Sunday, December 13, 2009

Living Vicariously

The Honolulu Marathon was this morning. I can't believe I have lived here for 5 years yet have never run it. I've been entered twice now but ended up skipping it both times... In all honesty, it did occur to me (for like a nano-second) that I could still run it this year. I mean, I feel pretty confident that I could have finished the thing today unharmed. And it would have been my last chance to ever run a marathon while pregnant (since I will not be pregnant again after this!!) But I just really don't have any desire to slog my way through another marathon. One of these years I'm going to run the thing. And when I do, I'll be trained and prepared and ready for a solid 26.2. Maybe next year. :)

In good news, I did get to live vicariously through two of my athletes who were running today! And they both did awesome!! Obviously it's not like I can take a lot of credit since I've only been officially coaching them for 2 weeks, but I do feel like I guided them through the taper and helped them come up with solid nutrition and pacing plans to help them both finish strong, so in that way, I feel so proud of them! Karen ran a 3:36 today, which is a 16 minute PR for her (and 32 minutes faster than she did this course last year). She delivered on the negative split plan we had for her- took it out in a 1:51 and brought it home in a 1:45! Talking to her afterward was so much fun because I could just hear the excitement in her voice as she talked about all the people that she *flew* by in the end. AND, she admitted to me that, um, she stopped for a half a beer at mile 24. I was like, what????? But I just had to laugh. That is so Karen. She absolutely cracks me up.

And Nalani had a great race today too! She had a huge PR with a very evenly split race, coming in at 3:49! I was checking the splits all morning online and doing the math to figure out her pace... and then her husband called me after she passed mile 19 to tell me she was still smiling... I was just bouncing around the house this morning so proud of these gals. :)

I can see how as a coach you really take personal responsibility for how your athletes perform. Not so much today, but come 'A' race time in June, I'm gonna be a nervous wreck.

Anyway, I'm feeling pretty good at 9 weeks pregnant. I'm not showing a ton, though I am definitely a good bit thicker through my middle. At night I definitely look a lot more pregnant than I do in the mornings. What is up with that? Anyway, I hit 31 miles of running again for the week so am feeling proud of that. AND I got outside on my bike both days this weekend. The weather here has just been glorious- perfect temps (mid/upper 70's is my version of perfect by the way- no 'chemical heaters' needed here) so I just enjoyed the heck out of myself for 2 whole hours of pedaling this afternoon. I didn't get to the gym this week, but I did do my pull-ups yesterday while I was playing with Moana at the playground. I can still do 7. :) I'm up about 6 lbs from pre-pregnancy weight, but let's face it, pre-pregnancy weight was Ironman weight, so 6 lbs up from that is probably what I would be anyway even if I weren't growing a baby.

So here we go... onto another week... my mission this week is going to be to finish up my Christmas shopping and get all those presents mailed out. I've become a terrible procrastinator. (I didn't used to be like this. I think Scott is rubbing off on me.) I keep bugging Scott that Christmas is in less than 2 weeks and we don't have a tree. He told me he's going to cut one down from some forest he knows about. I was like, "Is that legal?" He swears it is, but I don't know... Anyway, maybe one of these days we'll actually get a tree and then I'll be able to tell stories about how Moana is trying to rip it down.

15 comments:

X-Country2 said...

How exciting that must have been! Sounds like you're a damn good coach already.

kerrie said...

6 lbs? pullease....i think i did that in the first week post ironman. oops! i'm sure you are the best looking baby growing mama out there!

Running and living said...

Sounds like things are going very well. You'll run Honolulu soon, maybe even next year! If I get pregnant again, I want to be like you:)

RunningMama said...

Yeah for your coaching! And Yeah for the ladies! You are running more than I was at your stage in pregnancy the last time. As for the tree, if it makes you feel better we JUST got a tree yesterday, which is a big step up from last year when we didn't even buy a tree at all.

Clare said...

what kind of christmas tree grows in hawaii??? post a picture! kudos to karen and nalani! (i had a dream the other night that i DID have my own nalani, it was weird but i was FAST!)

Regina said...

Wow, they did great. I am so humbled. I am sure you will run Honolulu, unless you plan on leaving Hawaii? Yeah, I didn't think so.

I was going to ask about the pull ups. I still can't do one (don't get any ideas).

Angela and David said...

I was also wondering what kind of Christmas tree grows in Hawaii. I'd just put lights on a pineapple and call it a day.

Katie A. said...

Yay Coach! So that means Ironman was 9+ weeks ago? Man time flies!
Hope your tree "arrives" soon! :)

Charisa said...

Glad you are feeling good!

Rebecca DeWire said...

I am so impressed at your fitness! You are running more now than I ever have in my life and can do more pull-ups! You rock.

Kate Parker said...

we don't have a tree either. glad to hear i am not alone in this.

N.D. said...

i'm sure you would have finished the race unharmed but it wouldn't be what you expected, I don't think. Not worth it :) That is awesome you are coaching. :)

GoBigGreen said...

Horray for outdoor riding sans Chemical heaters:) I should send you some for Nalani:) I also have picture of our frozen snow covered swimming pool, it might amuse Moana:)

cherelli said...

wow, I hope one day I can say I ran 31 miles this week - and that is in the un-pregnant state :) ! Congrats on starting up your coaching career, with all your experience sounds like you'll do great! Will you have your own website?

KimsRunning said...

Growing a baby can be a marathon in and of itself...lol. And pacing is on cruise control!!! Congratulations on baby #2!!

I popped in because Regina wanted me to tell you she can't WAIT to start getting some pull ups into her training....LOL (oh, she's gonna kill me...haha)