A 10K While Pregnant: Torture or Triumph?

The jury's still out on that one...

 

I made a goal at the beginning of this pregnancy to be more active.  Mike and I were running about 3 times per week last summer and running became a fun part of our life.  We were run/walking about once per week in the first weeks of my pregnancy. BUUUUUUUUUUT, then my sciatic nerve started having issues.  I'll be honest here people:  I kinda gave up on being active around 18 weeks along.  And it shows.  Yeesh- I am lots larger this pregnancy than I have been with the last two, so there will be lots of morning walks and healthy eating and declarations of self-love (to overcome the body hate...) after this little boy is born.  Anyway, I'm getting WAY off topic. 

 

Mike and I signed up to run a 10K on Saint Patrick's day in Bozeman!  And I am proud of myself for finishing at 30 weeks pregnant.  It was hard. I was out of shape. My pelvis thought it was going to break in half,  my lower back was not happy with me afterward, and my sciatic nerve kept making my butt go numb,  but I FINISHED, goshdarnit. 

We dressed up. We were totally
the hottest pregnant ladies there.

 

My adorable friend Leslie is pregnant with her first and wanted to "waddle" it with me.  She was about 17 weeks at the time, I think, so I was really the only one wadding.  We had tons of fun chatting the whole way and talking about pregnancy and birth and all those girl things.  The funniest part was that all the 1/2 Marathon people started passing us and everyone kept telling us "Keep it up, Ladies!"  or "Great job, girls!"  and we couldn't really figure out why.... But then Leslie says "Do you think they know we're pregnant?"  At which point I realized how TERRIBLY I was waddling from the pelvic pain.  I laughed that it was so obvious from behind.  Leslie did not look pregnant IN THE LEAST, but she was so sweet and walked the whole way with me. 

This year I was 8 people away from finishing dead last in the 10K.  Like I said:  Finishing was the only goal, and I did it. 

 

2013 official time- 1:50:38

At the starting line. 
I wore Mike's shirt from 2012

We did the same race last year and it was important to Mike to run it again.  He wanted to see if he could improve, and he did!  Even if it was only a bit.  I was smaller last year, and I could wear my own shirt, too. 

 Run to the Pub 2012

2012 official time for Wendy- 1:00:47.  Hopefully I can beat this time in 2014!! 

 

2013 for Mike 1:02:34

2012 for Mike 1:07:42

 

September 2012

September

While October is always crazy in our family, September seems to stay easy and breezy.  My cutie pie started pre-school at a local Lutheran church.  It's the only preschool in town, and people said good things about it.

  I was excited for the social experience of it for CJ, as well as helping her get ready to sit through a day of school.  In about mid-October, however, we decided to take her out of the program.  While it wasn't necessarily a BAD little preschool, we just didn't feel like Cecily was benefiting from it all that much.  Plus, it was 100 bucks a month for 3 days a week, 2.5 hours each class- and they only had 30-40 minutes of academic time!  The rest was Bible stories, free play time, recess, and snack time.  I get that the whole thing CAN'T be academic, but it just didn't seem worth it.

Every day when I asked her what she had learned she would say "uhhhh, nothing."  She already knows her numbers and letters, so most of anything they taught was old news to her. 

I guess I was thinking more along the lines of dinosaur units, and under the sea curriculum, exploring space and all those fun things.  I guess we can't all get exactly what we want, huh? 

In the meantime, we are doing "mommy preschool" which, let me tell you, Cecily was not excited for when I told her about it.  But she's warmed up to the idea. We're going on a nature walk today.  Hooray.

And, I have to mention this, because I think its SO funny.  They would sing "Bingo was his name-o" only they would substitute J-E-S-U-S for B-I-N-G-O.  The first time I heard it I literally burst out laughing because it was so ridiculous (and kinda sac-religious? teeny bit?). 
She looked really cute on her first day, though!



It's official: she rocks my socks off.

The next few pics just show you how goofy my girl is.

Add caption

 

 

 

At the end of the month we traveled to Helena and got family pictures done by a friend of mine from high school.  She did a great job and got lots of candid, beautiful shots of my kids and our family.  While posed pics are great, I love the natural feel of candid shots SO much too.  You can take a peek at them here if you want.  Or, leave me a comment with your address and I'll send you a Christmas card!  Even better!
That Saturday morning, Mike and I also ran a little 5K that was put on through some kids at Carroll College.  It was to benefit Haiti (not sure exactly who in Haiti..... but I'm sure it was really great), so we went and ran our hearts out with a bunch of college kids.  When we got there we looked around and, with the exception of a very few, we were the oldest ones there.  HA! 

Us "old folks" in our runnin' gear.

October is coming and it's going to be another huge post!
 Don'tcha just LOVE 'em????
  Wooooooooooooop!

First Race Of The Summer

Just before we loaded up the bus to go freeze at the starting line!

Mike and I ran a 10K on St. Patrick's day!

  It was in Bozeman, MT and it was SO COOL.  Everyone got a free pint of beer at the end of the race, which would have been amazing if only we drank beer.  We don't, so it was a teeny bit anticlimactic. 

 I'm kidding!  It was still fun!  

Not to mention we ate lunch with my good friends Erin and Leslie afterward, so there was no beer necessary for a good time. 

We want to run as many races as we can this summer and whip our booty's in to shape.

There's something so awesome about races! I hate training, but the races make it all worth it.  I don't know why, but running with other people around to challenge you and push you is 100X the excitement. 

I ended up with a time of 1:00:47and Mike was just behind me with 1:07:42.  I really wished I could have made it in before the 1 hour mark, but I stopped for a port-o-potty break at about mile 2, so I lost a few minutes.  Next time, I guess!

13.1

Where do I begin? 

 Last Saturday, October 29, 2011, I ran my first half marathon.   

Mike's excellent picture taking skills are responsible for this stellar picture of my large booty. 

I ran the Provo Halloween Half Marathon. 

IN COSTUME, NO LESS!

When I signed up for it, my original intention was to lose the last 10 lbs of baby weight and help my husband shed a few as well. 

Neither of those things happened.

And because of all the craziness of the past 2 months, I didn't train as much as I would have liked. (Read : I hardly trained at all.....)

Not to mention,  Mike pulled a ligament in his foot a month ago and couldn't run.

I still count myself successful, though. 

Because I finished.

And that is a big accomplishment for me.

I ran farther than I had ever run before in my whole life.

I kept going, even though my knees hurt and my toes had blisters.

And I finished.

Go me.

This pic is of me and the finish line.

And my IPhone

And my chapstick.

(Both of which I ran with)

And the two oranges and one green banana I ate after the race.

And some of the orange is on my lips if you look close.

Obviously, i wasn't worried too much about my appearance after 13.1 miles.

My official time was 2 hours 29 minutes and 19 seconds.

My only goal was to finish, but I was sort of hoping to finish under 3 hours,

and I finished under 2 1/2.  Wooooooooooot!

I'm hoping to train harder next time. Because there will be a next time.  And it will be awesome.

Not a Natural Runner

So, my older brother Russ was a runner in high-school.  He is 4 years ahead of me in school, so we weren't in high-school together, but nonetheless and I ADORED and looked up to him. He ran Cross Country, therefore, when I got to high-school I ran Cross Country.  Honestly, I didn't particularly like running, but if Russ did it then it must be cool.    My running career lasted one season, cut short by shin splints.  In summary: I sucked at it.  Plus, I lacked the discipline and motivation (and shins) to keep at it.  My dad used to say "You're not really a natural runner, honey."  He didn't mean it in a derogatory way, just that my gate and stride were not naturally built for running.  I was ok with it, and went on my merry, cheerleading way.   

I've run on and off since then to keep in shape and because I don't really mind it as a quick way to get some cardio in.  A few months ago I signed Mike and I up for a half marathon at the end of October.  We are both out of shape and in need of a goal with an end date.  We ran a 5K as part of our training on the 6th of August and I got exactly one picture:

See the yellow tag on my shoe?  It's my timer from the race.  I know, the pic sucks.  I don't know what I was thinking not bringing my camera.

I finished with a time of 33:34, which was better than I expected.  My goal was under 35 minutes, so I felt I did well. 

August since then has been........(how shall I put this)...... stressful. 

I haven't been keeping up with my running like I should, and I've been allowing my body to get chubby and out of shape again. 

So, for any of you that are runners... Can you help me?

I have 7 weeks to whip my buns back in to shape and I'm wondering if you think I'll die? Maybe?

I don't feel like it's enough time. 

The longest I've run yet (this go-around) is 4 miles. 

I know, it's not exactly 13.1

I'm not giving up, but I wondered if anybody has any speedy training tips for me.

Also, the last few times I've run I seem to get a pain under my ribs that feels like muscle is pulling away from bone.  It's different than just "side aches."  I've WebMD'd it and came up with nothin'.

Am I dying?

Kidding.  I won't die. 

But if any of you know what it is, let me know.

If not, sorry I made you read this long, uninteresting post :) 

Hugs!