Running for the 10K

About 3 weeks ago I signed up for my first 10K. I've done 5Ks, 11K, 15K, and a half marathon. Never a 10K. I've been averaging 5-6 miles, three times a week for the past couple of months, so why the hell not sign up?! And I did.

The last two weeks I've been running about 50 minutes for 6 miles and feeling good about it. So finally race day rolls around and my son is up half the night struggling with a cold. I fell asleep on the couch with him from 4:30-6:30. I get up and get dressed working on about 5 hours of sleep. Honestly it wasn't that bad. Zim got up with him during the night as well. I scarfed down some brown sugar pop tarts and headed out to the race. Temperatures were in the lower 40s/upper 30s. Chilly! 

We lined up, the whistle blew, and off we went. The course was pretty hilly. Not many steep hills, but gradual decent inclines. Killer. And about 3 steep hills. The first 2 and a half miles were pretty flat, the rest pretty hilly. I powered through, and finished 6.2 miles in 50:48 minutes, 33rd overall. I won 1st in my age group. Pretty sweet! I celebrated with a beer and a nap. I sure know how to party!!

I have 2 more 5Ks between now and Thanksgiving. I think I'm going to run more races that are 5+ miles from now on. 5Ks are great, but not very challenging. Something to plan for next year.

Surviving the Pope and a 5K

Welł it's Sunday around 9pm, and all is well in Philadelphia and the suburbs. The city didn't burn down, the Delaware River didn't turn blood red, and no locusts were sighted. Everything went swimmingly well. All the major roadways are still closed till tomorrow morning, but the Papal visit is over. Good job Philadelphia! The warnings were all bark with no bite. And I'm totally okay with that.

I'm not catholic, or very religious, but think the world of Pope Francis. What a truly kind, genuine soul. He brought tears to my eyes when blessing disabled children, going out of his way to hug a little girl, and how he brushed off lunch with congress, to eat with the homeless. I hope his kindness was contagious and folks try to give a little back to their communities and neighbors.

And now to somehow try to transition to the 5K I ran today..,,

For the second year in a row I ran the Get Well Gabby 5K for fighting childhood cancer. It's a great race for great cause. Last year it was the first 5K I did after having Victor. It was POURING. This year, sunny, upper 60s, and a nice size crowd. I ended up running it in 24:31, 6th overall, 3rd female overall, and 2nd in my age group. I'm pretty happy with that! Wished I got a medal, but it's not about that. It was medal enough to see my son at the finish line! Yeah that sounded cheesy. Glad I ran it, and I'm happy to help the cause.

The Pope is Coming!!! aka Pope-ocalypse

First off, I hit a new PR yesterday on the Schuykill River Trail. Six miles in 47:40 and I was averaging a 7:57 mile. I'm very happy with that! And yes, I was without the stroller. My mom walked Victor with I was running. 

Philadelphia is starting to FREAK out. Not that the Pope is on his way, but out of sheer fear that the whole city is shutting down. After Friday night, once you're in the city, you are stuck in Philly until Monday night. Same with the suburbs. If you need to get into Philly, you can't. Barring medical emergencies. This is slightly concerning to me since Victor's doctor and hospital is not going to be accessible. But, I'm not stressing about it. He's been good all week.

Anyways, we've pretty much have been told to prepare like a snowstorm is coming. Get your eggs, bread, and milk before they're gone. My township and surrounding townships have declared a state of emergency this weekend. And I live about 20 miles away from Center City Philadelphia. Crazy! Even my trails and bikepaths are under a state of emergency. They're one of the only ways into Philly. A TON of bikers are coming into the city to see the Pope that way. All the major roads are closing down Friday night with the excepting of I-95. I-95 runs from I'm guessing around Maine to Florida. I imagine you can't close that road down. Public transpiration is shut down getting into Philly, unless you have a special Papal pass to ride the train. It's going to be so nutty this weekend! Let's see how the Papal visit  goes! There's also a rumor he might be traveling to an all boys, troubled youth school/parish that is about 2 and 1/2 miles from my house. It will be totally chaotic here if that happens. It would be really cool though! 

Hopefully we'll all survived the Pope-ocalypse!

Getting Back in the Groove

Last week was Victor's surgery, so I didn't get many runs or workouts in. I more or less ate hospital food, sat around at his bed side, and slept on a pull out hospital couch for about 3 nights. Not the most comfy, but I've slept on worse. His surgery went well, but his post-op, not so great. 

He was released the day after his surgery, and seemed fine, but quickly declined to not eating or drinking, having his belly cramp, and vomiting. Last Sunday night/Monday early morning after three calls to the on call urologist (who didn't help too much) I drove him back down to the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia's ER. The ER doctor was courteous and friendly, but was truly of "weekend shift"quality. He wanted to discharge us 20 minutes after an enema and halfway through a course of forcing pedialyte every 5 minutes for an hour down Victor's throat. When I asked to stay a little longer to let the enema set in and to finish his hydration run, he still insisted on pushing us outta there and told me that I could change a poopy diaper in my car. What a complete asshat. I kept my cool, and thank god Victor then threw up twice. The head nurse intervened and admitted him after the vomiting. 

Victor spent the rest of the day, till Wednesday afternoon at CHOP.  More or less he had constipation and his intestines weren't working correctly. The pain meds were constipating him, so he didn't want to eat/drink, and he would also be in pain. It was a vicious little cycle. He received excellent care from all the awesome nurses and doctors, and was more back to normal by Wednesday. And so far, so good. He still has some bouts of gas. At the beginning of October he will get his stent removed from his ureter, and hopefully everything will be working normally. Fingers crossed.

I did get a couple runs and a lifting session in to blow off some stress. Friday and Saturday, I got in 2 runs. Friday I ran, while my mom walked with him in the stroller. It funny how running can be so mental. I ran 5.85 miles in 48 minutes averaging an 8:12 mile. One of my faster times in a little while. I wanted to get back fast enough in case Victor started to not feel well. He was fine and enjoying his walk with my mom. Saturday, Zim watched Victor while I went out for a 5 mile run. I finished in 41 minutes, averaging an 8:08 mile. Again, I didn't want to be out long and had another fast run. Never the less, it felt good to get out and pound the pavement for a little while!

Hot September

The last two weeks have been pretty damn hot in good old Philadelphia. And when it's hot, I run earlier in the mornings. Between 8-9am hasn't been too bad. It's been a little humid, but it's been quite enjoyable. I'd run even earlier, but I'm not going to jostle an infants belly around right after breakfast. Wouldn't be too smart. I've been averaging 5-5 and 1/2 miles per run, with a pace around 8:45 with the stroller. I'm happy with that.

I also went back to the dumbbell/barbell workouts for the past two weeks. It's been good, and kicking my ass. It usually consists of 5 different exercises, with the first two exercises having 5 sets of 7-10 reps, the third consists of 4 sets, and the last two having only three sets of 12. Then about 5 minutes of abs. 

Then three days a week, I'll box at night. At the boxing gym tonight, I had a great workout. After jumping rope and hitting the speed bags after 5 rounds, I got to work with my friend and fellow coach Jake. We worked around in the ring for 4 rounds. And I learned a few things that I can work on at home. Mostly blocking shots and working out of corners. I finished with 3 rounds on the heavy bag and called it a day. This was also after a 5 and 1/2 mile run this morning. My body is spent. Always happy to have more knowledge in the sport. I usually coach the new, younger kids, and just teach the basics. Good to add to the arsenal!

Happy Labor Day and stay cool out there!

Legs For Lindsey 5K

Wednesday I ran the Run For Lindsey 5K. It was an evening 5K in which I'm never really sure how I should eat leading up to it. I had a decent sized lunch and about 2 hours before the race I had a piece of toast with almond butter. It worked out pretty well. There was a good sized crowd and a few local running clubs there. I ended up running my second fastest 5K ever and taking first place in my age group. My chip time was 23:35. I was real happy with the results. I guess those stroller run have me running faster.

That race might be my last 5K until the annual Turkey Day run. I might do a 10K at the end of October. I was going to try to do a 9/11 race, but Victor's due for surgery on 9/11. He's having surgery on his kidney and ureter. He's had a blockage in his ureter since I had my first ultrasound with him at 20 weeks pregnant. It's a pretty standard procedure, but surgery is surgery and is a little scary. At least he'll be able to keep his kidney and have it function better. Poor little guy. 

This week I'm going to take a little mini vacation to Ocean City, NJ and try to get one more taste of the beach before the summer's over. Little man has taken a few steps, so hopefully he might learn to walk at the beach. I'm also looking forward to running on the boardwalk in the morning. Love the amazing scenery! Nothing like running with an ocean view.

Kettle Bells and 5Ks

I've been keeping with my kettle bell workouts. I might give it another week, then switch back to regular free weights. It's been a good change of pace though. Last week I took a break from the boxing to do 20 minute runs. I would run about 2 and a 1/4 mile each run. My legs were feeling it by the end of last week. First time in a while that I logged it over 20 miles in a week. 

Today I have an evening 5K. Evening runs are always a little weird. I never quite sure what and when to eat. Anyways, I'm hoping to just have fun. My legs feel pretty good, so that's a plus.