Running Pregnant: Week 24

Baby Germain is the size of an ear of corn

This week's craving: Tums
This week's aversion: Anything that I might have a hunch will give me heartburn. So I'm basically starving.... It's not like I don't want to eat it, but I literally can NOT take the heartburn anymore.



MONDAY- A painful but yet easy 5k around campus 9:55/mi, Followed by 75 minutes of Yoga: Another warm day and suddenly everything looks like spring! Got out for a run even though I planned to also go to yoga. The run was uneventful and very slow. I felt tired. Yoga was mostly good. I usually go with my mom but she was gone so it was just me... which was weird... and I can't quite pinpoint why. I'm also at the point where simple poses like childs pose actually requiring modifications. I literally can no longer do ANYTHING without a bolster. Hopefully I can keep going but it is getting hard... and 75 minutes is a long time to be in a hot room when it's also hot outside. Keeping up with hydration is getting harder... especially since I'm tired of bathroom breaks!  
Bathroom Breaks: 1 per activity. 






TUESDAY- Treadmill Music Intervals. Well, the life of a Tech.Rep wife leaves me without a husband until pretty late at night or until the next day 90% of the time... as was the case here. It was raining all day and I went home not sure if I'd do anything... but somewhere I found the energy to go to the treadmill after Raea fell asleep (she fell asleep really early, which I think helped me get motivated!). I committed to 10 songs on pandora and used the songs to pick up and slow down the pace. I averaged above 9:00/mi, but there were lots of portions of the run that I ran at 8:00/mi and some even below... So I felt like I got some good work in! I officially hate coldplay live though. Speed it up Chris Martin, I'm getting tired here. ;) 
 Bathroom Breaks: 1




WEDNESDAY- 3 easy miles of running for 3 easy years of marriage...  I can't say that Matt and I have very much in life figured out, but these first three years of marriage have been very easy on the relationship side of things. Finances, managing schedules, stress of where we are living, how the hell we are going to take care of our kids... that stuff has been tricky, but we always work it out as a team and he's the best teammate I've ever had. In many ways the run I did was much harder than the past three years of marriage. These three miles I wanted to quit every step of the way, I've never felt like quitting on Matt (even for the total amount of time we've been together... which is 11 years now! Damn! I might have given fake ultimatums though... but always knew it was him) You can't give up on someone that will never give up on you. 





THURSDAY- 5 Fun Run miles... Matt had Raea with his mom, so I took advantage and got a lot of errands done (paid medical bill, called regarding drs appointments, renewed license, got oil changed, and car inspected..which failed! ha! Now I need to get tires and a muffler)... and after it was all done I still could get to the fun run early enough to get in some "pre" fun run miles. I did this with Kim and Barbara. Then I ran the fun run itself with Chrissy. My lower right abdomen hurt for the "Pre-run" run... but then I grabbed my support band and it felt better after. I averaged under 9!? ... two days in a row! 




FRIDAY- 7 stupid miles in 8:27 pace: On paper this is my best run of the week, but in reality it was a very foolish thing, and pretty unlike me. I'm pretty good at just chillin'.... but this running pregnant thing is starting to get to me. It's weirdly addicting to see how far you can go before you can't. I said I'd run an hour while my mom ran with her client. I said It would probably be 6 as I felt I needed a slower day, but when I had 20 minutes to go I did the math and figured out if I ran just below sub 8 for the last 2.5 miles, I would get 7 before the hour was complete. So I started running sub 8's. Nice to know I can still do it, but when I went home my hip hurt pretty bad as well as my glute. Not the best choice I've made in my running career... some days I'm just getting tired of working so hard only to get slower. It's the weirdest phenomenon and some days I just don't want to feel so... limited...
Bathroom breaks: 1






SATURDAY- 5 with Chrissy and Raea while Matt did a tempo run. I felt exhausted on this run. We got out early in the morning so the turn around from the 7 miler to now was less than 24 hours and I felt it! My hip felt okay, but I was generally fatigued everywhere. I could barely keep up with Chrissy, and basically was completely dependent on the stroller to keep me upright. I spent the rest of the day walking around west end creamery and farm with really bad support as well... Not smart. This is not a smart week. 
bathroom breaks: 2 






SUNDAY-10.2 miles in 12:28/mi: Small showing at the Sisu Team run. 4 total. I ran by myself with the stroller. I was slow. I needed to be slow today... but overall I kept thinking "I feel like I can run really easy forever"... so I decided to do 10 and then if I felt good add on two more for 40 for the week.... Well, this was stupid. Very suddenly when I got to 7.6 my hip and back tightened SUPER badly. I walked it off a bit, tried running again, and it was even worse. I did some psoas stretches and back stretches while I continued to walk and to my surprise I was able to shuffle the last .6 miles back to the car. I was way too hungry to walk another step! I ate all Raea's crackers and snacks while we were out there! The amount of bathroom breaks I had to take should have been enough to keep me from attempting 10, but again, this running pregnant thing is weirdly addicting because of the novelty and the extra challenges it poses. I really need to do some psoas stretches and maybe get a massage and an adjustment as soon as possible and see if I can continue on!  I am sure the pain was not something bad for the baby... not great for me, but I'm certain its just muscles... I'm suspicious it had to do with pushing the stroller on a more hilly trail... but there's also the obvious fact that I have a basketball for a belly that can't be ignored. 
Bathroom Breaks: 6!!!!! I seriously have no idea what is wrong with me.




**TOTAL MILES: 38..6** Mileage looks good, but some bad decisions made
This was a week full of stubborn choices. Choices to push paces, choices to push mileage, or both at the same time. Additionally, there was a lot of literal pushing of the stroller... and it's getting so uncomfortable to stretch certain areas that I'm neglecting a lot... which is especially bad since there is extra stress on everything. Next week I put emphasis on stretching and core stabilization... 

Additional Training: 
-Walking with Raea at the farm
-Signed up for more kinetic revolution starting next week.
Lessons Learned:
1. Now is not the time to be stubborn
2. Will I ever learn to really listen to my body? It's a daily practice that I've yet to master but I've relearned that I need to work on it.
3. I can still run sub 8 if I really push it (but I shouldn't)

Looking Forward To: Memorial Day weekend still! Hoping to be part of a relay in Vermont, but after this week, I'm not going to put too much stress on myself. I'll still do it, but I wanted to "race" it... now I'm just happy if I can run the distance without walking. 

Gender Prediction: I'm about as strong towards girl as I was towards boy three weeks ago. So really, I have no clue! I need girls names!! My brain hurts trying to come up with something that has meaning and goes well with Raea, and therefore isn't something too traditional. 

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