I Ran the NYC Marathon and Lived to Tell About It

It has been two weeks and I am finally ready to post my experience running the NYC marathon as a nursing mom. I started with a mile-by-mile account which I still haven't completed, so here's a snap-shot of before and after.

First of all, I'm a very slow runner. I got up at 4am, nursed my baby, then left my house at 5am. Between taking the train from Queens to the Staten Island Ferry, taking the ferry to Staten Island and then you know the whole pre-race thing w/ breakfast and all...well if you don't know...wow that is a site they don't show on TV...but it is an unforgettable experience you've just got to see at least once in your lifetime.

It's really cold and everyone, and by everyone I mean about 40,000 people, is laying around wrapped up in sleeping bags, blankets and trash bags wearing our most bummed-out-looking outfits because they will end up shedding them and throwing them on the side of the road as the race begins and our bodies finally start heating up. It looks like a scene from Armigeden or something.

So it was five hours from the time I left my house until I actually started running. Bag check was due at 9am, so at 8:30 I pulled out a brand new Avent hand pump that my BD bought for me the night before and my two girlfriends who were also running held jackets up around me while I tried to figure out how to work the thing, and onlookers pretended not to be staring out of the corners of their eyes.

Actually, it is slower than my $300 electric Medela double pump, but my boobs were more responsive to this one and it seemed the milk flow would never stop. I pumped out two five-ounce bottles and it was still flowing.

The race started at 10:20 am and I didn't finish 'till after 5pm. Then I was way too exhausted by the time I made it across the finish line, picked up my bag and found the nearest train station because it was dark out and I was exhausted and totally disoriented.

Once I sat on the train I was so tired and my legs were hurting so bad I couldn't move. I got on the train going down-town and I needed the up-town train so I got out off the next stop and started walking up the steps, but I was using my arms to pull myself up the stairs. Two people stopped and asked me if I needed help...lol. I gave up after about 4 steps, got back on the train and took it all the way to the end of the line and then waited for it to go back uptown.

All I could think about going home was whether I would be able to walk up the four flights of stairs to the ground level and then walk the half a mile home. I was freaking out that my legs were just going to give out under me when I went to stand up and I was going to fall flat on my face and later wake up lying on the subway platform, or worse, they were going to take me on a stretcher to the hospital and then I would be stuck with trying to find my way home all over again.

So the last thing on my mind was pumping my bloating breasts. Besides I just found out I'm going to have to have all 4 wisdom's teeth removed and they were killing me for the 2nd half of the marathon, each step like taking a hammer and nail to them.

But the good news? With my aching legs trembling beneath me and my mouth feeling like it was giving birth to a big-headed-tooth, my bulging boobs went unnoticed.
I made it home and I was even able to lay on the bed for 30 minutes and let the Motrin kick in before I nursed my baby.

Now I am here more than two weeks later, I am still alive, my body has completely recovered minus the 4 aching wisdom's teeth that are still awaiting removal, but the pain is mostly subdued with Motrin, nothing horrible happened to my boobs, didn't get mastitis or anything, still pumping plenty of satisfying milk as always so all is well that ends well.

And the craziest part of this whole story? I would do it all again in an instant!

Stay tuned for mile-by-mile account of this crazy experience, my running plans for the future and my recovery story from getting my wisdom's teeth pulled.

Oh and while you're waiting check out my website that I've been busy building: http://www.running-mom.com. Peace out.