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First Run

By on February 3, 2012 in running, Vibrams

It’s 55 & sunny in Seattle today (and tomorrow, and the next day!) so although I was prepared to go to the gym, I just couldn’t resist being outside instead.  I came home to get my girl for a walk, but she was napping (still is, in fact) with her Daddy.  So, what’s a girl to do?  Sunshine, breezy cool weather, Vibrams on my feet…I just had to go for a run.

I wasn’t sure what to expect.  Actually, that’s a lie; I had very low expectations.  I thought it would be miserable.  I thought I’d have to walk most of my “usual” neighborhood run.  I thought I’d be in in pain and gasping for breath.  Yeah, I need to work on my evaluation of myself, right?  Another post for another time.

Here’s a few words/phrases to describe the run:

  • Short.
  • Hard.
  • Beautiful.
  • Long overdue.
  • Sweaty.
  • Man I missed this.
  • My calves are going to hate me tomorrow.
  • I should have eased back into running.
  • I should have eased back into running in my Vibrams.
  • My boobs hurt.  Sorry if that’s TMI, but anyone who has breast-fed while running…okay, not simultaneously in time but you know what I mean, will tell you that it’s not always comfortable!
  • The soles of my feet are tender.
  • It’s harder to run when I’m heavier.  Just call me Captain Obvious.
  • I can’t wait to do it again.  So long as the weather is nice.

Bottom line is this: I did it.  I ran more than I walked.  It took me about 6 minutes longer than my “normal” pre-baby time.  It was harder on my muscles than on my lungs.  And I don’t know why the heck I waited so darn long.

Comments { 7 }

Post-Baby Goals

By on August 15, 2011 in goals, pregnancy, running

Yes, it has again been too long since I posted.  And you know what?  I think I’m going to quit saying that over and over again every time I do post.  I know y’all are hanging in there with me and understand that life sometimes doesn’t allow us to post when we want to.  So this is the last time until I forget or feel too guilty again that I will be commenting on this pattern.  :)

Pregnancy is pretty amazing and also quite strange.  I am now 35.5 weeks pregnant; my due date for those of you crazy people who don’t remember that the world revolves around this is September 15.  I can now see the baby moving from outside my body and it’s oddly reminiscent of that scene in Alien…you know the one I’m talking about, right?  Think belly-squirming-alien right before it pops out – that’s what it looks like sometimes!

So far I am blessed to feel pretty darned good.  I do get occasional aches and pains, but overall I am feeling amazing given the fact that I’m 30 pounds heavier (within the healthy range of 25-35 pounds of weight gain for pregnancy) and carrying a baby that is now roughly 6 pounds heavy.  I know that as my due date approaches this might change, but right now I’m just feeling really thankful for how NOT miserable my pregnancy has been.  I know I’m lucky and that many women have a much rougher time being pregnant.

Strange as it might seem, although I am not in a rush for my pregnancy to be over, I have been thinking a LOT lately about my post-pregnancy goals.  Some of you may remember that I signed up for the Warrior Dash and committed to running Ragnar only to find out that I was pregnant and would be unable to complete either of those events.  I don’t begrudge my baby girl either of these things, but having watched my friends complete both events recently has really whetted my appetite for getting back to it once I get back into shape!

So I’m here to say, I’ve got me some goalz, people.  I’ll write about this more in the future, but right now here is the brief sketch of what I’m thinking:

  • Ease into walking (with baby, of course) as quickly as my body allows after I deliver.
  • Once I feel up to it and have my doctor’s clearance, I will start P90X again for strength training.
  • Once I feel up to it/doc’s approval, I will ease back into jogging.  I can’t wait for this, even though I know I’ve lost a LOT of my running fitness and will have to start slow!
  • Warrior Dash and Ragnar are roughly 9 months after my due date…so I’m thinking participating in both events might be in my future.  9 months post-partum seems reasonable for this, no?

Anyhow, just wanted to share what’s on my mind.  I’m still keeping up with y’all via your blogs and have even *gasp* been spotted on Twitter recently!   Would love to hear from you here or there if you want to say hi.  :)

Comments { 10 }

Short, Sweet, & Important

By on July 23, 2011 in friends, running

I know I owe you all myself a post.  But today there is something sweet and amazing going on that I just have to share.  Did you know that my friends Tara and Sharla, along with 4 other badass runners, are finishing up Ragnar here in Washington?

Did you know that it’s normally run by teams of 12 runners, but they are doing it as an ultra team with just 6 runners?

Did you know that even if they hadn’t started this, these friends are amazing, courageous people?
That just starting Ragnar would have been a display of courage that puts me in awe?
And that finishing just takes the already present awesometasticness to a whole ‘nother level?!?

Please show them some love today.  Tweet, text, comment, e-mail…however you know to get in touch with them.

These girls?  They rock.

Comments { 6 }

Never Say Never

By on June 22, 2011 in emotional stuff, pregnancy, running

Or, the post that was entitled, “Hanging Up My Running Shoes.”

I had a tough experience the other day; I went out for a run and 2 minutes into it, my round ligaments started to feel sore.  I’m pretty in touch with my body these days and I’ve been really good during my pregnancy at listening to it more.  (Note to self: hang on to this habit once the baby is born!)  So of course I quit running and walked instead.  And it was a great walk with a friend, about 4 miles or so in the warm sunshine.  Good company, moving my body, sun on my face…what more could I ask?

Instead of enjoying that, though, I started to throw a little big-ass pity party for myself when I got home.  Did this mean that I was going to have to give up running for the rest of my pregnancy?  How can I call myself a runner if that’s true?  What would people think?!?

Screeching halt.  What would people think?!  What do I care what people think?!  And why was I turning a one-time experience into an end-of-the-world scenario instead of just treating it like what it was – a run that wasn’t meant to be?

Oh, yeah.  Pregnancy.  Hormones.  Fatigue.  As unaffected – mood-wise, I mean – as I mostly feel by being pregnant, I’m not.  Unaffected, that is.  And that’s okay.  And it’s okay that I didn’t run.  It’s even okay if I don’t run again for the rest of my pregnancy.

I’m not saying I won’t run again for the next three months; I’ll give it another try or two and see how my body responds.  And it might be just fine for me to keep running until…well, until.  Until my body says “stop.”  Or the other day might have been my body’s way of saying “no more, hon…give it a break” until the baby is born.  We’ll just see.

You know what else?  Whether I run or not for the duration of this pregnancy doesn’t make me a runner…or not.  What other people think of me doesn’t make me a runner…or not.  Being a runner isn’t about speed, or distance, or how often you do it or whether you need to take walk breaks or anything else.

Being a runner, for me?  It’s about loving it.  And missing it when I can’t, regardless of the reason.  And knowing that running will be a part of your my life for as long as I want it to be.  And also understanding that as life changes and evolves, so can running.  How you do it, when you fit it in, what it means to you…running is the least-static thing on the planet, which is a good thing because life?  So not static.

So what makes you a runner?  And how do you keep from turning one bad run into the end of the world?

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Sheesh…

By on May 11, 2011 in blogging, body, fat, pregnancy, running

How’s that for a creative title?  I can’t believe how long it’s been since I’ve written.  I miss it.  I miss YOU.  And there’s not really much new to tell, which I guess is a good thing, right?

These days, I’m spending a lot more of my time looking like this:

Than like this:

Don’t you love these avatars?  When I saw how cute Bella’s were, I had to be a copy-cat have some for myself, so I asked the artist Meghan Murphy to hook me up…boy, did she ever!  I’ve got another one for my pregnancy:

And finally one for when I’m just kicking around:

Because, you know, I kick around in my pink heels all the time, don’t ya know??

In any case, this is a long (and cute!) way of saying the following:

  • I’m still working too much and looking forward to being able to say I “only” worked a 50 hour work week;
  • I’m still pregnant and feeling as big as a house;
  • We found out the baby’s a girl! at our 20 week ultrasound two weeks ago;
  • I’m not working out a ton but the times I have include jogging and it’s amazing to me that I can still do it and it feels awesome;
  • None of my clothes fit me anymore but somehow I’m not resenting this “getting fat” business…maybe because it’s for a good cause.  (And yes, I know I’m not “getting fat,” please don’t get mad at me, but sometimes even though I know there’s a baby underneath all of this still-50-pounds-overweight-when-I-got-pregnant belly, it feels like getting fat, you know?)

So, anyways…enough about me.  Now you.  What’s new?  I’m reading your blogs and commenting when I can, which isn’t often since my reading time?  Is often on my phone while I’m sitting at a red light or sitting in court waiting for a hearing to start.

What’s new with you?

 

Comments { 8 }