Running Pregnant: Week 35

​Baby Germain is the size of a melon
This week's craving: Svelte Protein Shakes
This week's aversion: I'm generally having difficulty eating without something feeling... Off. There's just not much space left in there. So while I have no aversions, I like the protein shakes because they are filling the caloric debt without making me feel more fat than I already feel! 





MONDAY- OFF-  I debated taking this day off since I took three days off last week, but I really felt like it was in the best interest for the duration of pregnancy running to give another day. I posted some questions on Instagram trying to figure out what my next move would be... and WOW I was overwhelmed and humbled by the amount of thoughtful responses I got! Also, I can't believe how many badass women ran right up until their due date! I'm going to continue to listen to my body, but I think all the driving and standing on my feet last week without  a real disciplined recovery routine really put me in the temporary hurtbox. I'm still going to go after those 1,000 pregnancy miles, and at this point, if I don't make it it's because I got my baby a bit early... and I will not complain about that! 






 
TUESDAY- 3- I did some easy miles on campus. I felt relaxed. I used the turf so that I could be actively recovering while I ran and also stayed on campus so I could stop for water and bathroom breaks. It was pretty hot out. I went really slow (I think it was 11:xx/mi pace.) My husband was in Oregon so I did this from my parents house and got in the pool after. I've been doing drills for my groin but have been specifically avoiding any stretching of my hamstring. I've focused on foam rolling the inner quad and the glute and back. It seems to be helping. 





WEDNESDAY .  4.16 miles. Felt great today! Raea and I picked some blueberries in the morning, and I planned to go to the rail trail right near the farm after... but there was hovering storms and it was SO humid I thought I would just skip again.... Maybe try every other day... but then I went to visit my mom and somehow convinced myself to just start... and sometimes that's all it takes! I averaged 9:30's! My last mile was under 9:00 pace! Once again I stuck with the grass, dirt, and turf. The softer surfaces are my saving grace. This week the baby feels MUCH lower. I have the urge to go to the bathroom WAY more often (although I just deal with it for these short runs... Maybe stop once...) I got in the pool after and took the opportunity to lay down on my belly on the raft. It was SOOOO nice! I will say I had a really hard time recovering from the humidity with this one. I felt nauseous at night and had to resort to icepacks on my neck and back to "normalize" myself. I find the humidity is much harder to deal with than dry heat. I think I over did it a bit with being outside for the berry picking and the running... I'm just trying to squeeze in some fun activities with Raea before the new baby comes! 









THURSDAY: 3.5 Fun Run Miles: Finally ran with Courtney! I wanted to do 3-5, but this is the first day I ran on the pavement, and it was definitely more difficult. I felt much more pressure in my pelvis from the higher impact. I also knew I was running in the morning the following day so I thought it would be better to keep the run short...Also, I'm realizing that the fun run is a difficult run to recover from because it's so late at night I don't have the time to do drills and follow up the run with some good recovery... So, I'm really glad I kept it this short! Matt is finally back home! We visited with his mom and my niece and nephew and then I almost skipped my run again because of thunderstoms... I really had zero motivation all week but somehow keep getting it done! 



Raea LOVES sneakerama!



FRIDAY: 4 with Cat: Every time I run a sub 10/mi effort at this point in pregnancy I'm surprised... But also nervous about my recovery for the following day. I've felt overall very good this week... but because of how sore I got last week I do get nervous I'm doing too much!  I just have to make sure that for every mile I run I do extra recovery work to maintain and ward off potential injuries! It was nice to run with Cat, she's finishing up her second trimester so lots of pregnancy talk! We spontaneously bumped into Jemily (my sister Jane and her friend Emily) and (my other sister) Caroline and my sister) while we were out there. They were crushing workouts. Gone are the days (for now!)







SATURDAY- 5.5ish 4 x 1 mile intervals with 1/4 mile walks 10:17, 9:37, 9:08, 8:32. I didn't plan to do this much, I didn't plan on anything relating to the track... I really didn't plan. Matt and I went up to Manchester, NH on Friday afternoon and visited his mom Friday evening and then realized that it made ZERO sense to drive back home (over an hour) only to drive right back early in the morning for a funeral service.. We took Raea to a hotel and stayed the night up in the Merrimack Valley.  We got barely any sleep (because Raea is a nightmare in hotels) and I had NO running clothes with me, but still made this happen! I bought a pair of shorts from the clearance for $6 and then also bought cotton fruit of the loom sports bras (which are HORRIBLE but I like them for around the house while pregnant...) and wore a pair of Mens 10's (1.5 sizes too big for me) for the run. Since my feet are changing during pregnancy, the size difference was only mildly noticable. I also had my watch battery die, and needed to use my phone to time intervals. I also had no socks. Yup, It wasn't planned, but it happened. Matt had to coach at the track and his mom had Raea, so one thing lead to another and that's why I settled on doing this workout. I'm actually pretty proud of it because I didn't expect to be able to run under 9's ever again... but also because while I was running I realized how much control I could have over some of the pelvic pressure. When I"m on the track I must be the most efficient version of myself (because I was constantly adjusting form and finding ways to relax in the discomfort... It made me realize I could do that without  being on the track. I was suprised to be at 20 miles and some change... so what the hell, I'll try for another marathon! 









SUNDAY- 6.13 miles in 10:13/mi:   I was expecting to feel much worse post track workout, but damn, I felt good! I have my mom to thank for this marathon. I went over to visit completely unannounced not really sure if I'd change to run or put it off until night time or just forgo it all together... I really just went over because Raea gets bored at home, it's hot, they have a pool, and my life is 1,000 times easier when Raea has someone else to nag for things! (sorry mom!) Raea went in the pool with my mom, I jumped in to cool off and somehow my mom was telling me to just go to the Railtrail and run. Then some how that turned into her coming with me and taking Raea for a walk while I attempted to finish a marathon. I thought for sure I'd need to walk or want to walk... but I felt totally fine up until the last quarter mile or so. In general, I was able to apply some of the "track mechanics" I had used the day before to this run, and I had much less pain, and pulling, and the general feeling like something is being stretched further than it wants to be. I got in the pool after arriving home and cooled right off. 

I can't believe I did it! 



**TOTAL MILES: 26.2** 
 According to Strava I ran 26.2, but strava shorted me on a lot of tenths and hundreths this week so things above might not totally add up... But trust me, I didn't miscount this week. As mentioned above, this whole week wouldn't have been possible without my mom. A lot of runs aren't possible without my mom but as I get towards the end of pregnancy, become more emotional about where our future might take us, I feel more grateful to have family close by to help us! It's a big deal Matt was gone Sunday-Thursday morning this week, and then again last night until tonight. I never made plans to have my mom watch Raea... I have stopped caring so much about how much I run and just see how the day unfolds. I'm running such a short amount these days that I know I can always fall back on the treadmill if I'm motivated enough (which I'm never that motivated these days). I have 50ish miles to go if I want to make it to 1,000. It's still a lot of miles at this stage, but my mom has had 8 kids and has run 80 marathons. She understands the need to achieve silly goals to get you to bigger goals, and also understands the need to have some help (especially at this stage!) I don't think I could ever fully understand having 8 kids, (with my dad gone a lot)... but I understand enough now to know that I was a little shit, and owe my mom an apology for every day of my life... But I guess for now a thank you will have to be enough. THANKS MOM! 


Additional Work: 
Some form of rolling, PT, icing, and mild stretching EVERY DAMN DAY because that's what it takes



Looking Forward To: The baby. That's all I've got. Just looking forward to meeting this baby! 


Gender Prediction: Not changing my mind at this phase. Matt and I both think boy pretty strongly, but I have a door that is open a tiny crack for a baby girl. We both know now that neither of us can be prepared for the love either way.... but we have our hearts wide open! (and are both a bit emotional about it these days!)


Total Pregnancy Miles: 953.1: Check out my post on why I've started pursuing 1,000 pregnancy Miles 


INSTAGRAM: 
You can follow me here: c_mom_run_fast 
My goal is to:
a. inspire, empower, and share my story with others since there is VERY LITTLE on running and competing pregnant out there 
b. Just to get my fat ass out the door each day and the more followers I have the more I feel like I have an obligation to go! Whatever works! Those of you following and commenting are helping me more than you know!