I did it! I ran my first race!
Let's back this story up a bit, to a time before there was a baby in our lives, when time flowed like wine at an Italian wedding, when sleep was something I spent at least 9 hours a night doing, sometimes even more, because I damn well could. It was the summer of 2010 and wedding plans were wrapping up as our wedding date was getting closer. I was spending a lot of time and the gym keeping myself in shape and able to keep that gorgeous wedding gown of mine fitting like a glove. I went to the gym before work, after work or on the weekends and Matty and I spent a lot of time on our bikes. Around this time Matty had the crazy idea of running the Boston Marathon to support the National Organization for Rare Disorders. I thought this was pretty insane - why would anyone want to run for that long, and was that even possible? It sounded miserable to me. But, being the supportive lady I am, I decided that I would tag along with Matty for some of his training runs. Much to the dismay of Matty I did so, and decided that not only was running stupid, but Matty was a big jerk for being able to do it and I would yell at him for stopping to walk with me and thinking that I had it in me to run too. So I did the only thing that made sense; I gave that shit up.
Fast forward to me being pregnant and wanting to stay in good shape but without having to get all the way to the gym (my first trimester was a struggle in being awake). I tried to do some short runs around Allston, but eventually I decided to stick with dragging myself to the gym and eventually got my exercise waddling my pregnant belly around and nesting like a mad woman.
I was lucky to not have gained too much weight during my pregnancy, but the baby definitely left some pounds behind on me after she was born and I knew I needed to get the weight off quickly to better my chance of it not becoming a permanent fixture. And let's be honest, who doesn't want to be a hot mom and fit back into non-maternity clothes as quickly as possible? Unfortunately, time was no longer on my side and getting to the gym for an hour every day or so was no longer a reasonable goal. It's not that I don't have the help - I have a super supportive husband and a lovely nanny, I just don't like to be away from that mushy face much because, well, she's freaking adorable and super fun to hang out with. So it made sense to get back to running; getting up at 5am when the baby was still asleep made it possible to get at least three miles in and get home before she woke up. Running also has the benefit of being the best bang for your buck; lots of calories burned, lots of muscles worked and minimal time spent in spandex.
So, with vanity in my head and my awesome new Lululemon running jacket on, I re-started my running career with a vow to stick with it. And I did. In fact, I decided that I really would start training for the Disney Princess Half Marathon and am waiting for registration to open in July so I can make it official. Since that is a ways off, and a lot more miles than I can even fathom right now, I signed up for the Harpoon 5 Miler as my first goal and made it my first official race. My goal was to finish; I had no time goal but I really wanted to try and do it without stopping to walk, and by golly, I freaking did it! In fact, I averaged just over 10 minute miles and was even smiling at the end.
And that, my loyal readers, is a late spring miracle.
So here it is 10:30 on a Friday night (holy crap it is way past my bedtime) and I am looking forward to waking up super early, lacing up my shoes, shuffling my playlist and getting in a few miles before the baby wakes up and I take her to her first swim lesson. Then we leave for a weekend in NYC with the family, where I am also going to try and get a run in. Ain't that something?!
And that baby weight? Gone. With a few extra pounds for good measure. And I'm not done yet!
Thanks to my motivating and never condescending super runner of a husband and the only other person I have run with outside of my marriage, my dear partner-in-crime Kate for supporting me and making me think I could actually make this a habit. You guys rock.
Oh! And a big thanks to my cheering squad. She's laughing because I'm awesome, right???
XoXo,
A running Stefanie
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| If only I liked IPAs. |
Fast forward to me being pregnant and wanting to stay in good shape but without having to get all the way to the gym (my first trimester was a struggle in being awake). I tried to do some short runs around Allston, but eventually I decided to stick with dragging myself to the gym and eventually got my exercise waddling my pregnant belly around and nesting like a mad woman.
I was lucky to not have gained too much weight during my pregnancy, but the baby definitely left some pounds behind on me after she was born and I knew I needed to get the weight off quickly to better my chance of it not becoming a permanent fixture. And let's be honest, who doesn't want to be a hot mom and fit back into non-maternity clothes as quickly as possible? Unfortunately, time was no longer on my side and getting to the gym for an hour every day or so was no longer a reasonable goal. It's not that I don't have the help - I have a super supportive husband and a lovely nanny, I just don't like to be away from that mushy face much because, well, she's freaking adorable and super fun to hang out with. So it made sense to get back to running; getting up at 5am when the baby was still asleep made it possible to get at least three miles in and get home before she woke up. Running also has the benefit of being the best bang for your buck; lots of calories burned, lots of muscles worked and minimal time spent in spandex.
So, with vanity in my head and my awesome new Lululemon running jacket on, I re-started my running career with a vow to stick with it. And I did. In fact, I decided that I really would start training for the Disney Princess Half Marathon and am waiting for registration to open in July so I can make it official. Since that is a ways off, and a lot more miles than I can even fathom right now, I signed up for the Harpoon 5 Miler as my first goal and made it my first official race. My goal was to finish; I had no time goal but I really wanted to try and do it without stopping to walk, and by golly, I freaking did it! In fact, I averaged just over 10 minute miles and was even smiling at the end.
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| Starting out! |
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| There I go! |
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| All done, and still smiling, even though Maddie is trying to steal my beer. |
And that, my loyal readers, is a late spring miracle.
So here it is 10:30 on a Friday night (holy crap it is way past my bedtime) and I am looking forward to waking up super early, lacing up my shoes, shuffling my playlist and getting in a few miles before the baby wakes up and I take her to her first swim lesson. Then we leave for a weekend in NYC with the family, where I am also going to try and get a run in. Ain't that something?!
And that baby weight? Gone. With a few extra pounds for good measure. And I'm not done yet!
Thanks to my motivating and never condescending super runner of a husband and the only other person I have run with outside of my marriage, my dear partner-in-crime Kate for supporting me and making me think I could actually make this a habit. You guys rock.
Oh! And a big thanks to my cheering squad. She's laughing because I'm awesome, right???
XoXo,
A running Stefanie
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