The Pregnancy Shuffle.

I managed to eek out two miles today, before the sun came up.  I actually felt great because I started out slowly and refrained from picking up the pace.  The side stitches were few and far between today, thank goodness.  

I'll try again tomorrow, too.  

Maybe tomorrow I'll have time to get in three, instead of just two.  

Painful and Laborious.

Woah. Running has gotten incredibly HARD over the past week. Incredibly hard!

Josh ran on the treadmill this morning and came upstairs completely chipper from his three mile run. He announced that running on the treadmill is so much easier than running outside. "The air conditioning helps tremendously", he said.

So I figured, why not give running inside a shot? After we got Michael down for his nap, I headed downstairs for a three mile run. And...OH. MY. GOSH. My body just doesn't want to run anymore, or to walk fast. I had a side stitch, again on my right side. I slowed my run down, to a fast walk. The change in speed did not help until I reduced the speed even further to a slow-ER walk. Eventually I got to the three mile mark, but good grief! Was it ever a painful and laborious process. Forty-one minutes, to be exact.

I refuse to throw in the towel because even though the three miles were a heck of a lot of work; I felt great the rest of the day knowing that I exercised.

What is most frustrating is the fact that overall I feel like I could run a marathon! It's probably in my head, but I don't feel tired enough after each workout. Today I was barely sweating, but my body (namely, my belly) just couldn't keep up.

This whole running while pregnant thing is very interesting, and very frustrating, at times.

Rough Mornings.

The past two mornings have been very rough.  Both mornings the baby has greeted me with these horrendous "cramps", kinda like contraction cramps.  (Not good at all).  

This morning, I woke around 5:15, which is completely normal for me.  However, the cramping was not normal.  I tried to sleep on my left side, right side, my back, with pillows, without pillows.  None of those things helped the cramping, so I got out of bed and headed downstairs for some water and Gatorade.  After finishing a couple glasses of diluted Gatorade, I headed back upstairs to try to rest some more.  The cramps eventually dissipated, but obviously there was no way that I could have gotten in a run this morning.  

We'll see what tomorrow brings.  I sure do miss running and I miss my running figure.  : (  I'll be out there soon enough, I know.  It doesn't make it any easier, though.  

Side Stitches

Today's run was awful. Awful, awful, awful. Within the first five minutes of the run, I knew it was not going to be a good one. I had a nasty side stitch on my right side. After getting about a half mile into the run, I had to walk. And, of course, that's what I did. For the rest of my time out on the road this morning I just walked. Even with walking, the side stitch did not go away. Once I got home and had a glass of water, I felt much better. So, I guess the baby just didn't feel like running today.

The positive of this morning's "run" was that one of my running girlfriends was out running. She is such a sweetheart: she actually stopped running and just walked the rest of the way home with me. These running friends are just too much!

My theory is that because the baby is situated relatively "high" in my belly, my essential running organs (diaphragm, lungs, etc.) are all scrunched up, which leads to the side stitches. Or, maybe I didn't feel well because of my dinner last night. Who knows?

I'll try again tomorrow, and will walk if need be. I've made it pretty far with the running and I'm still not ready to call it quits just yet. My goal is to make to the third trimester running. That's only two weeks left of running. I can do that....

So that's why!

I have figured out precisely why I haven't stopped running yet:  Saturday morning runs with the girls.  

In the early stages of my pregnancy, I'd run at least seven, eight, or nine miles with the girls.  Over time, though, the runs have gotten shorter each week.  Two weeks ago I eeked out four, and today 3.5 miles.  I really can't participate in the talking, but I love to listen to swim team stories, vacation stories, and how to teach your children about spending/saving money stories.  Even though it's a complete struggle to keep up with the girls, it's worth it.  And, I love it.  

I think I'm still in for next Saturday's run.  And, hopefully the Saturday after that.  

They are my motivation for getting out in the early morning hours of the summer, with this big 'ole belly!  

I Can Still Run!

Fabulous news!  After taking a week off, I discovered that I can still run three miles!  Yay!!!  I really had my doubts this morning because it has been so long since the last run, but I felt great.  Initially I was just going to run two miles or so, from one end of the neighborhood to the other, but I increased my run and just continued to add on.  

I honestly felt great! Sure, there were side stitches throughout the run, but overall I felt strong from start to finish.  Maybe all I needed was a little extra rest.  I sure could use a nap right now, but I'm going to have to hang on until after lunch.  

Total Miles for the day:  3.2 

Time:  32.11 minutes!  10 minute pace.  Not bad at all!  

Been a WEEK...

It's been a week since I have run!  I have felt so incredibly exhausted over the past week, that I simply can't drag myself out of bed in time to run.  Every evening I think, maybe tomorrow... This is a sign, I know.  Sleep now, while you can because in a few months you be up until all hours of the night and rising with the roosters.  

Duncan and I went on a two mile walk this evening, which felt great.  I'd like to try to walk more frequently, I just need to finish up with the dishes a bit faster each night.  

Anyway.  I'm looking to run tomorrow morning.  We'll see.  I'm pretty tired again tonight, but if I can squeeze in a nap tomorrow maybe I can make it work in the morning.  I've just got to get out the door before the little sugar wakes.  

Short and not so sweet!

I finally pulled myself out of bed to get a run in to finish out the work week.  Unfortunately, I only managed to run about two miles, or so.  I got off to a late start, which means it's likely that I will be late for work.  My legs felt extremely heavy and tired today, but that's understandable.  It's been a long week, the last weeks of school are always exhausting and stressful!  My breathing felt fine, and I didn't have any side stitch pains; both of those are pluses!  My legs would have felt better, if I had more time.  

Tomorrow I am planning on running with my running girlfriends.  I'd be very happy to get in about four or five miles tomorrow.  We'll see how that goes.  I'm so excited that school is almost out because I will have more time in the mornings to actually get in three or four miles, instead of just two! It will be a little bit more challenging to drag myself out of bed, though.    

nothing today

Blah.  I woke up this morning feeling a little nauseous, so I decided t fold a basket of clothes instead.  I should have gotten myself out the door, though, the temperature was perfect for running.  In truth, I'm glad I stayed in because I have felt kind of cruddy all day.  We had a field trip today, so there was a little stress and exhaustion involved with the tip.  Running this morning would have just made me feel worse.  Oh well.  I'll try tomorrow!

Running while pregnant:

It's been awhile since I have updated the running blog, in fact...4 months!  At this point, I have almost hit the six month mark in my second pregnancy.  Thankfully, I have been able to keep up with running throughout this whole pregnancy.  At this point, 23 weeks, I am running about half of what I was doing per week before pregnancy.  Most weeks I get in about fifteen miles, which isn't too shabby.  My runs are usually about three miles long, though I do wish they were longer.  

Today I did about three miles in the sweltering heat.  The first mile was rough, it is always the most difficult mile for me.  Once, I got past the mile mark, my breathing started to relax a little bit and I was able to settle into a decent pace.  Every run is a struggle, though, and I get myself out the door by thinking that I'm just going to do a one mile run.  That run quickly turns into two or three or four because once I get started, I'm hooked!  

I forgot to set my watch today, but I'm confident that I got in about three today.  This week I'm planning on getting in two more runs during the week and then a longer run on Saturday.  

I'll try to keep up with this blog, so that I can document my training for labor and baby number two!