Rants, Recipes, and Running

 I did this after the 1st Trimester - and am doing it again.  Again, I expect no one to read this. This is sort of my "diary" to look back on next pregnancy.  What was different about 2nd Trimester from 1st trimester? I actually ran so much better in my 2nd trimester because I wasn't so dang sick. It was glorious.  Weekly avg mileage & pace? I ran 20-25 miles/week. I had a few weeks where I hit 30 miles, but once I got a barre membership - I dropped down to 20 miles/week.  Pre-Pregnancy "avg" Road Pace:  7:45/mile Pre-Pregnancy Road half marathon pace:  7:00/mile Pre-Pregnancy Tempo Pace:  6:45/mile "Avg" Road Pace 1st Tri:  8:40/mile (but it is also averaging 85 degrees + 60% humidity every morning)  Tempo Pace 1st Tri:  7:30/mile (but I can hold it for very long because it's so hot) Avg Road Pace 2nd Tri: 8:20/mile (notice it was faster...attributed to not vomiting + not being 90 degrees at 5 am) Tempo Pace 2nd Tri: 7:45/mil...

I thought I'd do a little blog post to recap my accounts on running and fitness through my 1st trimester. One, so I can look back on this someday and realized "Oh, I did get fast again" and also as a comparison for the next time I'm pregnant.  **Disclaimer - I do NOT expect anyone to read this, as it is probably boring with statistics. I just would love to document each trimester, so I can look back at this!** Running has also been a really pivotal and important part of my sanity throughout this journey. As I've expressed in too much detail, I've been sort of consumed by nausea. People may be saying "Well, why are you running then?" And that is a conversation for me, my husband, and my OB :). Running and exercise actually makes me feel better - because it gets my blood flowing, digestive system working, oxygen, and provides me with some social time. My OB told me directly "You keep running until you don't feel like you can run anymore."...

The marathon is complete. This is a story about the day I pushed my body to places I didn't know I could take it. As you know - I have trained hard. It wasn't just the 18-week training program. I've had Boston on my mind for about 2 years now. However, when I started training, I had a variety of health issues come about. From getting bumps all over my bones with joint pain to plantar fasciitis. I had my share of "road-blocks". I also trained for a marathon last year, and couldn't run it because of a training at work. So let's fast forward to the day before the race (as I gave plenty of training updates on this blog). No time to think about the race, as work was so stressful this week. But that's not to be discussed today ;) I did the race with some of my best girlfriends. In fact, they are some of the best girlfriends a girl could ever ask for. We hit up the expo 1st. We always really enjoy the expo as a time to just really soak it all in...

Remember last week when I said marathon training is going amazing ? " I am just loving my long runs" -- She said. Ha! I am writing this Sunday afternoon while the feelings are still fresh, and the wounds are still gaping. No, I don't really have wounds. I had 20.5 very humbling miles. My last 20 miles, I literally sprinted the final 3 miles. I felt so amazing, and wanted to keep going! Today, I wanted to lay down and take a nap at 10 miles. So from mile 10-20, I kept questioning " What. Went. Wrong ." My nutrition was spot-on all week long. I rested on Saturday to get fresh legs. I ate a great, well-balanced meal Saturday night. I even had a small bowl of ice cream to give me some extra calories to burn ;). I hydrated all day long Saturday. Didn't drink any alcohol. I had a banana with peanut butter 1.5 hours before the run. And foam rolled pre-run. I had bites of fuel (gels) along the course to keep me going. I was the perfect athlete...

Sunday I competed in the final race of the "Gabe Zimmerman Triple Crown Race Series". Remember that big shooting that happened in Tucson where Gabby Giffords was shot? Well, one of the victims was Gabe Zimmerman, who was an avid runner in the community. Tucson has started a charity race series in honor of Gabe. It's a great series full of good people, community, and support -- and the 3 races really showcase how beautiful Tucson is. It starts with the Downtown 5K in May, which is a night race. It's a fast, flat race through Downtown Tucson as the sun sets. And the post race party has a giant block party with bands, food trucks, and all the bars/restaurants give discounts to anyone wearing a race bib! This is the crew of ladies on Race #1. Ryan and I did get a photo together, I just cannnot seem to find it ;) I PR'd my 5K in this one and ran the 5K in 20:19, which was a 6:30 pace. My goal is to break 20 minutes next year!  Race 2 is the Saguaro National P...

February 25 I'm running another marathon. Did you know that I have fully trained from 4 marathons, yet only actually run 4? Not because of injury, but because of work schedules. Well on Feburary 25, Abby is running The Phoenix Marathon -- and nothing is getting in the way. And Abby really would like to qualify for Boston. Last year I had goals of qualifying for Boston, but now as I look back - I wasn't ready. I wasn't strong enough. My pace was just starting to peak. With lots of speed work, research, drills/strength training to keep my muscles balanced, talking to various running coaches.....I think I'm ready to go for it. The qualifying time for my age group is 3 hr 35 min. However, it is recommended to at least give yourself a 10 minute window. Every 10 minutes below your qualifying time, the sooner you can put in your registration for the lottery. One cannot just qualify - you had to crush your qualifying time these days! My goal is to finish in 3 h...

I've made a significant change in my fitness over the past few months, and have been waiting to blog about it until I knew for sure it stuck. ;) My prioritization for exercise for the past few years: 1) Running 2) Weight training (heavy weights - fast-paced circuits) 3) Biking/swimming (but this is only a priority when I have a triathlon on my plate) I decided it was time for a change, when a few months back I felt like a rest day was never enough. To be honest, I was in pain. Sometimes sitting at my desk at work, I'd almost be in tears because my back and legs hurt so bad. It wasn't that I was injured, my muscles just ached . I was doing a lot of weight lifting in addition to triathlon training. And my weight training was more along the lines of "crossfit/power-lifting". I felt heavy, bulky, and just blah! Step 1 -- reinvent the wheel. I decided to stop my gym membership. That's a creative way to "get the body you want", huh?! ;) Here i...

Is it possible that 2015 is coming to a close? Just as I was getting into the "groove" of the year, it's gone like the blink of an eye! And what a year it was. We had a lot of time to reflect on the year, and look forward to the upcoming year over Christmas -- which I will be blogging about soon. But Ryan and I got an unexpected 27 hour drive twice in 1 week! ;) Lots of time to reflect, talk, and plan. May I also add that the fact that I still couldn't wait to get home from work to share my evening with him today, tells me that I married the right dude :) Alright, here are my 2015 highlights!  We got a puppy who stole our hearts: Miles. This little ball of fur taught me to put others' needs before my own. And brought us so much joy (and some messes).  In February, we did another Ragnar (my 4th): Ragnar del Sol in Phoenix. We did this with a group of close friends, and it was an absolute blast! 30 hours filled with adventure, challenging ...

I'm doing a double-post day...because I don't know when I'll be back on my blog to recap the memories! ;) On December 6, Ryan and I did the Tucson Half Marathon. It was Ryan's 1st half marathon ever. I was on a mission to PR. We both had a successful day. I 1st have to say how impressed I am with Ryan. He is not big on long distance running. And during the training, he had a flare-up of knee pain which had him out of running for 3 weeks before the race. To be honest, he didn't really train for this race. He wasn't going to do the race, but Sunday morning at 4am, when I was getting ready to leave -- he decided to give it his best! And that he did. He finished in 1:43:10, just a few minutes behind me! That is not bad for a 1st half marathon, especially not training!! (and was a good sport about his wife beating him....) We stuck together for the 1st 5 miles, met up again around 8-9miles, and then I took off with adrenaline. I definitely ran the fastest I...

Right now I am in the midst of training for 2 races. And it's been pretty darn fun! Race 1: El Tour de Tucson I'm doing a 75 mile bike race on November 21. This is definitely the furthest I've ever rode my bike! This is a yearly tradition in Tucson, and it's quite the event. People fly in from all over the world to compete, as Tucson is on the top 10 for best cycling cities in the country! We get some very elite cyclists. In the past, we have gotten together with friends and spectated with our coffees and cheer. But this year, I've decided to partake in the events! The option is to do a 40, 55, 75, or 105. My butt cannot handle 105 miles on a bike. Everyone tells me I have the physical ability to do so, and I'm sure I do. But I seriously have no desire to spend that much time on a bike. My friend Amanda and I are going to do it together, and we got her uncle's company to sponsor us. The company is called Ship Bike . It's pretty cool! He engineered...

So if you've followed my blog, you'd learn that I've done the triathlon's kind of backwards. I started with a sprint tri. I then progressed to an Half Iron Man. And last weekend I did an Olympic Tri.   Usually people don't "dive" into the HIM until they feel "semi" experienced with triathlons! But I crave crazy.   Now after completing these 3 distances, I must say the Olympic Distance is amazing! It is long enough to feed my crazy. But it's short enough that I can push myself and not feel like dying afterwards!   I can drink the free "post race Michelob Ultra" ;)   Because I'm not vomiting.   (After my HIM, I was hunched over vomiting post race. For a long time.)   I have to say this race was one of the most fun races I've ever done! Just such a good weekend. I'll let the pictures tell you my story.....       Here is my bed as I packed for the race. There is so much stuff to pack for a tr...