24 weeks

Ah! I need to go for a run!!! It's been 5 long days since I've hit the pavement and I'm going stir-crazy!
BUT my husband is still out of town and I don't have a stroller to take the boy with me.

Might have to convince him to take his bike out with me again...see if he can make it farther than 2.5 miles this time.

This Evening's Spectacle

This evening's spectacle, down a quiet little neighborhood street:

My 4-year-old boy riding a WAY-TOO-BIG bike recovered from a dumpster whose training wheels screeched like fingernails down a chalkboard; all the while he was growling screaming out car engine sounds and pretending to get blown-out tires.

Next to him: me and my 23 week pregnant belly slogging* along soaked in sweat, chanting "Go Lightning McQueen Go!" or "Peet Stop"** in a really bad Italian accent or "Bring on the confetti!"***

Talk about a circus!

*runningfor3's fabulous term for slow jogging

** Guido anyone?

***Chick...and yes, thanks for asking: We HAVE seen the movie Cars 1084 times.

That song again?

This morning's run was foiled by the 4am wake-up song:

"Mommy, My Stomach Feels Funn-----[bbllleeeeeuuucchhhhh]."

"Race" Update

Hello All!

Crumbs here - Back from The Land of Fatigue and Heaving (a.k.a First Trimester) and happily gliding along through Celebration and Energy (well, relatively speaking!). I'm 22 weeks along in my 2nd pregnancy and have a renewed love of running quickly-paced waddling.

I've never been fast, but My Oh My, just 2 months ago it took me 45 minutes to force myself to go 2.5 miles. The agony! All because of this weird addiction that seemed like it was going to promise me relief in my rough months of sickness. Really - food was intolerable. Advil unadvised. And a Mojito with a floater? Highly frowned upon by the masses. I knew I was allowed to run, though. And when I run, I get a Runner's High! Sweet - Hook Me Up. Only, I couldn't really make it through the first mile so easily without getting dizzy and feeling like a 7 year old was taking drum lessons in my head. I guess only being able to force down 500 calories a day meant there wasn't much in the bank for added exercise. This, it seemed, was going to be a very, very long 40 weeks. Weekly milage went from 25 to...well, 3 (or 10, if you count running to the toilet).

Fast forward to this week.

I had slowly reintroduced myself to running over the last 8 weeks - first with the treadmill and then out on the street - week by week adding a little more. I even completed a 5 miler in just 1 minute/per mile slower than pre-pregnancy. HOPE! HOPE, I tell you!

So I signed up for a 5k in my old stomping grounds of South Miami. (I'm back in town for a little while and what better to meet up with old friends than at a race?! It's a fun way to let folks know about the little one, too!) Anyway - I knew I wasn't going to set any records but I couldn't believe that I finished a cool 2 minutes slower than I did last year - right around old running buddies. Just 2 months ago I had lost hope of ever having my runner's high again. But there it was: Baby and Me waddling through at a relaxed pace, waving to familiar faces, enjoying the course, passing the finish line with a smile and energy to spare!

Each day I get bigger.

I know every run won't be that smooth.

BUT it's so comforting to know that, even when I hit rough patches (be it morning sickness or injury or burnout), I'll eventually get my groove back.

Happy Running All!