7.1 down, 133.5 to go

I am so far sucking on my goal to swim 2.4 miles, bike 112, and run 26.2 by New Year's. It's been a busy week, what can I say. I hit the exercise bike at the gym during lunch the other day, and OMG, it kicked my butt, in every sense of the word. Must buy padded shorts. I found it really awkward, since those contraptions aren't built for someone 5'2", no matter how far down you can jack the seat. So I did 4 miles in just under 20 minutes. Which is slower than a lot of people can run.

I gave up my regular workout on Thursday in favor of a 90 minute yoga class, which seems like a completely insane indulgence these days. Something akin to bathing in champagne, or lighting Cubans with $100 bills. Good lord, it was so wonderful. But it just means I'm one more day down on this end of year goal. And at the rate I'm going, the bike portion is going to take a really long time.

Race Report: Turkey Trot

I did a "race for the cure" type thing when Max was 2 mos old, but other than that, I've never done a race that involved getting the both of us ready to go and out of the house at a decent hour. It was a total fire drill, and by the time we got there, all the good parking was gone and we ended up over 1/4 mi from the start. There was a brief moment of terror when Max loudly proclaimed "Max poop," but it must have been a false alarm, THANK GOD. There was no time for messy diaper changing before the start.

We started back with the walkers and baby joggers. My dad accompanied us, but got pretty wiped by the first couple of hills, so we left him behind at mile 1. This course is extremely hilly, even by Cville standards, and pushing Max up and down hills was immensely challenging. I walked most of the steep uphills, hoping to make up some time on the downhills, but keeping the stroller from dragging me headfirst down the steep hills was almost as challenging as going up. However, I still managed to run 11:30 in mile 2, my best of the race.

I felt a little crummy during mile 3, and by the time I got my second wind, we'd made the turn onto the crushed gravel path. It is narrow, and doesn't really allow for passing, plus they must have recently added a truckload of crushed gravel, and it was like pushing the stroller through sand. It was flat, but nearly as tough going as the uphills. Finally, around the sports club, and the finish line in sight, I kicked hard and crossed the finish in 42:40. Mark gave me a shout out and a pat on the back as I came through, and I saw a couple other friends as well. At the end of the chute, Max got a blue ribbon that proclaimed him a "PARTICIPANT."

The finish chute funneled me right to the refreshment tent, and I grabbed a bagel and some grapes, and headed back to the chute to keep an eye out for my dad. He kicked hard and looked springy as he crossed the finish in 51:00. I was way more beat than he was, that's for sure.

We had serious work to do, so didn't hang around for awards and prizes, but took the long hike straight back to the car. Max heard a train as we were walking and proclaimed "choo choo happy" and then "yellow truck" when he saw the yellow truck parked across from us. Hello, smarty-pants!

Athlete

Last night was the end of the season potluck dinner for the running group. After a quick workout (2 mi on the treadmill, some stretching and weights), I headed over to the shop. It was great to see everyone in regular clothes, hair done, rested and wide awake. Everyone was also wearing their medals, except for those of us who did Buck Mountain. It was neat to see all the hardware - the Marine Corps medal were enormous this year; Richmond, though they had promised a "commemorative" 30th running medal looked pretty much the same as last year's.

We ate, took a picture of the group, answered Mark's series of questions (who had negative splits? what was the worst mile? favorite training run?), and talked about plans for next year.

I felt pangs of jealousy hearing about Richmond, and the cool weather. But like IronMo said, it'll still be there when I'm ready again. Maybe next year?

Our group spans the range of those just hoping to finish to those who effortlessly breeze through BQ times. And Mark, bless his soul, treats each and every one of us like the athletes that we are. It's taken me a year and a half to get to the point that I don't feel like a fraud when I say I'm an athlete. My only hope for an age group win is to still be running when I'm 100. I can't do 60 miles a week, my diet isn't systematically tuned to be the best fuel for my runs. But I'm out there. I'm setting goals, and sometimes I meet them, and sometimes I don't. I'm always pushing to be better than I was, to learn something new about my sports (running and swimming). I'm out to have fun, but I take them very seriously. Running and racing are not the most important parts of my life or identity, but they are woven in to the fabric of my life, and can't be disentangled from all the other threads that make me who I am. I'm a mom, a wife, I used to be an airline pilot, I'm still a current flight instructor, I'm a woman and a feminist, I've got brown hair, two masters degrees, and a sense of humor. And I'm an athlete.

So thanks, Mark, all the other runners, and the staff at the shop, for welcoming me into this community. Many times you all treated my athletic aspirations with much more seriousness and respect than I could muster. Thankfully, that attitude has finally rubbed off on me.

I'm an athlete.

1100 and yoga

A wonderful couple of days, exercise wise. I busted out 1100 (or was it 1150?) in the pool yesterday at lunch. Did it in just over 20 min, including a few laps of drill, and 25 of butterfly at the end. Go me. Mil desculpas to the folks in the other lane who were most certainly disrupted by my splashy thrashing.

And then today, a good, long yoga class. I am embarrassed to say that Max was not 2 months old the last time I went to yoga class. Things like nursing, running, and life kind of got in the way. Oh how I missed it, though. I hope I can make it a more regular gig.

Track

I hit the track this morning. I did 3 or 3.25, I lost count a little bit. I did a warmup, 3x800, with easy 400's in between, then an all out 400. Very zen, and I was considerably faster than I thought I'd be - 4:35- 4:45 on the 800's and 2:14 on the 400. Not bad for being so lazy the past couple of weeks. The Turkey Trot is in less than two weeks and while I don't expect to break last year's PR, it would be nice to be close. However, my dad is running it, and I'm considering doing it with him while pushing Max in the stroller. That would be an incredible workout, but would certainly be my slowest 5K time ever. But Thanksgiving's all about family, right? I can always try for a PR on New Year's.

Fun with toddler!

The Supportive Husband's return from Mexico was delayed, so my plans for a long solo run didn't work out. I did a couple of miles with Max in the stroller. He's getting heavier, and the stroller/baby combo now weighs about 60 pounds. Add to that the "warmup" of getting him out of the house, past his bike and his little wheelbarrow on the front porch ("biiiiiike, mama, biiiiike," tears ensued), a brief stop to examine the earthworms on the driveway, then a losing battle over the addition of a stroller cozy to the setup (he'd rather be cold than cozy, and the straps don't fit through quite right, anyway), and it was a pretty strenuous 2. I'm hoping to still squeeze in a couple more today, but it's not looking good. The Supportive Husband finally landed in Richmond, but the main road out of the airport was totally shut down due to an accident, and all the roads in the city were shut down because of the marathon.

The marathon! Yes, I am so disappointed that I'm not there. It's perfect weather - started off a little rainy, but is overcast and cool. Just perfect. I know I can break five hours, it just wasn't meant to be this year. (insert Mama having her own meltdown here)

Anyway, I parked Max in front of the TV (Wonder Pets; they were going to the aid of a puppy that needed to peepee but couldn't because he was locked inside the house. Yes, really!!) so I could shower. Then off to swim lessons. It was at the gym's other location, which I thought I'd like better, but I guess everyone does because man, that warm water pool was PACKED full of kids and senior citizens. Max had a fantastic time jumping off the edge again, and can now actually hoist himself out of the water onto the edge. Goodness! However, he kind of flipped out a little at the end of class because, like the puppy, he had to peepee. Nothing like trying to do the alphabet song while Max is grabbing his crotch with both hands saying, "peepee mama peepee diaper." I guess I've got the only kid on the planet who won't just pee in the pool.

So that was my workout today, baby in tow. Good times.

And congrats, Richmonders! But unless you were there last year, you have no idea how good you have it.

IronMama??

Okay, I just heard about this fantastic idea - the "go at your own pace" triathlon. Pick a date range (for example, Thanksgiving to New Year's) and in that time swim 2.4 miles, bike 114, and run 26.2. A great way to keep motivated and in that marathon spirit during the season of excuses.

Starting with my 5k on Thanksgiving, I'm doing this!! Seriously. I hope I can finish. But don't get too excited - I'll be doing the biking on the stationary bike at the gym.

Distance

Physical distance, just 2 miles walking with the stroller. Emotional distance, three years.

Marathoning mama victorious!

Paula Radcliffe wins NYC!! I ran 5:34 with a 10 month old, she ran 2:23. But I'm guessing that she wasn't exclusively nursing, and that running is her only job. And that she's incredibly genetically gifted as well. But, jealousy aside, go Paula! I have to wonder if the recent rash of successful post-partum athletes has any thing to do with the Title IX provisions that came into effect when I was a child. We're the first generations of moms who ever really had viable athletic aspirations. And we're finding out that childbirth and child rearing doesn't end those aspirations.

Swimming & weights

Actually, it was Max's first swim lesson. Which was not an insignificant workout for Mama. I had to lift him up over and over and over. Boy wanted to jump off the wall into my arms, and how could I say no to that. Couple that with the fact that the pool is warmer than Max's bathtub, and I was pretty wilted by the end. I'll run tomorrow, but today I'm kicking back, watching football, and heading to the film festival.