Help for Hope House 5k

This week, amidst some on-again, off-again knee aches, I decided to just by golly make myself a training plan for proposed marathon #6. As I mentioned in my last post, I'm just going to take it day by day and run by run. No pressure! After being intrigued by the Hanson Brothers training method, plus a bit of googling, I came up with a plan. The reason I was intrigued is because I heard that they don't go past 16 miles (the theory being to run that 16 on 'tired legs' to similate the last half of the marathon, more or less). With our packed spring schedule, shorter longruns would be much appreciated. Another issue is very busy weekends, one of which will be sans-Chasen who will soon be in China. So Chasen suggested that I do longruns on Fridays while Isaac is at Mother's Day Out (for five hours, anyway). That was a GREAT idea! Another thing is that a 20-miler, for example, requires some "course support," both moral and physical. Sixteen, on the other hand, well... I think I can get by.

I modified the Hanson "Beginner" marathon plan (because, let's face it... I just can't do 50+ mile weeks, which the "Advanced" schedule mandates) to fit my life a bit. First, I reduced it from six days per week to five. Second, as I mentioned, I moved the longruns to Fridays. As time goes on I may interject a rest day mid-week instead of two days in a row. We shall see. I am calling it my "Hanson Inspired Plan For A Busy Mom."

So Friday I dropped Isaac off and headed out for a 12 mile run. It ended up being 11 due to my chosen course, but oh well. It went OK - much, much better than the 10 I did five days prior. An ice bath was necessary, both because I want to be as safe as possible (musn't wear doen this old body!) AND because that night I was slated to help a friend run her first 5k. Yep! As I was finishing up my longrun I kept thinking "Oh, tonight is going to be UGLY." But thanks to the magic of the ice bath, I was bright eyed and bushy tailed. Tracie is a friend from church. She works out quite a bit and runs a bit as well. I kind of thought she had a love/hate relationship with running, but SHE initiated the 5k talk. So we planned it and did it!

Here we are before the race. Isaac was also there, as you can see. He stayed with Chasen.

We ran the Help for Hope House 5k in Memphis. Specifically, we ran in Harbor Town, a very nice area of downtown near Mud Island. Tracie's husband, Jerry, navigated the course with Chasen and Isaac to take lots of photos of us.

Here, Jerry leans down as Tracie and I (red, yellow and maroon) run towards the famous "Pyramid."

Tracie did sooooo well! She had me moving! We never walked except at a water stop.

Of course, she said that I kept her moving. What a team we were!

Here we come! I asked Jerry why he wasn't ringing his cowbell right then.

We ran the first mile sub-12 and the next two miles sub-11. Whoa baby! According to my Garmin, we finished in 35:29. I think that is pretty incredible for me considering my legs already had 11 miles on them.

Here are the happy finishers. All smiles and ready for some grub!

The absolute best part of the 5k was what Tracie said about it when we finished. Given that she had a love/hate relationship with running, I figured that her opinion would be "OK, I've done it. That's it." But nooooo. She said "That was fun. Let's do another one." Wowee! Music to my ears! And now we have a connection, other than just being friends from church. Cool beans!

Happy training, everyone.

Easing Into It

This past week was spring break where we live, which meant no Mother's Day Out for Isaac. Back during the holiday season, I was worried about not having MDO with regards to both marathon training and simply just "getting a break" for 5 hours at a time. This past week proved to be different. We were just fine! We scheduled trips to the playground with friends and even visited a local family farm / petting zoo. Here are some pics:

Farmboy Chasen gave us a lesson on ALL of the equipment there.

Isaac got to play in corn. That's a first!

He got to "milk" a wooden cow. Also a first!

With Chasen's cautious help, Isaac got to sit on a pony.

Isaac just LOVES sitting on tractors! Which works well for me, because I love taking pictures...

HAY Mommy and Daddy! Are we having fun or what?

Spring break was my week to ease back into running, given that I would like to attempt marathon #6 a mere six weeks from now. Am I nuts? Maybe. Time will tell.

Isaac and I did three runs this week. The first was excellent! It was cold (a bit too cold, really) and completed rapidly in our old neighborhood. The next two were s-l-o-w in our new, hilly neighborhood. Ick.

I am excited for spring break to be over so that I can run alone, i.e. wherever I want. Being that this past week was some short-term base training, it all worked out for me to have no choice but to have Isaac with me during each run. He, in combination with the hills, probably kept me from trying to do too much too soon.

The week ended with a 10 mile longrun this morning. I thought "No problem - it's just ten miles." WRONG! It was tough. It was laborious. But I got it done. It really made me think hard about deciding to "go it again" so soon. At this point I am taking this philosophy: one day at a time, one run at a time. We'll see what happens.

Be safe out there!

Being A Stroller Mom

Today Isaac and I did some stroller multi-tasking. Before I even began, though, I began to think about how important my stroller is to me. Really, it started in the beginning.

Here I am with three day old Isaac (looking huge, still) introducing him to the neighborhood.

Within the first few weeks of his life, we were walking the neighborhood nearly daily.

Here he is about 4-5 months old after a very, very hot run. The poor guy conked out.

Preparing for my first post-baby marathon (which I did when he was 9 months, 27 days old).

I remember being at my baby shower and people giving me very warm clothes for Isaac. Their rationale was that they just KNEW he'd be out in the stroller all the time. Ha! His stroller is probably the most used "baby item" I own (well, just after his diaper bag... which has now been replaced with a cool backpack).

We trained together the most, however, for the 2010 Chicago Marathon. I did many, many of my Galloway-style runs with him. He is such a good stroller rider! The max he has ever been with me is probably 4 miles, I'd say. I don't want to ruin a good thing!

20 month old Isaac after our final Chicago training run (plus The Cat in the Hat).

I didn't do very much training for the Cowtown Marathon with Isaac, as I trained during the colder months. I tried to utilize the time that he was away at Mother's Day Out to hit the roads. As for the other mid-week run, I'd reserve that one for the treadmill while he was napping. So from about November to March, the stroller sat dormant. Chasen even asked if we could get rid of it. Um... NOOOOOOOO!

So that brings me to now. Today I am in base training for marathon #6. Isaac and I headed to our old neighborhood (because it is large, fairly flat and has very little traffic). We ran three very stroller-fast miles (I may be sore tomorrow...) and then tended to a friend's dog. We even strolled across the road to Target to buy diapers and wipes! Planning that tri-purpose trip is what made me realize just how integral the stroller is to my life.

Non-runners ask me all the time "How do you find time to run with a 2-year-old?" My answer: the stroller and good planning/sacrifice. When runners ask me the same question, the answer is pretty much the same. Somehow people have a hard time understanding that I am just NOT willing to give up something I love to do just because I have a child.

Where there's a will, there's a way... so long as there's a stroller and decent weather!

Recovery/Daffodil Dash

Seriously, who has time for the marathon blues? Not running does not mean that my life ever gets any more free time. There is always something to do!

My level headed boy always keeps me in check. Tee hee hee!

The first week post-Cowtown I did one run of two miles. I did it at the park right before a big playdate with Isaac's friends. Then I took the weekend off (trust me - a true luxury as opposed to banging out a long run week after week) and did a walk with Isaac on Monday. On Friday while doing Chasen a favor (getting his oil changed as he took a mancation to Las Vegas) we walked another 2 miles near the oil change place.

Knowing Chasen would be gone over the weekend (a really tough time to be a 'single mom') I signed up for a local race. I don't usually like to do 5k's, etc. but we needed a distraction from cabin fever. And Isaac and I had not done a race together since he was 3 1/2 months old. So we headed into Memphis for the Daffodil Dash 3 Miler at the Memphis Botanic Garden. We arrived a bit too early, so we toured the garden via stroller for a while until I let Isaac go and play in the amazing kiddie area.

Here is my boy looking a bit bored pre-race.

We lined up at the back of the pack with the other strollers.

Look at the cute older couple! I want to be like them one day!

Isaac is a very, very good stroller rider. So we just cruised along for the 3-mile race like nobody's business. The course had some gentle inclines, but nothing to write home about. We even overtook several people (who probably did NOT like getting passed by a stroller, I'd bet).

We came in at 36 minutes and change. That is definitely a stroller PR for me!

Here we are just past the anti-climactic finish line. Isaac just wouldn't smile!

The race had a nice food area PLUS a live band. We would have enjoyed both longer but someone needed a diaper change ASAP. Guess who?

Now I am thinking about the spring. I know I have squawked for ages about wanting to do a sprint triathlon, but at this point in time I am just not "feeling it," as they say. So I have decided to piggyback Cowtown with another marathon seven weeks from now (nine weeks post-Cowtown). More details to come! I just figure I ought to focus on biking and swimming (maybe, maybe not...) when it's disgustingly hot this summer and spend this beautiful springtime enjoying the roads. Sounds smart, right?

Isaac's springtime photo from Mother's Day Out. He is getting so big!

Chasen will be traveling to China again in the coming weeks, so I have to get all of my ducks in a row for the next few months. Lord help me!

I. Can. Do. This.