Everything's Coming up Milhouse

Overall I am excited by my progress and am loving my running routine! I feel like everything is lining up for me to run faster everytime I hit the trail or pavement!

Stats:

In case you were wondering, that's my serious face.  (ha I passed that guy!)

I'm impressed with my speediness progress.  I've chopped a couple minutes off my 5k time since valentines day, when I did my first time trial at that distance.  As of yesterday I did a time trial on speedboat ditch and came in at 27:23.  I need to get this down by several more minutes.  With no speed training my 5k pr was 24:57 is 2011.  I think shaving off several minutes is achievable.

I ran a 10k last weekend in 57:44.  I am not sure how I felt running it using the Galloway method. my
normal approach to racing is to pick a racer in an annoying outfit like a purple glowing tutu and stay in front of them.  Alternatively I go super slow for half the race, then pick off runners in the second half. I have no idea if this are decent approaches for me or not but they sure feel good.  I didn't pick anyone off until the straight away into the finish and I was too nervous about how loud and annoying my watch would be to think about annoyingly dressed runners.  My 10k pr is 55:24, so while this method didn't have the mini rewards that my other methods have I still feel great about my finish.

The one timed mile I ran felt like poop and was embarrassingly slow, so I am going to pretend it didn't happen.

The stroller brigade enjoying Bibo Coffee (and yes there are 4 more little;s in the strollers still!)

I am enjoying my frequent runs with
mommy friends.  I had one run this week with Kate and her boys, we did a 4 mile accelerated glider workout that was amazing.  We smoothly passed off the double stroller and did our solo glider workouts in between.  Between Kate and the coffee stroller brigade on Saturdays I am finding my social needs with running 100% met!  I was definitly worried I would be going solo quite a bit, which I do not enjoy.

Overall I find the Galloway method gives me something to do while running which is nice.  Though sometimes I do miss the time for thinking.  My long runs are feeling speedy and fresh and I am not exhausted the next day.  Plus I get to eat more chocolate!  BONUS!!

First run on Lower Thomas from our new house.  I had to walk a bunch through the melting snow.

I'm down to 167.5 lbs. I've lost 23.2lbs over the last 17 weeks which averages to 1.3lbs per week.  A healthy amount of loss in a healthy amount of time.  Craig told me last week that I need to stop wearing my maternity pants because my butt doesn't look nice in them anymore.  That felt nice!

Overall I am chugging along, getting in the miles, proud of my progress, and enjoying running my mommy friends too!

Things are definitely coming up milhouse for this mother runner.  

Pondering Parenting and Running

Tomato monkey cheese is the best! 

I realized this morning that my approach to parenting has unfolded exactly opposite from how my approach to running unfolded. When Linnea had her first cough while eating, my immediate reaction was to sign up for infant CPR classes.  I needed to find tools to make sure that I was doing it right. It was a constant effort to stay informed.  I devoured information  to make sure I nurtured her current life stage to the best of my ability.

This morning 7 month old Sagan was coughing while eating breakfast. I distractedly hollered in his direction "Keep coughing," as I left the room.  My confidence as a parent to Sagan is the antithesis to my confidence as a parent to Linnea.

I started running right after high school with the same confident and unconcerned approach that I have with parenting Sagan. I just ran the distance and pace that felt right.  By my early twenties I was running 5ks with a few longer distances sprinkled in.  My training was distracted with thoughts of body image and heart ache and all the other things that go along with wanting to change your life when you are 21.  Over the years, as I started to run farther I just ran farther, I didn't really know what I was doing.  I'd been running for a while and hadn't ruined anything so I must be doing it fine.  It was so similar to my current style with Sagan.  Linnea isn't ruined so I must have done it right until now.

Here I am running 15 years later and devouring information to make sure I nurture these legs to the best of my ability.  With this fall marathon I have a lot of the same thoughts I had to being a new parent to Linnea.  I am doing the right things?  Am I prepared to do this?  Is there something I could be doing better?  What did others in this same situation do? What tools do I need in order to not break this goal that I have set out to do.

Maybe the only real difference I have discovered is a comparison of risks.  There could be catastrophic consequences if I parent wrong.  As for running, I may not reach my current goal if I run wrong, but the consequences of running distractedly up until this point were of little consequence.