Full Circle

Oh hi. Is this thing on? Yikes, I didn’t mean for over an entire year to go by without writing a post, but I guess that’s what happened. Every few months I consider shutting down the blog or moving it to a private account, but in the end, I always end up forking over the hosting fees $$. It’s been nearly a decade (!!) since I’ve started blogging and occasionally, I find I still have something to say, if only for myself. You might notice that I made posts prior to 2012 private – there are a lot of reasons for that, but mostly the writing (and photography) was just bad. I may go back and edit posts at some point and re-publish, but with work, parenting a busy toddler, and just life, I don’t really know when/if that will happen.

So! If you’re reading – thanks for stopping by! Teddy is nearly 2 years old (!!) and getting to be such a big boy. He goes to nursery school three days a week and I work part-time for a variety of clients (mostly local non-profits and publications). We’re in a pretty good routine with life right now (although LOL that will all change in August…).

The 2017 New York City Marathon: A Recap

I intended for this post to be about my first post post-partum marathon, but a few weeks after I finished the race, I found out I was pregnant again (!). So I guess this recap is half post-partum update, half pregnant running update? Full circle, y’all.

A few months ago, I ran my first post-partum marathon. And it was so much fun! I won’t recap the training because I documented it pretty thoroughly on Instagram and my Strava account, so check those out for training details, tune-up races, etc.

But that marathon itself was magical. I ended up running 3:28:30, with a 2 second negative split. And man, that negative split is something I am really proud of. If you’re familiar with the NYC marathon course, you know that it’s not easy and those bridges and inclines in the second half can be a killer. It wasn’t my slowest marathon or my fastest marathon, but it’s just about where I expected and hoped to be. I really wanted to qualify for Boston and was thrilled to sneak in under 3:30. Were there things I could have done better/differently? Of course. I was often sleep-deprived during training, perhaps my marathon training pace was too conservative, etc etc. And obviously traveling to an out of town race with a 16-month-old is maybe…not ideal, but all in all, I am extremely proud of the hard work I put in over the summer and fall and the effort I put forth on marathon day.

And guys, I just had so much fun. Sure, I could have tried to gun for a PR, but for this race, my first marathon after having a kid, I wanted to treat it as a victory lap. A reward for all the early mornings, the exhausting long runs, and the sacrifices my family made for me. I wanted to smile through all five boroughs, look for friends in the crowd, and enjoy the experience. I mean, I’m not saying I jogged it. I had a pace goal and I took it seriously, but if some miles were slower than expected, I didn’t beat myself up. I just smiled wider. I still have hope that there are PRs in me yet, maybe when I’m done having children. But there are so many variables and ifs that it’s hard to know for sure.

Anyway! In early November, I just had the very best weekend.

We visited the expo.

Stayed in the cutest Brooklyn Airbnb.

Visited our old apartment. <3

Teddy had his first New York bagel.

We took long city walks and saw lots of friends.

The very best cheer squad made matching sweatshirts and lined the streets.

And then I ran 26.2 miles through the best city in the world.

And of course, babies don’t care if your legs are about to give out. They just want their Mama. After a morning apart, Teddy decided he NEEDED to be carried in the ergo on the subway ride back to Brooklyn. Thankfully I got a seat.

I’m qualified for Boston in April 2019, but as of right now I don’t know if doubt I’ll do it. I love that race, but I’ve also done it four times and now with a family, an out-of-town race is logistically challenging. There’s also the fact that I will be 8-ish months postpartum, so I’m not even sure if I’ll want to or even be able to train. So many unknowns! Just going to take things one day at a time.

Running with Baby #2

I debated writing about this at all. I mean does anyone care besides me? (Don’t worry, that’s a rhetorical question). But then I thought about how much I enjoyed going back and reading the posts from when I was pregnant with T, so I would like at least something to document the new guy or gal (I have a really strong feeling that I’m carrying another little boy, but we’ll find out for sure in April). Haha, update since I wrote this draft! We’re having a little girl (or at least that’s what the ultrasound tech said at the anatomy scan!).

The Beginning

Getting pregnant the first time took quite awhile, around 9-10 months. And we needed a little extra help from some fertility medication. This time around…was a surprise! Hah. Definitely a hoped for and wanted and wished for surprise, a bit unexpected! We definitely wanted two children close in age, but given how long things took the first time, I figured it would take at least 6 months. Plus I had just run a marathon (running lots of mileage + intensity) AND I was still breastfeeding, so I assumed that would delay things a bit. But nope! A few weeks after the marathon, baby #2 was on the way.

How Things are Different

I was (am?) in much better running shape this time around. We tried for most of 2015 to get pregnant (and got really serious about in from April-October), so I wasn’t running much. I didn’t see the point in training for a big race if I knew I might get pregnant soon. This time around, I had just run a solid marathon, I had raced my fastest half-marathon in years, and thanks to a combo of nursing and higher mileage, I was down to my college racing weight. Which, to be clear, is only a few pounds less than usual. But still, I felt lean and in great shape. I had also been doing a bunch of core and glute strengthening exercises, so I felt strong.

Last time, I was fortunate enough to run up until the day before I went into labor. My last run was on a Monday (at 38 weeks exactly) and I was admitted to the hospital for induction the next day. And I ran quite a bit – logging solid 20 mile weeks up until the end of the 2nd trimester. But I never did speed work and I never ran over 7 miles, mostly because I hadn’t been doing those things before I got pregnant.

This time around, I’ve been a little more aggressive. Mileage is still only around 20-25 miles per week, but I’ve done a few 10-mile runs and I try to do some faster stuff once a week. I’m probably done with the double digit runs for now, but I managed to log a 9-mile run last Sunday at 24 weeks and felt really good! I was a little bored (my pace has slowed considerably), but nothing hurt and I’m so thankful not to have round ligament pain this time around. I have no idea how long I’ll be able to run this pregnancy, so I’m just trying to enjoy it day by day.

Also lol I thought I was tired before. Parenting a toddler during cold & flu season while also battling early pregnancy fatigue and nausea was…challenging. But I’m now in the second trimester and appreciating this honeymoon period. Although I know it’s only a matter of time before I start having more general discomfort – around 29/30 weeks with Teddy, I started to feel VERY pregnant.

How Things are the Same

Like my first pregnancy, I don’t have any big running plans. No long races or PR attempts. Occasionally I’ll push myself a bit, but for me, now’s the time to slow things down and try to enjoy easy runs. Running makes me happy, it makes me feel like myself, so while serious training will have to wait, I hope to keep at it for as long as I can.

Other ways running has felt similar to my first pregnancy….the constant need to pee (especially when running!), tiredness, mild back pain. It’s not always fun and I’ve already taken a few walk breaks here and there, but I usually feel better when I’m done.

Looking Forward

I have no idea if tomorrow will be my last run or if I’ll be able to log miles until delivery day, so I’m not really setting any big goals or putting pressure on myself. Unfortunately (fortunately?) I know it’s only going to get harder, especially in the third trimester (which will occur over the summer, eek), so if I need to switch to walking that’s cool. I’ll keep ya posted!

Our baby #2 reveal from our trip to Barcelona 🙂 An international trip with a toddler is a WHOLE other post. TBD if I ever write it, but ya never know, so stay tuned.

Thanks for reading! It’s been so fun recording nearly TEN YEARS of my life on this blog. Maybe I should do a 10th anniversary post in August??