Isn’t she lovely

Alysia Montaño Runs USATF Championships Pregnant

Now, I know the human body is capable of incredible things but this is just another testiment to that.  I have the hardest time dragging my butt out of bed or off the couch to get a run in and this lady is motoring … WHILE MAKING A HUMAN.  I feel so lazy now……

Note: Pregnant ladies, check with your doctor first, always and consistently!

Seven months pregnant and running a half mile in slightly over two minutes and 32 seconds.  I can’t even.  I might be able to eat a meal in 0:2:32 if I was pushed into it.  When I ran the Marine Corps Marthon last year, there was a woman that was very visibly pregnant running the race as well.  Granted, she wasn’t running a Speedy Gonzales pace, but she was keeping a good 11-12 minute mile clip with her husband beside her.  26.2 with a baby on board?  Sheesh!  I see women with their swollen baby bellies gracefully striding on the dreadmill beside me at the gym.  I look at Alysia and women like that and think ‘Damn.’

Run, Momma, Run! (image from article)

Get it, girl.

Now I’m going to go drag myself to the gym.

Run, run, honey run on now

Today is the soft start to the 16 week training schedule for the Chicago Marathon.  What does that mean?

• I’m out running Tues, Thurs, Saturday and Sunday.  It’ll be a priority, so I will be lame and not stay out and party all night.  However, if I tell you “I can’t, I have to run.” Put me in my place and tell me to get my damned head and schedule straight.  Time. Management.
• Back to once a week limits for drinking.  This one is not really negotiable.
• Back to high protein, high veggies, low carbs with a once a week cheat.  And lots of feeling like the blerchy chub below.

all of the food (theOatmeal)

I’m breaking down, I feel it in my bones

June 8th was the Oddyssey Half Marathon through fairmount park. Thankfully, Rusty was a peach and picked up my packet for me while I was in AC.  One less thing to worry about, right?  On raceday, the weather was beautiful, though humid.  I met up with Skip and we crossed the start line together.

hey skipper!

He took off and I started with  my normal slow start pace (sub 11:30).  The race was actually pretty decent for being as hot as it was.  The course was similar, if not the same as last year’s:

over the river and through the woods….

elevation map and pace chart

Something had been nagging me leading up to the race.  Maybe I hadn’t trained enough (I hadn’t).  Maybe I was over doing it with the races (I was).  The night before I started feeling really anxious about the race.  I had this nagging feeling that I was going to get hurt, or I’d have an awful run.  I didn’t do any of my standard pre-race rituals (maybe that was it??).  I got to sleep late.  I didn’t roll before I got out to run.  I did stretch plenty, though.

cake cake cake cake cake cake cake

After running almost 5 miles on Monday and topping it off with a short cool down bike ride, I’ve been ravenous.  More so than usual, post workout ravenous.  I’m getting concerned as my marathon training picks up.

I’ve got this fat little fartknocker in the back of my head:

thanks, theOatmeal.

No, but seriously.  I want to eat a whole damned cake.  After I eat a whole order of mozz sticks, and a pizza with bacon and spinach and a bag of peanut butter snickers.

When really, I should be reading this from Runner’s World and adopting my eating plan so that I don’t try to take that ice cream cone from the small, unsuspecting human over there….

Running makes me ravenous.  And tired.  Mostly ravenous.  Running also makes me want to do more running.

Anyone have any suggestions on fighting the blerch and not completely undoing all of the hard work I’m putting in?

I ran, I ran so far away

I’ve got an addiction.

Well, other than cheesy things and guacamole.

Let me start by saying, as I probably have before, I’m not the more graceful or athletic person.  I trip on my own two feet more than I can count.  I’m lazy – super lazy.  I whine.  I cry (I cry a lot).  I hate sweating.  Never in my short 31 years did I ever think I’d become a runner.  Welp, I am.  Whodathunk?

I joke around in saying I’m always running from something or toward something.  Turns out it’s not much of a joke.  Running toward a finish line, toward a new record.  Running from my own mind, from stress, from anger.  This lil habit of mine has its ups and downs, but you’ll see evidenced in the pictures, running has helped my waistline definitely.

I’ll eventually get around to the crash of 2007 story, but  I’ve been in more car accidents and clumsy accidents than the average bear which left me with lots of scar tissue, muscle atrophy, arthritis, chronic pain… you name it.  Then came 2011 and my first race, the Broad Street Run.  You can read all about that here.  For coming right out of the gate with zero training and taking on 10 miles, you could probably and rightfully call me certifiably insane.  I wouldn’t argue with you.  I had such a great time at that race despite not being able to walk properly for TWO (yes, two) weeks after that I hesitantly decided to I was going to run it again in 2012.  Hey – when the bib is free, it helps.

Enter 2012 when I increase the races by 300%.  I enter and run the Broad Street Run, and two fun runs – Color Me Rad and The Color Run.

2012 – bsr #2

rad.

color runned

race	miles	date	time	pace
broad street run	10	5/6/2012	2:05:14	0:12:31
color me rad 5k	3.59	6/17/2012	0:32:04	0:08:56
the color run	3.2	7/8/2012	0:37:00	0:11:33
total miles:	16.79

Then came 2013.