2. Today Nate and I ran in our first organized race together since April of 2009, when we did the STL half marathon. Coincidentally, this just so happened to be my first race since that time and the first one as a mommy runner. I wasn't exactly nervous about finishing this 5K since I'm running 3-4.5 miles at a time nowadays but I did want to push myself to run a little faster than my new norm. You see, pre-Truman I would run a 9 minute mile or so and was training to run a full marathon sub-4 hours (still my goal for 'someday') which to me is like the holy grail. But since my return to running at 6 weeks post birth, I've held a nice and slow but comfortable pace of about a 10 minute mile. No need to kill myself out there, I just enjoy a leisurely jog every now and then and have been gradually trying to increase my speed a hair. So going into this 5K I really only wanted to break 30 minutes and I would've been happy.
Then there's my crazy husband who didn't take a huge running hiatus like I did, nor did he push a living being out of his private parts, so he's pretty much in great shape unlike moi. I informed him that I did not want to do anything stupid during this race, like try to run 8 minute miles or something, and I hoped we could run together. He didn't really answer my underlying question of 'Are you going to be sprinting for this whole race, thus ticking me off because I'll totally want to keep up with you?'
So when the horn sounded at the starting line and I saw Nate literally take off like a bat out of hell, I should have known I was in for it. Oh, and it was approximately 85 degrees at 3pm during this race which is not my favorite temperature to exert myself in these days. I felt like we were sprinting from the start and glanced at the Garmin to see our pace was a freaking 8 minute mile for the first mile. NOT COOL. I slowed us down just a bit after that and then by 2 miles I just told Nate to go on ahead of me. He did, which sort of ticked me off, but I was also secretly happy that I could slow down and remember how to breathe---but my pace was still under a 9 minute mile and thus my legs were pretty unhappy with me.
As per my Garmin I finished in 26:46 which is a 8:41 minute/mile pace and probably just as fast as I would have done pre-Truman. I really did feel like vomiting afterward but within a few minutes I was happy again. I was even happier when we got to have an ice cold brew and fabulous food at a local restaurant with friends after that.
Oh, and I've been meaning to post about my new running shoes that I am completely obsessed with but obviously, posting about running hasn't been my top priority (and now it's all spilling out like old times!). Nate has a new-found love for forefoot running and I totally mocked him for it in the beginning. It just sounded like a lot of effort to re-learn the mechanics of running and I didn't want to deal with it. He got Newtons and was in love and I resisted until recently. I realized that in the time that my husband had purchased FOUR pair of running shoes I myself had the exact same ones from a year and a half ago. That is so not okay and it was time I splurged on myself. I ended up buying Newtons and so far I really do like them a lot although the company is right when they say it takes a few weeks to really get used to the new format of shoe stability. I was trying the forefoot running in my old shoes for awhile but it's a lot easier when the shoe is built to assist that pattern, plus I like the bold colors (go figure!). So anyway, here are my new shoes. The funniest part of this pic is the giant blob of baby puke next to my foot that I didn't notice until I uploaded this pic. Whoops!
Although hard core runners are not supposed to care about colors and outfits and whatnot, don't they look nice with my neon yellow top? And why are my boobs so freaking big all the time, even in a sports bra. It's difficult to dress this new body, I swear.
I'm not totally committing to this yet, but I've been seriously considering signing up for a half marathon this fall. I have absolutely no clue when I'll find the time to train for it as a working mom but maybe just running on my Wednesdays off and both weekend days could possibly be enough. I just hate to commit to something that I can't give 100% toward so I'm dragging my feet but we'll see. Being a running mom is certainly a lot more challenging than I thought. Oh the luxury of running for hours each day without a though to engorged boobs, a crying baby, and sleep deprivation. I'll figure it out soon enough.
3. Tomorrow is Nate's first Fathers Day and Truman made him his first craft at daycare! I found this card in his bag when I picked him up and almost cried right then and there. Nate loved it and promptly hung the card on the fridge (he never does things like that without me cueing him to do so) and then snuggled with T a little bit more than normal that evening. It's seriously adorable. The poem on the front is about being a dad to a baby and how you should hold onto this feeling for life. The inside picture totally cracks me up and I love that T signed it for Nate, too. I think that pic might be from his first day at daycare and I just adore his confused expression. What a talented crafter, right?
I will definitely call my own dad tomorrow and I think we are making a big dinner for Nate and Tony tomorrow, too. But I should mention that I feel incredibly blessed to see Nate be the amazing dad that I knew he'd be to our son. My own dad isn't too shabby either and I count him as another important blessing in my life.
So that's that...a little bit of randomness and a lot of running talk--oh how I missed it!
