Post-Babies Racing

Finally.  A non-baby post!  I ran the SoJo (South Jordan) Half Marathon over the weekend as my first real (5Ks don’t count) post-baby race.  It’s not quite the same as my last one, 2 months before I got pregnant.  Last time, I was in the greatest shape of my life, placed in my age group, got a 1:28 PR, and loved almost every minute of it.

Last weekend was less fun.  I basically didn’t sleep the night before, between pre-race anxiety, insomnia, and baby feedings (they usually go all night, figures the night before the race they would wake up a couple of times between them and ruin the schedule, right?). 

It started out by me stepping out of my car into a wet puddle.  Not only did I have wet feet, but it was really cold to start, and we had a strong headwind longer than I would have preferred, and lots of flat, suburbia views.  Not my favorite.  I personally prefer dry feet, rolling hills, and city or country vistas.  But, the course was 1/2 mile from my parents’ house, so they and 2 of my brothers came to see my at mile 9. 

Overall, I did enjoy the race, and even managed to come away without blisters, despite my wet feet at the start. But, boy am I sore! This definitely was my upper limit after having twins. I enjoyed the race, and will maybe even consider going next year. Half-Marathon massages and Chic-Fil-A lunch do a lot to sway my vote.  I ended up running a 1:47. 

Not bad considering my first ever half was a 1:45, and that I took 7 months off exercising and spent 3 of those flat on my back.  It will probably take me another year to get into better shape, and I probably won’t have the time for quality training and baby weight loss until I wean the twins next year.  I’m planning on 3-6 1/2s next year so I can have a real focus and continue to improve.  Next year’s goal will be to break 1:25 and I’ll just go from there.

Luckily, my belated push present is coming once we move next month.  A treadmill.  That will be great for days that babies are sleeping, I need speed work help, or it’s just too dark or cold for this SoCal girl to handle.  I foresee a lot of indoor running over the winter and I can’t wait.  :)