Running

I’m signed up for the Cherry Blossom 10 miler tomorrow morning; unless it’s pouring rain when my alarm goes off, I’m going to run it.  I’m undertrained, but I’ll set my watch for a 4 minute run — 1 minute walk cycle, and I should be able to finish it.

As a child, and through college, I was about as unathletic as you could get.  I walked a lot, as do most New Yorkers, but it was a major accomplishment for me to run a mile for gym in high school.  (The next year, I managed to sign up for ballroom dancing as my gym class.)

But in 1996, I took up running, and within a few months I got it into my head that I wanted to run a marathon.   Much to my surprise, I turned out to be not bad at distance running.  I ran 3 marathons between 1997 and 1999, finishing 2 of them in under 4 hours.

I haven’t run very much since I got pregnant with D.  I read all these books about how it’s perfectly safe to run while pregnant.  I think I even read that Joan Samuelson ran 5 miles the day before she gave birth.  But it turned out that running while pregnant was really uncomfortable for me, so I didn’t.  And since the boys were born, I haven’t been willing to carve out the time to do serious training.

Unfortunately, I seem to be really bad at running in moderation.  For my health, 30-40 minutes four times a week would be great.  But without the incentive of a target race, and the structure of a training schedule, it’s just too easy for me to blow off runs when the weather isn’t perfect, or I’m tired, or busy. 

At packet pickup today, I found myself eyeing the race brochures for the fall marathons.  I’d really like to take a shot at qualifying for Boston someday.  But I don’t know how I’d fit it into my life.  It’s not just the time that the actual runs take; it’s the idea of trying to keep up with the boys all day after having done a long run in the morning.

5 Responses to “Running”

  1. amy Says:

    Eh. Running’s fairly terrible for you. If I hadn’t started when I was a kid, I don’t think you could’ve bribed me to pick it up later. So far — meaning in 24 years of regular running, except for 2 years after the stress fractures — the injuries include (obviously) stress fractures, worn knee cartilage, surgery to repair something in the left knee synovial capsule, groin pulls, hamstring strain, and sesamoid fracture. Running during pregnancy probably didn’t help the pubic-symphisis inflammation. After a while I just got used to physical therapy as a way of life, which is stupid. So don’t worry. Walking and swimming are probably better news for your bod over the long haul.
    Good luck with your race, though. Never hurts to pick up another shirt.

  2. Jennifer Says:

    Too late to say good luck with the race, but I hope it went well. I also picked up running around 96, but never got as far as marathons (half only). Probably explains why my longest race post the second child has been 6K.

  3. Michelle Says:

    Hi, Congrats on the race. I signed up for Cherry Blossom myself, but life somehow got in the way. I’ve run 15 marathons including Boston, but only one since having my DS in 2002. I know some women who took up marathon-running post baby and are in the shape of their lives, but for me, it’s been a sloowww decline. Best, Michelle

  4. Amadie Says:

    It’s really hard to continue running post-child, but it’s something that I’m very proud of, and that keeps me going despite not being the fastest one out there. In fact, I ran my first marathon the year after my daughter was born. It was hard to come home after a 20-mile run to a little person who didn’t care that I just wanted to lie down with a gallon of water and take a nap, but somehow I got through it. I just kept telling myself that I was modeling healthy behavior for my daughter — that she would see me making strong and healthy choices, even when they were difficult. And I think it made me stronger and more confident in other areas of my life as well.
    I ran Cherry Blossom in the cold and wind Sunday morning — didn’t do great, but didn’t do horribly, either — and will be running a half marathon in three weeks. The trick is to get up and get out early in the morning, before anyone else wakes up, and before you’re too wide awake to notice how cold/hot/rainy/snowy it is outside.

  5. Elizabeth Says:

    Thanks for the good wishes.
    I did run the Cherry Blossom. It was probably my slowest official 10 miler, but not at all bad considering how undertrained I was. (Not to mention the gale force winds near the finish.)
    It reminded me of how much I like racing, and pushing my limits. I’m thinking about doing a fall marathon.

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