Running Pregnant: Week 20

Baby Germain is the size of a  Mango


This week's craving: Well, that mango sounds pretty good! It seems my cravings have taken a turn for the better. Although still not going to turn down nachos and Doritos, I'm seeking much more plant based things... Which is good because my diet has been crap. I've craved a lot of fruits and veggies this week... and really REALLY wish they'd open up a Life Alive cafe near here! (I'm not sure if that's pregnancy talking, or just my normal self though... seriously, WE NEED ONE AROUND HERE!)
This weeks' aversion: Nothing in particular. Isn't that awesome?! I'm pretty psyched about that!

MONDAY- 10 Stroller Miles, 1:25:31 8:31/mi: I was lazy last week. Or was I tired, or stressed? I don't know I can't remember... but Since I missed my Sunday long run last week I started this week off with a 10 miler... pushing the stroller.... around and around and around in circles (25 figure 8's at the local elementary school) I said to myself "6 is good, but 8 is better, and if you can get to 10 maybe just maybe you can actually hit your secret goal of a 50 mile week during pregnancy".... It was wet and raw outside, Raea was wide awake singing along with the music until my phone died from cold around 6 miles. At this point there was still plenty of daylight left but the minimal sun we had was now behind the trees and the temperature was dropping quick. Raea was bored. I was bored. Every time we passed the car (every .38 miles) Raea said "car? car?" She was bundled and warm but I don't blame her for being sick of the same damn loops we've been doing all winter! I feel the same way! I attempted to sing elmo songs to her and picked up the pace for the last four miles as her patience was thinning. It wasn't until 9.6 that she really started losing it and screamed for the last .4 miles.... It's okay though because as soon as I finished and took her out of the stroller she happily ran along the empty parking lot and suddenly I was the one saying "car? car?"... I bribed her with food after about 15 minutes of her playing in the snow. Since I got to 10, I was locked in on achieving 50 miles this week. 
Bathroom Breaks: 2



TUESDAY- 6 painfully slow and annoyingly hilly miles in the freezing rain. 9:36/mi. This was tough in so many ways. I had a follow up appointment to review last weeks ultrasound results... and although there's nothing much to worry about, anything coming up abnormal is scary! The doctor informed me that my baby has Fetal Pyelectasis  or an enlarged kidney. I initially freaked a bit about this because my husbands father battled with Polycystic Kidney Disease for a very, very long time, and although I know Matt doesn't have it, I didn't know the details of how it is passed and what this all means. I hear "kidneys" and I think dialysis and transplants, and all the scary stuff. She assured me it's really common and probably nothing at all.... but she also informed me that it's a soft marker for Down Syndrome... so I had to digest that as well. Before leaving the doctors they always ask "anymore questions" as if I can process all of this information quick enough to come up with reasonable questions! My run consisted of me thinking "damn I should have asked this, or that" and then debating if I should google or not... Ultimately I decided to because if it's really so common and really unlikely to be anything at all, I shouldn't find anything but reassurance... Which I did. I didn't spend much time looking anything up, but my baby's kidney was 5mm, and normal was 3mm-4mm... some people reported their baby had an enlarged kidney of 18mm and it worked itself out in utero.... So I just have to pray and stay positive... but also prepare for the worst should that be our fate. I also found out that it's more common in boys. So... spoiler alert on the gender prediction section. 
Bathroom Breaks: 1  


WEDNESDAY- 5.5 Miles with 2xMile repeats 7:07, 6:49: I had calculated the math to hit 50 miles early on, Since there's a 15k at the end of the week, I can probably get a comfortable 10.5-11 in there without much stress since the race atmosphere and crowd makes time and torture pass quickly.. but my mom could only watch Raea for an extra 45 minutes today and at the rate I had been running lately I'd be lucky to get 4.5 in! I needed to do something faster to ensure more miles... I couldn't wrap my head around fartlek. I couldn't do multiple intervals, I didn't want to do any intervals... it was a nice day so I said I'd do 2xMile and see how it goes. Expecting 7:20's, I was very surprised with the results.... ESPECIALLY the 6:49 since there was a pretty decent climb in there. Very happy to get 5.5, now I just need to make up the .5 somewhere else, probably Saturday as a warm-up or cool-down from the race
Bathroom Breaks: 0 Aint nobody got time for that today!



THURSDAY- 6.1 Fun Run miles. It is Matts birthday and he was hosting the run at Sneakerama with On shoes available for demo. Matts mom watched Raea all day so she came to sneakerama and babysat while I got in 3ish with Kim, Steve, and another CMS guy... and then for the actual fun run Sisu Teammates came for Matts birthday so I ran with Sarah and Sumner mostly. We had cake at the store and everyone came to dinner after, and it was awesome!
Bathroom Breaks: 1






It Starts.......

FRIDAY- Early Release from School. 6 Miles in the ice pellets... or was that actual snow? It was gross! My sister watched Raea while I forced myself through another painfully slow 6. I'm exhausted at this point. It's been a gruesomely stressful week at school and I just wanted to go home... But since the forecast was worse for tomorrow... the long run day that I'm supposed to get miles in with the help of a crowd and race atmosphere, was very questionable. USATF declared that the event will not be counted in the series...so I just knew I had to get the 6 in outside at the very least because there's a good chance I'm on the treadmill for the next two days anyway.
Bathroom Breaks: 0
SATURDAY- 10.3 Miles on the treadmill=death 9:06/mi: Somewhere along the line the .02, and .03 miles have added up and I'm at 33.7. I decide I'm going to run until I'm at an even 44 and only have 6 more left. Matt is home because he planned to do the 15k which was cancelled due to ice and snow... so I am getting on that treadmill and grinding. I hated most of it, but weirdly was so proud of my commitment and dedication that it pulled me through. I'm going to hit 50 miles pregnant... It was a goal I secretly set but let drift off... and now it's in reach. I'm getting it!
Bathroom Breaks: 1


SUNDAY- 6 easy miles with Caroline! 9:01 pace: Every step was hard, I'm heavy, I have Braxton Hicks Contractions at even the slightest incline, I don't think any marathon training cycle has made my legs feel this dead, and I truly mean that. I went through the motions and finished strong. Time to taper now. I can assure you my mileage will NOT get higher from here. 



**TOTAL MILES: 50.0* 

This is a pretty decent amount of mileage for any normal "non-pregnant" training cycle, so I'm very proud I did this at 20 weeks pregnant. It was hard, and I'll always look back to this week when the going gets tough while I train for faster times.... I ran for 7 hours and 28 minutes this week... that's only a little over an hour less than the time I spent running for my highest weekly mileage during marathon training... NOT TOO SHABBY! 


Additional Training: 
-Yoga on Monday night by myself- since I missed my normal yoga to run 10 miles and then committed to 50  miles this week, I knew I'd need to do this to survive the rest
-I built a futon by myself. It counts. 
Lessons Learned:
1. I can achieve my goals! I really pushed myself here, and even though at times I could have easily said "f this!" I stuck with it. I'm pretty proud of myself
2. I can handle 90+ minutes on the treadmill... Something I've never done before
3. A lot of people will help if you ask. 

Looking Forward To: NO MORE SNOW! Am I right New England?! I just want the railtrails back!

Gender Prediction: Well, given that enlarged kidneys are more common in boys, I'm going with boy. I'll be SUPER surprised if it's a girl because now I'm convinced that it's a boy and I don't think I'll be changing my mind

Movie Watched: Away we Go: I'm surprised Rotten Tomatoes gave it 67%. It wasn't so good. I couldn't get past the fact that John Krasinski can play anyone other than Jim Halpert and can be with any woman other than Pam Beesly... But mostly that's why I watched the movie because I can only watch the office so many times. It tried too hard to combine funny and serious. If you want to watch a movie that does funny, serious, and pregnancy well, What to Expect was WAY better! 
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