Well, since my last blog Samantha and I have started a new adventure in our lives! I have cut my work schedule to stay at home more with my lil' crazy. And if you have ever been around a mobile 10-month old you know that lil' crazy is a completely appropriate nickname! I have a mover and a shaker and I swear if crawling was an olympic sport she would win the gold medal hands down! Her constant movement, talking and super fun personality has kept me and my husband on our toes the past month.
But I am trying very hard to not let my marathon training slip. I have so many great excuses not to run in October (Samantha, coaching) so every day that I actually make it on a training run is a small miracle. Is this marathon time going to be anywhere close to my last one? Probably not and I am semi- okay with that.
I recently ran the "Spirit of Columbus" half marathon. First, fantastic race, even if the race director was a little harsh at packet pickup day. The shirt is great, the glass is great and all the post race extras were fantastic. I would be happy with a granola bar, but the myoplex, water, gatorade, fruit, etc was great. And my personal favorite were the ice cold blue sponges handed out at some of the water stops.
The race starts at Tuttle Mall, weaves around to Hayden Run (great downhill), and then is pretty much downhill on Riverside to the North Bank park. A few things have changed in my race attitude since Samantha. First, I actually had to stop and pee halfway through! Carrying around Sam for those 9 months did not help my bladder. Second, I am much wiser. I started out at a reasonable pace that I knew I could sustain the whole race. At 8 miles, I sped up and stayed there through 13.1. This was the first race where I felt that I had truly used all of my energy and the poor woman who gave me my medal almost witnessed that. I almost threw up on her! Luckily I held it in and finished in 1 hour 56 minutes and 47 seconds. Not nearly as fast as my last half, but not as slow as my first. All in all, not a bad race.
This past weekend was my true test. An 18 miler. It went well and the weather was perfect for a run. I am hoping the nice weather continues through my training and for the marathon. Samantha and I are absolutely loving the sunshine and slightly cooler days to run and play outside in. This is by far the best time of year in Ohio and I am hoping we can really enjoy it!
Whether or not I am training for a race, I know (unfortunately) that running is the only true way to get my body in shape. I have been very lucky that after my c-section I was able to just hop right back into my workout life. Some days Sam makes it hard to hit the pavement, but I could not have ever asked for a better running buddy. Her "chats" and "stories" are the best and I am truly lucky to have such a wonderful kid!
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