Running at 39 Weeks Pregnant

Week-beginning Thoughts:
Alright, this kid can come anytime after 10KTuesday.... 

Monday

Did: 2.72mi with stroller @ 10:48/mi avg

Ran the little one to daycare this morning :) 

Tuesday

Did: 6.29mi @ 11:11/mi avg, chorus
This was such a fun run. Not only was I celebrating the fact that, 5 days from my due date, I was happily, comfortably running a 10K, but we were doing it in a cool torrential downpour of rain through tons of puddles, which was just... fun. Like, I was literally smiling the whole time. So grateful to have made it this far and be able to still enjoy runs. That said, I've definitely gotten to the point where a 6mi run, though comfortable, is kind of boring. I'm just getting through the mileage, and definitely ready for the next "thing". 

Bonus: new short haircut was awesome in the rain

Wednesday

Did: 2.77mi walk with stroller
Daycare pickup walk :) 

Thursday

Did: 1mi WU, 1600/400, 1200/400, 800/400, 400/400, 1mi CD = 5.66mi @ 9:20/mi avg plus 2.77mi walk with stroller
Today was an unexpected win, thanks to the 66 degree weather. Omigosh, SO NICE.

T-3 days

1600: 9:07 (9:29 prev week, 9:48 before that)
1200: 6:26 (6:54 prev week, 7:16 before that)
800: 3:58 (4:08 prev week, 4:38 before that)
400: 1:41 (2:01 prev week, 2:05 before that)
Um, what? Weather makes a difference.
 

Friday

Did: 2.07mi with stroller @ 10:48/mi avg, ~2mi walk with stroller
Had a chill two mile run with the stroller this morning along the river. It felt good to have a super short distance goal for the day (just enough to hit 1250mi pregnant), and stop a few times along the way to discuss wildlife or have a picnic with some geese with my little one. After coffee and a shower, we returned to the river for another two-ish miles walking with a friend and her newborn. 

Saturday

Did: 5K Stroller Race in 28:45
Last time I was pregnant, I ended up delivering the day I was supposed to be running a race. Therefore, deciding to do a race the day before my due date this time seemed like the ideal way to jinx myself into labor. (Spoiler alert: it didn't work)

We got the family up and out early in the morning, and headed over to the one 5K I could find within a 30min drive of our house on July 27. I was thrilled to have seen strollers weren't just permitted, but there were NO seeding requirements at all for them, which meant I could have a fun race with both my little ones :D 

I figured I'd run around a 33-35min race, especially since:
1) I'd probably want to stop an pee somewhere
2) it was probably a hilly course... 'cause Atlanta
3) I've been running high-10s as my go-to pace for the past few weeks

Nope. I didn't need to pee at all. The course was pretty flat (by ATL standards) and mostly shaded. Finally, the stroller gave me a momentum boost on the downhills, and race-day adrenaline kicked in for the rest. Not only did I finish well under 30min (WHAT?!?!), but, since it was a smaller race, my munchkin(s) and I took home a 1st Place AG medal. The only thing that could have improved the day would have been doing into labor afterwards... 

Sunday

Did: ~3.5mi walking
Thought I might've been going into labor last night, but noooooope. Having my parents around thwarted running plans for the morning, and evening running just doesn't happen, so I settled for a little over a 5K of walking... some of which may have been around the park with a giant waffle cone filled with chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream (aka dinner when you're hormonal and still very pregnant on your due date). 

 

Total Weekly Mileage: 19.86mi run, 10.5mi walk

Total Pregnancy Running Mileage: 1254

Week-ending Thoughts:
All this talk about how running/walking/being active induces labor is CRAP. 

Race Report: Atlanta Lab Rescue 5K

Race: Stroller 5K

Previous PR: 0:24:12 (3/25/17 Pound the Pavement for Peter-- short course)
Goal: didn't have one-- just wanted to run fast-ish/tempo-y pace?
Result: 0:24:11 (1st AG, 1st Stroller) 

...and awesome race photos from True Speed Photography

Training:

Nothing specific for this race-- just beginning taper week of Atlanta Half Marathon training. Definitely haven't done much stroller running for awhile. 

Pre-Race:

I warmed up with a running mama friend who'd literally come all the way over to Marietta JUST to cheer for us. <3 We did an ONB on the first mile of the race course, and it was definitely a good reminder of the hills to come. Oof. I felt like my legs did NOT want to turnover. "Good thing this only needs to be tempo miles."

Got to sing the National Anthem with my chorus, Song of Atlanta. This was awesome. 

not our choreo for the national anthem... just an impromptu dance party

Race:

Not much to say here. I spent the race smiling, and literally just being so grateful to share the race with my little one today. I didn't look at my pace, just endured the hills and told myself, "you can slow down, but you will NOT walk" a few times.

The hills weren't bad... except for the fact that I was pushing ~60lbs up them. 

I did appreciate how, once we'd made the U-turn, I knew the bulk of the course was downhill. It made it MUCH easier (though that last little mountain was tough, and I was grateful for my running mama friend and her munchkin's cheers). 

My little one and I talked through most of the race, about the dogs we saw, the hills, and how I was trying to get him a medal. :) 


Really, though, the entire time, I was just enjoying myself. I was enjoying the run, enjoying the time with my little one, enjoying seeing my husband and other friends on the course, and just enjoying the experience. It shows in every picture; I'm smiling in ALL of them. 

Reflections:

I still remember how elusive a sub-25 5K used to be for me. I remember more than one failure at hitting that time. Now, I'm easily running almost a minute below that, on a hilly course, pushing ~60lbs of weight (that's stroller + kiddo), without any specific training or tapering. Training is amazing. Hooray, running. 

I loved how many Atlanta Track Club friends I saw at a non-Atlanta Track Club event. It always feels like I'm part of a team when ATC runners go to a non-ATC event. We all celebrated each other's successes, and most of us went home with hardware.

This run, more than any other I can recall, really embodied everything I wanted in a stroller race. I was running my pace, without fearing for anyone's safety, and sharing the joy of running with friends and family. It was awesome... and the medal didn't hurt. Though, I'll be honest, I just wanted it for my kid. 

little one was so happy to get a medal, and enjoyed climbing onto the tallest box (podium) with me

"Mommy, where's YOUR medal?" 

Travel Week, CO Race

Monday

bootcamp
Today was "full body day", and was the most satisfying class so far. Not only did we have more variations in exercises, but there was also a second instructor, who was a much better personality fit for me. If he were going to be leading the morning classes, would probably stick around. Unfortunately, he's only doing evening classes...

Today's class had three major strikes against it:
1) It started late (and ran late) I am a total stickler for punctuality. This is non-negotiable for me, especially when I have something to do immediately afterwards. 
2) I was encouraged to use a weight that I felt was too heavy for me to keep form with... again. This is a safety concern in my mind. 
3) One participant wasn't moving between exercises and we were all made to do extra jumping jacks as punishment. I dislike group consequences for individual actions, and am NOT motivated by someone telling me I'm not making my workout count.

...and, with that, we've decided not to return. 


Tuesday
Scheduled: 6-8mi recovery run
Did: 3.26 @ 8:46/mi + 3.17 @ 8:48/mi = 10KTuesday

I came home from work yesterday feeling sick, and opted to sleep in this morning, rather than pushing myself to wake up at the usual 4:30 for our group 10KTuesday run. That was a good call, since I felt nauseous and congested off and on all morning. By lunch, I was feeling about 85%. Since I had an appointment about a 5K away from the house (and was working from home), I decided to run there and back to knock out 10KTuesday.

The run was hot and sunny. I’m not used to running in almost 70 degrees in the sunshine. The only time that happens on a regular basis is during the latter half of longer training seasons’ Saturday LSD runs. Still, I knocked out a pretty awesome pace, and one that felt surprisingly comfortable. I’m always amazed by how much faster I seem to naturally run when I’ve been awake and moving around for a few hours versus rolling out of bed and landing in stride on the pavement.

Unfortunately, “doing it for the hashtag” was NOT the right call for my body. By 2pm, I felt completely blergh again, and had to miss chorus rehearsal.

Wednesday

Did: nada

Sick + long day at work. The only thing of note from today was that I think I may have twisted my ankle walking back from getting some takeout for lunch. :/

Thursday

Did: naga

Sick again, and definitely did something to my ankle yesterday. Today was the worst.

Friday

Did: nothing

I had hoped to do a quick run with B this morning before leaving for the weekend, but 1) being sick and 2) needing to get up at 5am to work for a few hours before departing scrapped those plans.

When we arrived in Denver, I felt even worse. Not only was I still sick with whatever has taken me down this week, but my head was pounding, appetite gone, and nausea intermittent thanks to altitude sickness.

Saturday

Did: skiing, 7mi walking

So much for our weekend ski trip getaway… I was in bad shape this morning and, thanks to Dr Google, was able to confidently self-diagnose altitude sickness. The worst thing for it, of course, would be going up any higher into the mountains (especially since the ski place we’d chosen was actually one of the highest ski resorts in the area).

We ended up having a good time, despite the initial disappointment. When I was finally able to get out of bed, we spent the day walking around the town, reuniting with some college friends who live in the area, and, of course, getting to bed early.

Sunday

Did: 0.32mi warm-up, 5K in 25:12, over 20K steps for the day

Jer and I have a life goal of running a race in every state. We’ve pretty much knocked out all the easily driveable states (Indiana and West Virginia are the closest ones unchecked right now), so, of course we had to do a race while we were in Colorado. I’d found a suuuuuuuuper small local race online that ended up being absolutely perfect.

Hola, Rocky Mountains!

I was pretty nervous going into this race. While I had zero ambitions for a solid finish time, I had three things that worried me:

1) my ankle- it hadn’t bothered me much yesterday, but I still noticed it a little and hadn’t tried to run at all…. Would it hold up?

2) I haven’t RUN at all since Tuesday. I could look back at my ultimate spreadsheet of ultimate running history, but I’m pretty certain this is the longest I’ve gone without running since I had my baby over a year ago?

3) Altitude. After being SO SICK on Friday, would my body even allow me to run at all up here? Would I get a half mile in and have to stop and walk?

All signs pointed to a “hey, if I can finish this thing under 30 min, that’ll be a success” kind of race.

Weather was cold, but comfortable. Jerry and I arrived a little after 8am (when bib pickup started) for a 9am race (11am our time, which was kind of weird), grabbed our bibs, and decided to walk part of the course to warm-up and scout it out a little. “Scouting” the course wasn’t for race strategy, though; it was to determine how snow/ice-covered it was and if I needed to be in my trail shoes. lol.

Race Start/Finish

The course was along a wide sidewalk through a park. While there was a little snow on the grass, I was pleased and surprised to see the entire path was cleared. Way to go, City of Denver (they really do have a HUGE active community)!

I wasn’t planning on warming up, but when Jerry took off to do so, I figured it couldn’t hurt to figure out if I was able to run BEFORE the gun went off. I did a little over a quarter mile. I had a bit of soreness in my ankle to start, but attributed that to not using it much this past week. It went away quickly, and I decided I would be able to run the race, just at whatever my body decided was an “easy pace” for today.

...but then the race started and I realized I was in position to get a top three overall finish, so I asked a liiiiiiiiiiiittle more of my body that I'd planned. 

The first half mile felt fine. I was clocking around a low-8, which should have been a comfortable pace for this sort of distance, except I was running a mile above sea level. My arms and legs felt cold, but I felt hot. It took me a minute to realize that was the oxygen deprivation manifesting. 

I ran the first mile or so with the woman who ended up taking third overall female. It was nice to have some "company", even though we didn't talk. At one point, the female leader stopped to tie her shoe and we both thought we might catch her, but she resumed her 7:45 pace just as we were coming upon her. Shortly after, there was a bit of a downhill, and I solidified my second place. 

Since the course was a simple out-and-back, I was able to see Jerry on his return trip. Probably the coolest thing about this race was the two of us flashing each other two fingers, and acknowledging that each of us was currently sitting second in our gender. :D

halfway U-turn 

The back half of the course was the hardest for me. I haven't had a race that was controlled by cardio in a really long time. Not only was this cardio-controlled, but it was also a different type of cardio. I had the systems in place to get my blood around my body, and they were well-trained, but not for the environment I was in. I could tell I was physically limited and that I didn't want to go any faster (or any further), but the "why" was a completely new sensation. 

Oh, look! Garmin actually has an appropriate elevation scale out here.

This was the first race where I've also actually checked back over my shoulder in the last 800m to see if I could hold position. I did NOT want to go any faster, but, if I'd seen another woman behind me, I would have tried to hold second place. Fortunately, third place wasn't even in view when I snuck a glance. 

Good thing, too. I had ZERO kick going into the finish line.
ZERO.

I was SO done when I crossed the finish line. Jerry tried to hug me and I pushed him away (second time this month that's happened at the finish line, lol), and then reached back out for him a few paces later for support.

sweet "podium" pics
fun fact: 3rd Male and 1st Female are also a married couple

Great picture for our states map :)
Also, race bling is definitely the BEST souvenir we could have brought home from our trip. 

Weeeee :D

Race Week

Monday
Scheduled: 3 w/4x150 accels (50 accelerate - 50 cruse - 50 close)
Did: 3 @ 9:16/mi avg, bootcamp, stretched at bootcamp and before bed
I haven't felt this good on a morning run in awhile. While I was still a bit worried about my ham (and wore my brace atop my capris), I felt like I could actually breathe today, and enjoyed a loose-feeling first 2.5mi, with B & B providing great company. 

I finished off with a series of 150m accelerations, which I'm sure I'm doing wrong because they're more like strides, but whatever. Felt good.

7:29, 7:21, 7:25, 7:22

I kept the brace on for bootcamp, but didn't really notice anything during the workout. I did, however, keep it super easy, avoiding intense speed or sharper movements that might jerk the muscle (touchdowns). At the end, I took some time to just sit and stretch it lightly too. I'm cautiously optimistic about this week...

Tuesday

Scheduled:10KTuesday

Did: 6.32 @ 9:18/mi avg, stretched post-run
Hamstring is doing "alright". I braced it again this morning and it's not as noticeable as it was Saturday, nor does it give me much pause in-run. I do still feel something there, though...  Run felt a little faster than what I wanted to be doing, but still completely manageable. 

Had a massage with Tony this afternoon. I need to stop scheduling these on my WFH days. I took two hours out of my day for a 30min massage with traffic in the rain... even though my appointment was at 2:15. :P While I had a bit of tenderness, it wasn't NEARLY as bad as what I'd had before Loco last December, and we both agreed that I can still race on it Saturday. I have a follow-up scheduled for Thursday, but may cancel based on how speedwork goes tomorrow night... 

Wednesday

Scheduled: 1.5WU, 8x300 (67s)/100, 1.5CD

Did: 1.3ish WU, 8x300ish/100ish, 2+ish CD, Big 5 post-run
I love being in a city, and I love running downtown. This evening's run was a fun opportunity to indulge my fantasy of working and living in a city. After work, I changed into my run clothes and did my warm-up down the street to the park. The training groups do their speedwork here on Wednesdays and, though they don't start until 6:30ish, I figured it would at least be nice to see a few familiar faces. 

tonight's track

I do not like speedwork at the oval. It's not a real track. I have to think about markers and start/stop points. Finding the 300m start/stop points was hard enough for me on a track that had it clearly marked. Andrew was able to give me some guidance, but the "purple tree" I was supposed to stop at didn't look the same from the track as it did from the steps. I definitely struggled figuring out where I was supposed to be starting/stopping. 

Splits were supposed to be 1:07 for the 300s, which was supposed to be ~0.186mi
My watch is usually over on track distance, but short on road distance, so I'll never know what distance I actually ran.

I hated this workout. I was a bit paranoid over my hamstring, even though I had the sleeve/brace thing on. Then, I went out WAY TOO FAST on my first one. Even if I was 0.01-0.02mi short on the distance, I wasn't anywhere close to a 67s split. My legs felt that repeat the entire rest of the workout. The 100 rest felt soooo short, and I was sure I was absolutely slugging them around a 12min/mi. I only let myself rest briefly at the halfway point to grab some Powerade and then went back to it. I thought about cutting out early, about only doing six. Or just cutting it right there at four and going home. I didn't really want to be out here doing this workout, but I wanted to have done the workout. 

The one thing I liked about the oval was that,because it's double the distance of a track, you commit to doing two repeats as soon as you start. So, when I was on #7 of 8, I could trick myself into saying "this is last time around the track". 

On lap 8, I felt something weird: my right quad (opposite the injured ham) tightened up. I was a little worried about it going into the cooldown, and figured I had my brace on too tight and jacked up my body's natural load path. After a bit of a stretch, I went out around the park for my cool-down, saw a few friendly faces, but never really felt recovered from that first interval. At least I've got a massage tomorrow... :P 

Thursday

Scheduled: rest

Did: massage, Big 5 

Oh goodness. My left hamstring and my right quad are so sore today (right ham was the problem muscle before). I did that first 300m way too fast. 

Massage went well. I feel a lot more confident about Saturday since we got to the point where it almost didn't feel like Tony was doing anything to my ham. :) Very glad I've gone this week.

Friday

Scheduled: 3 easy

Did: 3.11 @ 9:46/mi, stretch

I was really worried about this run, since it was 29 degrees and I've got this hamstring thing going on. It went fine, though. In fact, this run felt so easy that I don't even remember doing it... and it's 7:30am. 

Saturday

Scheduled: 2WU, 5K race, 2CD

Did: Hearts and Soles, 5th Place AG

Sunday

Scheduled: rest

Did: 2mi stroller run plus 1/2mi walk, 30min strength training
Did NOT feel like running this morning, but wanted a shakeout run. Did a super easy 2 @ 10:36/mi with the girls on the Silver Comet this morning before our usual brunch date. Hams and quads felt fine, but my right calf definitely got a good workout yesterday. I think I'll be taking tomorrow as a rest day... 

Oh, and I managed to force myself to do 30min of various weight-lifting to close out this week and stay on track for my NY resolution, too. 

Locomotive Half Training: 4 Weeks Out

Monday

Scheduled: 3-5 easy
Did: nada
After 13.1 hard, hilly miles on Saturday, Sunday in heels, and pretty much going nonstop all weekend, I decided I needed a break and bowed out of this run on Sunday night. I dreamt about rest day, woke up dreading having to run because I thought it was #10KTuesday, and was so so so so so happy to wake up to Jerry's 5:30am alarm knowing I just had to get up and get to work this morning. BEST DECISION EVER.

Though, I'll be honest, there's a part of me that worries I'm losing my motivation to run. I seem to be very all or nothing in so many areas of my life, and, if I'm not BTTW, I'm kind of drifting aimlessly... 

I think this sums up my feelings on running right now.

Tuesday
Scheduled: 8ONB
Did: 8.38 @ 9:17/mi avg
When you wake up at 4am to see "39 degrees" on your weather app, it is NOT an easy task to get out of a warm, cozy bed to go outside and run. Fortunately, I've found my motivation: training buddies. 

Brandi and I opted for a 2mi pre-run, and then added #10KTuesday with the crew for an 8ONB. It went really, really well. :)

Miles 5-7: How's THAT for consistentcy? :)
Slowed down intentionally for m8- left calf was getting cold and a little tight after waiting too long at the halfway point

Wednesday
Scheduled: rest easy 4
Did: 4.15 @ 9:31/mi
Swapped W/F due to Brandi's work schedule. This is the first run in a long time that felt easy, fast, and truly enjoyable. We didn't have a single though of "when's this gonna be over?/how much further?". Yaaaaaaay.


Thursday
Scheduled: 1WU, 2x2mi/800m, 1CD
Did:1WU @ 9:58, 2mi @ 7:46, 800 @ 10:08, 1mi 8:03, 800 @ 10:01, 1CD @ 9:19
I got this week's workouts by taking the Thanksgiving Half plan and pushing the goal race date to Locomotive. After over a month without so much as a 400m under an 8:15/mi pace, going from no speedwork to 2mi repeats was a bit of a reach. >_<

I didn't really have a pace in mind for the 2mi repeats, and just led Jody lead out, keeping her in sight as a way of pacing myself. We ended up right at what my 2mi pace should have been if I'd calculated based on m July 5K. Boom. 

On the tail end of the second mile, though, my left calf seemed a little tight (this is a common problem for me in the winter- def need to focus on stretching more). While I'm still not sure if it was real or just mental, I opted out of the second 2mi repeat and stuck with only 1 fast mile for the return, a little slower than I was capable of... and had no trouble. Phew. 

All in all, a great workout and return to speedwork. I'm really looking forward to YOT5K, though. Let's bring back the 200m and 400m repeats on the track!

Also, working from home = had some time to do strength training. I found a few things on Pinterest and worked through them. Better than nothing.

Round 1:

OMG. Box jumps are seriously exhausting. 

Also did 3x10 situps, push-ups, and tricep dips before bed.

Friday
Scheduled: 4 easy rest
Did: nothing
Stressed a little over some tight/sore spot in my left calf... Cold weather always makes me more susceptible to calf strains :/ Slept with compression sleeve. 
Saturday
Scheduled: 2WU, 7 with training = 9
Did: 10.51 @ 9:22/mi
Man, cold weather helps soooo much! 

Brandi and I started with a nice 5K warm-up, and then we led our pod through the last training run of the fall distance season. We had 54 degrees, light wind, and sun: perfect conditions for a mid-distance run. Also, my calf was totally fine. Phew! 


Sunday
Scheduled: 1WU, 5K hard, 1CD
Did: 1mi warm-up @ 9:12/mi, 5K race @ 7:36/mi
Well, I don't know how long the course was (since it wasn't certified), but I'm pretty sure I can count this as a new 5K PR, even if it's only by a couple seconds (23:34, down from Braves' 23:37). 

I didn't set out to PR this race, or even push very hard. I figured a solid 8min/mi (25:00) would be a good push for me without going crazy, and that's what I planned to do. But then we learned that there was no start line chip, so all AGs were based off of gun time... and then I felt good keeping up with Brandi for the first mile... and then I crossed the finish in less time than it took me to do Braves. Soooooo, yeah. 

perks of being a few years apart from your training partner:
you can BOTH win 1st place in your age group :D

It feels REALLY good to have just hit a PR without feeling like I exerted any sort of PR effort. I certainly pushed during the race, but it never felt like a PR sort of push. I didn't even kick at the end. Year of the 5K is going to be amazing :D CANNOT WAIT.

my first time on a podium!

Total Miles: 33.17
Total Annual Miles to Date: 1350.86
just passed my previous annual mileage goal (1346, from last year)


Strength Training Update
Also, it's happening. Brandi and I bought purchased a Groupon for two months of unlimited 5:30am classes at a Crossfit-esque gym she's been to before. Strength training is coming, and tentatively scheduled to begin on Monday, November 28.