Rock and ROLL

This past weekend I ran in the San Antonio Rock n Roll 1/2 marathon.  it was my first since finding out I was pregnant.  Granted L is only 5 months old I knew it would be the perfect motivation to get my butt in gear!!  Not to mention my mom and Gram were doing it too and heaven forbid I let them run without me!!

My training was mediocre at best, I really wish I could have trained better but getting back into the swing of things was a little harder than I anticipated.  I LOOSELY used the Hal Higdon training schedule for Novice.  I say loosely because I didn't really stick to it but when I needed some guidance on distance and when to get started I would refer to it.

The days before the race I tried to really up my hydration, during my last half that was my downfall and it really sucked, I hit a wall at mile 10 and the last 3.1 were miserable because I think I wasn't well hydrated.  So this time I really tried to amp up the hydration the week before and then the day before the race I think I drank like over 3L of fluid not just water as I didn't want to end up with hyponatremia (low sodium).

about to start!!

The night before we had our usual pasta and I was able to get about 8 hours of sleep.  I was up bright and early and started my race routine.  I ate a bagel with peanut butter and drank a red bull.  About 15 minutes before race start I ate(?) a GU it was chocolate flavor which was like chocolate pudding.  It took me a long time to get used to GU because the texture really gags you but I take it in bits and also swig water so it dissolves in my mouth.  Once I started using it I really really noticed a difference in my endurance and the way my body felt during long runs.

The race was good, I made sure to pee right as the race was starting and thus did not have to pee during the race, I learned my lesson on that the first time...always pee before you start...the clock doesn't start till your chip passes the start and once you pass the start you cant pause the time and if you have to pee the long potty lines will KILL your time!

I hit a few rough patches but God was good and put the right song on my ipod in my ears right when I needed the motivation.  Believe it or not some of my most motivating songs are worship songs! I started getting a headache around mile 5 and was a little worried it was going to escalate into something else or worse so I stopped drinking as much water and focused on the Cytomax and then at the spot where they offered salt packets I downed like 3 salt packets as well as some GU when it was offered as well.  This was the right thing to do because my headache went away and I had the endurance I needed to keep up my pace and finish without any health problems or injuries.  When I hit mile 12 I had enough steam in me to book it and I hauled it to the finish and ended with a time of 2:09:01.  I wish I would have pushed it harder during the race and I could have gotten a better time but oh well.

I must also add, I forgot a part to my pump and didn't realize it till race morning.  I ran the race with rock boobs which really wasn't that fun.  Luckily some nice security men let me run in the locked up Henry B. Gonzales convention center so I could feed L and at least relieve some pressure haha.

It was a really good time, I wish there were more water stations towards the end and also at the finish its so congested with people you just want to go sit and you feel like a heard of cattle, also some fritos and mini bagel and some cookies is not enough sustenance for people who just burned over 1500 calories...just sayin

My sweet boy after the race having lunch...holding his own bottle like a big boy!

I cant forget...My Gram, who is 77 I might add, finished in 3:09 and my mom did 2:32...they are so awesome, I hope to be as healthy and awesome as them when I get to their ages!!!