Dailymile is a funny program. It asks me how my training is going. I love that. Some days I want to shout as loud as I can, “TRAINING IS AWESOME!!!!” Other days, I’d rather just go back to bed.
This pregnancy has been quite reflective of both those feelings. Some days I feel like a million bucks. Other days? Notsomuch. As you know from my previous pregnancy posts, this pregnancy is much different than my first one. Any woman who has gone through more than one will say the same. Each pregnancy is different. They each come with their ups and downs, and a different set of challenges.
I am grateful that I have been able to continue with my training throughout my pregnancy. I am now 34 1/2 weeks through and guess what? I’m still running. Granted, I’m not still running at the same level as I was even a week ago, but I’m still getting out there. Running has been a godsend to me on so many levels. I feel better, I look better, I think better, I sleep better. The only thing that isn’t better is my vein situation. But hopefully that will pass with baby’s arrival.
I’ve always looked to running as an escape. I’ve used it to escape from my horrible body image issues. I’ve used it to escape health ailments. I’ve used it to escape every day life and clear my head. I remember loathing track or cross country practice. It was awful. But I was a dumb teenager who would rather be smoking cigarettes or weed, and listening to Nirvana. Who needed running? Seemed stupid. But now, as an adult who is slowly encroaching on the “hill,” I am so thankful that my baby Boo made me so fat and miserable that I took to the pavement again (or, in my case, belt). I love it. I can’t imagine my life without it.
For the love of the run.
There will be a day in the very near future, I fear, that I will no longer be able to run. I hope each and every day that my continued physical fitness and stamina level throughout these last eight months will bring me through a quick, smooth and uneventful labor and delivery. I hope, even more, that I will bounce back and recovery quickly and uneventfully so that I may continue running sooner rather than later after baby’s arrival.
Unfortunately I am no longer in touch with my Challenge group on Facebook. I decided to delete my Facebook account. It has been sad because I’ve really enjoyed encouraging others and receiving encouragement as well, and it has been a huge motivating factor for my continued success, but Facebook overall was bringing me down. Maybe one day soon I will rejoin and continue cheering everyone on from the virtual sidelines!
And now to the nitty gritty. Here’s a snippet of my training over the last week:
Week 34
- 5/8 Ran 2.25 miles
- 5/10 Ran 2 miles
- 5/12 Mother’s Day! The Race with my family — this was a quick one miler, which actually turned out to be quite frigid and only a 1/2 miler for my boys and me. My son (3.5 yrs old) was so excited for his first official race, but we were all frozen to the bones. Luckily I decided we would only attempt 1/2 mile because as soon as we had our frozen butts in the car, it start hailing. Yikes.
- 5/13 Ran 2 miles
- 5/15 Ran 2 miles
- 5/17 Ran 1.5 miles
As you can see, my mileage is slipping quite rapidly. This morning was quite the disappointment. I was really pushing for a solid two miles. Most of the time during my runs, the baby doesn’t move so it doesn’t feel strange or discombobulating. Today, however, she decided to be quite active and it was both a little painful and a lot distracting. So I settled on finishing at 1.5 overall. I’m hoping Sunday is better.
I will say that focusing on my pregnancy and my running has been extremely good for my soul. I am in a positive place and very much looking toward the future. There have been so many changes this year, both good and bad, and it seems like things are finally falling into place.
For the love of the run.
