Today I’ll be finishing a recovery week with a 10 mile run this afternoon. I have been steadily running over 20 miles a week, and last week I ran a total of 25 miles, with a 13 mile run on Sunday. All the mileage is starting to add up now, and 7 mile runs are starting to feel like 3 mile runs, and 10 mile runs are starting feel as easy as 5 mile runs felt a month ago. Coming up this week, 4 mile, 7 mile, and 3 mile runs, followed by a 15 miler next Sunday. On Tuesday my Lucia will be 4 months old. And on Tuesday I will have exactly 2 more months until the Disney marathon.
I really can’t believe how fast this year has gone. A year ago this weekend we announced to our immediate family that we were expecting. The holidays came and went, I started a new job, and sure enough Lucia was here before we knew it. I thought that life would slow down a little once she was born, but I was wrong. These last four months have flown by. Lucia is getting so big and so strong, and although life has changed significantly in the last year, my husband and I couldn’t be happier.
By now, most everyone I know has figured out that I’m running this marathon, if I hadn’t told them already. But now that everyone knows, there’s no shortage of people offering their opinions about my running, my ability to run, or whether or not they think I should be running at all. For the most part my family is supportive, but I can tell you that even my father questioned whether or not I was getting “back in the game” too quickly. Last week one of my co-workers watched me try to covertly adjust my slightly tight pre-pregnancy khaki’s and then turned to me and said, “So when is this marathon you say your training for?” When I told him it was in January he quipped, “Setting some lofty goals for yourself, huh?” I just smiled, told him that I felt pretty good about my chances, and shrugged it off. I’m pretty sure he was questioning the shape that I was in, and it got me feeling a little self-conscious about the fact that although my pre-pregnancy khakis zipped and buttoned up just fine, I guess they didn’t look as good on me as they used to. But seriously, what woman looks good in khakis anyway? I only wear them because I have to. Sometimes I don’t think men realize how sensitive new Moms can be about their bodies, but I do have to thank him in part for entering a new level in my training this past week.
As I said my mileage is steadily increasing and up until last week my focus has been to just finish my runs. I always try to set a time goal, and come as close to a 10 minute mile as possible, but in the end I just want to finish the run. Well, that has now changed! I upped my game a little for my last five runs, running at a 9:30/mile pace. When I finished my 13 miler last Sunday, I ran it faster than I had run my 12 miler the week before. I am sore, I am very tired, and at the same time I feel wonderful. I can finally say that I am back to my pre-pregnancy weight, can fit into most of my clothes, and I am happy.
