Marathon Mom

 Finally a picture of me running!  Last weekend I ran a race despite being sick for the two days prior. I had gone into it hoping to PR and possibly place higher then last year. All this changed when I started coming down with a respiratory virus. The same thing happened last Spring around Boston time and a coworker suggested Super Lysine, I was willing to try anything. So once again I took massive doses for two days and was actually feeling better by Sunday morning.  The race wasn't great, but it wasn't awful. I just didn't do as well as I'd hoped and don't have much to say about it. I wasn't going to write a race report, but figured I always like to compare and look back so here it is short and sweet. I started out great with a sub 7 pace for a few miles but quickly slowed as my breathing got tougher. By Mile 7 I knew I couldn't push much any more so I just ran comfortable and still had hopes of passing the group of three women in front of me. This...

Today I was told by three people that I didn't look like I had a baby. It's been nearly 20 months, what should I look like? I almost asked if they wanted to see my ab muscle separation that is still there, then would I look like a woman who had given birth. Maybe that is my only outward sign, well except the 20lb ball of energy running crazy around me! What does someone who has given birth look like? Are women expected to retain all the weight gained during pregnancy and have a belly for the rest of their life after giving birth? Trying hard to stay off my soap box here, but I think this is part of the issue with our society. Women/mothers are given the given the okay to give up on healthy habits once they have a child. I don't know how many times I have heard "I was small until I had a baby" and said baby is no longer a baby. Some days it is difficult to fit in a workout or eat healthy when dealing with the chaos of parenthood (grad school...

When I'm stressed I run, cook and eat. All of which happened this weekend in anticipation of the busiest semester of grad school yet that starts Tuesday. The next semesters will be packed with hundreds of clinical hours, completing and preparing a doctorate project for publication and preparing to take another board exam. All of this along with working and being a mom/wife and hopefully keeping my sanity. Once again my work schedule is getting in the way of running so I had to start my taper a week early and decided since I had 4 weeks instead of 3 I'd go for 22 miles on Saturday. This combined with overripe bananas, a refrigerator full of squash and Ophelia asking for "noodles" for dinner resulted in an afternoon of cooking. Banana Blueberry Bread (Sugar Free/Dairy Free) Adapted from this recipe at Fat Free Vegan 3 large over-ripe bananas 1 cup pitted dates (about 8) 2 tablespoons lemon juice 1/3 cup apple sauce 1/2 cup agave nectar 1 3/4 cups whole whe...

After running this race 2 year sin a row I think I can say this is my favorite course, maybe it has something to do with both years being good races for me, who knows but I guess it means I keep running it. After a Summer of heat and humidity I was thrilled to be racing in perfect weather: 60F at the start, a little overcast and just a slight breeze. The race starts at the same spot as the 4th of July half but follows a much different course, one with smaller hills and much more shade. I decided this would be the day I raced smart and lined up by the 1:35 pacer telling myself I wouldn't go out too fast. I also decided to take a different fueling strategy and carry 1 gel (Honey Stingers my new favorite) and take a small amount every water stop, I didn't realize there were water stops every mile though. A little overkill so I skipped the first and last but kept with the plan at the rest. By Mile 2 I was ahead of the 1:35 pacer and decided to stick with it just running what fe...

After dealing with almost 2 years of fatigue, abdominal pain, GI symptoms and multiple other issues I have answers! It seems so ironic and irritating that mainstream medicine missed the simplicity of this and insisted on doing expensive and invasive tests (which my insurance gladly paid for). After seeing many specialists I was told by my primary provider that I wasn't getting any further without out a colonoscopy I decided to leave my biased opinion of mainstream medicine behind and see a naturopathic doctor (which my insurance refuses to pay for). The first visit lasted almost 2 hours where we discussed every issue I've had and possible testing options, the associated costs and next steps. This is one area mainstream medicine is lacking, The focus turned to me as a whole person and not just my GI system and I was given control over my care. The next visit I had answers! And they seemed so obvious. I've always had some sort ...

Front of the pack I don't normally run 5Ks but decided that this year I'd run a few to see what I could do. When I saw this race it was perfect, a 5K, a toddler run, and kids activities during the race. This was a small race with just over 100 finishers in the timed 5K and probably another 100 or so in the untimed stroller 5K. As we were lining up the lead cyclist came up and asked me how fast I would be running so she knew what pace she'd have to keep, what? I'm never the lead in these things! A few minutes later the RD approached Matt and I to tell us that the course was marked and to just follow the "girl on the bike". Once again, what?! We started out running together with a few other men, I was trying to keep a 6:45 pace and was doing fine until the hills came. I had no idea what this course was and I quickly learned that the only flat part was the first 1/2 mile, ugh! The next 2 1/2 miles continued to be hill after hill. I continued to push as best I...

My little girl is growing up, I think this last month was packed full of new accomplishments and changes. Her language is growing daily, between verbal and signs she can pretty easily communicate what she wants. Over the past few weeks she started saying some unusual words: turtle, towel, bubble along with some more common words: ball, hat, banana. She also started gymnastics last month and loves it, the perfect place for my monkey to safely climb and jump. We will be continuing this in the Fall, what a great way to tire out the girl with endless energy! I think I'm going to have a girl with two personalities: the tomboy and the girly girl who loves to dress up. She loves getting dirty and playing outside with the neighbor boys but will always pick a dress out to wear! She loves kicking the ball (I hope she doesn't want to play soccer!) and playing in the sand. We had her 18 month appointment on Friday and still tall and thin: 20lb 1oz (5th percentile) and 32.5" (75th p...