Wahoo! After months of blog silence, I‘m back with a race recap!
My friend Jane & I ran the Leona Valley Trail Race 10k a few weeks ago. We both gave birth this past spring, and this was the first post-baby race for both of us. We made a point to tell all the aid station volunteers this info, so we’d get extra cheers and encouragement…yes, we are shameless!
We’d originally planned to do the half marathon distance, but the summer’s heat and the demands of family and work meant that we felt undertrained come race time, and we decided to drop down to the 10k instead. [I ran the half marathon course last year (while 12 weeks pregnant!) and you can see that recap here.] This turned out to be a great decision—I’m honestly not sure if I would have been able to handle a half marathon on that particular day.
Yes, I was the dork wearing a hydration vest at a 10k and no, it totally wasn’t necessary…but I was carrying snacks and cameras and phones for 2, and I prefer a half-full hydration vest to a stuffed waist pack.
I’ll be the first to admit my training was really sporadic going into the race. I’d run up to 6 miles, but my usual runs were 3-4 miles in length, often with a running stroller that slowed me down, and I only did that a few times a week. I figured the 10k was going to be fine because I could push through some discomfort, plus I knew Jane was cool with taking it slow and walking when necessary—we mostly just wanted to have fun and enjoy ourselves out on the beautiful trails.
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Hey, it’s been awhile since my last race recap! I’ve still been working out consistently but have really cut down on my weekly mileage in favor of another ultra-endurance project:
Miniature running enthusiast expected next month!
I’ve felt terrific for most of the pregnancy and I feel really lucky that I’ve been able to keep up my exercise routine. Obviously things have changed—I run very slowly, take frequent walk breaks, and take more rest days than I used to. But in general, I’m still able to get out and break a sweat about 5 days a week, and I have loved staying active during all of these changes. It’s helped me feel like my old self, even while inhabiting a strange new body. And of course I hope that my love of running is rubbing off on my passenger too.
I’ve been itching to race again in some form before the baby comes, and on the spur of the moment I decided to run the Chino Dairy Aire 5k last Saturday. This is actually my third race while pregnant—I did the Leona Valley Half Marathon at 12 weeks, the Griffith Park Half Marathon at 18 weeks (and still haven’t managed to post that recap) and now the Diary Aire 5k at 33 weeks. Obviously this was my waddling-est race yet, but it was also a whole lot of fun. How can you not love a cow-themed event?
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Last weekend I returned to Leona Valley to run one of the Leona Valley trail races. This was the same setting where I ran the Leona Divide 50 Miler earlier this year, and that race—and the scenery—was such a pleasure I decided to go back for more. There were a number of different distances, but since I’ve been taking it easy in the training department, I decided to do the half marathon instead of the full enchilada. Result: a quick, fun little race that let me spend some good time on the trails without leaving me too sore, tired, or wiped out the rest of the weekend. Win!
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Hello hello! The end of spring racing seems to have brought about the (temporary) end of blogging. I’d like to say I’ve been too busy running to blog, but the truth is that I’m a seasonal runner, and summer is my lull time. I know there are people who just love to train year-round, but I like having a break from hard training, for both physical and mental reasons. So what HAVE I been doing?
Well, for one, I’ve still been running—just less. I’m averaging 20-30 miles a week, mostly less than 6 miles at a time. It lets me keep up my base fitness while giving me more time to do other things. I’ve been trying to strength train three times a week, which is hard for me because I just don’t enjoy it. (Whoever invented Bulgarian Split Squats should be shot. Ow ow ow owwww.) But I know I’m much healthier when I do weights, so I’m trying. I’ve also been doing lots of power yoga—this is great because I love yoga but don’t always have time during heavy training, plus I think it helps with injury prevention. Finally, I’ve been doing lots of intervals and sprint work on the treadmill, and I’m planning a little post on how to do treadmill intervals in the near future.
I’ve also been making these scary things in my kitchen: Pina Colada Energy Chews. I made them before my last race in July, and since they proved to be good race fuel, I thought I would share the recipe.
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I mentioned a few weeks ago that I’d bought a new pair of shoes I was anxious to try out. Behold the Hoka One One Bondi B’s:
It’s hard to judge just how different they are from “regular” shoes from this picture. You really need to see them side by side with another pair in order to understand just how massive they are:
My favorite trail shoe (Inov-8 268, which is itself larger than some lightweight road running shoes) vs the Hokas.
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Yes, I was the dork wearing a hydration vest at a 10k and no, it totally wasn’t necessary…but I was carrying snacks and cameras and phones for 2, and I prefer a half-full hydration vest to a stuffed waist pack.
