moves. I think she did do the best she could... But it was a far cry from the average BP class. 

As the class went on, several people packed up and left. Personally, I find that kind of rude. However, I also understand, because if you go into a class expecting a level of instruction and certain style of education, and receive something completely different, should you have to stay the whole time? 

I'm torn over what I should have done or what others should have during that hour. Personally, I'm pretty flexible. I enjoy the group class environment, no matter what's happening. I probably couldn't have gotten a similar workout on my own. But I know others could. 

Also, we did several moves that I've never done in a BP class. I'm sore In places that I've never been sore before! I was confused at the time, and I thought it was a bit dangerous due to the sub's inability or lack of explaination about several moves, but i know enough that I think I did everything correctly. The same could probably not be said for everyone else in class. 

Also, also - I burned more calories in that "class" than I usually do in BP, due to being in the "target heart rate" range more than usual in BP. Just a side note...

This includes 75 cal burned on the elliptical before class... but still

So my question is, what would you have done? This one threw me for a loop. Would you have stayed or left? How much is too much when your group exercise class does not match what you expected (or paid for)? I am very curious to hear from others who have experienced something irregular in a fitness class!

Challenge: accepted (I think)

If we're friends on Facebook, you may have noticed that I recently joined two groups: a 30-day Ab challenge, and a separate 30-day squat challenge, both set to start on Sunday (June 1).

If we're friends on Facebook, you probably also know that this is exactly the type of thing that I normally shake my head and tsk-tsk at. It's true - generally, I think this is a dumb idea. But these two things both caught my eye this time, and I found myself joining the groups and looking at the calendars before I even thought twice about it.

Here's why I am planning to participate in these challenges:

1. I'm hoping that the Facebook groups will serve as daily reminders, and I won't forget to participate until week 3. 
2. I could use a fitness jump-start. Nothing seems appealing lately as far as exercise goes, so I'm hoping that these daily sets of things I can do while watching TV or brushing my teeth or whatever will at least keep me moving. 
3. I do love a good calendar. #organizeallthethings 
4. Doing a few extra squats and crunches never hurt no one. Even if I miss a few days, the days when I do remember to play along will be good for my booty. 
5. I'm hoping it encourages people around me to workout, too. Nothin' like some motivation from friends! 

Looking at the comments on the groups, there is so much negativity - everything from "there are better exercises to do" to "no one has time for this" to "this is stupid, you'll always be fat." It's amazing! Trust me - I am aware that there are more / better / easier / blah blah ways to do this. I don't believe in insta-results and I have no delusions about 30 days of crunching somehow creating a six-pack in my stomach-region. However, I do firmly believe that any movement and exercise is better than no movement and exercise, and, for me, this is a good addition to my regular workouts. So I'm printing out my calendar and sticking it on the fridge, and I'll do the best I can. I'll reiterate #4 - MORE squats and crunches never hurt no one!

For my own sake, I combined the two challenges into one calendar. If you'd like to play along with either or both, feel free to use the image below. I have no idea how do-able it is (200 squats seems like a freakin' lot...) but it's worth TRYING. So... who wants to play??

Namaste

We got home later than planned yesterday, and I was truly bummed to be missing my favorite yoga class. I haven't made it in weeks, and I had it on the calendar as a "must do" for yesterday. Luckily, C convinced me that if I moved really quick, I could make it to class just a few minutes late (which I hate to do) and still enjoy my practice. He was right! Class had barely started as I flew through the gym doors and I grabbed a spot at the back so as not to disturb anyone. Mission accomplished!

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This is not what I look like while doing yoga.

If you had told me several years ago that I would develop a love for yoga, I probably would have just outright laughed at you. As far as working out and exercising goes, I generally feel drawn toward higher energy activities - my go-tos are BodyPump and running - and I had no understanding whatsoever of the benefits of yoga, or how much I would enjoy it. My mom and I started taking a weekly yoga class on Fridays as a way to relieve stress, and over the course of a year or so, I found myself looking forward to that class more and more. When C & I bought our house and I changed gyms, I was very pleased to find several yoga classes offered that would fit my schedule. It took some trial and error (not all yoga classes or yoga teachers are for everyone!) but I definitely found a class that challenges me, taught by a young woman who I really, really like. For me, Tuesday evenings are now my yoga nights, and I crave that 60 minutes devoted to vinyasa and everything else that goes with it.

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This is also not what I look like while doing yoga.

I will never be the bendiest yogini in the room, I will probably always lose my balance during tree pose, and I will doubt I will ever be able to truly clear my mind and relax during savasana. However, that doesn't mean that I can't achieve the benefits of a good practice, or that I don't get anything out of it. Yoga is the kind of thing where you get what you want to get out of it. Yesterday, in the dimly lit room with quiet music, surrounded by people, I felt that my mind was the clearest and I was the most at-peace that I've been in weeks. As I flowed through the motions and pushed myself to hold poses a little longer or go a little deeper, I felt calm and in control - something that is missing in my life right now. Knowing the way my mind wanders, I tried to focus intently on my breathing during final relaxation, pushes the unrelated thoughts away and repeating "breathe in, breathe out," with the flow of my breath. When we reached that final moment, where the teacher bowed and whispered, "namaste," I whispered it back like I always do. It felt a little different this time though - like I was saying it to her, and also to myself. Yoga benefits the mind, body, and soul. It sounds so cliche, but it's true. In that hour last night, I was able to recognize and glorify the divine within myself, and that is why I practice. Even if I can't hold crow pose for more than two seconds, and even though my knees creak during warrior one, I always come out of a class feeling better than when I went in. Is there any greater benefit, really? Methinks not.

Fact: "namaste" means "I bow to the divine in you" in Hindu. Cultural lesson for the day! :)

So tell me...

• What is a fitness or exercise activity you never thought you could love?
• Do you practice yoga? In a class or alone?
• What's your favorite or most challenging yoga pose?

A first time for everything

It's an exciting day around these here blog-parts: a blogging first for me! Today, I'm guest posting over at Stephanie's blog, Never the Same Spice Twice! (NTSST is the co-home of C's favorite link-up, The Boys Behind the Blog.) Stephanie is a new mama to a beautiful baby girl named Ella, and keeps managing to inspire me with weekly meal plans and new recipes nonetheless. While she is snuggling her sweet ladybug today, I'm sharing a brand new recipe - so click over and check it out!

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We had a three-day weekend (thanks, Mr. Columbus, for "discovering America," and yay for government holidays even in a shutdown...), and having the day off yesterday was delightful. We slept in, had lunch with C's friend, and  I got a pedicure. Plus, I had a blog-date (blate!) with my new blog-friend, Stephanie! We met up at a local coffee shop called Hyperion Espresso, and spent the afternoon sitting in the sunshine enjoying pumpkin spice coffee and lots of chatting. Stephanie and I seem to have a lot in common (right down to almost-matching phone numbers!), and we managed to kill several hours talking about anything and everything. After not having seen the sun for almost a week, it was the perfect way to spend an afternoon. I loved being able to be outside enjoying a nice October day!

I got home just in time to remember that is was Monday (not Sunday), and made it over to the gym for the newest BodyPump launch! For you non-Les Mills people, a "launch" is when they release the new choreography (every 10 weeks or so), and it's kind of like a party - decorations, prizes, and lots of fun! I was excited to see what the new moves were for my favorite class. This version is definitely a booty-burner - the squat and lunge tracks are no joke!

C & I wrapped up the day by watching the Caps win (what a game!) and catching up on the Walking Dead. Couldn't have planned a better day off if I tried! Now, it's already Tuesday, and that is the best way to start a week. Who's with me?

Back to my happy place

On Tuesday, I finally had the time and energy to get my butt back to my happy place: the gym!

Hello, new friend.

A sad downside to moving was having to end my relationship with my gym. It was rough signing the paperwork to call it quits, but it had to be done. I have spent three solid years with the local Gold's Gym, slowly finding what I like and don't like for exercise, pushing myself to be bigger and better and stronger. It's the place where my mom and I finally cracked down and committed and pushed each other to always go a little longer, lift a little stronger, or just get off the damn couch and go! It's been a second home, and I've formed many friendships there - so I definitely miss it!

Luckily, there is a Gold's just 10 minutes from the new house, and I'm proud to say that I am officially a member. I went two long weeks with no gym membership, and while I did go for a few runs, it was rough to not have anywhere to go take a class or use the cardio machines when I wanted to. On Tuesday, I did a quick treadmill run and then took a BodyPump Express class, and I felt like I was right at home. (My legs are still screaming at me... Fourteen days with no weight-lifting makes one WEAK! ha) It was really nice to be able to walk into the Pump class and know exactly what I was doing - a little sameness in a world that has changed a LOT in the last few weeks! It was like I never left. Plus, the new gym has a pool! Perhaps I will be changing up my workouts a bit in the future...

I am excited to explore a new class schedule, try some new workouts, and  meet some new people. I'm happy to be at the new location... but there will always be a special place in my heart for my very first gym!

Fitness... Struggle city.

Day 20, Monday: Get real. Share something you're struggling with right now.

I'm going to put it out there for all to see - I'm struggling with my fitness routine. And I hate it. There has been so much going on in my life that I've been skipping a lot of workouts, and my work schedule has been a bit unpredictable, so there are many nights when I get home and have missed my "scheduled" class - so I skip the workout altogether. When that happens, I generally end up sitting on my butt on the couch with a several glasses of wine, so not only am I not getting the workout benefits, I'm negatively impacting the situation even more. And I ain't proud of it. This time last year, I was at the gym five or six days a week. I was pushing hard, and I felt great. Getting my workout in and ensuring my fitness was a priority. It was great! Now, I'm convincing myself more and more nights a week that it's cool to just skip it "once." It's never once, though - it's all the time! I like having time to watch TV and hang out with my husband and relax, but I can feel the difference that my lack of workouts is having. I'm not even following my own #1 rule, which is that anything is better than nothing. All too many times in the last few months, I've settled for nothing. And I have to stop that! It's a struggle, though. Anyone else feel my pain??

Someone help me get my sh%$ together!

Race Recap: VA is for Lovers 14k

When my friend, Lauren, asked me if I wanted to run the VA is for Lovers 14k with her, I hesitated for a few – I knew that I was giving myself the month of December off from running after the half marathon, and I wasn’t sure how things would go in January. I finally just said what the hell and agreed – I loved the last J&A race that I did, and I wanted to get something on my calendar, knowing that my schedule is already pretty full until June (weddings and babies, oh my!). I’m so glad that I did – we had so much fun, and it was a great race! It was a pretty perfect way to kick off another year of running and racing, if I do say so myself.

One of the reasons that I felt comfortable with signing up for this race was the fact that it was in Virginia Beach. I knew that the course would be smooth and flat, and that’s exactly what it was. I was prepared for a nice, easy long run, and that’s just what I got. What I was not prepared for was the weather: IT WAS SO COLD. “Average” temps in the area are around 50’ that time of year… no such luck for us! What we got was low 30s and GUSTING wind – I’m talking blustery, cold-to-the-bone, hurts-your-lungs, strong winds, for pretty much the entire race. Not SO bad when they are tailwinds; really bad when they are pushing against you. Also, I forgot to pack long pants (bad move!!) so I was running in capris, and my lower legs and ankles were freezing!! Not my smartest choice. However, I had an ear warmer, a ColdGear shirt, and gloves, so I made the most of it. When the wind wasn’t gusting, I actually felt great. I like cold-weather runs, and the sun was shining, so it was just warm enough for me. 

Twins! Hanging out inside the field house to stay warm before the race!

The 14k distance was a little strange, but I actually liked it – it was just long enough that I had to push & challenge myself, but not so long that I felt like dying afterwards (great considering it was my longest run since the previous race). I cruised along with my half-marathon playlist playing, and monitored myself off a few of the runners around me. I kept a pretty even pace, and my legs felt good.  I passed people confidently and strongly, and even passed a guy right before the finish line (yeaaaah!). I tried to focus on my breathing (always hard for me) and my steps – this was a good race for checking in with my I love how J&A sets up their races – there is music playing, lots of water stops, and for this love-themed race, there were signs all over with cheesy pick-up lines and even a candy station! They have so many little tricks to keep everyone encouraged and cheerful. I was totally in the zone for this race, and definitely had one of those “I love running!” days.

I crossed the finish line with a power sprint, on a huge high, and couldn’t stop smiling! One of the things that J&A does is call out the names of runners as they finish, and it was awesome to hear, “HERE COMES LINDSAY!” over the loudspeakers. Volunteers were waiting to hand the runners everything from medals to water to pretzels and bananas, and my hands were full of goodies. My mom had come down to VB with me to be our cheerleader, and I had text messages from her letting me know that she'd found a table in the field house and was waiting for us there. I sent her a quick "DONE!" picture to prove it.

Finito!

Then, I maneuvered my way to a great spot to watch Lauren come through a few minutes later and cheered as loud and proud as I could. We found my mom and enjoyed our post-race bread bowls of soup and beers (have I mentioned that J&A is awesome??) while stretching and getting warmed back up. Lauren and I were both so pleased with how the race had gone – apart from that crazy wind, it was a great experience! J&A does it again. We’ll be back!

We deemed lunch necessary immediately, and Lauren took us to a great hole-in-the-wall Mexican restaurant where they make guacamole fresh at your table… I die. May or may not have consumed guacamole and chips for the majority of my lunch (and I’m not mad about it at all). It was just what we all needed. A few hours later, my mom and I headed back to Northern Virginia, with another successful race weekend in the books and an awesome medal to show for it. 

Thanks for having me, Luscious Lo! Love you, little runner :)

Not too shabby

 

Lacing back up

The last race I ran was in the beginning of December, and after a few weeks off plus a few weeks of easing my way back in, it's time to lace up my racing shoes again and get back into the swing of things!

Hey there, old friends.

My first race for 2013: the Virginia is for Lovers 14k in Virginia Beach! I'll be running this love-themed race this weekend with my favorite little VB-native, Luscious Lo (previously of Wicked 10k fame). I'm really looking forward to it! The distance seems very do-able - a little more than a 10k, but a little less than a half marathon. We'll see how it turns out, but I feel like I might have found my "sweet spot" of race distances! (knock on wood)

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I'm running the Reston 10-Miler in March, then laying low until my next half marathon, at the end of April. Apart from racing, I've decided to actually (kind of) use a training plan for this half marathon, and see how it helps. The one I'm using is the Hal Higdon Half Marathon Intermediate Training Program, at the suggestion of a sweet friend of mine. I've got the whole thing loaded onto my calendar, and have made modifications as I see fit (for example, switching the second "strength" day to Wednesdays, since I have a regular BodyPump class I attend that day). I'm also giving myself permission to deviate a bit - last night's run was supposed to be three miles, but I just did two after Pump because I was seriously not feeling treadmill running. THAT'S OK. That's my new mantra - THAT'S OK. It's OK to do what I need to do - I don't want to completely overwhelm my body. I'm looking at the training plan as guidelines, and will see where it takes me. At this point, any training is better than no training!

First "official" training run - done! Tuesday night.

Bring it on, Race Season 2013!

Done! My first half-marathon (Blue & Grey Half)

Merry Christmas! My gift to you (or myself?) - this long-awaited recap of The Race. I figure that almost a month later is plenty of time to have gotten myself situated and found the right words for this one. You be the judge.

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I still can't exactly believe that I ran a half-marathon.

New hot pink laces, because, duh, pink makes everything better.

That seems like such a huge deal, yet, at the same time, not a huge deal at all. My brain is thinking “SERIOUSLY?!” but simultaneously, “no big!” 13.1 miles – done.

When Suzann and I first started talking about doing a half before the end of 2012, in June or July-ish, we had a lot of contributing factors to finding the right race: it needed to be close(ish), it needed to be on a Sunday (she teaches on Saturday mornings), it needed to be early enough in December that it wasn’t -36 degrees. It seemed unlikely that we would find just the right race, and that was ok… I don’t think we were too convinced that we could do it yet (speaking for myself for sure, here – I was pretty sure there was no way I could run 13.1 miles in just a few months). Lo and behold, though, I stumbled across a link for the VA Runner Blue & Gray – a half-marathon, in Fredericksburg, VA (just down 95 from us), 2^nd weekend in December, on Sunday. It was meant to be. We started planning on doing it – running longer runs, talking about “our half,” but FYI, we never actually SIGNED UP for the race until… 5 weeks out? It wasn’t real yet, we weren’t committed… until one fateful afternoon as we sat eating lunch at Panera, and we got a burst of dedication and registered on the spot. On my phone. Fees paid, no reimbursement. We were running a half-marathon.

Keep in mind that this was in the midst of my injury saga – I wasn’t running fully yet; in fact, I wasn’t even cleared to resume exercise fully yet. The longest I’d run in weeks was 3 or 4 miles – my longest training (11 miles) had been done in September (and stayed my longest training; the most I did up till race day was 7 ½). Nonetheless, I was in. I knew I could do it.

Suz and I decided to stay in a hotel in Fredericksburg the night before the race – it just seemed easier to give ourselves a relaxing night than try to fight our way down 95 at 4 AM and pray we didn’t hit any traffic or anything. Instead, we spent Saturday evening having dinner, wandering the mall, and eating Sweet Frog (our fave!) before getting into bed early. I couldn’t have asked for a better pre-race experience – we were relaxed, happy, and just 5 minutes from the race start. It was perfect!

We woke up on Sunday and we were both wide-awake, energetic, ready to go. We were completely unsure about the weather. We’d both packed for just about anything: rain, cold, warm, whatever. The forecast was for drizzle all day, 100% chance, but the temperature was supposed to be in the 50s. Granted, at 6:30 AM, it was only in the 30s, but when we got out there, it wasn’t raining, just overcast. Perfect! We dressed in our layers, ate hard boiled eggs and drank coffee, and danced around the hotel room. I’d requested late checkout, so we didn’t have to pack anything up, and we got ourselves to the VA Runner parking lot, where the race was starting, at about 7:20. We had ten minutes till kickoff. That wasn’t exactly the way we planned it (time flew while we were getting ready!) but it turned out for the best – we didn’t leave ourselves much time to get nervous or anxious. We were just heading out for a regular long run. Normal.

Blooper - but I kind of love it.

Pre-race nerves. We can do this!

The gun sounded and off we went – I’d like to give a major shout-out to the “Shuffle” feature on my iPhone for knowing that I needed to start the race with a little Britney Spears. I am unashamed and very vocal about my love of Miss Spears, and no less that 1/3 of my race-day playlist was comprised of her music. I started off my first half marathon listening to some great tunes, and I knew it was going to be a good day.

Miles 1-6 were relatively uneventful. Suz and I puttered along, chatting and occasionally checking our Garmins. As it turned out, we both felt that we dressed perfectly for the weather – just enough clothing, the right layers, etc. I ate some Sports Beans around mile 3.5 and 6, aiming for every 3 miles as I’d planned, purely because I wanted to maintain my sugar levels, not because I was feeling off or anything. I didn’t want to risk having my sugar drop and blowing the whole thing, so I just went with a few beans every few miles. We walked through the water stations, having a few sips and taking it easy, which I felt was really helpful for me. I felt totally ON – I don’t know how to describe it, but everything about the race just felt right.

Miles 7-8 was where I started thinking “OK, I’m ready to be done.” Too bad we still had 5 miles to go… There wasn’t really anything wrong, I just started to get bored. Is that weird? My mind was wandering and I was thinking about all the things I needed to do to get ready for Christmas and such. I had a little mental battle about how much longer I still had to run, but got it together after a few minutes. I started feeling a little pain in the arch of my right foot – not sure what that was about, but it continued for the rest of the race, then immediately ended and I haven’t felt it since. It was a nagging irritation, though.

Suz decided to slow down just a tad, and I was feeling a fresh burst of energy, so she encouraged me to go on ahead. I picked up the pace by just a bit, and ran the rest of the race alone. Miles 9-10, I tried to really concentrate on my breathing, speed, overall status - I knew I'd push too hard if I wasn't careful. In hindsight, perhaps I should have just stayed at her pace, because I really could have used the company and support during those second-half miles. What’s done is done, though.

Special shout-out now to Mike, the guy that I accidentally paced myself with exactly for Mile 11, who chatted with me for a good ten minutes about a variety of things. He was a savior, because I really needed a friend right about then. He was running his first race in 15+ years, and getting ready for a St. Patrick’s Day marathon. He was awesome! His friendliness could not have come at a better time. (Side note – I ran into him after the race, and thanked him profusely for letting me run with him and chat with him. That felt good!)

Mile 12 was some sort of sick joke: it was uphill. No, really, uphill. And it was hard. The race course info on the website had mentioned this tiny factoid, but I was seriously not ready for the 90-degree vertical incline of this mile (slight exaggeration, perhaps, but trust me) (but really - the description on the race website says, "Mile 12 goes back up from 50 to 250 feet on what is known as hospitalization hill. This is the same hill as part of the USMC Historic Half where the runner in 2009 had the heart attack." Oh, OKAY. Sure.). Anyway. I tried to very, very gently jog it, but it just wasn’t happening. I ended up doing a walk/jog alternate thing, and probably walked ½ a mile. Not my proudest moment, but it had to happen. My knees were starting to ache, and I just had to give myself a few moments of rest. The last mile and a half were pretty torturous – everything hurt, but I was SO CLOSE. iPhone Shuffle to the rescue AGAIN – the last song that I listened to, as I pushed my way through Mile 13, was Britney Spears. Seriously, how did it know?! I started mentally repeating my go-to mantra: “I can do anything for five more minutes. I can do anything for one more mile. I can do anything for half a mile.” And I did.

Crossing the finish line was the most amazing moment. As I came around the final corner and heard people cheering and clapping, I decided that this was it, and I pulled all my energy from I-don’t-know-where and sprinted the last .2 of a mile. I pushed myself so hard in those final few seconds (and pretty much felt like throwing up immediately after) but it felt so good to cross that line. It was over. I’d run my first half marathon. I expected to have lots of *~*EMOTIONS!~*~ but really, I was exhausted, and all I wanted was water (which took me an obnoxiously long amount of time to find). Not so much in the way of feelings – I was just done, and that was that.

Suz was just a few minutes behind me, and we found each other and hugged and laughed and collapsed onto the sidewalk before asking a nice man to take our picture. Necessary.

Finishers! So thrilled.

Best. Beer. Ever.

We did a little shopping at VA Runner (hello new hot pink compression sleeves and Brooks running jacket, happy birthday to me!), and got our 13.1 magnets, which you better believe were immediately applied to our cars.  

The moment where we remembered that we had late check-out at the hotel and could therefore shower before driving home was amazing. Such good planners!

When Suz finally dropped me off at home later that afternoon, I proceeded to inhale a Five Guys burger provided by my sister and take a three-hour nap. Both very, very well deserved.

Nap partner.

Originally, way back when, I set my personal goal to run this race in under two hours. Then I got injured, and couldn't run, and blah blah blah. My goal shifted its way to "just finish the race!" but I held onto a glimmer of hope that I could do it in under 2 hours and 10 minutes, which would be a pace of 10:00 minutes/mile(ish). That seemed doable. Well, ladies and gents, I am pleased to present my official time:

2:09:56.

Boo-ya.

Obviously, I have my goal for the next half - I'm determined to shave at least a few minutes off of that. I'm pretty sure that, had Mile 12 not been so ridiculously hard, I would have done a lot better. But I'm still pretty proud of that! 

I’m giving myself some time off from running – just until after the holidays, because I think that I need a mental break. This is a bit odd, given that I wasn’t running very much before the race due to my injury, but it just felt like I needed to take some time and say “enough for now.” I’ve literally run two miles since the race, and they were on the treadmill at Gold’s one day when I got there too late for the class I wanted to take. Come January, though, I’m raring to go – after all, have to put all the running-related gifts that I got for Christmas to good use!

Stronger than yesterday.

Yes, that is a Britney reference, and I don’t hate it.

Last night, I went to yoga for the first time in a month. The last time I tried, it just hurt too badly – the muscles in my back weren’t ready for it, and I spent most of the class in Child’s Pose (which was nice! But not really what I was there for).  I decided last night to give it another shot, as my back has been feeling pretty good lately. I took it easy, and modified the poses as I felt necessary. I didn’t push myself at all; I just enjoyed each pose and the peace that comes with being in a dark, quiet room. I felt good afterwards.  I’m sore today, but it’s the sore that comes from stretching muscles that have been dormant for a while. It’s not an injury.

I think that I’m really, truly back.

I’ve been to BodyPump a couple of times in the last few weeks, and it doesn’t hurt. Granted, I’m using baby weights (and it’s so frustrating – just a few months ago I was lifting 3x what I’m lifting now), but it feels good to be back in the class and not have any pain and be able to trust my body.  It feels good to be moving back into my routine.

This weekend, I’m running a half marathon. If you had told me when I ran that first 8k in March, that 9 months later I’d be gearing up to do 13.1 miles, I probably just would have laughed at you. That was always a thing that I said “I could never do.” And I wouldn’t even consider it! But here I am. A few months ago, I was in so much pain that putting on pants or getting out of bed was enough to take my breath away. I thought for sure that I was going to have to abandon my goal. But here I am, a few months later, having worked my way back, and ready to go after it. It may not be as great as I’d originally intended, but I’m going to do it. And then next time, I’m going to do better.

Every day, I’m a little healthier. I’m back to square one: my endurance is lower, my muscles are weaker, everything is a little bit harder. But every day I’m a little stronger, and what else could I really want?

 

That, my friends, is the face of a girl who's
really, really happy to be back at the gym.

 

PS. Currently working on my half-marathon playlist, and you can bet your booty I’ll be jamming to a little B.Spears while I run! Love.

Race Recap: Rothman Institute 8k

The weekend before Thanksgiving, C and I packed up the car, picked up my friend, Caity, and ventured north up to Philadelphia. The reason for the road trip? To see my sweet friend, Lizzy, and run the Rothman Institute 8k!

After running the May Day 5k together, the three of us decided we wanted to do another race together, and we used the opportunity to find one up near Lizzy so that we had a reason (not that we need one! Promise) to visit. We registered for the Rothman Institute 8k, which is part of the Philadelphia Marathon weekend, back in May, and I’ll admit, it kind of fell off my radar until November. It wasn’t that I forgot about it, there was just so much else going on that it slipped to the back of my mind! Caity and I threw together a carpool plan, though, and with C as our chauffeur, made the (relatively) easy drive up 95 to the City of Brotherly Love.

We got in late Friday night, and the race was set to start at 7:30 AM on Saturday (why so early, Rothman people?!) so we went to bed pretty soon after. C headed out with Lizzy’s fiance and some friends for a few drinks at a bar nearby, and us girls hit the hay. Other than some minor 2 AM excitement (C may or may not have gotten lost at a bar… he maintains that he knew where he was the whole time and was, therefore, not lost), we slept like rocks until our alarms went off on Saturday morning!



Ready to run!

Lizzy was the sweetest host, and had coffee, bagels, and bananas ready for our pre-race meal. Exactly what the doctor ordered! After dressing (in a LOT of layers – it was freezing! …literally), we headed for the starting line, which was a few blocks from Lizzy’s apartment. We got there with just enough spare time to shed our top layers, check our bag, and find a good spot in the middle of the crowd. Before we knew it, the gun went off and off we ran!
_____

Pros and Cons

Pro: The route was really nice. It was scenic – we ran along the river, past the Rocky steps, and around a number of other little landmarks. It was mostly flat, and the road was plenty wide.

Pro: This was my first race with my new Garmin Forerunner 10, and I LOVED it. It was so handy to see my distance and pace and keep myself on track. Plus, I felt like a “real runner” – except for when I realized I’d forgotten my sunglasses, and had to run glaring into the sun for half the race. Rookie mistake!

Pro: No back pain! I was a bit sore the next day, but it was more like “I haven’t used those muscles” sore, not “ow, that hurts” sore. Success!

Con: The race started so early, and there were no other events afterwards, so I’m not sure why. Could have had an 8 or even 8:30 AM start-time, and I think it would have been fine, plus a bit warmer. Meh. I’m not a race planner, I’ll leave that to the experts.

Con: This race was, like I mentioned, part of the Philadelphia Marathon weekend, and it was the day before the half and full marathons. My issue here was that it sort of felt like the 8k was an after-thought – things weren’t exactly fully set up, there was no medical tent (as far as I could find, and we searched), and it didn’t seem like it was quite a “big deal” since the “real” race was the next day. Perhaps I’m just being whiny, but I wanted to feel important, too!

Con: Everything after the finish line was completely disorganized. Water felt like it was a mile away, and the fruit, power bars, and other goodies were even farther away. I walked the whole way down and got my snacks, but Lizzy and Caity missed them, because they didn’t realize where they needed to go. There was no one directing traffic, and not even a sign or anything saying where to go. It was rather confusing, especially after the finish line at the Wicked 10k was so organized. Boo to that!
_____

Lizzy, Caity, and I ran together for the first 3.5 miles or so, and then Caity and I decided we wanted to push ourselves and see if we could get under 50 minutes. We got a nice burst of speed… and then I sped off even more. I felt really, really, good, and I really felt like I could push myself hard for that last mile. I crossed the finish line at around 52 minutes, and I was a little disappointed, until I looked at my Garmin. I’d forgotten about the lag time from the start – my watch said I was more like 49 minutes! When the official results came in, they were even better:

48:58!

My previous 8k time was over 30 seconds slower, and I had actually trained for that one (that was my first official race of this year/first time "being a runner" – training was necessary!). In this case, I hadn’t trained, I was just coming off an injury, and I’d generally been doing very little running or exercise at all. I’m pretty pleased that I was able to shave a few seconds off my previous time, even with all those barriers in my way! Plus, my back felt good, and I felt fantastic while I was running – a huge improvement over the terrible run I’d had the weekend before. For every bad run, there’s a good run waiting! Lucky for me, my good run came just in time for a race.

Horrible picture... but the Rocky steps are behind us! The sun was so bright. Fail.

HOORAY!

After us three girls all finished, we met up with C, Lizzy’s fiance, and their friends, and headed off to find breakfast. The Philly dwellers took us to an amazing bagel joint called Spread, where we got incredible bagel, egg, and bacon sandwiches – the PERFECT post-race meal! That and another cup of coffee, and I was a happy, happy camper.

The rest of our quick trip to Philly involved impromptu afternoon naps, followed by showers and a visit to Reading Terminal Market.

Lizzy, Caity, and me

We chowed down on delicious, legit Philly cheese steaks. So good, and worth every greasy, carb-loaded bite. Yum!

After lunch, we piled back into the car and hit the road. We were back home by about 6:30 that night, having spent under 24 hours on our whirlwind trip to Philadelphia. We had a blast, though, and are already talking about next year – I think we’re all on pace to do the half marathon, and then maybe we can participate in a “real” race! Ha.

Philadelphia skyline as we headed home

I’m officially two weeks out from my first half marathon. This 8k was my last race before The Big One, and I’m so happy that it went so well – it gave me just the push and motivation to feel ready for the half. The countdown is on: December 9 is right around the corner!

Race Recap: Wicked 10K

Yesterday, I had one of my worst runs ever. I was cleared by my chiropractor on Thursday to “jump back into it,” and I took his word for all it was worth – yesterday Suz & I decided to do seven miles, easily my longest run in months. We are officially signed up for our half-marathon on December 9, meaning we are just over a month away, and we (I) have got to get back into training mode and get back into shape. So, off we went. And it was awful. We were doing an out-and-back, and the out actually felt really good. Nothing was hurting too badly, my breathing was ok, the temperature was good. Once we turned around, though, it was all downhill from there (except it was mostly uphill… issues). My legs were tired, I couldn’t breathe, my back hurt. I actually slowed down to walk up a few hills because my body was just saying no. Suz was fantastic, as usual (you’re the best, friend!), pep-talking me and staying slow with me and encouraging me to lay down on the path and stretch like a maniac. We finished a little over seven miles in a little over an hour, and I proved to myself that my endurance is shoddy and my body is in desperate need of some conditioning before December 9. Eeeeek. Previous goal: half in under two hours. New goal: finish half. Blerg. My body feels awful today – everything is sore. Back to Square One.

So, since yesterday was so horrible, I figured that it was as good a time as any to write my Race Recap for the Wicked 10k! (Also, because the race was weeks ago, and as I have another race this weekend, I’m about to be miserably behind. But that is neither here nor there.) The best way to come off a horrible run is to remember a great one, right?...

Race Recap

I can easily say that the Wicked 10k was one of my favorite,  favorite, favorite races/runs to-date. It was my first J & A race, and I was blown away by how organized everything was, how simple it was, and how generous they were. I don’t think I have one single complaint about this race!

My sister and I headed to Virginia Beach on Friday night, amidst many warnings about the impending hurricane that was due to make landfall that weekend. Hurricane, schmurricane – we had a race to run! Nat & I signed up for the Wicked 10K in the early summer – we had been looking forward to it for months, and nothing was going to stand in our way! Key note: this race was sponsored by Blue Moon, and one of the incentives was free beer for all finishers. Done and done. Not even my old-woman back… my doctor had recommended that I take it very easy, listen to my body, and not push myself. As badly as I wanted to race this one, I knew that I couldn’t. I had to make the healthy choice. And so I headed into the weekend resigned to that fact.

Nat and I got to VB 15 minutes before the expo closed and raced in to pick up our packets. It was actually a breeze (insert hurricane jokes, starting immediately…), and we got our numbers, tech tees, and “I’m 21 so I can drink beer after the race” wristbands in just a few minutes. We met up with Nat’s OUR (better, Lush??) friend, Lauren, and chowed down on pizza (pre-race fuel! Or that’s how we justified it) before crashing for the night at our rather-sketchy hotel. 

Waking up on Saturday morning was actually easy – we all got ready pretty quick and were feeling good. The Wicked 10k is a Halloween-themed race, and costumes are encouraged. We had no idea how seriously people take this – we saw some AMAZING costumes… that must have been hell to run in. It’s a big deal, though, and we were wishing we’d been more prepared! Nat brought the mouse ears that she’d made for another costume, and we painted whiskers on our face, dressed in black and grey, and went as mice. It didn’t work out too well, though, because the gale-force winds (hurricane, remember?) kept knocking the ears off our heads, long before the race even started. So the ears went into the backpack, and we looked like normal runners… with whiskers. Don’t judge.

Pre-Race Mice

The start of the race was so smooth – corrals were released every 90 seconds, and it put a good distance between groups so that everyone wasn’t right on top of each other at the beginning. We actually ran over the starting line, and we felt good.

Lost the ears already... oh well. Ready to go!

BFFs

The original idea was to run two miles, walk two, and run the last two, and then alter the plan depending on how I/we felt. We ended up just running and slowing to walk whenever we needed a break, and I didn’t really keep track, but I think we probably ran 2/3 and walked 1/3, just not as specifically as we’d originally intended. We went at a nice, slow place, enjoying the live music along the race path, interacting with spectators (special shout-out to the people we got paper cups of Natty Light from… they were amazing), and not trying to push ourselves at all. Honestly, I don’t even think I got out of breath during this race. The course was completely flat (being at the beach will do that) and it was such an easy run. The only hard part was, again, the gale-force winds. The wind actually slowed up to a walk at some points, because it was blowing so strong against us! The really bad part was when we were actually on the boardwalk – the wind was blowing the sand around, and it was hitting our faces, legs, and arms. Any skin that wasn’t covered was being exfoliated – who knew there were spa benefits to this race? HA.

Angry ocean mid-run... hurricane on the way!

Still a beautiful backdrop for a run... even if the sand was scraping my skin off!

Action shot!

Gorgeous. Calm before the storm.

We picked up the pace a bit as we neared the finish line, and all three of us crossed together. Even the finish line was organized – there were so many volunteers, and they had everyone lined up handing out water, bananas, power bars, and medals. There was no mad rush for tents of food or anything – you just kept walking down the boardwalk, taking things as they were handed to you. SO EASY. Loved it.

I went straight to the medical tent to get iced and wrapped, and Nat and Lauren went and picked up our backpack. It took about five minutes to get taken care of in the med tent, and I’m really thankful for that – I know that being able to get ice on my back so quickly definitely helped with how good I felt afterwards. I was a little bit sore, but it was more about being sore from running than actual pain in my back. Hooray!

The three of us made our way back to the Convention Center, where the “After Party” was being held. Originally, it was supposed to be under big tents on the beach, but due to the impending hurricane, J & A made the decision to move the party indoors well in advance. I will say, that was another thing that I thought was fantastic about this race – the communication was excellent. There were regular emails before the race with information and emails the day before discussing how the weather was going to affect the race. I didn’t have to search for info or wonder what was going on – J & A was completely upfront and connected the whole time. So great! I'm looking into the other J & A races, because there is really something to be said for a well-organized race. It was such a nice event overall that I'd really love to do another of their races - my experience this time definitely bodes well for the future.
At the Convention Center, we cashed in our tickets for bread bowls of chili and those coveted Blue Moons… beers never tasted so good! 

Done! 10k Finishers

Feeling so good! Happy to be done & pain-free

Me and my big little sister <3

Little lush finished, too

We ate and enjoyed the warmth and the music for a bit before going back to the hotel for showers and cleaning up. Natalie and I were on the road home by about 12:30 PM, full, tired, and happy. A stop at Chipotle right before we got home was possibly the best decision of the entire weekend. We’d had an absolute blast, and couldn’t stop talking about how much fun we’d had and what a great race it was. 

We will definitely be signing up for the 2013 Wicked 10k, and we’re already brainstorming costume ideas. Now that we know how seriously people take that part of it, we are determined to do better! And, obviously, we are hoping for some better weather next year… We are very glad that Hurricane Sandy didn’t interfere with our fun at all (especially given what happened in the next few days).  I had so much fun with Nat and Lauren, I had a great (slow) race, I finished my first official 10k, and I got my first race medal! I loved doing this race with my sister, too. She is my original run buddy, my original racing partner; we have so much fun together when we do things like that, and I was glad that we got to experience this one together. As I said before… not sure I have one single complaint about that race. Can’t wait for 2013!

Pretty sweet, no? Love it!