I love the gym. I know not everyone loves the gym, but I really do. I have belonged to many gyms in many cities, but after baby #3 I tried to go it alone. AND I tried to go it alone with no home exercise equipment or goal. Yeah, that didn’t work out very well for me – I need cardio equipment. And I need a goal.
I figured that running outside was enough for me – I ran as often as I could scrape together a few minutes, building back up slowly after pregnancy. But it was hard and the weight loss wasn’t happening. I guess after an 11lb baby, these things take time. And for me, I need to click into a mindset where I’m ALL IN. Focused. Eye on the prize.
So last year around this time, I entered the lottery for the Nike Women’s Half Marathon in DC, the inaugural year. So I had a plan. I had my goal.
And last year, on December 31, I joined Planet Fitness for a steal of a deal – it was $99 for the entire year – can’t beat that! It had everything I needed at the time – clean facility, great hours, plenty of equipment, and it fit the budget. I’m a huge fan of this gym because it takes away two of the main obstacles to working out – time (it’s open 24 hours during the week) and money (it’s normally $10/month). So now I had a goal AND I had cardio equipment available to me, as long as I could leave the house.
As I got into the triathlon training, I needed more. I swam at the outdoor neighborhood pool in the summer, I swim at the nearby indoor pool now. I biked outside in the nice weather, I have a bike trainer now. So I’m figuring it out, cobbling together my tri training. But I love classes – especially cycling classes, and I love weight machines more than I love my hand weights and exercise videos. There’s something I love about the gym, where I can focus on my workout 100% without the distractions of the laundry I need to fold, the lunches I need to pack. And I daydreamed about having it all in one place – swim, bike, run.
So on Friday night, I popped on over to a gym I’ve been eyeing that has it all – a pool, cycling classes, and more, and joined. My year is coming to a close at Planet Fitness and I didn’t want to renew, so now I have it all for 2014.
What I learned: the membership staff clearly isn’t used to someone joining who already works out 6 days a week and does triathlons.
“What are your fitness goals?” – Running half and full marathons and doing triathlons.
“When is your triathlon race?” – Um, there are a lot of them in my future plans.
“Have you considered personal training to get you to your goals?” – No, but I would spend the equivalent amount of money on a triathlon coach if I had it.
I did get the feeling that the guy was genuinely impressed with a mom of three working out so much and doing all these races. Go me.
So I had a good workout on the elliptical that evening, although it was brief after I finished all the signing up stuff. I watched some reality TV, which made the time pass quickly.
And the next morning I met my dad for an 8:15am cycling class, which my neighbor friend teaches. Did I mention my dad goes to this gym? Yep, that was what sold me.
On Sunday, I wanted to try the pool out, but I had promised my middle child some one-on-one time – a special prize for sleeping in his new big-boy-bed all week without mommy sitting with him for an hour. So we went ice skating.
[He made me wear the dorky headband. The things we do for our kids…]
There were a lot of tears, mostly by him, but he says he’ll go again. He’s been completely and utterly obsessed with hockey since before he could walk and talk, but is pretty scared on the ice skates. At home he’s a superstar hockey boy so we need to figure out how to get him to be more confident and less terrified.
And while it wasn’t a power-packed workout for me, it was fun. And we were together.
I’ve been MIA a couple of days since I had an incredibly busy weekend. For some reason I thought it would be great timing to have a dinner party the night before a half marathon. It was incredibly lovely to spend time with our dear friends, but another weekend probably would have made more sense. Did I mention I tend to over-commit?
Our cleaning person had canceled on Friday due to illness, so I spent Saturday cleaning the house, vacuuming, mopping floors, chopping and cooking, and barely got in my 2 mile keep-it-loose run. I was a little distracted during the evening dinner party since I was gathering my things for the race, pinning my bib to my shirt, and also needed to excuse myself to get to sleep early.
My alarm was set for 4:45am, but something woke me at 4:30am. Robbed of 15 minutes of sleep! But I was energized for the race so I got moving. My two bigger kids were sooo crazy excited to see me run that they got up and dressed at 5am. I was so excited to have them, my au pair, my friend from California, and my dad driving me down to the race start and watching me run!
I was dropped off near the start at about 6am and felt READY!
I was really happy with the amount of portapotties near the start – there were lines closer to the corrals but I used one right near where I was dropped off = no line. I didn’t need to check a bag but it seemed as though there weren’t any lines at that time and they were well marked.
In the race packets we received a colored wristband indicating which pace corral we were to start in. I thought the corrals were pretty well marked and they had indicated on the map in the packet exactly how the start would be laid out:
At about 6:30am, my pace corral looked pretty empty:
I turned around and behind the crosswalk, the next pace corral was already packed! This was literally taken 20 seconds after the pic above!
Maybe all the 9-9:59’ers were using the potty one last time. Speaking of which, I decided that I should go again so I headed back to the potty area. And whoa, when I came back my corral was PACKED. I squeeezed in and found a spot to wait for the start. I was in front of a bride and her bridesmaids, and next to a woman who was 9 weeks pregnant and had a feverish toddler at home. She was inspiring!
I loved seeing the Capitol in the background of the starting gate:
I couldn’t understand the loudspeakers with the pre-race warmup and other announcements, but we did have a moment of silence for the Boston Marathon bombing. I loved seeing this sign at the start:
Then, of course, the National Anthem. Since I couldn’t understand the announcements, I have no idea who was singing:
And we’re off! The race course was great – I love running through DC! As I was running the race, I really appreciated the sights and had these moments where I thought that it really is the most beautiful city to run around.
Apparently my kids were waiting near the entrance to the first tunnel holding their signs, but I didn’t see them (and they didn’t see me) since there were SO many people! Here come the leaders:
Mommy? Where are you?
So many women – they didn’t see me at this point:
The main thing I loved about this race was the on-course entertainment. We headed into this tunnel and there were drums beating. The energy was amazing! Shaky photo ahead:
I had two issues during the race.
1. Dodging people and avoiding crashing into people who suddenly started walking during the race. I was corralled with the 9:00-9:59 pace, but during the very first half mile, people started walking. Don’t get me wrong, I am supportive of the walk/run combo for anyone who wants or needs to do the race that way, but if you are walking in the first 5 minutes, please, please, PLEASE move off to the side.
2. Portapotties. While they were ample at the start of the race, they were NOT during the course. The sheer number of women running created lines like this at mile 4-5:
That was my first pit stop. I still don’t have a running watch and was trying to avoid messing with my phone during the race, so I’m not sure how many minutes I lost to this and the other portapottie stop, but it was AT LEAST 7-10! AT LEAST!!! I could not believe it as the minutes just ticked away and I stood there watching the crowd run by.
It also meant that after passing tons of people, I just had to pass all the same people again when I resumed running. After having 3 giant babies (they were GIANT, I tell you!), I can’t run for long before I have to stop. I just can’t. And I was NOT going to squat in the bushes in the middle of our Nation’s Capitol.
The good thing is, I felt great throughout the whole race. I felt strong, solid, and my pace was faster than my long runs in training. The course support was excellent and really energized me, and I loved reading all the spectators’ signs. Tons of entertainment that helped the miles tick by faster. And since there were tons of Team In Training people, there were many of the coaches along the course cheering them on – this gave me a huge boost too!
I loved having Nuun AND water at each stop – after the first aid station they were great about explaining where you could grab water vs. Nuun. I totally missed the Cliff Blocks since I didn’t need fluid at that time and didn’t realize they were handing out the blocks, but I had Gu and jellybeans on me so I was set.
There’s one really hard area to get through at DC races, I remember it well from the Marine Corps Marathon. Hains Point. It’s a pretty boring section of any race, but Nike really perked it up with fun signs along the way. I loved this one so I had to snap a pic:
One thing that I noticed along the way was that my Nike+ Android app was calling out the miles before the mile markers. I thought maybe it was because I had veered off to the bathroom and spent some time weaving, but others were chatting as we ran about the same thing. In fact, sometime on Hains Point my phone called out the mile at exactly the same second as another runner – a quarter mile before the mile marker. Maybe we had both taken the outside instead of the inside on turns, but it seemed odd. My app says I ran 13.51 total rather than 13.1.
As we got back into the downtown area, we knew we only had a 5K to go. And I knew my family was waiting near the Capitol. I was so excited to finally see my kids that I barely noticed this section of the race. My legs felt good, but I just started to have some pelvic or public bone pain that has sometimes flared up during the longer training runs (not sure what that’s about?!).
Finally, the kids! High fives all around.
Then it was Hello, US Capitol, I’m running around you!
After the Capitol, the pubic bone pain was starting to really get intense. I had this pain when I first started running after my last pregnancy, it felt like someone took a hammer to that area. Maybe kid #3 broke me. He was 11 pounds, after all.
I tried to ignore it and pick up the pace as I saw the finish line:
At last, the FINISH! I was seriously bummed at my time, the slowest of all my 5 half marathons, because I knew that I had lost tons of time at the bathrooms. But I felt really happy with my running – my pace per mile was decent. And I’m happy to say that I felt stronger than any of my training runs, and felt GREAT until the end of the race and the pubic bone pain.
I came in at 2:29:14 chip time. I know they said not to turn around after going through the finish, but I couldn’t resist:
After the finish, they handed each person a bottle of water:
Scanned our bib for the chip in it:
And then the part that seems to justify the $$$ race fee: A Tiffany Necklace. I had told all my friends and coworkers that I had bought a Tiffany necklace and just had to run 13 miles to pick it up.
They had men in tuxes handing them out (I heard they were firemen but I don’t know if that’s true):
Lots of helpful people handing out the heat sheet thingys:
But after this is when it got a bit crazy for me. Crowds, crowds, lines, lines. It was really congested and hard to get to the food tables. And later we got a bag to carry it all. Remember, we had been handed a bottle of water, a Tiffany “Blue Box”, a bagel, banana, Luna bar, fruit cup, and heat sheet. Then we got a pretty Tiffany bag. One genius lady near me had her own bag since she knew from previous races there’s a lot of stuff to carry. I thought “Aha – I’ll try that next time!”
The finish area seemed to have some neat things, but the lines were really long. I got my Finisher’s Shirt, but then didn’t wait in the lines to purchase anything else. I had already bought a shirt at Fleet Feet and was anxious to see my kids. Here’s the pretty shirt:
Paul Mitchell had haircuts for a $15 donation to charity:
And a Bare Minerals makeup station, but the line looked long and I wasn’t sure if it was free or if there was a fee. Plus, I was sweaty and gross and didn’t really need makeup put on me at that moment:
I really loved the Kaiser Permanente Stretching Lounge. They were leading people through post-race stretches, but again: Very Crowded.
I didn’t get a mat so I did some informal stretching in the corner, but they had little stress balls, smoothies, fruit flavored water, and a few other things they were handing out. Was someone actually riding this bike to power the blender?! Totally cool!
I checked my unofficial race results on computers they had in a Nike+ area, and headed out to meet my family.
I love the Finisher’s shirt and Tiffany necklace – both are things that I will actually use!
It was a fun race, lots of hype and excitement. I felt like I was on track for a decent (for me!) finishing time aside for the bathroom lines. My best half marathon time was my first one: pre-kids, it was 2:05. My other three were in the 2:12-2:20 range, so this was slower overall but I think my pace was similar to those timings, aside from my lengthy pit stops.
It better be warm enough to wear my new shirt on Sunday! Our local Fleet Feet Sports had a Nike Women’s Half Marathon party last week and I decided I needed a new shirt for the race. I love black shirts for running (yes, even in the summer) since they go with any bottom, and frankly I look better in black. Better concealment of the postpartum belly. Now I just need to figure out the best bottoms – will it be cool and I’ll want my running capris on? Or shorts? Or my favorite running skirt, which I love but it’s getting a bit too big (yay).
Tomorrow the Nike “Expotique” opens in Georgetown and I’m going to pick up my race packet. I’m going to try not to get too swept up into the craze and buy anything else. I have to remind myself of these things in order to keep my wallet shut:
1. It’s not my first half marathon (I think I’ve done 4 or 5? I’ll have to count someday!)
2. I’ve done two marathons and didn’t pony up money for race items – not even for the Marine Corps Marathon, and they had tons of merch!
3. I’m sure I’ll want a memento from the triathlon, and I have a feeling the sprint won’t be my last Tri.
4. If I bought stuff specific to every race I’d be broke.
The one thing I might buy tomorrow is the Nike+ GPS watch. I’m still torn between that and the Garmin 10 but I want one of them on my wrist for Sunday’s race. I do not want to be messing with my phone during the race, I’ve had bad luck with phone apps for my long runs recently.
Seriously, just stop. Yes, you. No more grilling, not even on gorgeous afternoons like today. Don’t you people know I’m trying to finish my long run on a practically empty stomach? And the smell of the charcoal and burgers grilling is making it hard to run the whole 8 miles?
i suppose an easy answer would be to either A) don’t go running at dinnertime, or B) eat before the run.
Well, as for A): I intended to go in the morning. But I didn’t get home from work until after 1am last night, after which point the night went something like this:
In bed at 1:45am.
Still wired from coffee I drank while working the event (since it looked like it might go on FOREVER and I wasn’t going to make it through the drive home in the middle of the night – I’m old with 3 kids), it took a while to fall asleep but it was around 2:15am.
The 1 year old woke at 3:15am.
Note: he almost never wakes at night (yes I know I’m lucky) but he had no pants on (WTF dear husband who put him to bed while I was at work?) and was a bit chilly. And his paci had fallen on the ground. So I took care of those things, gave him a fresh diaper, and tried to put him back down. No luck.
I thought I might die of need-to-sleep-itis, so I brought him into bed with us. This has not worked out well in the past, but I couldn’t stay on my feet any longer.
He proceeded to poke me in the eye, play with my hair, and dive-bomb into my body.
Finally woke my dead-asleep husband and made him get up with him.
Had trouble falling back to sleep.
Kids woke up after 6am sometime.
Yawn. I was in no shape to do the 8 miler in the morning, at least not until I had a cup or two of coffee in me. I spent the day cleaning and running after a toddler and basically exhausting myself further.
So now we come to B): I was finally ready to do the run in the afternoon. Finally. But my husband and older kids were at Costco, and I wasn’t attempting 8 miles with the toddler in the jogging stroller.
5pm rolls around and I’m ready to go. I was starving after all the hard work. So I shoved a few Fig Newtons into my mouth and filled up the water bottle, impulsively deciding to try the Nuun stuff I bought the other day, and hit the road.
Speaking of those Fig Newtons – not a wise choice for a pre-run binge. Those things sit like a rock in the stomach.
Speaking of that water bottle filled with Nuun – not a wise choice for someone who didn’t have access to a bathroom for 5 miles and has popped out three babies.
So as I’m running around the suburbs, it seemed that everyone was grilling tonight. My stomach empty and my bladder full, I finally made it home.
I feel pretty ready for the Nike Women’s Half Marathon next Sunday, even though my pace is going to be way slower than I put on my registration (why did I estimate 9:00-9:59 per mile for my first post-3rd-baby race?!). I made peace with my pace today and as long as I don’t need to many potty stops along the way, I hope I’ll come in by 2:20-2:25.
Note to self: don’t eat Fig Newtons before a workout ever again.
Side note: I really liked the Nuun even though it went right through me. That could have been sheer quantity though.
As a form of self-punishment for over-eating donut holes in the office kitchen this morning, I ran farther than my scheduled 4-5 miler (I’m a bit loose on my training schedule since my week has been crazy…).
I did 5.2 miles but I was slow. Really slow. Like so slow I’m worried I need to readjust my half marathon goal time.
My Nike+ app on my phone called out my average pace every half mile as planned, but I didn’t like what it had to say. I must have looked nuts shouting at my bicep – “NOOOOO I HATE YOU! YOU MUST BE WRONG!!!” I was in wooded paths for part of the run, so maybe it just didn’t pick up all my mileage. Yeah, I’ll go with that theory.
I parked at my parents’ house and ran from there, since I was in the mood for a change of scenery – they live in a cute neighborhood with great paths around little lakes. The sky was getting really ominous and I was worried I’d get poured on, but only a few drops hit my hat.
When I hit mile 3 I started to feel great and broke into what felt like a REALLY fast pace, totally pushing it with a nice, powerful stride.
At mile 3.5 Nike+ called out my stats: umm, that pace sucked too, although I could consider it less sucky than the rest of the run.
My goal for the Nike Women’s Half Marathon: I’d like to do the half at a pace of 10:00-10:30/mile, finishing within 2 hours & 15 minutes, which wouldn’t be my best half marathon by any means, but it would be respectable for my first post-partum race. I’m now confident there is no way that is happening. Mentally readjusting using online pace calculators now.
Even without speed work, I thought I’d resume my previous pacing of 10:00/mile on average without running with a group and doing track speedwork. I guess after 3 babies, being older, and with foot pain, my expectations are totally out of whack.
My next race is the triathlon so it will be a short run (3 miles). I have no clue how to estimate my pace for that because although it’s a short distance, I’ll have already had a swim and a bike segment!
12 miles done. Well, my Nike+ app says it was 11.57, but I think the GPS gets lost in the park a bit. If I’ve been wrong about the mileage of the park loops all these years, and therefore all my Marine Corps Marathon training was off, I think my head will explode.
So let’s just call it 12 since I have always trusted what I had clocked with my little distance calc on the jogging stroller, the computer on my bike, and the map of the park SAYING the mileage of the path.
I had a few good miles in there, really I did. But after mile 8.5 when I started to head out of the park towards home, all sorts of aches and pains started popping up. Pubic bone pain, knee pain, Morton’s Neuroma pain, foot pain, general stiffness. I think when the neuroma acts up I change my gait so it causes other issues. I stopped a few times to stretch but it didn’t seem to help much – only made it harder to get going again.
I had to really focus mentally – mind over body – and keep going with one foot in front of the other. I don’t think I’ll beat any pace records of mine from previous halves at the Nike Half, but I’d like to finish strong.
I returned to find the toddler was awake in his crib, but I couldn’t make it up the stairs to get him so I sent my husband up there. Here’s hoping I don’t look strange hobbling around the office tomorrow!
You Signed Up For What?! 