Preggo Week 19 Recap

Preggo Week 19 Recap

(September 24-30)

This was not such a good week of running/training.  Working all day long at UROC really wiped me out and took a few days to recover.  I felt almost hungover the day after -- tired, headache, a little queasy, etc.  So, I rested and didn't get a long run in.  

Was maybe going to try to get a long run in on Monday but work got really stressful this week.  Work is really stressful and frustrating these days as we are all losing our jobs.  We're in some weird "transition" where people are hoping to get jobs at the new firm but most people have no idea what is going to happen.  People don't know if they will get a job or not.  I don't know what is going to happen and it's extra stressful since I'm pregnant and will need to take maternity leave in January.  While I know you're not supposed to discriminate against a woman for being pregnant, I don't feel so confident getting a job in my current pregnant state. "Please hire me but I'm going to need January to May off."  While waiting to get interviewed by the new firm, I have been applying to a number of other jobs.  Just keeping hoping for someone to call soon.  On top of that, my work load just seems overwhelming these days.  

Anyhow, this work stuff is really wearing on me.  I try my best not to be stressed and it probably would have helped if I ran more to de-stress but I just got overwhelmed with everything.   

It was also a tough week as it's hubby's long week at work so he's not home in the evenings.  I take care of my toddler after a long day of work.  I was also busy this week preparing for the Folsom Lake Ultra Trail (FLUT).  I am the volunteer coordinator.  Did a lot of emailing and communicating to various volunteers and the RD Paulo to make sure everything will go smoothly on race day.  (To be clear, I'm not complaining.  I love being the volunteer coordinator and being part of putting on a race event).  

Anyhow, it was a busy week and I only ran one day for 45 minutes on the treadmill.  I had wanted to do more but some weeks are just tougher doing the juggling act than others.  

Enough of the bummer part of my week, the good part of my week was that this week I started meal planning and cooking dinners at home more.  My mom's running group (Auburn MRTT) really helped inspire me to start doing that for healthier eating (and saving money).  I may exercise and seemingly lead a healthy life but my eating habits are hardly "healthy."  But, I am enjoying this meal planning and preparing meals at home rather than hitting the fast-food drive thru.  I hope to be able to keep up with this new "routine."  I am starting with easier meals to prepare first and hopefully in time, venture to new recipes and such.  :)

Dinner Sunday evening - chicken piccata

Total miles running for week 19: 3.6 miles

Total miles running for this pregnancy: 378.98 miles

Volunteering at the Ultra Race of Champions

Ultra Race of Champions (UROC)

Volunteer at Confluence Aid Station

September 24, 2016

This past Saturday was UROC.  I had volunteered to be an aid station captain for one of the busier aid stations.  This aid station was at the Auburn Confluence, on No Hands Bridge. The race had a 25k, 50k, and 100k.  The 25k runners came to this aid station twice during the race and the 50k/100k runners came to the aid station three times.  The aid station started around 6 am until midnight.  I was there for most of that time so it was  LONG day for me.  I was completely worn out by the end of the day.  

But, I had a fun day hanging with many friends, mostly from my MRTT group!  

Ellie hanging with mommy for some of the morning.  A good little volunteer!

Here are my 10 most memorable moments of the day:

1.   I arrive at No Hands Bridge a little after 5:30 am.  The supplies were already delivered there so I'm just setting things up.  It's still dark out and no one else is there yet.  I hear some voices coming towards me from across the bridge.  I presume it's the other volunteers starting to arrive to help set up too.  Three guys smoking cigarettes approach and go walking by. They comment about my "camp" set up and continue onto the trail. Not at all who I was expecting to see. I didn't like smelling the cigarette smoke as being on the trails is one of the last places one expects to smell cigarette smoke.  

2.  My aid station didn't have some things but one of those things was s-caps.  Instead, I had a salt shaker!  Some runners asked for s-caps (a somewhat standard aid station item in ultras).  I did suggest to the race organizers to have s-caps (or something like that) at their next event.  Some runners did take some salt from the salt shaker but we definitely got odd looks about it.  

3.  One 25k runner came through the aid station the first time (mile 4.5 for him) and asked for Vaseline as things were already chaffing.  We didn't have any Vaseline or Bodyglide to give him and was concerned that he's already wanting such stuff so early in the race.

He returned later on his way to the finish. He was completely soaking wet (from head to toe).  What confused us is there's not exactly a place to soak himself between Cool and the Bridge unless he somehow went all the way down to the river (going down some narrow trails).   Also, he was SOOO wet that it was more than just dumping a bottle of water over your head.  His shirt and shorts and compression socks were soaked all the way through.  By then, we had gotten some Vaseline so told him we had it for him.  He grabbed a glob and not sure how he planned to put it on being so wet but we continued onto the finish.

4.  There were a lot of runners from foreign countries, which was neat to see.  They would ask how far the next aid station is or how far to the finish and we'd tell them in miles but they wanted to know in kilometers.  We had to convert some miles to km to answer them.  Funny how a race is a 50k/100k but the aid station signs are all in miles.  But, it was definitely appreciated when you finally figured out the distances in kilometers.    

5.  We met one runner from Egypt who was SO positive and nice to all the volunteers.  He was very appreciative every time he came through.  He would thank us and bless us for all being out there.  His positive energy was definitely memorable.  I remember when he came to us the last time.  I tell him just 4.5 miles to the finish.  Someone said to him "you're so close, you can taste it!"  He sticks his tongue out and says "yes I can!"  I just loved his wonderful energy!  And many runners were thankful to us volunteers but he was by far the one who expressed the most gratitude.  

6.  The first place female of the 100k (Camille Herron) came through the third time and drank a beer.  She apparently had three beers during the latter part of the race.  AMAZING!  We had also saw her first thing in the morning and she flew up the hill like it was nothing.  She just crushed it all day long!  All of us were in awe of her!  

  

7.  One pacer left with her runner towards Cool (mile 45ish of the 100k).  A little while later, she returned.  She said her runner was going so strong and that she didn't feel like pushing it so she told him to go on without her.  She kind of hung around the aid station for awhile waiting for her runner to loop back (it'd be mile 59ish when he returned) and she would pace him the last 4.5 miles to the finish.  I kind of saw her off and on throughout the evening.  

A LOT later, this runner comes in and it's dark out and he's obviously tired.  Vickie and I are tending to him and getting his pack refilled for him and getting him food/drinks.  He asks to sit for a moment.  We say okay and direct him to the chair we had out for runners.  I see someone (I know not a runner) is sitting on our chair and kind of say to get up (not sure who is in our chair).  I go up and see it's that pacer girl is asleep in the chair.  I nudge her to wake up and tell hir to get out of the chair as a runner wants to sit down.  She sleepily opens her eyes and looks up at the runner and says "he's my runner!"  OMG!!  What is up with this pacer?!

8.  We encountered some interesting drunk people in the late evening.

First, a little after sunset, a family walks by the aid station.  They walk towards the tables and lean over the food checking things out and saying "we're not part of this walk...how long is this walk..." (kind of being annoying).  We tell them it's a 100k RUN.  They smelled strongly of alcohol and had a small child with them.  They eventually meandered on towards the highway.  We hope they had someone sober to drive.

And later, when it was really late and dark out, we could look across the bridge and see the runner's headlamps coming down the switchback to the bridge.  Vickie and I thought we saw a headlamp coming across the bridge.  A moment later, the light disappeared but we could see there was a person on the bridge.  As we watched this person, believing him to be a runner, we saw him veer towards the side of the bridge.  We both worry he was getting way too close to the side of the bridge so I head across the bridge to see if he needed some help of some sort.  As I near the middle of the bridge, the person doesn't look to be a runner.  i get nervous as now, i'm coming up on some strangers.  A couple turns towards me and I find out they were motorcyclists who decided to stop and check out the bridge.  They also both smelled strongly of alcohol but are friendly enough. I walk back across the bridge to the aid station leaving them be.  

9.  The aid station had a cutoff of 11:25 p.m.  We started cleaning up and getting some things packed up.  We were expecting two more runners to come through.  We waited and waited and waited trying to see any headlamps appear.  As it got around midnight, I was concerned one runner (a friend) had not showed up yet as he had left Cool almost two hours ago.   He had no pacer but I know he knows these trails and was last seen to be doing fine (not struggling).  The other runner, I was less concerned about as i know when she left Cool and had a good pacer and crew.  After awhile of waiting, we finally see some headlamps heading our way and feel some relief.

We see the runner I am not so concerned about and her pacer along with the sweepers.  The sweepers tell me they didn't see another runner when they came in.  One sweeper said she was told to pull the runner as she's past the cutoff and handed me a phone to talk to one of the race organizers.  The runner and her pacer and crew begged me to let them continue to the finish.

But, i was less focused on that runner wanting to finish and the runner that was missing.  His wife was with us and obviously even more concerned now that the sweepers have come in and was not seen at all.  Where is he?

The one runner just hurried out of the aid station determined to get to the finish line.  I'm on the phone talking to the race.  They asked about the runner that should have been pulled.  I tell them she's on her way to the finish and she seems fine.  But, I am MORE concerned that we have a runner missing (and it's really late out and super dark and now, there are no more race markers out).

The clean up truck arrived to take away all the aid station supplies.  We ended up having to leave but I felt very anxious to end the day having a missing runner.

The runner was eventually found.  Not quite sure what happened but  he says he made a series of bonehead decisions.  He was okay other than a bruised ego.  I am grateful he was eventually found and okay but this definitely a good reminder that no matter how experienced a runner is (and this runner has a lengthy ultra running resume), things can just happen.  Races can go not as planned and runners can get lost.  We just need to be prepared to deal with such situations.

10.  Had a great day hanging out and chatting with many friends, some old and some new.  Many fun memories of us just hanging out, chatting, and laughing.  I love my running peeps!

Morning shift volunteers (missing Gary in the pic)

mid-shift volunteers  

evening shift volunteers
(missed getting a night pic of me & Vickie)

Thank you everyone who came out to help out!!!   Made for a fun day!!

Preggo Week 18 Recap

Preggo Week 18 Recap

(Sept 17-23, 2016)

On Saturday, I took Ellie to San Francisco to visit my mom and grandma.  It was nice for us to visit with family (especially my grandma who's about to turn 93).  While a nice visit, it was a long day of traveling to the Bay Area and back.  And of course, no running was done.  

On Sunday, I needed to get my run in so hubby watched the baby in the morning and I went out early to Lake Natoma to get a long run in.  I got a few miles in before meeting up with my Java Jogger friends to do a Lake Natoma loop.  Nice to be running outside AND with friends!  It was really nice to catch up with some old running friends as we did our usual loop together.  Just like old times where we had many amusing conversations and laughs.

I was mostly good in keeping my heart rate in Zone 2 but it did creep up a few times as it's hard to restrain myself when I'm running and chatting away with friends.  But, I did keep an average heart rate of 140 so that's pretty good for what I'm supposed to be doing.  

I ended up with a hair over 17 miles.  My longest run this pregnancy so far.  Everything felt pretty good on this run.  Towards the end, I was getting tired and hot (glad I started early).  I feel like marathon training is coming along fairly well.

After I got back home, I did some yoga that had some really good hip stretches so that was nice.  And the rest of the day, other than wanting to eat and nap, my legs and such felt pretty good.  This heart rate training has been in nice as I have to run slower so I find I don't over exert my legs so I'm not hobbling around like an old woman after my long runs.  

The rest of the week went a little better than last week in getting the week day runs done.  It helped that my hubby had most of the week off work so I was able to get some night runs with the dog in. 

On Wednesday, the hubby, baby and I went to Auburn Running Company for a Hoka Demo Run.  Hubby wanted to try the new Hokas.  I'm not a fan of Hoka but I went along for the run.  The community runs from the running store typically go on the trails so I mostly run/hiked with the stroller, not with the group.  I was originally just going to run around on the roads around this store.  But, I followed the group down to Robie Point.  When I got there, I decided to do a short loop around Robie Point since I knew the trails were smooth enough for the stroller.   

Getting down the hill, I had to be cautious with the stroller but once I hit the flatter sections, it was wonderful being out on the trails.  Ellie really enjoyed being out as she was babbling away as she checked out the sights.  

After looping around, I had to climb my way back up to Robie Point, which was a little tough pushing the stroller up but not too bad.  But once I got to Robie Point, I forgot how freakin' steep the road is to the Mile 99 sign.  And pushing a stroller with a toddler made it an extra challenging work out.  I definitely was not able to keep my heart rate in Zone 2 on the climb, even though I was hiking (not running).

I eventually made it back to the running store but for a short 3.3 mile loop, there was quite a bit of climbing involved.  A good work out though!  And always fun to take my kid out on the trails!  

I'm still keeping up with the yoga challenge.  I sometimes do the poses with Ellie, which is fun!  I've slacked on some days in doing yoga but I'm trying to do it every day as it helps so much!

As for the pregnancy this week, everything is feeling ok.  I am definitely feeling more pregnant as far as getting bigger.  There is definitely a bump now.  I get a bit anxious at times on whether the baby is doing okay.  For some reason, I keep hearing stories of miscarriages lately and it makes me really sad for my friends (or people in my mom groups) who lost their babies and really worried something will happen to this baby.  I don't remember feeling quite so worried during my last pregnancy.  I try not to worry too much but looking forward to our sonogram in a couple weeks to hopefully reassure me that things are developing along okay with the baby.  

Total Miles for Week 18:  32.48 miles

Total Miles for this pregnancy: 375.38 miles 

Preggo Week 17 Recap

Preggo Week 17 Recap

(September 10 - 16, 2016)

Last weekend was my hubby's birthday so trickier to coordinate my long run.  We had some fun family time together instead.  On Sunday evening, hubby was working so after I put the kid to bed, I got on the treadmill and knocked out 12 miles while listening to podcasts.  Thank goodness for interesting podcasts to occupy my mind while I ran on the treadmill.

The following day, after work, I took the baby and dog for a walk around the neighborhood for a few miles.  Was enjoying the cooler weather so I can take them out in the evenings before dark.  It was nice until these two dogs (unleashed) came charging at us (I think to say hi to my dog) and they barreled right into my legs nearly knocking me and the stroller over.  I managed to stay upright and keep the stroller from toppling (though it wobbled while I tried to gain my balance).  Luckily, my dog behaved in not bolting away.  I hurried all of us along away from the dogs.  I saw the owner across the street come out from a building and call his dogs back (he did not apologize to me).  Boy was I mad (and shookened up)!  We were near a relatively busy road so not an area I would have my dog running unleashed.  I was glad none of us got hurt but it was definitely scary for the moment.



The rest of the week, I did a couple treadmill runs and then I slacked off training for a few days.  Work was really exhausting and stressful this week.  It probably could have helped to run but I was just too tired and unmotivated to run after a long day.  I just felt unmotivated.  I feel really stressed and overwhelmed at work lately.  We are going through this unusual transition that has made things extra stressful.  At times, I feel like I cannot catch up on things.  Then, I have the added stress of not sure what's going to happen with my future career.

I did somewhat keep up with yoga challenge though I'm not consistently doing the yoga videos every day as I would like.  I need to remember that it's helpful, not just the stretching but to help decompress at the end of the day.

Other than that, as far as the pregnancy goes, I feel okay.  The bump is starting to grow so my regular clothes are getting tighter.  I had some hip pain and achiness if I sit too long so trying to do more hip stretches (pigeon pose is the best!) and rolling on the lacrosse ball.  I think the few extra days of running did help the hip so I guess it was good I didn't run for a few days.

Total miles for week 17:  26.98 miles
Total miles this pregnancy: 342.91 miles

Preggo Week 16 Recap

Preggo Week 16 Recap
(September 3-9, 2016)

Had a pretty good week.  Feeling pretty good and glad I did more outdoor runs than treadmill runs this week.  

After a couple weeks of mostly treadmill runs,  I have been missing running outside and with friends.  Hubby watched Ellie on Saturday morning so I could get a long run in.  I went and met up with some friends who were running long.  

I mostly ran half my run with my friend Edd.  We ran from Beals Point to Lake Natoma.  It was SO nice being able to run outside and with people.  I saw many friends out and about that morning so that was nice too.  Back out in civilization!  

I wasn't going as far as the others so I turned early and ran the second half of the run alone.  I enjoyed myself.  

For this run, I kept my HR in Zone 2 and that was really nice later in the run.  Even though it was slow, I felt like I could keep going on that pace for awhile.  I even felt good after the run.  

Saturday morning run

For the rest of the week, I managed to get more outdoor runs in.  It helped that this is Craig's short week at work so he's home in the evenings so I can take the dog out for an evening run. 

Training has been going well.  Sticking to the plan.  I've been doing good keeping up with yoga challenge too.  My right hip has been bothering me when I sit around too long so the yoga stretches have been helpful for that too.  

Bridge pose and week 16 baby bump pic

Tuesday run after work with Ellie and Lyla

really hard to keep HR in zone 2 while pushing a stroller on a warm day

Total miles for week 16: 43.12 

Total miles for this pregnancy: 315.93

(As compared to last pregnancy, after 16 weeks, I had only run 162.92 miles so I'm almost double the miles of my last pregnancy at this time).  :D 

Preggo Week 15 Recap

Preggo Week 15 Recap
(August 27 - September 2)

MRTT Summer Sparkler

Last Saturday was the Auburn MRTT Summer Sparkler 5k and kid's run.  The three gals I have been doing the C25k training program with ran their 5k and all did great!  It was fun seeing all the moms and kids running the 5k.  We had a great showing of many families.  

Group shot 

Kids were cute cheering on their mamas

These 3 finished the C25k program 

They all ran an awesome 5k!  

The 5k was fun and after the 5k, we had the kid races.  There were two groups.  The littler kids and the older kids.  This was Ellie's first kids race.  She ran for a few feet while holding a strawberry in her hand and then got distracted.  Craig and I had to hold her hand to help her run the rest of the way but she seemed happy being out there.  

Most of the other kids were already across the field earlier but Ellie was getting there.  

Coming into the finish holding mommy and daddy's hands.  Face of pure joy! :)

Ellie with her first race medal!  

The Summer Sparkler was a great family event and nice to meet some new members in the group.  It makes me happy to see the group growing to have all the families coming out.  

Marathon Training 

On Sunday, I had intentions to get up early and get a run in before hubby went to work but I was feeling tired and lazy.  I spent the morning just loafing around watching tv.  

In the afternoon, after putting Ellie down for her nap, I got on the treadmill to get my long run in.  Managed 10 miles, keeping in zone 2.  The first few miles, I felt impatient running so slow.  But, by the last few miles, I was glad I had kept a steady slow pace.  I listened to some podcasts.  Ellie slept for most of the run. She woke up during the last mile or so and sat in her crib playing.  She fussed a little during the cool down but gave me just enough time to get my long run done.  

Sunday long run on the treadmill

On Monday, I had a busy, stressful day at work.  Work has been particularly stressful lately.  At times, I feel like I am drowning in all my cases.  Just thinking of all my cases and perhaps some pregnancy hormones, I started feeling overwhelmed and emotional.  Later that evening, I had a very therapeutic treadmill run.  I am grateful I have running to help relieve me of work stress and such.  

The rest of the week, I did a few more treadmill runs and a couple outings with the dog.  I'm doing pretty good in sticking to my marathon plan and getting my runs in.  

On September 1st, I did another MAF test.  I ran about a mile warm up then did the 3 miles as close to 144 as possible.  My MAF test results:

Mile 1: 10:50 min/mile

Mile 2: 11:12 min/mile

Mile 3: 11:21 min/mile

I was surprised to find I did run it a tad faster than my last MAF test.  I am enjoying this low heart rate training.  

Also for September, I am doing a 30 day yoga challenge with Auburn MRTT to get back to doing yoga.  I'm hoping doing this challenge will be good in getting myself back in the routine of doing yoga regularly.  I find the yoga stretching is great cross-training for running and great while pregnant.  

Downward dog with Ellie

So, all in all, a good week of training.  

Total miles for Week 15: 34.95

Title miles for this Pregnancy: 272.81