Half - DONE!

I completed my first half-marathon as a mother and my second ever. It was great. I completed the Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront (half)Marathon in 2:12:43. That's about 15.6 extra seconds per km over my PR. I'm proud of myself. I aimed to finish before 2h30, and further aimed to finish before 2h15 and I did that. I wasn't sure how I was going to do considering just last weekend I got a bad throat infection and so I couldn't train properly. The weather was nice and cool and it was sunny and clear. What a beautiful day for a marathon!

I felt pretty good throughout. I kept hydrated all week prior to the race and ate well for the most part. I also got to carb-load the night before and didn't overdo it. And even better, I "unloaded" at home before the race (a MUST!). By the end of it, I had only consumed 2 gels and 2 and a half of my bottles of Gatorade. I've NEVER done that before.

The course is pretty much flat. One good thing about this is that the markers are easy to see, so once you pass one, you can see the next one. I LOVE this course.

But perhaps the best part of this race, for me, was getting to "re-finish". When I did the full two years ago, I had a really poor finish. I have bad memories of the last 1K, struggling to finish, practically walking, dehydrated, salty and sweaty. This time, I was able to retrace my steps from two years prior, at a pretty consistent pace that I had been keeping throughout. I would have liked to sprint to the finish line, but my feet were cramping, causing my legs to stiffen. Instead, I compensated with longer strides. I finished well and I still had enough energy to smile when it was all over. And, my hips were nice and intact.

I think I'm back!

I'm thinking about doing a full again next year. Hmmmm...

Can you see me? I'm waving!

We'll see...

I have a half-marathon in 5 days.

I'm in the middle of recovering from a throat infection.

We'll see how this goes.

Wanna run with me?

I forgot to post about this a long time ago, but, I've started a running group. So far, there are around 10 people and we're meeting every 2 weeks, running in different areas of the GTA. We're training and running together for a 5K race (not sure which one yet) in 2011. If you're interested, even if it's just to join us sometimes or to start running (we're not doing 5K right away), contact me! We'd love to have you!

10K and better

So I had a 10K race this past weekend and I have to say, it was MUCH better than the one the week before, not just because it was shorter, but because I just felt better overall. I finished in just over an hour, which, I think is pretty good considering I haven't been able to crack my PR in...5 years, maybe? So, my pace was pretty much on par with my pre-pregnancy pace. :) I think maybe I needed to feel the down from the 15K to feel good about this one. Plus, it was a morning run, in the cool sun, in one of my favourite areas of the city. It was a Toronto Women's Run too, so there was plenty of girl power to bring me to the finish. In fact, I haven't sprinted to a finish like that since...elementary school, maybe? I felt like a young girl again running the anchor leg of a relay (speaking of relays, I think I wanna do a marathon relay. Any takers?!). It felt good. So I think it's safe to say I'm not doing any more night races in the dark, in the rain, at the Spit. Sorry Midsummer Night's Run. It'll be a while before I try you again.

5.5 months later + 15K

I did it. I finished my first race after having a baby around five and half months ago. Finishing was the goal. Even though in mind I wanted to accomplish a new 15K PR, even though I wanted to finish with or before that awesome power walker who sped by me, even though I wanted to run with my pretty Monarch butterfly wings, I wanted most to finish and get my Midsummer Night's Run medal and get rained with kisses by my husband and my son on top of the raindrops that were sure to kiss me first.

This was the most difficult run I've had in a long time. I think it was just more exhausting overall. I had signed up to run this one in 2009, 30K actually, but then when I got news that I was expecting, I deferred it to 2010 and switched the distance to 15K because I knew I wouldn't have the time to train for the 30K. Back when I switched to 15K, I was in the early stages of pregnancy and had successfully finished a half-marathon in (personal) record time several months before, so 15K was nothing to me. I was ignorant of what my body would be like after having a baby.

Basically now, every time I run more than around 5k, my hips feel like they loosen back to the way they were just after I gave birth. They feel like they've expanded to allow a baby through and for a day or so after, my pelvic bones return back to their normal positions. And then it's time to go for a long run again...

I finished the 15K in 1 hour and 44 minutes. To me, that's a long time, but what's important is the word, "finished" in first sentence of this paragraph.

I got a cramp around 1K in and ran with it for a few more kilometres until my mind accepted that my body needed to slow down if I wanted to finish this race. So, I walked. Walking during a run is something I do not usually do. Once I stop, it becomes very challenging for me to start again, so my policy is Don't Stop Unless You Really Have To. I don't know how long I walked or how far, but I would say it was less than 500m. It felt like forever though. And then I thought of all the little kids with arthritis, all the little kids we were all running for. These cramps were nothing. Starting up again wasn't as difficult as it usually is...

Around 9K in, my foot felt like it was on fire. It was burning and it didn't feel like a blister infestation, it just felt like it was HOT. I wondered if this was what Athlete's Foot felt like or if this was what fellow runners talk about when their toenails fall off during a long run. (It was neither, thank God!) And then it felt numb. And then it hurt. What kept me going until I forgot about it was the foot rub I was going to ask my husband for when I was done.

At 13K-ish, my hips were ready to give birth to what felt like a 20-pound baby, fat, with a humongous head. "Just 2 more K to go, Treeh, just 2 more K. Hurry up, the Boys are waiting for you, in the rain. Go. GO. GOOOOOO!!" And so, instead of being distracted by my loosening hips, I looked down at the ground instead of ahead of me, and focussed on every single step I was taking. Each step had a purpose, and that purpose was to take me back to my boys. I soon saw the lights ahead of me bringing me back to civilization (I HATE the Leslie Spit).

As I approached the finish, I felt the sweat and rain getting into my eyes and my mouth (gross) and then I cried, but it wasn't just because of the sweat. I felt mentally and physically exhausted.

That was hard.

I wanted so badly to get back to my son and my husband that I almost swore off running forever. Almost. My body felt broken. I felt like if I was a wall, I had a BIG crack going almost all the way down me, almost all the way through me.

But then I saw my boys, the little one was dry and sleeping in his stroller under an umbrella, the big one under his hooded sweater, ready to hug me, crying sweaty wet mess and all. I was done.

I don't have any other post-run pics. Defeated, but look at my medal!

So now that that's over, I feel like I can say I've been there, survived, and I'm never going back again. And I have a 10K on Saturday morning. I can do it.

Races!

I've finally got some races coming up! They creeped up really quickly!! I'm hoping my body will adjust to the madness!

Here are the races and the causes I'm supporting while I'm running them. Click on the links to view my fundraising pages, and feel free to make a donation!

A Midsummer Night's Run - SickKids Foundation

Toronto Women's 10K - POGO

Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Half-marathon - LLSC

Jogging strollers

Now that our little one is here (yes he is! And he's so amazing!), and I'm confined to walks (NOT RUNS) outside for a little while longer, I've been finding that I've been interested in getting myself equipped for when I do get the green light to get back to pounding the pavement.

Although it'll still be a while before he can accompany me and my husband on our runs via his chariot, i.e. a jogging stroller, I find myself researching such strollers.

It's kinda crazy how expensive these things are, especially the ones with the best reviews.

The BOB ones are always best-rated, but come at a high price tag. We kinda like the Tike Tech X3 sport -- we can use our existing car seat with it, so that's an added perk!

Now, we just have to wait 5 or so more months before he can come out with us. And what do you know? That'll be my peak race season! I'm so excited!

They both win!

It turns out that they kept both marathons! YAY!!

The Toronto Marathon was moved to May. I'm happy about this because that means I can still run it one day and I won't have to trek to Mississauga to satisfy my post-winter-race itch. YAY!

For more info:
http://www.toronto.ca/council_highlights/

MY MARATHON!!!

Which city marathon should we keep?
One marathon alone might be stronger, but deciding which gets the nod could be tough

I'm partial to the Waterfront marathon because it's prettier, and well, I've run it before. In any case, regardless of which one they eliminate, I hope they mix the courses so that it'll still cover the beach.