Keepin' Austin Weird (5K)

Oh Blog - What a relationship we have! I think of you often, but never write.

Well, a quick update. I'm 36 weeks pregnant with my 2nd boy and once considered myself a runner - enough so to put a sticker on my car that says "Runner Girl." I love me a good long run. Only, I now define "run" as waddle-waddle-pee break-waddle-waddle-stop. I've gone from 25 miles a week to...uh...well, 2.5 on a good week.

Today, however, my 4 1/2 year old and I trekked out into the pouring rain to get WEIRD! The Keep Austin Weird 5k promised to be "the slowest 5k you'll ever run" and it delivered! I'm a month from giving birth...I felt that qualified as "weird" to see out on the trail.

We started in the back - my boy wanting to run rather than sit in the jogger - and we pretty much stayed there. He splashed through the puddles and I walked slow enough to make sure he didn't follow the rushing water down the street drains. After a mile, he was done and I could start to run. He crawled back into the jogger and we set off of doing 2:1s. While I was far from hitting a PR, we covered the last 2 miles in 27 minutes - nothing fancy, but hey, I'm HUGE and pushing a 48 lb boy in the rain.

Since this was Keep Austin Weird, after all, we switched places the last .1 mile: I sat in the jogging stroller and HE pushed me! I should have thought of that 3 miles ago!!! Overall, it took the two of us (well, 3 of us, technically) 50 minutes to do the 5k and we enjoyed every minute of it!

Now off to take a long, long nap!

"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!

Item 22

of my 101 in 1001:

Run a 5K in less than 9 minutes per mile

now reads:

Run a 5K in less than 9 minutes per mile 27:30

I must add, I was pushing my 45 pound son in a stroller on a WINDY day.

When I PR, I do it in style.