Running Victories and Pending April Fools Run (March 27th, 2017)

March 27^th, 2017

It’s been a little while since my last honest running blog post. It’s been a really good few weeks of running. I have found my groove and the majority of my runs have been good. I can still count the number of bad pregnant runs on one hand. That is good considering I’m running 3-4 times a week and I’m now into my 10^th week of pregnancy. Yay for positive stats!

By week 10, the embryo has completed its most critical period of development and it's tail has disappeared, making it look a little more human. 2 weeks ago, we had our ultrasound and found out everything is going according to plan and our little baby has a nice strong heart beat. Another very very positive set of stats!

With the positive stats, come a couple of running victories. On March 18^th, I ran the St. Patrick’s Day 5K with my sister-in-law, Michele. I had told her about the pregnancy the day before so she knew I had a valid reason for running slower, needing to walk up the hilliest hills, and staying away from the post-run green beer. It was a really fun day and we totally took the race easy, ran together, walked when needed, pulled aside for selfies when the scenery warranted it, and didn’t look at my watch for any stat aside from my heart rate. We managed to finish in a respectable 34:37 which was faster than I was expecting considering our very leisurely approach. Sure it was a little slower than the West Van 5K, but this is a hillier course, and well, I was further along with my baby bump (which is now kinda visible!).

My second victory was last week. Cam and I had a little holiday, thanks to a generous friend who gifted us a 2-night stay at an oceanfront resort on Vancouver Island. I was expecting to spend time swimming in the pools, but then realized the pools were well-heated spa pools and not the best environment for me to be swimming in (overheating in the first trimester can be dangerous to the embryo). So the run gear I brought was used more than I had planned. I ran two beautiful runs along the path next to the water. It was mostly flat too, so it allowed me to maintain a consistent pace and not stop for walk breaks. I ran 5K two days in a row and enjoyed the beautiful spring weather and ocean views. Spring hasn’t fully sprung in Vancouver yet, so it was great to see the blossoms out. I even got to hang out with a hummingbird for a little while!

Next week is the April Fool’s Run, the half marathon on the Sunshine Coast I run every year. I’ve been conflicted about this race ever since I found out I was pregnant and I found that running became that much harder. I decided early on that I wasn’t going to push myself in training, and upping my mileage now isn’t the time. I can stay pretty fit running in the 5-10K range for all my workouts. No need to go much higher. I think I’d assumed I could consistently run 10K on weekends for my Sunday long runs, and so then at AFR, I could run 10K and walk the remainder. I could still do a half marathon this year, like I do multiple halfs every year, but this would be my only one of the year and done slow. Well, it turns out that a plan to run 10K and walk 11K might be flawed. 2 of my 3 bad runs since becoming pregnant were runs where I attempted 10K. I’ve successfully run 10K a few times (once was just a week ago), but twice I had to bail and go home early because of fatigue. There’s no sense in running myself exhausted when I’m trying to grow a vulnerable tiny human. We both need my energy. One of these bad 10K attempts was yesterday. I quit at 6km and walked home. it could be that I pushed myself too hard on the day before gardening. Or it could be that the torrential rain got to me. Or the fact my sleep the night before was not sound but interrupted by many a bathroom break. Or I was otherwise tired. I have every right to be.

So this left me feeling more of a dilemma toward the pending half marathon. Luckily Teresa, the race director, posted on Facebook that a relay team was looking for another member. So I contacted the right people to see if I could join a team and run a quarter of the race, instead of the entire thing. Hopefully this works out, as it will give me a more reasonable running distance (the 5km range), and it’ll take the pressure off of me. What if I sleep poorly again the night before the race? What if it’s another bad day? It won’t matter so much if I only have to run 5K. Fingers crossed this works out. Otherwise, I will stick with plan A and pack lots of snacks for the walking portion, and I won’t feel shy to DNF if I need to.