Wednesday, June 28, 2006

This just in...

...IronMo is going to run Richmond with me! I told her she could only do this if she could keep up with my blistering 11:45min/mile pace. I slow down for no one, Iron or not. Actually, it will probably be a challenging test of endurance for a Boston qualifier to slog it out for 5 hours. IronMo, I hereby give you permission to, at mile 15, run ahead to the junk food stop at mile 16. Just save me some Pringles, 'kay?

3 Miles

I was really dragging ass today. Maybe because it was approximately 118% humidity again. Maybe because it was on it's way to being 90 degrees today. Maybe because I can't possibly consume enough calories to sustain myself and my almost entirely breastfed son.

By my estimation, Max eats about 30 ounces of breastmilk per day. At 22 calories per ounce, that's 660 calories. I pump slightly more than he eats, to add to the freezer stash and make up for day care wastage. So just by lactating, I'm burning 700 calories per day.

At 5'2" and 115 pounds, my basal metabolic rate is about 1300 calories per day.*

So I'm up to 2000 calories, and I haven't even factored in things like showering and diaper changing, let alone running.

One mile of running burns about 90 calories.*

So today, with just my morning run, and nothing else more strenuous than breathing, I need 2270 calories. Consider that I often walk the mile from the parking garage to work, plus I haul around my 18+ pound baby (and wiggle his legs while singing Yankee Doodle Dandy), plus I do regular mom things like cooking dinner, washing dishes, doing laundry. Which means I need at least 2500 calories on a day with a short run.

No wonder I weigh less now than I did before I got pregnant.

I'm always hungry. I eat a lot. It was fun for a while (second helping of cake? Sure!!), but now I'm just tired of eating all the time. I'm tired of being hungry. I'm bored by all the food. But I gotta have it.

I guess I could have bigger problems.



*per calculators found using google, so this may or may not be accurate

Monday, June 26, 2006

3 Miles

And I still walked half of it. I think my ark and back route is uphill both ways. That and it was approximately 118% humidity. And I'm sad that they've started taking apart the ark. Though the star trailers are back, and I saw a couple of goats the other day.

Mark gave the group a little speech Saturday morning. Something about how the Kenyans train. Screw the Kenyans, what's the latest training fad for nursing mamas?

And I finally broke down and forked over another $35 for a good sports bra. I got a different model than before - I wasn't crazy about the old one, even when it fit. I hope it works - today's run was not pretty. The girls were lightly compressed, and I swear the band didn't even touch my ribcage at all. So I had a big bouncing uniboob, which is not an improvement over individually bouncing boobs.

Saturday, June 24, 2006

7 Miles

IronMo was right - I did not die! I actually did just fine, and ran almost the whole thing. I walked up 2 hills on the second half, but other than that just plodded along. I didn't wear a watch, so I have no idea how fast/slow I ran.

I ran with the group on Dick Woods Road (yes, that's its real name). The first mile was a gentle uphill, and it was mostly level after that. The miles were marked, which was very nice, and there were water stops at the start/finish, and at 2 and 4 miles. I didn't quite go to the 4 mile one - I turned around at my best guess of 3.5 miles, to stay at 7 miles for the morning. I was tempted to run farther, but figured I should err on the side of too little since this is by far my longest run in over 10 years. I ran the first 3.5 with the woman who had marked the course that morning. When I turned around at 3.5, she kept going to 4, so I was by myself for most of the rest of the run. It was very peaceful, and I felt good. I had one Jolly Rancher and one roll of Smarties to keep me going. At the end, I inhaled a Clif Bar and some pringles.

I was amazed at how good I felt when I got done. Maybe it was that 1 mile downhill, but I didn't feel overtaxed, or like I was pushing my limits. I'm still entirely daunted by 26.2 miles, but I feel like I could have kept going for at least another mile or two. Of course, the high is wearing off now, and I'm starting to feel the 5:15 wake up call.

Wednesday, June 21, 2006

Three Miles

Well, 2.9, actually. As measured by GPS, woohoo! I couldn't figure out how to do average speed for the trip, and I forgot to wear a watch, but most of the time my speed was between 5 and 5.5 mph. Not bad! Of course, there were times that I walked, and those were about 4 mph. I got up to 8 mph on a big downhill for about two seconds.

Ah, the joys of pregnancy. The gift that keeps on giving. They say "nine months up, nine months down" in the weight department. I figured that saying was for people who overindulge and don't exercise and gain a lot of weight while pregnant. I lost all the weight and then some by 4 weeks post-partum. But I realize that saying is not about weight, but body! My body is still changing by leaps and bounds all the time. You'd think that months at my pre-partum weight, and I'd be used to my reflection. Nope. I never know what I'll see in the mirror. The latest changes are my arms and my ribcage. My arms are suddenly lean and muscular (yes, my arms!) from hoisting around my 18 pound 5 month old. And my ribcage, which had parked itself at a 36 since my second trimester, has suddenly decided to shrink back to a 34. Which means that my sports bras no longer fit. And nobody wants to see a nursing, running mama with not enough support.

Monday, June 19, 2006

Two Miles

Coach Mark gives great tips for running in the VA heat and humidity. The first on the list is not to run after 9am. I figured I'd wake up around 7, feed the boy, and head out for a run by 8 or so. Max woke up about 7:30 or so. I nursed him, then had some cereal. Then fed him some cereal (oatmeal and bananas - he just started solids last week). Then nursed him again for his nap. Put him down for a nap, changed clothes, headed out to run. Time? 9:15. And all I did was feed the baby!

Today's run was supposed to be two miles. But up until today, I'd been running by time, not worrying about mileage. So I don't have any idea how far my normal routes are. I know that to the ark and back is about 3 miles. Give or take. Farther if you go all the way past the ark to the trailers. So, I ran not quite to the ark and back. My strategy was to do something resembling the distance on my program, while being able to be back at home in time to get showered and changed, and out the door by 10:15. This boiled down to about 20 minutes of running in oppressive heat and humidity (Mark was right), and such a quick shower that I was still sweating when I got out. But, Max got to school, and I got to work on time.

Saturday, June 17, 2006

Mama Marathon

On November 11, 2006, I will run the Richmond Marathon. My son will be 10 months old, which means that as I write this, I've got a lot of work ahead of me.

I'm a little scared. I've been running 3 days per week religiously for the past 2 months or so. I've signed up for the training program with the good folks at Ragged Mountain Running Shop. I've got a good pair of shoes, a whole lot of moxie, and an almost full time job outside the home. Have I gone a little crazy?

My hero is IronMo, and I will state for the record that this is all her fault. Way back in aught-four, she did an IronMan triathlon. She was undecided about doing another one. I told her that if she did an IronMan in '06, I'd run a marathon that year. Well, there's still no cure for cancer, so she's gone and done it again. IronMan USA is in just over a month, so I'm strapping on my running shoes, and scouring ebay for a gently used running stroller. Wish me luck!