Race 2 of 9

On Sunday, 25 April, I ran my second race of the Pregnant Lady Running Series. It was another chilly day, but this time it was raining. I would say it was about mid 40s and the rain wasn't heavy, but constant. The course its self took me by suprise. There were a lot more hills than I expected. Since it was a road race, it was all pavement. I had a horrible cramp in the middle of my chest because of a mistake that I knew I shouldn't have done. On one of the hills I stopped to walk for only four steps, but it threw off my pace and my breathing, which resulted in a pretty bad cramp and really hard breathing for the rest of the race.

Despite some of the pain, I performed much better than the last time. I was over a minute faster, finishing in 21:52. I was nervous because my training over the week had been next to none due to a lot of rain and nausea. But, I must say that I was pleased with my outcome. I was 14th overall and 3rd place female. I won my age group, so I took home another trophy (heat/cold colour changing water bottle and Dunkin Donuts $10 gift card).

I'm actually on a roll with this & really can't wait until Race #3!
Race results are here.

Race 1 of 9

So, my goal during this pregnancy is to run 9 races; one for each month of the pregnancy. However, I will have to double up on races this month since I didn't know I was pregnant in March & I will probably have to double up near the end as well since I am due at the beginning of December.

I ran my first race of the series on Saturday, 10 April 2010 at 9AM. It was held in Mansfield, CT and was a delightful cross-country 5k. It ended up being a lot colder than I expected, but was still nice. The weather was over-cast, about 50 degrees, but very blustery. The course its self was a bit slow due to some large puddles, rocks & roots, but a nice one. The hills weren't too extreme, which was nice since I had enough trouble with them as it was! The finnish was a flat field around a backstop, which made for a nice kick.

After all the race announcments at the finnish line, the field of runners (110 of them) walked together across to the starting line. Everyone mingled around for a minute or so while the officials were trying to get people to come to the starting line. No one wanted to toe the line! I noticed that a lot of people were hanging back & saying "No, I'll let the fast people go first", and "I don't want to be in front!" So I stepped up, right in the middle. The gun went off & I took off. At first I felt kind of silly running in front with a bunch of guys and half expected to be over taken by the end of the field. But I kept my place & my pace.

I felt pretty good through the first mile and a half, but at the half way mark I hit a wall. My body desperately wanted to walk, but my mind was actually terrified of being passed! I was still in first and wanted to keep it. That's when my personality split. One part of me kept saying "It's okay to ease up. It's okay to come in second; you're pregnant & everyone will understand. In fact, they will be impressed!" But then the other part of me was screaming back, "No! You are making a point! You don't need to back down just because you are pregnant...that's why you're running in the first place!" The second part of me ended up winning out. When I came out of the woods, I was still in first place.

As I headed onto the field to come around the backstop, I realized that there was an older woman running ahead of me and the loud speakers were saying "Here comes our first female finisher!" I knew this was wrong--that she must have missed the second loop of the course. But still...what if they didn't catch the mistake & gave her the win?! I decided to kick early, just in case. I took off & passed her easily. "The first woman is now the second women..." the loud speakers called out. I hurried around the backstop & did what I could to "sprint" to the finnish line. I dashed through the tape & they pronouced my name (correctly!)

I finished with a 22:59 time, 24th overall (out of 95 finishers), and I was the first female finisher by a full 40 seconds. A small Agusta Pine Tree was my trophy (because of the Earth Day theme). I was quite pleased with myself :) (You can find the full race results here.)

I know I'm not that pregnant right now (five weeks on race day), but I still think this just goes to show that you can still push a little & do great things!
Keep pounding that pavement & go be a Champion!

Setting Goals & Losing the Diet Plan

At the very beginning of your pregnancy it is a good idea to set some goals. But make sure they are realistic and be honest with yourself. Now is not the time to be losing weight, pulling a minute off your 5K, or completing your first marathon. Running is an excellent activity while pregnant, but our ideas on why we run needs to shift a little bit.

Step number one, go calculate your Body Mass Index. It will help you determine if you are underweight, normal, or over weight. Granted, this is very limited & does not take many, many factors into account. If you are a seasoned runner, you don't even need to worry about it, but if you are just starting a running routine, it is a good starting point.

If you are on any kind of diet or diet supplement, stop now. A well balanced diet is recommended, and yes, it is okay to eat some carbs (and some meat). About 300 extra calories a day is needed while pregnant. However, don't let pregnancy become an excuse for gaining too much weight. Remember, a "normal" BMI person should be gaining approximately 1 to 5 pounds in the first trimester and about a pound a week after that (which comes out to 25-35 pounds total). If you were already on a weight-loss diet, don't worry about the numbers since all of those pounds will come back off after birth.

My BMI when I was pregnant with my first was 16.5. I was "underweight" at 5'4" and 96 pounds. I gained a total of 65 pounds by labor day! I was horrified at myself for gaining so much weight, even though I was careful about eating and ran every day. But it was what my body, and more importantly, what my baby needed. 95% of the weight came off by the time I was pregnant with my second, almost exactly 9 months later. Now I am considered "normal range" at 20.6, which means I should only be about 150 pounds by labor day...let's see how good I am!

Second, focus on a pregnancy goal. My pregnancy goal is to run (at least) three races in the first trimester, two races in the second, and one race in the third. I would like to do one a month, but I live up North and the baby is due in December, and I fear that running in the winter could be a little dangerous with such a big belly, so we'll just stick with per trimester for now. I'm not going to be too concerned with placement or timing; just staying strong & keeping a good pace. Other good goals could be maintaining a good weight for your pregnancy progress. This is especially helpful to those who are considered over weight or who tend to gain weight quickly.

Third, write it down. Keep up your running log, but modify it to count pregnancy symptoms, weight gain, miles, etc. I like to make a graph of my miles at the end of the month just to make sure I stay on track. However, while pregnant, it's okay if this graph takes a bit of a dip, especially in the last trimester. Again, there is no need to obsess over the numbers! You may need to adjust your weekly average, and that's okay.

Always listen to your belly! Run when it feels good, stop when it doesn't. Do an extra mile if you can, but slow down & even walk if you have to. Running while pregnant is a glorious feeling, and starting off right from the beginning will keep you running all 9 months long!