34 Weeks Preggo - Swollen Ankles and the Miners Revenge Trail 25k

34 weeks pregnant now.  Hard to believe that the baby can come in the next 6 weeks.  She's been moving around pretty good.  I feel myself getting bigger with each passing day.

Things went fairly well this past week.  Earlier in the week, I took it easy with just evening/night walks with the dog.  After a couple long days in court, I started to notice the swollen pregnancy ankles.  My right foot swelled up so badly that the side got bruised from being pressed up against my shoe.  They were soft cushy running shoes even.  I was not too pleased with having the swollen ankles though the swelling didn't bother me at all.

I took it easy during the week so that I could still run the Miners Revenge Trail 25k that my husband and I signed up for.  He was very nervous about me doing the race in the aftermath of my fall.  When rain came the day before the race, he got a little more nervous for me thinking about the trails getting slippery and asked me to make sure I was extra careful out there.

On Saturday (race day), we went out to Cool for the race.  It had rained quite a bit during the night but the rain had stopped by morning.  The weather was perfect running weather.  50's to 60's in temps.  Cloudy.  Not too cold and not too warm.

Before the race started, the race director, Anthony Brantley, came up to me and excitedly commented on my pregnancy and me being out at the race.  And when he did the race announcements before the start, he mentioned to all the racers how there was a pregnant runner in the race and pointed me out.  He told everyone to be nice to me out there.

The race went fairly well.  I ran/hiked a good portion of it with my friends Ralph and Shannon.  They were great in making sure I crossed some of the tricky creek crossings safely.

I took it extra easy on some of the technical and/or slippery downhill sections.  And, I just enjoyed being out on the trails on such a lovely day.  Everything was extra green from the rain.  It was fun to splash through creeks and puddles too.  I did learn that my Altra Lonepeaks do drain very well.

During the big climb around mile 10-11, I wasn't paying attention to the ribbons and went off course for about half a mile but I got a nice pretty view of the canyon.


Everyone (other runners, the volunteers, spectators) was super nice to me and cheering me and my preggo belly on.  I enjoyed all the encouragement out there.  Even though I was going slow and towards the back of the pack, it was nice to get a lot of positive energy from the other folks out there.

The end of the race had a lot more climbing, which I prefer to downhills.  So, I ended up finishing pretty strong and passing a few ladies towards the end, which I kind of enjoyed.  While I've mostly accepted my preggo-ness has slowed me down significantly and I'm generally okay being in the back of the pack at these races.  However, I still have a little competitive side.  

Running the race reduced the swelling in my ankles so they were back to normal size after the run.  I was pretty happy about that. Everything felt good out there.  My legs had no issues.  I am glad I don't really have the tight calves like I did on many runs in my second trimester. :)

In the end, I finished 16.5 miles in under 5 hours.  My goal was to finish under 5 hours so I was pleased I met that goal.

My husband finished feeling good too.  It was his longest trail race to date and he had only started hitting the trails again a few weeks ago, after getting fed up with bike racing.  He did great out there and I was a super proud wife!  I've been amused as to how he just dove into trail racing.  I do enjoy sharing trail adventures with him and really happy he enjoyed himself during this race.  I hope it is the beginning of many family trail running adventures we will share together!

  

So, baby and me finished another race together.  We had fun at this one.  I did greatly appreciate the support from the race director and everyone out there!  It made for a really fun day out on the trails.   Of course, I appreciate the support from my loving husband who doesn't stop me from doing crazy things like run a 25k while 8 months pregnant.  After the race, my husband said that our baby won her age group in the race.  Hehehe.

I do think I will probably cut back from doing the double-digit runs and keep my runs and races on the shorter side (< 10 miles) from here on out. But, you never know with me. . .;-)

33 Weeks Preggo - A Fall!

33 weeks pregnant today.

I feel so much bigger and my ankles are starting to get swollen.  Was hoping to avoid the preggo ankles .  No such luck.

I'm still recovering from my cold.  The cough was pretty rough to deal with this past week as it's hard to cough when there's a baby pressed up into your diaphragm and rib cage.  Every cough makes the side along my ribs ache and of course, the cough is the last part of the wretched cold.

I took it easy for the first half of the week, mostly just doing evening walks.

On Thursday, I was feeling well enough to go out for a run so I went out to run the Stagecoach trail.  On the way down the hill, about a mile down, I tripped over a rock and went down.  Mind you, I'm not that fast of a downhill runner in general so I was going easy but I guess I just wasn't paying enough attention.  I tried so hard to catch myself but you're not quite as agile when you've got a big preggo belly going.  I landed mostly on my side so not directly on belly.

I picked myself up okay and walked a bit to shake things off.  I finished running/hiking down the hill (about another mile) and then did the two miles hike back up.  My friend Jesse and my dog Lyla were with me.  I was feeling fine.  I didn't feel any cramping or pain in the preggo belly region.

I finished up and sat for a little bit and eventually felt baby moving like normal so that was a good thing.  I did not feel any of the symptoms of concerns when you fall (cramping, bleeding, contractions, etc. . . .).  I texted my husband letting him know that I was okay but had taken a fall.  He insisted I call the advice nurse at Kaiser.  So, I did and they said I had to go in.

I went into the hospital and sat in triage attached to a fetal monitor for a couple hours.  They eventually brought in the ultrasound machine and saw that baby and placenta were looking fine.  I was hopeful to be out of there soon.  But, they had some concerns that I was dehydrated and had some contractions (though I didn't feel anything).

Next thing I know, I'm being admitted into the hospital for 24 hour watch just to be sure.  They certainly emphasized multiple times to me that baby is looking great (not that I was really worried as she was squirming and moving around like usual).  However, I had to stay to be monitored, just to be sure.  And for the night and into the next day, I had an IV pumping me full of fluids and a fetal monitor attached to me at all times.

The fall left me pretty bruised all over.  It looked worse than it actually felt.  My knee got scrapped up good and my right side pretty bruised up.  But the pain was not so bad.  Most of my discomfort and pain was just dealing with my cough.  Between the cough and the fetal monitor and/or other machines beeping at me, it was hard to really get any rest while in the hospital.  But, the nurses were super nice in trying to make me as comfortable as possible.  And, my husband did a great job taking care of me too.  It's nice someone worries about me as I probably don't worry about myself as much as I probably should.

I eventually got to go home on Friday evening and finally got to take a much-yearned-for shower and go for a nice walk with the dog.

I was feeling stupid about the fall and not looking forward to dealing with the judgy people that say I shouldn't have been running in the first place.  But, I posted to my pregnant runners facebook group and got a lot of posts from fellow running moms or moms-to-be about how falls can just happen anywhere at any time.  So, that helped me feel a little better about it.  I knew I was fine and was pretty sure baby was fine too (doctor had told me long ago that even if a fall happens on accident, you're pretty well cushioned).  I thought it was just such a big fuss afterwards.  But, I know it's good to be safe and have everything checked out as you never know for certain.

For the weekend, I took it easy and only did short 20 minute-ish walks with the dog.

I did enjoy a lovely baby shower hosted by my sister-in-law.  And, one of my presents is the Bob Stroller (from my in-laws!) so I'm super excited to have that and look forward to running adventures with my baby....rather adventures with her outside of the womb.

Earlier this evening, I volunteered with my Up and Running Again group and did my first post-fall run with them.  We ran on flat street and I ran easy in the mid-pack of the training group but it felt so good to be up and running again.  It's also fun running with the group and seeing them progress as runners.  Two weeks ago, we were doing 5 minutes of running and now they are running 15 minutes straight!

Anyhow, falling hasn't stopped me from getting out there.  I am just going to be more careful while I'm out there.  :)

32 Weeks - Fighting Colds and Climbing K2!

32 weeks now!

Baby is growing.  She's been moving pretty frequently.  I like feeling her movements as it assures me thing she's doing well in there.

This past week has been a busy week.  It was a bit tough as I developed a cold and the congestion in my head and chest has been tough to deal with.  I spent most of the week taking it easy and for the most part, only doing my short walks with Lyla.

Last Tuesday, I started a new session with Up and Running Again.  This is a program that works with at-risk individuals and trains them for a half marathon in 14 weeks.  For week one, we run 5 minutes, walk 5 minutes and repeat twice for a total of 30 minutes.   It was great to see a large new group of participants (and a few return participants from prior sessions).  I love volunteering for this program as it's great to see people progress from no running to running miles.  Being preggo, I ran/walked towards the rear of the pack this time and really fun to watch some of the ladies push themselves.  After my volunteering sessions, I always feel so happy and inspired by people's determination and that I got to help them a little.

Also, this past week, as a surprise, my wonderful husband got me (and our baby) a running girl doll.  I found out they make these sport's dolls to inspire young girls to be active and "Dream Big and Go For It."  This is definitely a doll I would want for my little girl!  I hope my baby girl likes the doll and I look forward to having her run those cute little kid races and cheer me on in my races.

My husband has also started trail running more again.  He's normally more of a cyclist but he got frustrated with the bike racing season and stopped riding the past few weeks and started hitting the trails.  He even asked me about finding a trail race to do.  So, we signed up for the Miner's Revenge 25k at the end of the month.

My husband and I attended a couple classes at Kaiser this past week including a birthing class.  The classes was informative but I get a little nervous about the birthing process. I  really hope for a smooth labor and delivery. And, that I'll be able to recover relatively easily afterwards.  They say women who are active are supposed to have "faster" and "easier" labors and recoveries. That's what I'm hoping for.  I am hoping to do a natural birth too as I believe that will help in a smoother recovery.  No epidural.  After the classes, I still feel assured in that decision but we will see how it goes once labor begins.  The instructors keep saying it's like a long endurance event ("like running 10 marathons" one lady said).  The funny thing is I am an endurance athlete so I wonder is it really like an endurance event?  I hope so.  I know it's going to be tough and hope that I can bear through the hard parts and look forward to the finish of holding my baby girl in my arms!

On Sunday, despite still having a bit of my cold, I went to do the K2 Challenge put on by Singletrack Running.  The event involved people doing as many K2 loops in 6 hours.  The loop is about 4 miles long and involves climbing up K2 (aka Training Hill) which is a steep hill going about 1 mile and about 1000 feet.  The rest of the loop is runnable including a couple miles of gentle downhill on the Western States trail.  For many runners, K2 is a beast of a hill and many despise it.  For me, it's a tough hill but I've done a lot of training on that hill and know it well and I love climbing it.  The hill is what made me stronger for some of my ultras a couple years ago.

For the event, we started at 6am, before sunrise.  During the first loop, it was fun seeing the sun rise up.  And, I'm glad it was an early start as things warmed up by the later morning.

I wanted to get at least 3 loops done.  The great thing about timed events with loops is that if I don't feel good, I can just stop.  I felt good for the first three loops.  So, I went for a fourth loop.  By the fourth loop, my quads were pretty much done with climbing and all the downhill running so was good with stopping then.  During the last loop, I knew Tom would be at the finish to help massage away some of the soreness.

I felt good during the event. The cold was not too bad.  In fact, it helped clear some of the congestion for a little bit.  My nose ran like crazy during most of the event.  And, the loops were fun to do and just right for my pregnant self.  For the climb, I just hike up it.  The downhill isn't too steep so I can easily run down it.  It's nice to have downhill running when I'm pregnant.  Flat running can sometimes wear on my calves but my calves felt great during and after (which was surprising as my calves are generally sore after many of my runs these days).

The fun thing about looped events is that I don't feel like it's just me at the back of the pack.  I get to see my faster friends as they pass me at various times so it was nice to not feel like it's just preggo me at the back of the pack.  My friends did more loops than me but we all finish around the same time and then I got to spend the afternoon hanging out.

In the end, I did 4 loops, 15.7 miles, nearly 4000 feet of climbing.  Afterwards, I had fun hanging with some of my friends the rest of the afternoon.  I had a great time doing a challenging event and hanging with my running friends.  No feeling of missing out this time!  :)

31 Weeks Pregnant - Volunteering at AR50!

31 weeks pregnant.

Felt nice and sore after the Knickerbocker half so took it easy for the week.  Most of my workouts this week have been short walks or easy jogs around the neighborhood with Lyla in the evenings.  On Sunday evening, I went for a little bit longer run and ran with Lyla along the trails by Robie to ADO.

March ended on Tuesday and I finished another month of run/walking every day for at least one mile.  I racked up a total of 127.75 miles for the month of March!  [I've been on a run/walk streak since the start of the year].  No matter how tired I feel, if I haven't run for the day, I take Lyla out for a night walk and we usually go walking around the high school.  I usually feel better afterwards.

One of my favorite things to do is after our night walk is to sit on my glider bench on my front porch.  It's very relaxing and Lyla likes getting out each night with me.

Last Saturday, I volunteered at the American River 50 Mile Endurance Run (AR50).  The finish line was at ADO, which is pretty close to my house.  So, I walked over there and spent about 7 hours working at the finish line helping mark down the finisher's, handing out finisher's jackets, handing out age group awards and generally cheering people on.

It was really fun volunteering for the day and feeling part of the event.  I've been missing ultras and had been feeling left out of the ultra season so this was a nice way to be in the ultra scene.  I had a great time watching the top finisher's down to the mid pack finisher's.  I especially like seeing the older crowds.  Saw a couple 60-year olds finish and that's super awesome.

Jennifer Benna got the female win and this was super exciting to watch.  She's been an inspiration to me lately as she's a elite runner and a mom.  I had recently watched a video of her talking about running while pregnant and running while being a mom which I appreciated hearing her story.  And, recently, her daughter got really sick and was in the hospital.  The girl is in doing better now but Benna had to focus on being there for the daughter, running being put on the back burner.  Yet, days later, when her daughter is doing okay again, she's out running the race and kicking butt and winning.  What an inspiration to runners and moms out there!

So, a lot less running this week but it was a good week.  Baby is moving a lot more these days and her movements are a lot stronger.  She's usually pretty calm when I'm out moving - be it walking or running.  When I'm sitting or laying, that's when she gets squirmy.  I love feeling her and can't wait to hold her in my arms.