Yep…that’s right. I am having another baby! Now that I’m through the 1st trimester (a little over 12 weeks along) I’m so excited to share my news with everyone and to talk about my experiences with this pregnancy and especially with running while pregnant.
Needless to say, my life has changed forever…and it is truly a miracle and absolutely joyful and amazing in every way. Oh, and, a terrific SURPRISE.
This post might be long-winded but I’m going to press the “rewind button” on my life and tell you all about it.
First of all, for a loooong time I wanted a third child so badly I could hardly think of anything else. I mean, I was sort of obsessed, and after a miscarriage two years ago and lots of self-exploration and somewhat painful (at the time) realizations I came to accept and eventually truly embrace the fact that my beautiful family was meant to be a family of 4 and not 5. I completely LET GO and moved on. I poured myself into the things I truly love and am passionate about: my family, running, yoga and Pilates, and starting my own business while indulging my creative side (I will tell you more about later). I found more happiness than I ever thought possible. Until now.
Mother’s Day weekend I raced my best half marathon ever (in 1:55:47), shaving 5 whole minutes off my previous PR (finally going under 2 hours!) and I felt amazing. That same weekend is when I got pregnant (I love that it happened on Mother’s Day weekend!). A few weekends later I was getting my Pilates teacher certification and on a whim decided to race a local 5K. It was gusty considering how exhausted I was from my training that weekend but I felt I really just needed to get out there and RUN so I did the race. I was feeling off…nausea and so tired…but chalked it up to my awful seasonal allergies and lack of sleep. Amazingly, despite how I was feeling, I PR’d again and raced it a minute faster than the 5K I did a few weeks earlier (25:22). This was exciting for me and I set the goal for my next 5K to be under 25 minutes. I was running stronger and faster than ever in my life and ready to begin training for my 7th marathon, MCM, and felt a worthy, challenging but achievable goal would be to do it in about 4 hours.
I signed up for our local running club’s Marathon Training Program (MTP) which included weekly long runs and a weekly speed workouts at the track from June through October. I could not wait. I was beyond excited to meet my coach, “Coach Cindy,” and all the other runners on the track and trails. I was SURE I would PR in the marathon this fall was filled with excitement and enthusiasm over it. I also couldn’t wait to have a coach and to learn from her, both to benefit my own running as well as to help me guide others as I begin my journey as a running coach.
Well, a few days before the training program started and just a week after my best 5K time, I found out I was pregnant. I couldn’t believe it! I understood right away that the marathon would have to wait until 2011, but I headed to the first MTP track workout and had a long talk with Coach Cindy about running pregnant and got wonderful advice and support from her. I love this woman! She is amazing and inspiring. She not only coaches runners and triathletes but is a kick-butt athlete herself and also a yoga teacher. AND she ran until she was 7 months pregnant with her son (about 20 years ago) and has experience guiding female runners during pregnancy…so let’s just say I am lucky to have her around.
Over the past couple of months I have been joining the group for the Wednesday night track workouts and the weekend long runs. I don’t speed train at the track or push too hard on the long runs, but I am THERE and I am running and I am feeling good and it shows…I am always smiling ear to ear. Sure, I have missed some runs or shortened them PLENTY of times. I haven’t been feeling great, or even ok, every day. Some mornings I wake up and the room is spinning and I am soo sick. Other mornings I wake up ready to conquer the world. I take advantage of those days and am grateful there are more of those than the not-so-great days at this point. Yesterday I ran 12 miles and felt like I could keep going and going…that was fun. One day last week I was fighting to complete 3 miles. Each day is a gift and an adventure. I am learning to really listen to my body and to remember what is most important and to embrace the TRUEST reasons of why I run and why I love to do so. It is not just about racing and getting faster…it is about nurturing and caring for my body and spirit and in turn the ones in my life who I love the most…especially the little ones.
So…now I am a little over 12 weeks pregnant, due January 28, with my third child. I am blessed. I am happy. I am running.
I’m also excited that my “secret” is out and that I can finally write about it here and share my journey with you. Thank you so much for reading!!
