A few of my favorite things

Running in South Florida in mid-July is...oh, a little crazy. But it's something you kind of have to do if you don't want that icky "fell off the wagon" feeling when the temperatures finally cool in October and BAM! It's race season again. Here are a few of my favorite running-related items from Vitacost.com, where I work and frequently shop!

1. Nuun tablets. In orange. Not only do they make drinking water all colorful and fizzy--but they're also loaded with electrolytes (a must to prevent dehydration in this heat!!)

2. ARO chocolate whey powder. Mix it with almond milk and frozen fruit and you have a refreshing post-run meal.

3. Kiss My Face Sport 50 sunscreen--sprays on easily and I'm proud to say I haven't been burned yet this summer! (I usually do run before the sun rises to take advantage of those oh-so-cool 80-degree early morning temps, but on lazy Sunday mornings, I usually don't amble out the door till 8 am or later...)

4. EcoSmart Organic Insect Repellent--because it's really gross to come back from a run with dead bugs drowning in your sweat--ick!!

I couldn't run without these goodies anymore than I could run without my Brooks! But all that being said...I can't wait for fall!

I love to race. I hate to race. I love to race.

It's amazing how you can both adore and abhor one thing with so much passion. Some people have a love-hate relationship with a person, or a dessert, or a narcotic. For me, it's racing that I love. And hate.

I can't think of many moments in my life that compare with the high of crossing a finish line. But getting there--man, it is crazy what we runners go through just to feel the weight of a medal around our neck!

Yesterday as I forced myself by sheer will to run through miles 10, 11 and 12 of the Ft. Lauderdale 13.1, it hit me that the tough moments of a race are kind of like childbirth: you do forget the pain once you've hit the euphoria of the accomplishment. I am so, SO happy right now that I finished my race without injury, fainting or even stopping for a minute to walk that if I weren't writing them down now, I know I'd forget the following moments of misery by tomorrow:

• The way the tag on my pants dug into my skin (I was bleeding by the end of the race)
• The way my hand ached from gripping my little hand towel
• That I was so thirsty despite my water intake that I finally gulped down a cup of Powerade, which always makes me throw up (and was no exception yesterday)
• The forlorn feeling I felt as I saw the pace card carrier with the "2:00" sign run steadily past me (so much for a PR!)

It was a beautiful day for a race. That might have been the biggest problem: the fresh, cool ocean air and the excitement of seeing all the other runners inspired me to run the first nine miles much faster than I should have. Then despite the massive handful of Jelly Belly sport beans I shoved into my dry mouth, I suddenly lost all steam at exactly mile 9:39, and ended up hobbling pathetically to the finish line 10 minutes later than I fantasized about and five minutes slower than I could accept happily. 

It's okay; this won't be my last half-marathon, and next time I'll have a better pacing strategy in place. I'm looking forward to rocking the ING Miami Half with my Team in Training buddies! Looking forward to it but also somewhat scared of it--but that's just the way I roll, I guess. 

Running for a reason

True, everyone "runs for a reason," whether it's to burn off last night's fajitas, train to become the next Kara Goucher or to escape the paper boy who is demanding, "I want my two dollars!" I've done plenty of runs myself to counteract caloric misadventures in Mexican restaurants, and plenty of runs aimed at shaving a few seconds off my stubbornly midpack pace...but the runs that have meant the most to me have been runs for Team in Training, an organization that raises money for lymphoma & leukemia research.

This year, I'll be doing it again. This time I'm honoring my friend Deena Heinrich, a really awesome woman who is fighting breast cancer tenaciously, so it means even more to me. I'm also helping out as a mentor for TNT this year. 

Want to help raise money to fight cancer? You can join TNT yourself...and/or you can support my run with a tax-deductible donation.

Mama's got a new pair of shoes!

I'm so sorry, Nike, but I've moved on.

Conceding that my chipped toenails and sore feet post-run might be due to my feet growing a size while I was growing Charlie, I finally gave in and went to Runner's Depot to get properly sized for running shoes. While I was there, I had them do a gait-check, too.

My profile: A mild over-pronator with flat feet who runs with correct form (ie on the balls of my feet, not the heels or toes.) And who needs a size 9.5 running shoe. (Sob!)

The Runner's Depot guy did have Nike Lunars in my new, jumbo size, but he didn't want to sell them to me, because he said I needed some stability, and not so much cushioning. I told him I really didn't care about that, as long as the shoes felt "light." That's always been one thing I've loved about every pair of Nikes I've run in: the airy stride.

So he hooked me up with Saucony Progrid Mirage Lites, in a funky charcoal and deep pink color. I was skeptical but he promised me I could take them back for new kicks in 30 days if they gave me blisters, soreness or any other problems.

I haven't put that much mileage on them yet, but so far, I am loving them. They are lightweight indeed, and the extra room in the toe feels luxurious after months and months of pinching my big feet into shoes that didn't fit. I also think the lack of cushioning is forcing me to take on a better running stance; I feel more muscle development in my upper leg and better release in my knees and ankles. I realize now that I had been running kind of stiffly in my old shoes, partly because they didn't fit and partially because all of the pillowy cushioning might not have been doing my stride any favors.

We'll see how they fare after my long run tomorrow--but I have to say, I have high hopes.

Was my 5k awesome? Well, it Depends.

Today I ran my first race in what feels like a decade, but was actually just a little over a year. (The last time I was doing the bib-and-safety-pin dance was in January 2010, just a month before I'd have bibs and safety pins of a totally different variety back on my radar again.)

Some awesome things happened today:

-My pace quickened. I tried hard but not to the point of hyperventilating or puking, and I clocked in at 26:22 net time, a minute and a half quicker than my last (pre-baby) 5k time.

-My mood calmed. I remember feeling frenetic and aggressive, even mean, in previous races. "Get outta my way, hairy backed jerk!" was a typical thought to pass through my brain as I clawed my way ahead. Today felt like my usual 3ish mile morning run--but with a lot of people sharing the road with me.

And something not so awesome happened:

-My pelvic floor revolted. "Three pregnancies without leaking and now you want me to stand firm while you run hard, too? Sorry, lady!" I actually muttered, "Stop it!" to my bladder at one point like it was being an annoying kid sister. Ultimately I ended up running with my knees pressed together to prevent the unthinkable from happening.
 
I am waiting anxiously for race pictures; hopefully no one caught the mermaid-legged running stance on film. Next time, I think I'm going to make Depends part of my raceday gear. Although if it ended up scoring me my best time ever, maybe running like you really need to get to a bathroom is my calling card to even faster times in the future.

Afraid to ask: Might I need larger shoes?

I thought I managed to survive three pregnancies without growing a shoe size, but it probably is NOT a good sign if your fresh pedicure chips as soon as you run, right? At first I blamed the cheap nail salon where I was getting my toes done ("It had to be fake OPI! Chipping just one day post-pedi??") but then I went to a more expensive place, and I still had the chipping right after I ran.

So either OPI nail polish isn't as long-lasting as it used to be...or my toes don't have enough room in a size 8.5.

(Please, please tell me OPI sucks! I don't want to be a 9!)

I'm also afraid my favorite running shoe, the Nike Lunar Glide (now available as the Lunar Glide 2) is no longer the perfect match for my bigger and probably flatter post-baby feet.


But with all that I went through before I found the Lunars, I'm not sure I'm up for another session of match-making.

Running in my sleep

I'm back at it, the 5 a.m. morning mile. Pre-coffee, pre-breakfast, pre-dawn. I am SLOW. With some caffeine and carbs I can get below a 9 minute mile for a 3-4 mile run, but with an empty stomach and a sleepy head, I'm about 30 seconds slower than that. But I am PROUD. It's nice to come back to a quiet house, the baby just starting to stir a little (I hear the movement over the baby monitor as I hop in the shower) and know that when most of the world was sleeping, I ran past the Starbucks and McDonald's and two elementary schools and back. Now if only the rest of my day would go as smoothly...

Pop quiz for the pet people: Runner vs. dog walker

I almost titled this post "Runner vs. dog," but then when I thought about it, I certainly can't hold my four-footed fellow trail trotters responsible for what is really bad behavior going on at the other end of the leash.

So here's my question for those of you who have dogs.

Say you're out walking your dog on a running/bike trail and you see a person jogging towards you. Fido has a history of getting spunky when squirrels scurry in his direction, and the woman headed your way is in head to toe slate-colored Spandex; she could easily be mistaken for a gigantic, 5 foot, 4 inch squirrel (she even has that bushy ponytail sticking out of her cap.)

Do you:

A) Hold the leash a bit more tightly to prevent Fido from lunging after Squirrel-Girl
B) Tell Squirrel-Girl that she'd better watch out; Fido is up for a good chase
C) Do absolutely nothing. If Fido wants to chase/gnaw at Squirrel-Girl, that's her problem. If she doesn't like dogs, she can just go run in the street.

I don't have a dog myself. But being the kind of parent who prevents my kids from hurling Saltines at other diners when we're out at restaurants, I tend to think that if I were a "fur mama," I'd be of the curb-my-dog, A or at least B variety.

In my few years of running multiple times per week, I find that most dog owners are As. I might have met a handful of Bs. I didn't even know Cs existed till this morning, when I ended up running into a bush to avoid becoming a chew toy.

But maybe I'm wrong to think the Cs are doing anything wrong. I really don't know what the etiquette is here. Maybe all runners (and walkers, and bikers) are supposed to yield to dogs, or assume that they are prone to chasing and steer clear. What's your experience been?

When 5.31 miles is harder to run than 8.0

Last Sunday, I had a shockingly easy 8 mile run (well, as easy as 8 miles can be). I wasn't even all that sore afterwards; I felt great the whole time, went pretty fast, never contemplated stopping.

Today, feeling pretty cocky from my previous performance, I thought I'd go for lucky 7 miler.

All I can say is...it's a miracle I made it 5.31 miles without stopping, because when I did stop, about a mile and a half short from where I planned to end the run, I came pretty close to throwing up. And the majority of the run, I was wondering, "Are we having fun yet?"

It's amazing how the conditions surrounding a run can determine whether you kick asphalt or the asphalt kicks you.

Conditions of my 8 mile run:Started running at 7 a.m.
My Garmin battery was dead, so I forgot to worry about my pace
I ran with a friend who is a faster runner than me
It was in the 60s outside
Flat, easy course; no hills. The first two miles are a path around the Weston Town Center (a sort of mini-mall) and then the last six are a straight shot up and back the incredibly hill-free Bonaventure Road.

Conditions of my 5.31 mile run:
Started running at 9:30 a.m.
Garmin was alive and kicking
I ran alone
It was humid, in the 80s (and I forgot to bring water)
Very hilly course (Indian Trace on the stretch between Saddle Club and Bonaventure) with narrow paths so you have to accelerate or slow down if another runner/walker/biker is approaching

I'll have to see if I can do the hills in cooler weather at an earlier hour with more success. Right now, hours later, I'm still a little sweaty, and my stomach is not a happy camper.

Just try to trot slowly to this one.

Was just minding my own business, plunking down one foot after the other and then BAM! This song cued up on my playlist.

Whooooooooooooooo-ah!! Got to keep 'em separated.

Best.run.ever.

I was flying. Heart fluttering high and steady, legs light on the ground, every ache and annoyance on the trail suddenly forgotten. The high's lasted all day. One of those moments when you're like, "Oh yeah, THIS is why I run!"

Thank you for smoking

I'd just like to thank the kid in my development who was out walking his dog and sneaking a cig while I starting off my morning run. Nothing's more gross than inhaling smoke while you're running. (I really don't know how people who run in cities deal with that--plus city bus fumes, smog and more.) I took off as fast as I could to pass him. And then I slowed down, but I still ended up running faster than I thought I could the rest of the four-mile loop.

I'd probably do pretty well in a race if I could get the people at the water stations to light up so I'd want to pass them instead of slow down. You never run so fast as when you're trying to run away from something, after all.

Speeding up & slimming down (yay!)

Being a new mom is all about numbers. How many hours did the baby sleep? How many times did he feed, spit up, mock Pampers' marketing claims that their diapers are "leak proof"?

And then there's that important number we don't always like to talk about: the one on the scale. How close (or far) are we to pre-pregnancy weight?

When you're a new mommy who also runs, there's another number that matters to you, a LOT. Your pre-pregnancy pace.

I am thrilled and honored and ecstatic and delighted to report that I am tightly closing in on both these numbers. I've got five pounds to go to be the old, pre-baby me, and thirty seconds per mile to go to get my old, unencumbered pace back. My clothes aren't quite zipping up the way they used to due to a stretched out belly and a little extra padding on top (thanks to nursing.) But for the most part, I feel like the old me. Yay!

Am I starting from square one?

Confession: I really did think that one day, I'd have my husband watch my newborn son, put on my shoes, and run an easy 6 miles in slightly less than an hour.

Now that scenario may happen... but it's not happening anytime soon. He's 2 months old, and right now there's nothing "easy" about 6 miles. And I certainly couldn't finish them in less than an hour.


Today I ran 5 miles. And afterwards, had the runner tummy issues I previously only experienced after doing major long distance runs.

The concept of "muscle memory" seems to apply to spin class, the elliptical and just about everything BUT running. Sigh...

Pop. Six. Squish. Cicero. Lipschitz.

New discovery: running to the song "Cell Block Tango" from the musical Chicago is exhilerating. If you listen to the rhythm of the song (I have the version from the movie on my iPhone), you'll naturally find yourself doing intervals of medium/high intensity and sprinting. Just try to keep your feet tame when Catherine Zeta Jones snarls out, "They had it coming."

What are your favorite interval tunes?

Goodbye Garmin (for now)

Before I was pregnant, I'd use my Garmin as a guide for how fast to run. My average pace tended to be in the low 9:00s, so if I glanced down and saw myself edging towards the 10s, I'd speed up.  That's not really working so well for me right now, at almost 6 weeks post-partum. Just trying to maintain a pace in the 9s in this period of recovery shoots my heart rate into the 180s.

The problem with a heart rate in the 180s? It makes me HATE running! And it's not healthy. It's also really hard to run a decent distance when you're so overtaxing your heart. I hate to think that my old comfortable pace is now "sprinting" to me, but it sure feels that way to my heart!

So now I'm running instead with my Polar F6, which just monitors heart rate and calories burned, and figuring out my pace after the fact by cross-checking my mileage with my time spent running.

It took me a lot of months of running and a leaner body weight to get to the 9s, and it's going to take a lot more miles and pounds lost again before I say goodbye to the 10s again. For now, I'm proud that I ran 3 miles this morning while my newborn slept at home.

I couldn't wait any longer!

Pssst. Don't tell my doctor, but I had a pretty good time defying her orders this morning.

I know I was technically supposed to wait until mid-December to start running again, but I've been feeling pretty strong (and fat! and tired! and in need of running therapy!) so I decided to kick off my post partum boot camp a week early with a short run today, on my old path.

I'm proud to say that after nine months of pregnancy, including three of them with prenatal yoga as my only exercise, I did 2.48 miles in 26 minutes, 19 seconds. I ran the whole way and felt pretty good.

No incision pain, no bleeding, no freaky sensation that my uterus was about to fall out.

I am pretty certain I could have done the 3.15 mile short run that I used to do on a daily basis, pre-pregnancy. But at the halfway mark I got what could only be described as "boob telepathy."  That distinct burning sensation that had to correspond to my baby waking up and wanting Mommy. (Indeed, when I got home, he was hungry and mad, and my husband confirmed that it he began stirring in his sleep 10-15 minutes earlier.)

Next time I'll pump or feed before I go and go for the full 3.15. Hopefully as the weeks progress and the pounds come off (I still have a lot to go), I'll get back into my old groove.

What, me, exercise??

Doctor's orders: don't exercise until you're six weeks post-partum.

Question to the doctor: "OK, but what about walking with a baby stroller? That's not really 'exercise,' is it?"

Doctor: "You can walk, but don't 'power walk.'"

Hmmmm, what is this "power-walking" business she was talking about? I think it entails walking with your arms out like you're about to flap your wings and fly away. It's hard to do that when you're pushing a stroller, so I think I'm in the clear.

Since Charlie was one week old, he and I have retraced my old running paths--first with him in a stroller, then snuggled up to me in the Baby Bjorn. We did a 3 1/2-4 mile path with a friend on Wednesday (very slowly, no arm flapping involved), and although it wasn't easy by the end, my legs said, "We missed moving! Thank you!"

Walking a few miles at a time isn't so easy after a few months of no exercise, and four weeks of modified bed rest, followed by a c-section. But it's getting easier. Charlie will be three weeks old on Monday--and I have a feeling I'm going to need to bind my arms to my sides to keep my steps unempowered.

Meet my new running buddy

Charlie Joseph Mark
November 1, 2010, 8:05 a.m.
8 lbs., 9 oz., 19 in.

We're in love!!

The final countdown

Just 7 days...then 6 weeks

In exactly one week from today--if not sooner, should my water break unexpectedly--our third and final kid will be entering the universe via scheduled c-section.

Not being a huge fan of life as a human incubator, it's been a long nine months. I have unapologetically whined through every moment of heartburn, back pain, false labor contractions, insomnia, exhaustion and hysteria. Those women who revel every kick and every extra pound? I'm not one of them.

But finally, in this last week, I'm experiencing the true elation of pregnancy, for two reasons: (1) because it's really and truly ALMOST OVER!!! and (2) I can't wait to meet our little guy (or not so little, going by the size of my belly).

I'm so excited, I can barely sleep. And I don't blame the hourly bathroom trips for the insomnia, either. At night, I roam around the house like a ghost (big, clumsy, waddling ghost), peering into my kids' rooms to watch them sleeping...and to wonder.

I look at my 7 1/2 year old son and almost 5 year old daughter and wonder if the baby willl look like them (at birth, they had identical faces, and you can still see the similarity when they are asleep).

I wonder if he'll be introspective like his brother, strong-willed like his sister, playful like his father, intense like his mother...or none of the above--or a "combo platter" of all or some of these traits. (An intensely playful, introspective, stubborn little boy, perhaps? Sounds like he'd fit right into our crazy clan.)

And speaking of things I can't wait for, I also can't wait to run again, which, if memory serves, I'll be able to do in exactly seven weeks from today (six following delivery).

I stopped working out at about seven months when I got hit with paralyzing hip and leg pain (pelvic girdle pain, if you've been so lucky to have experienced this pregnancy condition yourself) and during that same month, in the most blatant example of "retail therapy" I can think of, I scored myself a BOB running stroller, in chic baby blue and chocolate brown, which I'm just itching to break in.

I can't wait to see how my little running buddy looks strapped into this bad boy.

And I can't wait to move quickly again, to feel my feet hitting the pavement, to break a sweat from actual physical activity not just from trying to heave my body in and out of the car, to feel my heart race without worrying if it's going too fast for a growing fetus.

See you all on the road soon.

Sanity is a reason in and of itself to exercise, right?

You know those women who don't even look pregnant until they are 6 months along and even then it's just a teeny little bump, like they might have just had one serving of too much pasta?

I'm not one of those women.

I am, and have been for several months, very very "knocked up" looking, with a giant, distended belly, heaving bosom and waddling walk. Despite exercising 3-5 days a week, I have gained a lot of weight, perhaps not enough to trouble my OB, but enough to make me a little bit annoyed at this body of mine--which apparently likes to pack on the same (substantial) number of pounds during pregnancy whether I don't exercise (pregnancy #1), exercise moderately with step aerobics and walks (pregnancy #2), or run, spin and elliptical myself into a tizzy (this third pregnancy.)

Anyway, I never ran to lose weight, precisely. You can lose weight by eating a lot of salad and broccoli and grapefruit sections--you don't need to rack up the miles for that. I ran to clear my brain, enjoy the outdoors and my 'tunes...and yes, to get away with more pizza than someone my age and metabolism should be able to eat. But honestly, if the number on the scale were all that had concerned me, I would have found a method that didn't involve oozing blisters, shin splints, the consumption of gross sports drinks, a gimpy knee, "runner's trot," expensive races, pace anxiety and all that jazz.

So I guess I shouldn't be that upset by the fact that running (and now lower-friction versions of cardio like walking on inclines and the elliptical) hasn't given me a Hollywood-esque maternity silhouette.

Because cardio has allowed me to maintain my sanity.

That in and of itself is a reason to keep at it, right?

Plus, I keep reading this statistic that babies of moms who exercised during pregnancy have higher IQs and leaner muscle mass than babies of couch potato mamas. So hopefully one day my clever, sinewy son will kiss his mama with gratitude and say, "Thanks for all those miles you clocked for me back when I was a fetus. I know I wouldn't have made the honor roll without you..."