This Pregnant Running Girl Loves Her Some Icing

I promise the title will make sense if you read to the end... :-)

I did a quick elliptical workout about a week ago that had a significant result.  But I was also in the middle of executing a 1400-person race event, the Heels and Hills and Him Half Marathon, for September 26, that I couldn't really think through it or document it properly.  Now I can fully process this but only with a review of where I've been and how I got here...

In 2009, I ran 457.2 miles. I completed 8 half marathons. I worked hard and had never really documented my miles before 2009, but know I had made great strides.

So 2010 comes.  I worked very hard the first couple months of the year. I did a 63 day running streak, running at least a mile OUTSIDE regardless of weather every single day.  I added to that with 6 half marathons in January and February. 

My runner friends were like "Whoa, what got into you?" No one knew that this was all prep work for the decision my husband and I had made to get pregnant with our second child. 

I wanted to whittle down my half marathon personal record some before that happened, I wanted to put myself in the best possible health after such a difficult pregnancy with my first child, and I never imagined I'd actually lose weight after years of no weight changes (I lost 10 pounds in March).  January and February also marked my first two months ever where I hit at least 100 miles run over the month.

I was blessed to again get pregnant with my second child on the first try in mid-March. The first trimester I had the same debilitating fatigue I'd had with my first pregnancy.  As a result, in April and May, I only ran a total of 36.8 miles but it included one half marathon.

In June, my energy returned and I returned to running.  Also adding in time on the elliptical to supplement, as advised by the doc.  The obstetrician kept a careful eye on me but while I had standard pregnancy symptoms, I would actually feel relatively good when running.  Early July, I was able to get the El Scorcho 25K race director to allow me into the sold-out race.  I prepared for it, it kept me motivated, and I completed my first race of longer than a half marathon at 5 months pregnant.  15.5 miles in just under 4 hours with a headlamp on in July in Texas in the middle of the night.

August heat took its toll and my running fell off.  In September, I went ahead and did the Fort Worth Runners Club Labor Day 15K at the beginning of the month, and it was hard on me. I truly raced it as hard as possible given heart rate and walk break requirements the doc had set, and was able to finish only 8 minutes slower than the same race, same course the previous year.  After that race, I felt as bad as my hardest half marathon, then I went through some cold symptoms a week later, September weekends were horribly humid and hot, and then I was engulfed in preparation to put on the Heels and Hills and Him race.  Last week, I snuck in a little hard 0.80 mile elliptical workout.  And today, I ran for the first time in 22 days and completed 6.3 miles.

What's so significant from that elliptical workout last week?

• In 2009, I did 457.2 miles.  In 2010, as of September 20th (that last elliptical workout), including my elliptical miles, I have already completed 457.4 miles for the year, 3 months shy of the end of the year.  Yes, 45 miles of that is elliptical, and some will say they aren't comparable, but I laugh and say, who cares? I worked hard for 457.4 miles this year - it counts to me, and that's all that matters.  And maybe by the time they baby comes, I'll be able to say I full out ran or walked over 457 miles, not counting elliptical miles.
• In 2010, I did 8 half marathons.  In 2010, as of July 25, I completed 8 races of half marathon length OR LONGER.

I had set goals for myself for 2010, and I'm thrilled about the progress I made, since most had to be made under the assumption of a full year with no pregnancy, or face having to publicly discuss my family planning which was not something I wanted to do.  Here's what the goals were and where I got on each:

2010 Distance Goals

• Complete at least 10 half marathons in 2010 aka "10 halfs in '10". Well, once I got pregnant on the first try, that goal was easy to give up.  My thought had been that I was on track to have that happen if I didn't get pregnant for a few months of trying.
• Run 500 miles by June 30 - Again, made plans on January 1 around the idea that maybe I wouldn't get pregnant right away.  Still happy that maybe I'll hit 500 for the year. And if not, I still did more miles than 2009.

2010 Speed Goals

• Complete 3 half marathons in 2 ½ hours or faster - I did complete two (Houston PR 2:29, Cowtown PR 2:26).
• Finish a 5K in 31 minutes (10 min/mi pace) or faster by June 30 - Ah, who cares? The running streak was way more beneficial but made short distance speedwork go straight out the window.
• Run a mile in 9:30 by June 30, run a mile in 9:00 by Dec. 31 - Actually set a new 1 Mile PR of 9:04 on a training run in February! I don't care that the 9 minute mile won't be seen until after recovery in 2011. 

At this point, I'm very happy for the active pregnancy I've had.  The baby has seemed healthy and a perfect size through the development cycle, while I've felt much better physically than my first pregnancy and very underweight for this point in the pregnancy (which the doc is okay with so I am too, and it will help me recover faster after birth!).  So now, every additional mile until baby comes is my ICING on this active cake. And yum, this pregnant girl loves her some icing!!!

Love this pic for this post - except change that to IT'S A GIRL in this instance! :-)