Got the first baby stuff!
We had dinner at a friends house on Sunday and they gave us some baby stuff! Thanks Nate and Meg!
I have to admit it’s a little strange to have this around the house. It’s the beginning of big changes!
The first thing I realized is that we really need to get the baby room ready. Or at least have some free space to put tings like these. And we still other things: stroller, car seat. And the fact that I can see stuff is missing means there is tons more.
Marathon this Saturday!
After I ran 20 miles last week, my training has been slowing down so my body recuperates and is ready for the marathon, which is this Saturday. This past Sunday I ran 12 miles, it felt really easy compared to the 20; was a bit lightheaded at the end but after lying down for 15 minutes I felt completely normal.
I feel ready for this marathon. The five week training really worked; I have to admit I had my doubts. I have to take it easy though. I think I’ll finish in about 5 hours; maybe a little less. I don’t really have a time goal for this one, I just want to be able to finish it.
New running record – 20 miles!
I had a great weekend! It involved a lot of running and great times with Carol and friends.
On Saturday morning I ran a fun 5k (3 mile) race organized by friends. I didn’t want to screw up my knee so I didn’t run it fast. I ran at a 9.5 minute mile pace, which was already pushing my knee a bit. It sucks though because had I run my guts out, I would have placed really well on the race, maybe in the first 3 places.
And on Sunday I ran 20 miles (32km) non-stop! Making that my longest run ever. I ran it all around daybreak which turned out really nice. I took it slow because my body is really not prepared for such a distance, my knee prevents me from running fast but on these long runs it’s really my muscles and body that are not prepared for such a feat.
The plan was to run 19 miles, but I was feeling alright at mile 15 so I decided to round it up to a nice 20 miles. The extreme fatigue came at mile 16.47, I remember looking at my GPS watch and saying: “The Beast has arrived”. I’ve been reading Born to Run and one of the characters used that term, I now understand what she meant.
The last 2 miles were extremely challenging, mostly mentally. My body did not hurt (knee felt ok, muscles were not cramping) but it simply did not want to move. It was very hard to make each step. My muscles were definitely drenched of energy and it felt like I was fueling them by pure mind power.
(As I proofread this post I realized it gets really weird after this… Welcome to the depths of Pedro’s mind.)
I tried to maintain a positive state of mind but if I let it wonder it would soon be hunted by the Beast. I was able to finish the last 2 miles by thinking about the facts, my heart rate was not going crazy, my legs were not cramping, my knee was not hurting, the day was sunny, not too hot. Why stop?! And as I absorbed the beautiful scenery, my mind wondered and the Beast took over. At which point I was fighting it with semi-incoherent phrases like “behold spawn of darkness! you will not take the best of me!”.
Spawn of darkness? Where did I hear that? Take the best of me? Maybe a “you won’t stop me” would have been ok. Anyways, that is seriously one of many phrases my mind was rambling. I was thinking of the eternal conflict of good vs evil and relating it with negative thoughts and how they limit the physical body. Yeah, I was getting delusional.
I had tons of other strange thoughts but I feel I’m already going to regret posting this to the public so I’ll leave it as it is. If you want more just come running with me next time!
Humm,, and this is mostly a note to self, my lungs were feeling a bit weird at the end, like they were hurting a bit? Nothing to really worry about, it’s just strange and new to me.
8 weeks come with a picture!
Carol is now 8 weeks pregnant and we had our first baby doctor’s appointment yesterday. The doc said everything is going fine. The doc recommended we do an ultrasound, this one was mostly to make sure we’re counting the weeks right.
The most important ultrasound – and the only other ultrasound that will be done – will come on week 18 (4 months). On that one they check the organs and other things are functioning ok. They can also tell us if it’s a boy or a girl! We were sure we wanted to know the sex until some good friends told us that it is well worth waiting until the baby is born. But I’ll be honest, we’re still leaning more towards knowing.
When the ultrasound was going on, we were able to hear it’s heartbeat! The doc also gave us this snapshot:
That gray smudge in the middle is it! Head on the left, legs to the right. Amazing right?
My longest run – knee is cooperating
About a month ago I decided that my knee had healed up enough to start running and I’ve been slowly incrementing miles and getting a feel of my knee.
I’m glad to report to you guys that today I ran 15 miles – the longest run of my life! The trick with my knee is to run slow. So the run took me 2 hrs and 43 mins. Average pace of 10:52 minutes per mile. http://connect.garmin.com/activity/48784042
Before my knee started giving me problems (back in May), I signed up for the St George Marathon. I’m now thinking the marathon is doable as long as I run slow. So Next week I’ll set another record distance of 19 miles, making that my longest training for the marathon. A week after that I have a 13 mile run to taper down (which I might skip because of a 100 mile road ride I might do). And a week after that is the marathon.
I have to admit I’ve recently incremented miles really quick. Last week I ran 11 miles, today I ran 15, next week 19. That’s waaayy more than the “10% increment a week rule”, but it was the only way I was going to be prepared for the marathon distance.
My knee did not hurt today at all, I’m confident I will be able to run the marathon with no knee pain. My muscles are the ones that might not be ready. I totally ran out of energy today on my 15 mile run. The marathon is 26.2 miles! I think I’ll need to run even slower to make it, but as long as my knee does not hurt, I’ll make it.
