10/12

More tapering--30-minute tempo run, although I didn't really bother with the tempo part; I just ran.

I started out at my normal warm-up pace of 8:40, but I felt nauseated after just two minutes.  So I slowed down and ran 3.5 miles at 9:02/mile.  I just have to keep telling myself to focus on mileage, not on pace, but it's hard to not want to push myself--it's a very different mentality that seems foreign to me after a year of trying to push myself to be tougher and faster.

On a sidenote, I've run 178.5 miles during this pregnancy so far.  Not too shabby. 

STATS:  3/5 miles; 9:02/mile

10/8 & 10/9

Starting tapering!  Hurray!  We're almost there.

Ran three last night; I was pretty tired so I didn't really start to enjoy the run until the last half-mile, at which point I thought about continuing, but I still had a ton of grading to do and it was dark enough that it was hard to see.

Ran a lovely seven this morning.  I'm not timing myself anymore, on the advice of more experienced pregnant runners, so I don't really know what my pace was, but it took me 71 minutes to run 7 miles, stop for water 4 times, find someone to unlock the nature center bathroom and then use the bathroom.  So I think that's pretty good. 

In our original plan we were going to run 12 today, but I'm glad we decided to just do 7 (Neil actually only ran 6, haha I won!) because all our kids are so sick that we couldn't have left them with anyone else, we have the longest to-do list today that we've had in months, and I just plain don't want to run run 12 miles by myself.  So I'm really happy with today's run.  Now I have to go mow the lawn.  The end. 

STATS:  3 miles 10/8, 7 miles 10/9

10/6

It wasn't until yesterday evening that I even thought about the fact that I needed to run; it just wasn't on the radar.  I've been grading like crazy every second that the kids are sleeping, and I'm seriously rethinking how much I can actually handle teaching-wise with three kids.

I went to bed last night dreading my run this morning.  I woke up all night because I was so stressed about having to get up and worried about not getting enough sleep, so of course I didn't sleep well!  When I finally was running this morning, it was such a relief to have it over, even if it was only 3 miles.  Tapering, I love you. 

10/4, 10/2, 10/1

Ran 5 this morning and 5 on Friday.  Saturday was supposed to be a long run, but after the awfulness of spending Thursday in the ER with Neil, I was a wreck.  Neil wanted to run, so we ran about five and a half together, but I was having awful stomach cramps around 5, so we decided to walk for a couple minutes (we were almost home) and then stop for Conference, which was just starting.  I thought about running on the treadmill during conference, but I was just feeling so sick like I was going to throw up any minute.  So then I thought I'd run after Conference.  I got up to go and I was so nauseated and dizzy.  I ended up showering and just sort of sitting on the floor feeling terrible.  I felt awful the rest of the day and had stomach cramps all afternoon until I finally went to bed that night.

Today I'm still exhausted.  I couldn't sleep last night because I was so stressed over the last week and how much I have to do this week.  My running partner mentioned that I shouldn't even do the 12-miler I have planned for Saturday (next Saturday the 16th is the half-marathon).  She suggested that I just start tapering this week.  I'm leaning towards this option because a) both people I regularly trade running babysitting with will be out of town this week b) I have been so tired plus Neil has a concussion and c) I'm 8 weeks pregnant.  Surprise surprise!  I'm not mentioning this on my regular blog because I don't want people to hassle me about still running, but it's affecting my running enough that I decided to go ahead and mention it here.  I don't want my body to be totally shocked by the 13 (although I don't care about time anymore and I just want to finish) so I don't know whether it will be better to NOT stress myself with the 12, or whether the thirteen will feel harder having only run 10 miles as my longest run this training period.  I have a TON of grading to do this week and I'm kind of an emotional wreck right now (lots of stress + pregnancy hormones + husband in the ER was a very bad combo!), so the idea of somehow wedging in 12 miles this Saturday is not very pleasant. 

So what would you do?  Try to fit in the 12, or just do a 6 or 7 and call it tapering?  Anybody have pregnant-and-running advice to share?

9/29

Three this morning.  Would have loved to run more to make up from yesterday, but there's no time.

STATS:  3 miles

9/27

Hard to get up today, even after a night of solid sleep.  It was freezing!!  I think fall is officially here--except my basil is still alive.

We ran five over the same trail that Neil and I ran Saturday (and the same one we went to yesterday on a walk through the woods with the kids).  I need to find a new place to run just for variety's sake, but that one's so convenient and has a good mix of hills and flat stretches. 

When I got home, I was still icy cold.  I stood in the shower for ten minutes with my teeth chattering.  Then Neil wrapped me up in towels he'd warmed in the dryer.  I was still cold, so I crawled back into bed fully dressed under a huge pile of quilts.  When I finally got warm, I fell asleep again, and didn't wake up all through Neil getting the kids ready and fed.  He woke me up right before he left for work.  What a great guy.

9/25

Ten long, hard, painful miles tonight.

We had our friends' children overnight, and it was an exhausting day (their parents picked them up at 6 pm this evening after dinner).  I was dreading the run all day.  And it was pretty bad--both Neil and I were just tired and worn out.  Running in the evening is always really hard for me anyway, but today was especially difficult.  The first five miles were pretty good, then we stopped and got a drink and it started raining.  And it was completely dark by this time.  So it was raining and dark and cold (55 degrees, which is normally pleasant but in the dark and rain was a little chilly). 

My knees and arches were aching by the time we finished the next four.  We needed to get back to relieve the friend who was watching our kids (did I mention we watched their kids too last night, so we had 9 kids?) and so then I ran the last mile on the treadmill.  It was a really miserable mile, but it was standing between me and my no-missed-runs record for training for this race.  Kind of like how I didn't miss a single day of early-morning seminary until the very last day of junior year, when I had a required field trip that left at 5:00 AM.  I guess it's a mental thing.


Sidenote:  Neil is at the store right now buying bacon.  I have been craving BLTs since I picked tomatoes earlier today and realized that it's a long time until next summer's tomatoes, since we've quit buying them from the grocery store for the last couple years.  I have had bacon exactly twice in the last two years (on my birthday in 2009 and on my sister's birthday this June while we were camping--the burned nasty I had at IKEA doesn't count) so I am really looking forward to this.  There's very little I miss meat-wise about being vegetarian, but I do miss bacon. And sausage.  (you know, those super-healthy high-quality meats.)

STATS:  10 miles; deliberately did not time

9/24

Five this morning.  It took me twenty minutes to actually get up, and then it only happened because Neil turned the light on. 

I didn't push too hard today because there's ten miles waiting for me tomorrow--after we watch our friends' kids overnight and until 6:30 pm tomorrow.  I'm really not looking forward to running after 28 hours with six kids, but that's how it has to happen, I guess.  (And we're watching another couple's three children tonight so that they'll watch for us tomorrow night.  I think I'm going to sleep well after an evening with 9 children--the oldest is six).

I ran on the treadmill today while Neil ran outside.  I don't like the treadmill, but on the other hand I read the Conference Ensign the whole time, so that was nice...plus when Neil came home he said the wind was terrible, so I guess I got the better end of the deal.  But I still don't like the treadmill. 

STATS:  5 miles, 8:41/mile

9/22

Exhausted today--completely exhausted.  I've got to get more sleep.

I clocked the run, but we also had to stop 4 times for traffic, so I think it's actually slower than we were going--although I really was slow.  My thighs just felt like lead weights rather than actual muscles.  I'm looking forward to a rest day tomorrow and sleeping in.  It's funny because I always think, "Oh, the Wednesday run is so short!  I should add another couple of miles," and then I'm totally dragging by the third mile.  Which I guess means that my workouts the other two days are just strenuous enough...right?

STATS:  3 miles, somewhere under 30 miles with lots of traffic stops

9/21

Speedwork today.  I've been fighting a really killer headache since about 10 pm last night (the kind where you're lying with a wet towel on your head at midnight wishing you were unconscious) and it definitely kicked in while I was running--I think I just haven't been drinking enough, which ALWAYS triggers headaches for me.

So I ran the first 7 400-meter repeats okay (although I did stop after the 6th set to take a drink), but during the 7th, my head starting pounding so much I was having trouble staying upright.  I slowed down and kept running, then slowed down some more.  It's sort of okay now, but I need to be drinking a LOT more--I didn't hydrate well over the weekend, since I wasn't home Friday through Sunday, and I'm paying for it now.

First 7 400-meter repeats at 8:00/mile out and 8:20/mile back
gradual slowing during last 2 repeats, ending run at 8:41/mile

STATS:  9x400-meter repeats (4.5 miles), 37 minutes, avg pace 8:13/mile

Okay, so I really feel pretty crappy right now.  Stupid headache, I loathe you.  

9/20

Oh boy, did I NOT want to go running this morning.  I slept about twelve hours yesterday--totally coming down with the awful cold the kids have.  And once we drove the 3 hours home and I was in my own bed, I couldn't sleep because I kept thinking about everything I needed to do.  So crawling out of bed this morning was not pleasant at all.

I'm glad I went, however, because I feel better now than when I first got up.  It was definitely not my most impressive time ever, but on 4 hours of sleep last night, my goal was to not stop and just keep running.  Which I did. 

STATS:  5 miles, 9:38/mile

9/15

Three-miler this morning.  I thought about running farther, but my body is really starting to not be happy with me.  The rest of my life is contributing stress, so that I'm getting physically worn out, even when I'm not running 200 miles a week or something crazy like that.  (Although most people who run that much probably don't have a ton of other commitments, because really, how would you have time? Or maybe they do and I'm just a wimp.) Apparently 25 a week is enough for all kinds of crazy things to start happening; my menstrual cycle has become incredibly irregular/nonexistent, and I'm so tired that I  fell asleep the other night after dinner with Juliet sitting on my head brushing my hair and Isaac climbing over my legs.

So I'm really looking forward to the 10K this weekend; it means I'm only running 6.2 miles on Saturday, plus I'm going to take Thurs and Fri. off.  I feel like a wimp, but honestly, I haven't missed a single run in the last 8 weeks, and the five runs a week is taking a toll on me.  I am just worn out, and I've got to recharge before that race.

Anybody else feel this way?  (And in particular, I am kind of disturbed by the whole athletic amenorrhea thing.  Granted, it hasn't been six months for me, which is the diagnosis point, but one of the reasons why I decided not to do a marathon was so I didn't mess that up too much, since I'd like to have another baby in the next year or so.  One of my friends told me that it was pretty much the norm for everyone on her college soccer team and then again on her mission, but still...it kind of worries me).  Has this happened to anyone else, or have you heard of it before?

STATS:  3 miles; didn't time, but probably around 8:50ish/mile

9/14

Tempo run today for 40 minutes; started out at 8:42/mile and worked up to 7:30/mile, then back down again.  I ran at my slower warm-up pace for too long, since I forgot to check the time, so I ended up running the first ten minutes at 8:42/mile.  Oops. 

STATS:  4.8 miles, 8:26/mile average pace

9/13

The stars were visible until the very last mile of my run today (at which point I could finally see the trail, so it was an acceptable trade-off).

I've been feeling really burned-out lately.  I have a 10K on Saturday and I'm not planning to run on Friday, but now I'm wondering if I should take Thursday off as well.  I don't know why, but it just seems like I have zero energy these days...

STATS:  4.5 miles, didn't time

9/11

Very tired tonight; ran at the end of a long day in Chicago and dealing with extremely cranky kids.  I started out incredibly slow, totally aching and tired.  I kept telling myself every half-mile that I could do just one more half-mile.  And then of course, once I hit 3.5, I felt great and then I was almost done.  Go figure.  It always takes me 4 miles to really hit my stride and start loving it.

STATS:  4 miles; 9:07/mile

9/10

AWESOME run last night.  Seriously.  The picture is not mine, but that's pretty much exactly what it looked like.

We got out of our temple session at about 8 pm and sat in traffic while we watched the sun go down.  I sighed and said to Neil, "It's going to be completely dark."  And he peered glumly out into the dusk and said, "Yep."

So we decided that we'd at least run four miles, which was our short run for the weekend that we were planning to do Saturday, and if necessary we'd run the ten on Saturday.

Here's the thing:  we live in the country.  Running after dusk there means it's pitch-black, you can't see anything, and you're falling all over the place.  Nobody else is out and quite frankly, it's not very safe.

Running after dusk in Chicago means all the streetlights are on and there are a gazillion people out everywhere just beginning the night.  It was crazy bright!  I seriously felt like the little country mouse gawking at all the lights.

We parked near Children's Memorial Hospital, where Neil's brother used to work.  We ran down Fullerton looking at all the gorgeous row houses, then looped through Lincoln Park and around the lake (which was completely dark with no lights.  A little exciting).  We passed a fancy restaurant right on the edge of the lake--with all its windows and doors open to the gorgeous night air--which was only accessible by foot.  Which I thought was really cool.

We left Lincoln Park and ran along the beach for almost three miles.  This was SO cool, because there was quite a lot of wind, and we were running along the breakwater, and the waves were pounding against it and breaking up over the breakwater near our feet (we ended up running higher for most of the time so we didn't get wet, but oh my goodness, it was so gorgeous).  There were all these boats out moving around in the harbor--enormous yachts, tall-masted sailboats, and tiny little speedboats.  Chicago rose up in front of us and the skyline was absolutely beautiful.  I wish I'd been able to take a picture--it was amazing.  I used the enormous fancily-lit sign of the Drake Hotel as my goal for about two miles!  We were running right next to Lakeshore Drive most of the way, so we were about 100 yards away from the high-rise apartment buildings and hotels lining Lakeshore.  If you've ever driven that at night, you know how spectacular it is; from our perspective near the lake with the light reflecting into the crashing waves, it was just beautiful.  

We ram out to Navy Pier, which was kind of crazy and carnival-esque; I've been there during the day but never during the night, and it was totally different.  The air reeked of fried dough, which smelled good from about a mile away and was totally nauseating up close after I'd run five miles.  We ran past all the beer gardens and the Ferris wheel (wish we'd brought some cash!) and out to the very end of the pier away from all the lights and the noise, where we paused for a minute and watched the tall ship Windy sail away from the pier and out into the harbor.  Then we ran back again.

Some cool things we passed right on the beach--built-in chessboards, a whole bunch of Muslim women on the sand with their babies dressed in gorgeous saris and jewels (at 10 pm, which I thought was kind of cool), about a gazillion runners and bikers, lots of fountains, a roller-hockey rink (with a heated game in progress), and a restaurant with live palm trees that looked very unhappy in the Chicago wind.

We ended our run at Noodles in the Pot, one of Neil's very favorite restaurants.  We ordered a couple of curry dishes to go (it was about 10:30 pm by this point), drank a lot of water, then drove back to our hotel and took extremely hot showers (great showerhead, thank you hotel!!) and ate our curries while we watched an episode of Glee, then we both completely collapsed into instant sleep at 1:15 am (it took awhile to get back to the hotel).

Long story short:  we ran through Lincoln Park, along the beach for three miles with the waves and the wind and the gorgeous Chicago skyline lit up just feet away, and out to the end of Navy Pier.  And back.  Seriously, it was SUCH an awesome run.

STATS:  10 miles; 1 hour 34 minutes, about 9:24/mile--slower than I'd like, but then again, it was pretty late and we were pretty tired.

image

9/8

Easy 3-miler this morning.  Cold enough that my teeth were chattering!!  I didn't bring my iPod, so no idea on the time...

STATS:  3 miles

9/7

My run got pushed to the very end of the day today, which meant I didn't want to run too hard, since I'm up before six to go running again.  And to be honest, I just don't have anywhere near the energy at the end of the day that I do first thing in the morning...

Theoretically this was a speedwork day of 8x400-meter repeats, but it was pretty pathetic--my top speed was an 8-minute mile, whereas last time I was at a 7:30 mile.  My main motivation in running today was that I haven't missed a run yet while I've been training for this half; I feel like if I miss one, it will make it easier to skip again.  As long as I can keep my streak going, it's much easier to convince myself to just do it, even if it's not up to the usual standard.  Every little bit helps, right?  And a not-so-fast run is better than no run at all.

At least that's what I'm telling myself today. 

STATS:  4 miles, 8:30ish/mile

9/6

Happy Labor Day!  Mine started off a lot earlier than I'd like for what is supposedly a "vacation" day for the rest of America (goodbye Neil, have a nice day at work...).

On the other hand, running felt great today.  My iPod had a dead battery, so I wasn't worrying about pace (which is good because when I started running the first few strides, I really felt the last two runs).  It was super dark the whole way and cold, but we talked about skiing the entire time and the miles flew by.  I am SO grateful to have my running friend!

STATS:  4.5 miles

P.S. When I got home, Jooj was crying because she'd just woken up from a nightmare about a monster that escaped from the zoo and chased her and bit her on the backside.  She was rubbing her little flowered pants in remembered fear.  Is that not a sad way to wake up when you're three?

9/4

Easy recovery run today; I'm not really sure how to handle these runs when they're done the day after the long run.  Any advice on that?  My normal schedule is MWF are pace runs, Tuesday is a speedwork day, and Saturday is the long run, but lately it seems like I'm flipping the Friday and Saturday runs, and I'll have to do it again next weekend.  I'd love advice if anyone knows if I should be approaching my Saturday runs differently following a long run Friday.

So normally this would be a pace run, but I really didn't have it in me to do that tonight, especially since I ran at 9 pm after a day of wandering the farmers' market, taking the kids to the zoo and then the playground, then canning three dozen jars of applesauce, plus apple chutney and cranberry-apple relish.  Long day all on my feet.

So I took it really easy--like really, really easy.  Partially because I was tired, and partially because it was completely dark and I couldn't see a car parked across the sidewalk until I was five feet from it.  So I just enjoyed the run and the cool night and the smell of burning leaves and the stars come out.  It really is gorgeous here. 

STATS:  4 miles, 10:13/mile