Broad St Run

Yesterday I was very excited when I got an email saying that I've been selected through the lottery as a runner in this year's Philadelphia Broad St Run. It's a 10 mile race that goes throughout the city, and I've been told it's pretty easy (for 10 miles) because it covers mostly flat terrain.

My history with running has always been love/hate. I love how cardiovascularly it provides a great workout. I love that I can get up and just go- no prep needed, no driving needed, nada. I love how accomplished I feel when I meet a certain goal for miles. What do I hate? Injuries. Getting bored. Sometimes feeling like my body is rejecting running. Not timing food around a run well enough so I don't feel empty or nauseous. Running in the heat. 

My first run after having C was about 4 weeks postpartum. I didn't have clearance from the Doctor yet (I don't suggest doing that although I had no ill effects) but felt good so I gave it a shot. I was all geared up, wearing my favorite lululemon running crops, even though they were a bit tight on my newly acquired muffin top. About 5 minutes into what felt like the hardest run of my life, my iPod died. I do NOT run without music. This was bad. I kept going, because dammit, I was going to run 3 miles if it killed me! Let me tell you, the only thing worse than running in silence is running while listening to yourself huff and puff, and feeling your postpartum belly jiggle with each step. Not cute!

Although I do run for cardio, I've never been a big racer. It's not that I haven't tried though. 2 years ago I was signed up for my first half marathon, and was really excited to race it. I got into the trap of running too much, too soon, and sprained my foot. Race over! This is always what has happened to me, I try to squeeze the running in with my other workouts and end up overdoing it. After I had C I started running a lot because of how easy it was to just get up and go and ended up tweaking my ankle. 

My goal with Broad St (in addition to completing it!) is to pace myself with training. For the rest of February I'm going to run about 3 days per week, keeping the mileage low. Once March hits, I'll follow Hal Higdon's half marathon training plan for 8 weeks up to the race. http://www.halhigdon.com/training/51131/Half-Marathon-Novice-1-Training-Program

I'm only going to ever run 3 days per week, because in addition to wanting to strength train, I have to teach my classes 2 days per week. Right now, working out more than 5 days per week is just unrealistic. Even that will be a challenge! 

I'll be posting updates about training, including my workout plans.

Is anyone else running Broad St this year?