Half Marathon 26 weeks pregnant!

2/15/2011 26 weeks pregnant
Sunday 2/13 I ran the San Dieguito Half Marathon (13.1 miles).  For those who know the course it is pretty hilly, but a beautiful run.  I debated back and forth until the very last second if I should do it or not, and it always comes down to asking myself the same question...would I have regretted it if I DIDN'T do it?  The answer is always YES, so I sent in my registration on the last day and hoped for the best both with the weather and for me physically.  I figured as a last resort I could walk it and still be happy I finished.  The morning of the race the weather was pretty darn perfect.  Cold, but not bitterly cold, and it warmed up without a cloud in the sky and luckily there was lots of shade on the roads too.  I think this was my first half marathon since last February when I did this race.  Going into it I knew it was hilly, but as I approached the first major hill I was reminded just HOW hilly it was...I am pretty sure we ran up hill for at least a mile.  I instantly felt pretty horrible for having one of my clients run this race as her first half marathon...that was just cruel.  Well, at least she has bragging rights for finishing one of the most challenging half marathons around. ;)
As I was warming up and stretching I did get a few people asking me if I was doing the half....pregnant (it is fairly obvious now that I am prego and not just a heavy beer drinker with a gut).  Most were supportive and impressed and one or two were concerned and let me know it! I have to admit that I was a little nervous myself, but not because I was worried if I could do it fitness wise, but with the pregnancy thing you just never know what the day will bring you physically....will I get dehydrated? overheated? will she be sitting in an awkward spot making the run too uncomfortable?  will I have an EMERGENCY bathroom break?!  I just told myself I would start slow and walk whenever I felt that I needed to and fight the urge to push through the discomforts. 
I started near the back of the pack, which is fairly usual for me.  But I did notice something different about this race...either I was in the exact right section for my pace or EVERYONE was starting off slower because they knew that had some big hills to conquer and 13.1 miles to complete.  In the past few races I have done both the triathlons and the 15ks it seemed like everyone started out SO fast!  I was instantly reminded of how much I like the longer endurance events for this reason...slow and steady is the way to go!  I did have to go the the bathroom about mile 6, but there were only porta-pottys, which is not horrible...but there were always at least 3 or more people waiting.  I didn't want to have to stop and wait so I kept going hoping I didn't have any issues along the way.  When I made it to mile 8 and 9 I started to really hit a good stride...I felt pretty great.  I had actually kept a fairly steady pace of about 11min/miles or less even with some walking up the steepest parts of the runs.  I finally saw a bathroom opportunity with NO LINE and jumped at the chance to go quickly.  After that it was all down hill...literally...the GIANT hill we went up for over a mile was a nice steady decline near the end of the race.  Although, the last 1/2 mile or so was a cruel joke of an uphill climb to the finish, but with all the energy conserving I did throughout the race I actually felt pretty good and was able to keep a good pace through the finish!  I looked up my time last year (2:07:45)...this year I think I did about 2:15 or so...I should get my official chip time soon.  My goal was just to make it under 3 hours and hopefully more like 2:30 to 2:45, so I was pretty stoked and surprised to get fairly close to my time last year!

Yesterday I was a little sore and walked the dogs (no running), did a little circuit training workout, and went to bed at 8pm!  Today I am realizing how important it is to me to have another event on the horizon...because I NEED that to keep me motivated and on track with my workouts.  Someone told me that I wouldn't know what do to with myself if I was told to just sit still and do NOTHING....that's not entirely true.  I actually ENJOY doing nothing, but I think I am more intrigued to see what ELSE I can actually do.  I think too many women look at pregnancy as a pass to DO NOTHING, when it is probably one of the most important times in your life to focus on being fit and healthy.  I'm pretty sure labor is NO JOKE and if you're more fit you can at least give yourself a fighting chance at making it slightly easier, and I am ALL about that!

On a side note...yesterday I attempted to start registering for baby stuff thinking that with all the great tips and advice I have been getting from Moms that would have a little less anxiety about actually going down the baby section at Target.  I think I still broke out into a sweat and got completely overwhelmed....I gave up after about 30min and decided I needed to come back with a better plan of attack, and one of these days get the courage to actually go into a BABYSRUS...but that's a whole other ball game that I need to work up to. 


Besides my semi-panic attack in the baby section of Target...here's what else I learned this weekend:

Two things that are AWESOME and make you feel SOOOO good, but you really don't want anyone to catch you doing are:
1) Using a NediPot to clear your sinuses and 2) Taking off your prego pants with the big stretchy band that pulls up way over your belly!  Both are not what you might consider very attractive...oh well.