Preggy Goes for a Run

Recap: Virginia Beach Rock 'n' Roll Half-Marathon


Mayyyyybe running a half-marathon 7 months pregnant wasn't the brightest idea I've had in a while.  Regardless, I am always looking for the next big challenge and this was it.  I started out over five years ago running 5-10ks.  Since then I've run 10 official half-marathons, two triathlons, 3 marathons, and now a very pregnant half-marathon (making that tally 11).

Follow my journey, if you dare:

4:30am - my alarm clock goes off, which is disturbing for me since I could barely sleep.  I had the typical pre-race jitters and never felt like I actually got into a full, deep sleep.  Since I was smart, for once, getting ready was easy.  I laid all of my clothes out and packed my race bag the night before.  Within 10 minutes I was headed out the door so that I could catch the shuttle down to the oceanfront.

5:00am - I parked my car in the parking lot of Farm Bureau Live (Virginia Beach Amphitheater) and after triple checking my bag, headed for the buses.  Sadly, this was where potty break #1 occurred.  Damn!  I couldn't even make it down the the start line without a bathroom break.  This... was not looking good.

5:05am - I jumped on my HRT bus and was off.  Of course I managed to sit by the ONE person who feels that it's necessary to tell their life story to any complete stranger willing to listen.  I'm such a sucker.  For the next hour + my new friend kept me company as we had a lovely one-sided conversation.  Don't get me wrong, she was super nice but I have a hard time maintaining my attention span if I can't get a word in edge wise.  I like to talk too dammit!

6:30am - Gear check and potty break #2.  My pre-run meal consisted of a granola square, bread with PB, and it was supposed to end with a banana.  Too bad I checked my banana in with my race bag.  No banana.  Sigh...

7:00am - I squeeze myself into corral #15 and awaited my fate while the race began up in the front.  I honestly felt like I was running my very first half-marathon all over again.  It was very fitting that I chose the Virginia Beach Rock 'n' Roll Half-Marathon as my pregnancy experiment.  It was, after all, the very first half that I did back in 2006.  What was hard was knowing that I had two people to think about this time.  I was ok'ed by the doctors to do this, but was it the right thing to do?  Scenarios ran through my head as I crept up to the start.  Half nervous, half excited.  I know that there are pregnant runners out there.  I talk to them online and get tips, but I do know that you never see them.  There I was front and center with my "Running for Two" tank top on.  What would people say?  I know what I got at the expo and from some people leading up to this moment, "Are you sure you can run?"  "Are you allowed to do that?"  "I don't know if that's safe."
You know what?  It does bother me when people question my choices especially when they aren't into the same things as I am and couldn't understand.  I checked with my doctor, read everything that I possibly could to make sure that I was prepared, and fully accepted the fact that I would not be able to run the whole thing and could possibly have to quit midway.  So... off I went.

7:20am - I cross the start line and am off.  I felt good heading up 19th street for about 5 minutes.  Sad right?  Sigh.  From 1/2 mile to about mile 3 I had HORRIBLE shin splints.  My plan was to run a 10min. jog/2 min. walk interval.  I figured that would help me to keep in pace and save my energy.  Well, when I stopped for that first two minute walk my shins felt like absolute shit.  Thank God I know my body and I know that it takes a good 3 miles for it to "warm up".  I hoped that the shin pain would go away and it finally did.  As I got near mile 4 I had to stop for potty break #3.  You know what though?  I'm glad that I did because as soon as I jumped back on the course I came up behind Jackie from Season 5 of The Biggest Loser!  I had met both her and Dan at the expo on Friday afternoon, but I never thought that I would see either of them out on the course and there she was just trotting along!!  I scooted up beside her and we jogged and talked for a good few minutes - clearly the highlight of the entire race!!  She has to be the nicest person on the planet.

After the shin splints subsided and I got to jog with a "celebrity" I was feeling pretty damn good about myself.  By the time I rounded mile 6 I had also found two other preggies!  I talked to both for a minute or so before moving on.  One was 16 weeks and having a little girl and the other was 35 weeks and due on Oct. 8th.  Relief!  I was not alone out there.  I was not the only crazy one.  Another confidence boost.

"Running For 2"

Mile 6 - I was starving and ate my delish Snickers Marathon bar.  This was also the time I was supposed to text Bryan to let him know I was nearing the halfway mark.  At this point I had been "running" for about 90 minutes and knew that it'd be at least 90 more before I finished.  Sadly I was passed by the 3 hour pace group just before passing mile 6.  Goal #1 - finish in under 3 hours, extinguished.  They were cruising and I was molasses.  I knew at that point that keeping up or catching up was not an option.

Mile 7 - potty break #4.  This one added 5 minutes to my time.  I actually remembered to time how long it took for me to wait in line and actually go.  Sad.  I was never in a good place to just pee in the woods like I had planned.  It seemed like every time I had to go it was in a residential area.  I actually considered asking a spectator if I could use their indoor bathroom, but never got up the nerve.  I figured they might take pity on my pregnant soul.

Mile 9 - The pain set in.  I battled and defeated shin splints in both legs by mile 3.  By mile 9 my right hip felt like it was scraping bone.  What sucks is that I know exactly what it feels like when your ball and socket is scraping bone.  This was horribly similar.  Something was stretching or was overstretched.  My body had begun to lose faith in itself.  I began to ware down.  My 10/2 interval became a 5/2 interval.  By mile 10 I was at a straight speed walk.  I knew it may come down to this and I knew that I had time to walk the rest and still outrun the saggin' wagon.  What is ironic about mile 9 is that's as far as I had run "training" for this.  Since I'm pregnant I wasn't supposed to "train" for anything.  What was good about that is that I never really trained for halves anyway.  The furthest I'd run up until race day was 9 miles.  Hell, the furthest I'd run since the Shamrock Half (when I was 5 weeks pregnant) was 9 miles.  Anyway, back to the irony; I joked with my friend AS that I knew I could make it to 9 and if I had to walk the rest of the way I'd be okay with that.  Premonition?

Thank God for that support belt.

Mile 11 - When I was at the cusp of mile 11/12 I was also at the Rudee Inlet bridge.  The dreaded bridge.  This time I was excited to hit the bridge because I figured that when I came down the other side I may be able to muster up enough energy to run the final mile.  I always loved coming over the bridge because that's where the support crowds start up again.  Nothing is more exciting than coming over the top of the bridge and around the corner to be greeted by tons of cheering strangers.  I hit the top and started my jog down when, again, my legs said, "NO!!!"  My calves and achilles tendons in BOTH legs began locking up.  I had never felt that before.  I almost thought that both legs were going to completely give out from underneath me and began to form a plan in my head on how I was going to safely crumble to the ground.  Luckily, I didn't have to put my plan into action.  I did start to wonder if I was going to be forced to quit one mile from the finish line.

Mile 12 - Tears.  I choked back tears a few times during this mile.  I don't know what was bringing them on, but there were there.  Pain?  Excitement? Accomplishment?  I wasn't sure, but I know that it wasn't a bad feeling.  One thing I didn't realize was that people don't stick around to cheer on the walkers.  By the time I came off of the bridge to cross mile 12, I sadly realized that the excited crowds I was expecting to boost my confidence were gone.  There were a few people here and there, but nothing like I'm used to.  At this point I'm usually long finished and at home resting.  My best time at the RNR Half was 2 hours and 20 minutes.  This run was a new high and a new low all rolled up in one package.  I hit the boardwalk and far in the distance I could see it, the finish line.  I was going to make it and I was going to make it jogging, not walking.  I decided right then and there that I had enough in me to hit some sort of jog once I made it to mile 13.

Me creepy, crawling toward the finish line.

The Finish Line - Another thing I never realized was that when you're super slow it's really easy to find the people who are there to cheer you on.  One thing that I always hated was that I could never find Bryan in the crowd before I crossed the finish line because it was so dense.  Not when you've transformed into a walker and are crossing the finish line 4 hours after the race initially started.  I spotted him easily and got all of the confidence I needed to finish strong.  He got an action shot of my attempt to jog and I got a kiss as I trotted toward the finish line.  I did look up to check the race clock as I crossed; 4 hours exactly since the start of the race at 7am.  My official time was 3:37:33 - a full hour and 17 minutes slower than I'm used to.  Am I ashamed of my time?  Hell no!

• I currently weigh 165lbs. which is at least 30lbs. over my normal weight when I'm training for a long distance run.  
• I am 7 months pregnant!  There is another human being sucking nutrients, energy, blood, and oxygen away from me.  
• My stomach is protruding outwards - do you know what that does for your balance and center of gravity?  It eff's it all up that's what.
• I didn't finish last, I didn't quit, and I wasn't picked up by the saggin' wagon.  My goal was to finish and I did that.

The Aftermath - I was very good about following the general "rules" of cooling down after a run like that.  I drank a lot of water to do any rehydrating, ate a banana and some fruit as soon as I finished, and made sure that I didn't sit down for 20-30 minutes.  Usually I'm very stubborn about those things.  I'm not going to lie though, I was waiting to feel her move.  I haven't ever felt her move during any kind of workout.  According to my books, your body movement usually puts baby to sleep and you're usually too busy to notice any tiny movements anyway.  Even though I "did everything right" as far as taking precautionary measures, I knew I wouldn't be completely sold on my decision to run until I felt her move.  She wasn't.  For those of you who know me, you know that I'm not very emotional and I'm definitely not a worry wart - I don't have the patience or energy for those things.  We'll just say that I was concerned at this point.  It wasn't until we were almost back to my car, about 40 minutes after I finished, that I felt tiny movements.  When I felt her I turned to Bryan and said, "She's alive."  I know he was relieved because I don't think he wanted me to run at all.  Back when we found out I was pregnant he told me he didn't want me doing anything more than a 10k (6.2 miles), but when the doctor gave me the okay he also knew that there was no stopping me.  Now I really hope that she doesn't think that we're going to bounce her all around the house to get her to go to sleep after all of this running and exercise I've been doing.  I hope that I have not created a sleep monster.

What's Next?

Nothing is next.  I'm turning in my running shoes until January 2012.  That was it for me.  My last hurrah.  I'll be sticking to the gym; elliptical, cross-trainer, body pump, and yoga until she comes.  Now once that 6 week rest period is over I'll be right back in the game training for the Shamrock Half-Marathon in March.  I cannot wait to see how much easier running/working out is going to be once I get rid of this extra weight and my little person is in the outside world.

My Disclaimers:  

• Running a half-marathon 7 months pregnant was HARDER than running a full marathon.  I wanted a challenge and dammit I got one.
• The running community is simply amazing!  The snide comments and odd looks that I got days before at the expo ("Are you sure that's a good idea?"  "Are you supposed to be running"  "Is that healthy for the baby?"  "Does your doctor know you're doing this?") were a faded memory thanks to my fellow runners.  My experience as a pregnant runner was a very positive one.  My shirt got a lot of laughs (especially from men), and I got a lot of "you go girl" and "that's amazing!" comments, and tons of other support while on the course.  It was also really fun watching people trying to pass me on purpose because of my shirt.  Like passing a pregnant lady should be an accomplishment.  Trust me, it wasn't hard to pass me yesterday.

Thanks Andrea for finding this shirt at the expo!!

A day later I'm almost completely back to normal.  Still a little sore in my legs and feet, but nothing out of the ordinary.  My plan is to be back in the gym tomorrow after work.  Another race down in the books.