I hoped it would achievable to participate in the Houston Half Marathon when Isaac was less than 4 months old. I anticipated walking the majority of the race and just having fun. When my training started going really well I thought I could potentially run the entire race! I remember in mid-December running 6 miles without stopping to walk and thinking... "I could actually DO this!". Once I was determined to do it, that was the new expectation for myself.
The night before the race I was really nervous and couldn't sleep. I ended up only getting about 4 hours. We were planning to wake up at 4:30am but I woke up at 3:00am in serious pain and needed to pump. I couldn't fall back asleep so I got up, pumped and started the day. We left the house at 5am, picked up Sarah who was also running and headed into downtown!
Racing while breastfeeding was a challenge, to make sure I was empty before the race I pumped at 3:45 am, 5:15 am and 6:00 am at George R. Brown Convention Center. Oh yes, I sat in the corner with my nursing cover and pumped along with 22,000 of my closest running buddies. It was awesome.
The race started at 7 am with light rain. I should also mention that we had been training for the past 6 weeks in 40-ish degree weather with low humidity. On race day it was 65 degrees and raining. Yuck.
After the gunshot we were stuck in a heard of runners for the first mile so it was pretty slow. I felt really good until about mile 6 then started feeling a little fatigued. It started raining much harder around mile 8 and my socks/shoes were soaked by mile 10. I wasn't feeling too great and had to slow down quite bit, but picked it back up for mile 13.
I ended up running the entire race and finishing in 2:08:55! Over 10 minutes slower than my PR, but hopefully my speed will return with time.
I'm thankful to Bryce for running with me the entire race. He is so much faster but wanted to support me along the way to keep me going.
A funny moment during the race was after I crossed the finish line. There were volunteers handing out medals and Medical support waiting for anyone that needed it. Since the race bibs have your name on them, the volunteers were saying... "Great job (insert name)!!" when the runners walked by them. One of the Medical supports guys looked at me and said... "You doing alright, Kim?". HA! Apparently I didn't look so good. :)
Here are my paces by mile according to my watch and few pictures taken on my phone. I'll enjoy a day or two of relaxing but then need to get back training for the Austin Half Marathon in just 3 weeks!
Mile 1 - 10:07
Mile 2 - 9:23
Mile 3 - 9:26
Mile 4 - 9:28
Mile 5 - 9:41
Mile 6 - 9:37
Mile 7 - 9:51
Mile 8 - 9:55
Mile 9 - 9:56
Mile 10 - 10:01
Mile 11 - 9:58
Mile 12 - 10:08
Mile 13 - 9:25
Mile 13.1 - 9:16
Ready to go in the Convention Center at about 6:30 am.
Post-race picture with Bryce, Me, Sarah and Laura. We were drenched from the rain and had to change clothes before we left.
Back home with Isaac! Thanks to Grandpa and Grandma Jakub for flying down to watch him!
1 comment:
YOU ARE MY HERO!!!
and what a wonderful testament to all nursing moms that you CAN get back into it, and you CAN pump in public-- what a star!
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