The coolest part of this journey/achievement was getting to finally meet my friend, Jana, who lives in Minneapolis. I met her and a dozen or so other women on Runners World Online in a forum especially for women, in a daily thread especially for pregnant runners. We would write, share, comment, and support one another about anything and everything. We were from all parts of the country, at different stages in our pregnancy, and eventually broke away from the public forum to a private group on Facebook. As of early November, all babies made their appearance, delivered safe and sound, beautiful, and so very loved. We always wrote about someday meeting and running a race somewhere. That someday was January 17, 2010 and that race was P.F. Chang's Rock'N'Roll Arizona Half Marathon.
So our group is called the Train Wrecks. This came from some nosy, angry, non-pregnant person butting in on the public forum to insult us and our threads....she called us train wrecks because she believed that we were exactly that. If you listen to the news or watch anything about celebrities, you'll hear the word "train wreck" at least once a day, and it's true...you just can't look away from a train wreck..but in my opinion we weren't that bad. Okay, I suppose we were. I mean for a non-preggo, seeing a thread full of words like cankles, mucous plug, stripping membranes, leaking, engorged breasts, ,bleeding, gushing, belly support, etc. could be curiously intriguing.
The half marathon in Phoenix was my first real post-pregnancy race, one that consisted of a training schedule and goals. I don't remember how I chose this race, but it was the first time I've ever trained through November and December for a January race, and with the shit weather we had in Omaha this year, it was difficult. Not sure the cold, snow, wind, ice running or speedwork on a treadmill transferred well to a relatively flat, dry, sunny, perfect day run. I refuse to make any more excuses. It is what it is, and it is over. I am grateful to have been able to run.
I had a progressive set of time goals for this run. I'm not sure why I was so fixated on time, but I thought that the time factor would be an indicator as to whether the old pre-pregnant Jody could still go.
The results are that I'm back to normal, neutral, zero, the older, yet non-pregnant version of myself as a runner. The official chip time was 1:50:47, and evidently, that's good enough to declare a PR. I'm just happy knowing that I am still me and that pregnancy didn't ruin me completely. It's good to know that although I am mentally and emotionally teetering on the edge of sanity, at least physically, I'm mostly intact.
Trying to make this comeback was kind of silly, for I was originally chasing down Rodney's PR, which was 5 minutes faster than my own. Rodney is a young, natural-born athlete, slim, long-legged, with an aerodynamic bald head. Oh yes, and he's also of male gender - he should be faster! I haven't had any recent drug tests, but I assume my body doesn't contain any XY chromosomes. Birthing a baby less than 6 months ago and breastfeeding daily, qualifies me to declare myself a woman.
I was on Rodney's pace, as if he were my virtual partner/competitor for the first 10K, but realized that I could not for the life of me maintain an 8 min/mile for the entire course. It was kind of crazy, actually. For the first two miles, I was delusional and giddy, thinking that I was the fastest mother on earth, and that I was going to kick Hot Rod's ass right off the couch. With each mile I got slower and hurt more. I hadn't realized that if I would have just set my pace to something doable, I would have PR'd and not been so burnt out, sore, tight, and in agonizing pain for three days after the race. But then again, sometimes pain is good.
It makes me laugh when non-runners ask me if I think I can win...ummmm...No. There was a total of 21,462 runners in the Half Marathon. Overall, I finished 2416th place...haha. But to level out the running field, of the women participants 30-34, I was 147th out of 2216. Regardless, the numbers mean little. I can only do my best, and my best me is good enough.
I just realized that this is my last year in this age category Soon, I'll be running with the big girls (and they're even faster).
There was so much good that came out of this weekend so I have no complaints: 1) I made my comeback and PR'd by just 3 seconds, so there is a high probability that I can PR again by the end of this year; 2) Rodney, Milo, and Taia survived without me, and the house was clean when I returned; 3) I met two Train Wrecks in Phoenix who are just as great in person as they are in cyberspace; 4) Getting away for 60 hours was really good for my sanity and given me a clearer, more positive outlook; and 5) I realize how lucky I am for all that I am and all I have, and I know I want Taia to have and feel this much (and more).
This race was dedicated to the Train Wrecks & the TW Babies.
No comments:
Post a Comment