Tag Archives: miles

Pregnancy is a marathon

IMG_3592We made it to week 40! The big 4-0. It is a comforting feeling, because I know that the growth of Baby T is complete. On the other hand, I have been pregnant for forty week people. And not with just any baby: Chas Thompson’s baby. Those of you that know my husband know him as a noise maker, a wiggler, a wrestler (obviously), but a very sweet guy. Well I may not have met him yet, but I can tell you my son is just like his father, besides the fact that I am fairly certain he will wrestle at 197 or heavyweight based on his and my size at this point! At 34 weeks he was almost 7 lbs already… Yeah.

I am so in love with my husband, but he paces around the house when he is thinking hard or talking on the phone. He is constantly making noise like water dripping, or randomly singing out of nowhere and scaring the living daylights out of me (he has even made the baby jump before). Like his father, my unborn son does not stop moving. I have actually asked the nurse at my prenatal appointments if there is a point when you worry about your baby moving too much. I swear he will come out and be like Dash from The Incredibles, his little legs never slowing down. It’s like hyperactivity disorder in the womb! But in the end, I think he is just a happy boy that likes hanging out with him mom everyday.

When you first get pregnant, you know that week 40 is your goal. If you can cook that baby to week 40, you can relax a little bit, because growth should be done by that point. But for all women who have ever had a baby, you realize how much a marathon this process is. Let’s start from the beginning shall we?

At the beginning of the race, you are excited! You have you number on and are waiting in your corral, and if you are at Disney, you get to see fireworks as you cross the start line. Pregnancy… well I will just leave it at that.

The first few weeks, like the first few miles, you are getting your groove, getting used to the idea that you will be running for hours on end or carrying this baby for months. You feel fairly good as you get your stride, and are excited that you have something to look forward to: the finish line.

After about mile 4-5 (week 6-7 of pregnancy), you start wondering why you are doing this. You have so far to go. At Disney, you aren’t even to the Magic Kingdom yet! You need food and fuel, but you sort of feel like you might spew at any minute, but you force down that gel anyway. Really you just kinda wanna lay down. This is called the first trimester, and it lasts until about mile 8 or so.

From mile 8 to mile 18 (week 13-27), things start to go numb. Things hurt occasionally, but you are sort of in your groove, and the crowd of excited fans has finally thinned out a little bit. You realize that there is no turning back now, so you are basically just going through the motions attempting to make it to the next mile (or milestone). With every gel, your energy level increases for a bit, and you feel like you can actually accomplish something here.

Once you hit mile 20 (week 30ish), you know that you have only a few more to go before you get to see that finish line. You are once again excited and rejuvenated, but at the same time, your body hurts so bad that it is hard to concentrate on finishing. You know you will and can, but sometimes you just want to stop and cry, asking yourself why in God’s name did you sign up to do this in the first place!

The last month of pregnancy is pretty much identical to the last .2 miles of a marathon. It takes forever to get there, and you are sure that you were probably in such a daze you ran right past the finish, just continued to keep running and missed it, because there is no way in hell that .2 miles takes this long to run. Yep, that is pregnancy after week 36. You know what is coming. You are constantly in pain with a foot in your rib, nerve pain that cripples you at the drop of a hat, and peeing 14 times a night. You know this is what you have been working for these past nine months, but the ending is so unpredictable that you are still nervous. 

I know at some point I will make it to the finish line. We aren’t there quite yet. And like getting that nice shiny medal, my little baby will be the prize at the end of a long race. And oddly enough, I will probably be walking the same as if I had finished a marathon when he finally gets here. I am also fairly certain that when I see him, as when you finish a race, I will forget about how horrible the full experience really was and probably sign up for another. However, I am telling my husband that we are never doing this again…

The More the Merrier

My running hasn’t been in focus in the past few weeks. After I finished the Dopey Challenge, I got extremely sick and definitely needed some time off. I took more than needed, as the flu turned into a bout of depression, which turned into even more depression when my cat, Roll, died just over a week ago. I have had a few running sessions scheduled, but only this past week did I actually get back on the road. I am traditionally a morning runner, but last Wednesday, I took an evening 5 miler, which I thoroughly enjoyed.  It felt great to get back into the swing of things, and I compiled the activity I was doing by adding some kettle bell workouts to the mix. I really started to feel great, and I have to say, I am feeling closer to normal.

This morning I took on 12 miles, honestly not expecting to finish it all. In my mind, I kept telling myself to just make it to the half way point. I decided to take a route that I had not run before, just for a change of scenery, and it proved to be just what I needed. 12 miles later, I looked up and realized that I could go home. That’s a good run. 

Oddly enough, after eating dinner tonight, I got the inkling to go for a walk. A lot of weeknights I go for a walk, just a short one around the neighborhood, but close to 3 miles. It’s funny how exercise is contagious. The more you do it, the better you feel… and then the more you want to do! It’s what they call a vicious cycle without being vicious. With exercise, it’s the more the merrier. I forget this sometimes, but fortunately I love exercise enough to be reminded once again. 

It is hard to express to people how exercise changes your life. Quoting once again one of my favorite shows, Cheers, “You always come back to your one true love.” It’s fun to think that exercise could be someone’s true love, but it is something that I constantly find myself coming back to, even after a long absence. Exercise is always there, when I need to relieve stress, when I have gone off the diet deep end,  or when I just need to think. Exercise helps me cope with the changes in my life. I can do it anywhere, and all I need is an open road and a pair of shoes… and maybe a sports bra, right girls???

If you exercise, you know what I mean. If you don’t, take it from me, it is worth a try. Just remember, practice makes perfect.

What 42 miles will teach you

It’s like duct tape for your body.

Over the past week, I ran a staggering 42 miles—my longest week ever. That’s right, folks, I’m basically an Olympian now. Good for me! But as I trotted along the roads and trails, I couldn’t help but gather a collection of observations that range from mildly amusing to outright absurd. Naturally, I feel compelled to share them with you. So, here goes:

1. Asian Men and Hot Pink: A Love Story

Let me preface this by saying I am not an expert in fashion trends, but it seems that hot pink is having a moment among Asian men—or at least the ones who frequent my running route. On Sunday’s long run, I spotted not one but two men sporting hot pink. The pièce de résistance was one gentleman wearing wind pants with hot pink stripes down the side, paired with red high-top Nikes. Yes, red. Because why not double down on clashing colors? Oh, and he was smoking a cigarette while strolling casually in this ensemble, which somehow made the whole scene even more surreal. It’s like he woke up and thought, “Today’s vibe is rebellious disco meets casual athleticism.”

2. Miley Cyrus: Unexpected Muse

Here’s something I never thought I’d say: Miley Cyrus saved me at mile 19 of a 20-mile run. Her song “We Can’t Stop” came on my playlist, and for reasons I still can’t fully explain, it felt like the most profound anthem of human endurance ever written. For about three glorious minutes, Miley was my spirit guide, urging me forward with her oddly motivational lyrics. Then reality hit—I realized what I was thinking and burst out laughing mid-run. Cue dirty looks from—you guessed it—the man in hot pink wind pants. Life is a vicious cycle.

3. Santa Clara Needs Me (and My Ticket-Writing Skills)

If there’s one thing I’ve learned from running through my neighborhood, it’s that parking violations are rampant here. On Sunday alone, during my 20-miler, I counted 43 cars parked illegally—most of them blocking fire hydrants like it’s some kind of trendy new pastime. If the City of Santa Clara wants to rake in some serious cash, they should deputize me as their parking enforcer. Imagine me sprinting from car to car with a ticket book in hand—justice served at marathon pace.

4. Safeway at 5:00 AM: A Runner’s Paradise

There’s a Safeway across the street from my apartment that opens at the ungodly hour of 5:00 AM—a fact I discovered when I realized I was short on gels before my long run. Let me tell you, grocery shopping at dawn is an experience like no other. The aisles were empty, the checkout line nonexistent, and the only challenge was dodging the occasional weird look from employees wondering why someone in running gear was buying nothing but energy gels and KT Tape at sunrise.

5. Talking Makes Miles Disappear

Between miles 12 and 14, I employed what I like to call my “life lines”—essentially phoning a friend to distract myself from the monotony of running endless miles. First up was my mom, who gamely chatted with me for about a mile despite my breathless replies. Then came Chas (a friend who tolerates my mid-run ramblings). It turns out that having someone to talk to makes those miles fly by—though I suspect they’d rather not hear me wheezing into their ear next time.

6. KT Tape: The Miracle Worker

If duct tape is the universal fix-it tool for objects, KT Tape is its equivalent for the human body. Knees? Fixed. Feet? Good as new. Random aches and pains? Slapped some tape on them and carried on like nothing happened. At this point, I’m convinced KT Tape could mend a broken heart if applied correctly.

And that’s all for now because—shockingly—I have to go work for a living instead of running another marathon around town or ticketing rogue parkers. This week’s mileage goal is only 20 miles (a mere jog compared to last week), but rest assured there will be more absurd observations to come by week’s end. Stay tuned!

Mission: Accomplished

I am back home, back home after 39.3 miles on the roads of the Walt Disney World resort. I made it. The Goofy Challenge is complete, and I (excuse my language, but after almost 40 miles I think it is warranted) FUCKING ROCKED IT!!!! Thought I would give all my readers… if there are any… a summary of my race. So here it goes.

I have never really cared about my time when I run. It’s about completing a distance. Well that magically changed at WDW. I started the half marathon with 27,000 others on a crazy crowded course. It was jam packed with people who thought a half would be easy… very few serious runners. It was a very frustrating run, because of the crowds, and I ended up finishing in 2:45:05. My goal was 2:45:00, so I was very happy with that. I definitely thought that I could have run it 5-15 minutes faster without the mass of people I had to weed through.

I felt good the morning of the marathon, and was ready for a very hot day… A heat advisory was in effect due to the combination of temperature and humidity. As I crossed the start line, I felt amazing. Upon approaching the 5 mile mark, I realized that I was really doing great. My time was at exactly an hour, and I felt awesome. By mile 10, I was cruising. At the half way point, I realized that I had PRed from the day before, decreasing my time by 3+ minutes. It got very hot very fast on the course, and by mile 17 I started to worry a bit when I was getting the chills. I immediately made sure that my mind set was all about fluid, and I stopped at every water station there after. It continued to happen, but I was doing ok. I started really feeling the heat between mile 20 and 21, but I just slowed down a bit, and made it into Hollywood Studios with few problems. As Epcot approached, I was again cruising. It wasn’t hard, it was just a matter of continuing to move. I was nearly brain dead by the finish line, as I just couldn’t even comprehend what I had just done, but was overwhelmed with joy. I got a PR on my marathon by about 21 minutes.

So happy… I missed this amazing feeling that running give you. I am so happy to have it back, and I am not going to lose it again. More races are in my near future. Thanks for everyone’s support, kind words, and help over the past year of training. I am excited to re-evaluate my plan and continue to grow as a runner.

Last Minutes of 2012

New_Year_2013There are approximately 50 minutes left in the year 2012. I have a lot of words to say about this year, like difficult, exciting, stressful, and many more, but I will spare you most of the mushy details of my year. Let’s just say that 2012 was a challenging year for me in many ways, and I am happy to see it go personally.

I am ready for a new start, and happy to say that I have many goals that I want to accomplish in the next year. Here are just a few that I am aiming for:

1. Because I am turning 30, I want to run 30 races within 2013.
2. I want to make it back to Hawaii in 2013.
3. I want to run 1,500 miles in 2013.
4. I want to do more craft projects… haha, i laughed too when I read that…
5. I promise to get my financial situation in order in 2013.

I think these are all attainable. I will just have to work a little harder. Another thing that I promise to do is give something to this blog every day. Ideally, I would like to start video blogging on a daily basis, and making a diary of my struggles, great moments and ideas. We will see how it all goes, and most importantly take it one day at a time.

Now that I have approximately 32 minutes till the new year, I am going to end this blog, snuggle with Chas and my puppies, and watch another episode of 30 Rock, because honestly, there is nothing in the world that I would rather do at this moment.

Happy New Year. Here’s to great accomplishments to come in 2013.

How the West was Won…

So a lot has happened since the last time I wrote on this blog. I moved 1,600 miles across the country for a new job. I am now a California resident, and for the two weeks that I have been here, I have loved every minute of it. It is always fun to move someplace new. Reinventing yourself is something that I think everyone should get the chance to do. I am so grateful for this new opportunity.

Over the past year, I have worked so hard for so little money. I spent countless hours helping others, and I have truly been rewarded for my work. 80 hour work weeks plus school on top of it is just overwhelming sometimes. I have found myself again. I get to run, watch tv, and be creative in my new job. I am enjoying my life so much right now, and I am truly grateful for this wonderful opportunity.

I am hoping to post more about my training experiences from now on, so look for more to come.