Duke City Marathon

You ready for the big 26.2 post?

Well, for this chilly October morning we welcomed our cute fall running apparel.

We dressed ourselves in Lululemon skirts & headbands and our Under Armour shirts.  Now this was a big deal!  We would just about never spend $50 on a running skirt but this was a special occasion and so we made it, well, SPECIAL. And it was totally worth it.  Don't you think?  Look at those hot chicks!  They do say that the pretty ones always "run" away... bwahahaha! You know that was funny.

It was a huge event that started in downtown Albuquerque, NM.

For the first few miles, we ran through the streets of the city.  With such a large group and all its excitement, we started pretty fast with an 8:30 pace or so.  Bad idea when you're going for 26.2 miles for the FIRST time.  LOL!

At about mile 3, we hit a running trail that took us straight north for another 10 miles to the turn around.

Here we are at mile 11ish: 

Lookin' good, feelin' good!

Trying to get my sweater off to hand it to my husband!

 The trail at that point had curved alongside a busy freeway that created several small hills and nice big crowds of people.  It was a little overwhelming.  But exciting still!  And then, a police officer stopped us at an intersection to let a car go through.  I was FURIOUS!  If you've done long distance running, and you're anything like me, stopping and starting again isn't so fun.  It's actually kind of hard.  I had a big ole' conniption. I NEEDED to get the hills over with because my knees also began to ache.  My sister let me run ahead.  It really helped to lengthen my stride and get that little bit of a stretch.  But at mile 17 I really began to miss my companion.  So I back tracked a short distance to run with her.  It was the best decision I could have made, too.  I'm not sure I would have gotten through the finish line without her. I needed her, mentally.  And when you're running for that long, your mental power is even more important than your physical strength.

Here we are at mile 18:

Getting tired :(

Oh yeah, did I mention that I peed in my pants again?  Wearing white too.  Yeah, you could see it.  Lol.  But whatever!

 

When we hit the streets of Downtown Duke City again, I got my first big feeling of discomfort.  Sure my body was tired but up until that point, I hadn't really felt "pain."  But, I've had a bad toe through the training and I was waiting for the nail to come off.  And at mile 24ish I though I had lost it, finally!  And it was killing me.  I began to limp/run until I could adjust my footing.  It was terribly uncomfortable especially because we were forced to weave ourselves through walkers of the 20k race that was also being hosted.  After the race I discovered that the nail was still there... the toe just had a HUGE blood blister on it.  Ouch!
Here were are just before crossing the finish line:

We earned out metals! Look at these running beauties... after 26.2 miles.  Are our husbands lucky or what?



It was an.... experience.

One that I totally recommend.
We finished in 4:22 (a 10:01 pace).  Totally pleased with that!

I feel strong.  Because I am strong; I am marathon strong.

I Am Marathon Strong

The picture above just about sums it all up!

But I'm not the type to make it that simple.  Through my training I kept a journal that documented just about everything.  The good, the bad, the ugly, and the GLORIOUS!

I followed Hal Higdon's intermediate guide for marathon training.  During the first week of training, my sister and I encountered quite a bit of rain.  Trudging through mud and puddles wasn't ideal but since there is opposition in all things, we also encountered beautiful...

RAINBOWS!



 

We saw real ones though! Haha.

In the first week, I also encountered KNEE PAIN.  It totally bummed me out because I thought that my body was telling me that I wasn't cut out for marathon training.  I died during my "long" run which at that time was only 8 miles.  How was I going to run 26.2 MILES??

Well, my sister gave me a knee support band and that helped tremendously.  Looking back now, my body was taking quite the beating.  I mean, I had JUST had a baby and I was pushing my body to suddenly run about 30 miles a week (after only running 10 miles a week while pregnant).  Silly me! 

By week #2, my knee pain subsided.  Thank goodness!

Besides rainbows I also saw a few other delightful things like.... A DEAD CHICKEN.  Yuck.  I had to run by this dead chicken for a few weeks.  I had to plug my nose as I ran by each day.  The thought crossed my mind to "clean" it up but I'm too much of a chicken myself (alive and well, thank you!).

To cross train, I enjoyed doing Jillian Michael's "No More Trouble Zone's" video.  Her "Six Week Six Pack" is a pretty great work out too.  I saw a change in my body and it was constantly a challenge.  If it began to get easy, I just increased the weights I was using.

I also did a yoga class a few times which I think helped cross train my mind.  It was uplifting and helped give me strength emotionally (which you actually NEED for marathon training... it takes a lot out of you).  I highly recommend yoga to anyone!  It can be a spiritual experience.

Unfortunately, yoga wasn't something I attended regularly because it was hard to find the time to fit everything in.  So, really, my sister was my biggest emotional support for training.  She knew exactly what I was going through and we spent a LOT of time together.  I mean we would run hours on end together.  It was a great way to spend my time.  Afterall, she is one of my very best friends!  We would have mornings where we bawled together and other mornings where we laughed hysterically together.  We would talk a lot and some morning runs were spent in utter silence.  But even in silence, we understood each other and we always made the other want to improve.  It was a beautiful experience.



My sister and I on a 12 mile training run that turned into a 10.88 mile run through rain and hail! We were crazy!

We did a few races throughout our training to work on pace and we set a lot of PR's.

Color Run 5k with the Hubs.  This one was all for FUN!

Cherry Garcia 5k: PR 26:37 (8:50 pace)

If you're wondering if we got ice cream, the answer is YES!  We got ice cream and pizza.



Rio Grande 1/2 Marathon: In 1:52 (8:54 pace)

 (I also did the Chips & Salsa 1/2 marathon and set a PR of 1:46 (8:10 pace). I don't have pictures from that race though.)

 During the training, I ate a lot of food. Unfortunately I would grab burgers or pizza quite often because of it's ease.  While training for Disney, I hope to better improve my eating habits.

I would have to say that Starbucks got us as regular Saturday customers because we would run there to get their blueberry oatmeal...OMG, yum!

We ran in the dark and through sunrise; We got caught in spider webs; We enjoyed sights of the mountains and fields of sunflowers; We saw our little town of Los Lunas at it's quietest during foggy mornings.  We laughed down the mountain in Red River as we acted out of pure silliness because of the lack of oxygen to our brains.  We did sleepovers to be sure we didn't miss any runs when my husband was out of town.  We were encouraged by running quotes like, "It's a hill, get over it."  And we even discovered our own mantra:

I Am Marathon Strong

And it's true.



A Nursing Marathon Mom

Welcome back!

Ready to read more about my crazy decision to run a marathon right after having a baby?

*Nod your head, "Yes."*

Haha!

Okay, so here it is...

When I signed up for the run, I knew I could do it.  What scared me more was if I was going to be able to nurse my new baby through the training.  That's right... I'm a breastfeeding mother.  I nursed my oldest child for 11 months and then she weaned herself.  It wasn't easy but I knew I wanted to experience breastfeeding with my second baby.  And I truly feel like if I can, I should. It saves money and it produces exactly what & how much my baby needs. It's truly a miraculous thing to experience!

Now, having a newborn and waking up multiple times a night for feedings and diaper changes is hard enough.  Kudos to ALL parents out there!

And training for a marathon is also hard enough.  Kudos to all those who have trained and completed a marathon.

Now, I'm not saying I'm superwoman or anything... but doing both of those things is HARD and left me feeling very hungry!!!  I could eat and eat and eat all.  DAY.  LONG. and still be hungy.

Anyways, to cut the story short-- I run my marathon in 2 days and I'm still nursing my girl.  And I never supplemented with formula (she's 6 months now and starting solids).

I nurse right before every run.  If I have to run through a feeding, I will (meaning that there can be some uncomfortable engorgement at times-- wear a supportive bra!).  I have some pumped milk in the freezer and my hubby will give her a bottle if she needs one while I'm out.  Then, I nurse immediately following my run.  I eat plenty of food and drink LOTS of water.  And so, my milk supply has been plenty enough for my little Chunky Monkey.

So my point is:  If you're wondering if you can run a marathon and breastfeed?  In my opinion, YES!

You'll be running on less sleep; You'll be very hungry; You'll be worried about your hungry baby (who most likely has been fed).  But YES! And you will feel empowered!

My Race History

I love, LOVE, LOVE doing races.

While I was losing weight I stuck to about 2 miles at a time at home.  In the same year that I began losing weight, my little family of 3 (at the time) moved to Florida.  That's when I began doing races.

 My first one was a Susan G. Komen race for the cure in Sarasota, FL.  It was a beautiful and BIG event.  It started my obsession.

 I did 5k's just for the fun at first.  Then I decided... "I can probably go faster."

So, I started training to beat my previous finishing times.  I got my pace from a 10-minute mile to about an 8 1/2-minute mile and signed up for a race.  I got on the course, my heart was pounding and I took off... FAST.  With a weak bladder from child bearing, and trying a high-caffeine energy drink (for the first time) before the race, this is what happened:

Sorry for the horrible quality of the photo-- It's the only one I have from this event though!

Notice that I am running OFF the course.  I was nearing the finish line and started wondering about the sweat dripping down my leg.  I felt behind my bottom to find that it wasn't sweat...I was PEEING.  As soon as I realized what I was doing and I saw my husband, I ran off the course and straight to the car.  Talk about embarrassing, right?

I didn't give up though.  I decided that if I "couldn't" go fast, I would go long.  So I trained and completed my first 1/2 marathon and it was amazing.  I'm so proud to say that I'm an Iron Girl!

 

 



Athleta Iron Girl 1/2 Marathon, Clearwater, Fl (4/2012)

I went on and did another 1/2 marathon three months later with my sister in Taos, NM.  It was quite the accomplishment because the elevation of the town there is almost 7,000 feet. 

Taos 1/2 Marathon, June 2012

Then, in August of 2012 I found out that I was expecting my second baby.  I continued running during my pregnancy.  But had to reduce my distance and speed quite a bit, especially after being put on pelvic rest for 6 weeks.  Even so  and with the doctors permission, I did a few 5k's.



About 5 weeks pregnant, Dirty Dash 5k



About 10 weeks pregnant, Great Pumpkin Chase 5k



Morning of the Cupid Chase, side view



30 weeks pregnant, Cupid Chase 5k

 I had a great pregnancy with little sickness and more energy than I could have imagined.  I still gained 50lbs but it came off within the first 3 months of having my sweet, sweet girl.

April 10, 2013

The night before I went into labor I signed up for a race that would kick my butt into gear.  The Disney World Marathon!  The race is in January 2014 and I am psyched.  Here's the funny thing though:  The first run I did around 6 weeks postpartum was an awesome 5 mile run.  Right then, I knew what I had to do and after discussing it with my sister (and much needed running partner), we signed up for the Duke City Marathon in Albuquerque, NM on October 20th, 2012.

I started training 3 months postpartum.

Stay tuned for more on this subject ;-)