Tag Archives: fit pregnancy

Oct8

Lethbridge Police 10km Recap

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Saturday, September 30th, marked the day of the 5th annual Lethbridge Police Services Run.  They offer three different race distances—half marathon, 10km and 5km.  I have now participated in not only every year, but every event!  The first three years I ran the half marathon, and in two of those years I even placed in top three and was awarded prize money!  Last year, I ran the 5km with my cross country kids—-it was my first race after my foot surgery.   And this year, I ran the 10km.  More specifically, I ran the 10km while over 35 weeks pregnant.

All our race bibs for race morning!


I had kept up with my training all summer, and most recently I had done two separate 6 mile training runs on Saturdays in late August and early September to make sure my body was prepared for the distance.  As the race date approached, I knew I was feeling heavier (duh) and would have to just take the race with ease.  I had set in my mind to have a goal of an 11 minute mile, which if I could manage this would get me in at under 1 hour 10 minutes.  This would be very reasonable, considering my personal best in this distance is 41:30.  However, I understand that every day could be different in this pregnancy and I wasn’t entirely sure how my body would feel come race morning.

The race day came, and I was very happy with not only the cooler temperatures, but that the smoke from forest fires had been long gone.  I knew cooler weather would benefit me.  The half marathon started first, with the 10km and 5km participants following about 5 minutes later.  When our race began, I knew the first 5km would not be an issue—-cool weather, along with race adrenaline and the long downhill to the riverbottom, would all be working in my favour.  If anything, I knew I had to be cautious and careful as I wasn’t sure how my body would feel the last 5km.

My first 3 miles were a lot faster than the 11 minute pace goal—-9:09, 9:39, 10:31.  At this point in the race, the 5km runners had split off from us and the crowd of runners thinned.  We wound through the river bottom and made our way to the bridge, our past Helen Schuler, and back.  With less people out there, it was mentally challenging to get through mile 4 and 5.  I was able to hold on pretty close to my third mile split, running mile 4 and 5 in 10:35 and 10:32, respectively.

Now with only 1 mile to go, it was mind over matter.  I pushed my legs the best I could, all while still watching my heart rate.  There as a point in this final mile where I knew I could go faster, but my heart rate would spike.  I had to hold back a little bit.  Mile 6 was 10:32, and I was able to close out the last 0.2 of the race comfortably.  I finished my 6.2 mile run in a time of 1:02.50!

Coming in to the finish!


Finishing when I did was perfect—my mom and mother in law had just finished walking the 5km and were able to see me come in to the finish.  There were friends of mine who had done the 5km race that were watching the finishers—their words of encouragement helped a lot!  I was able to grab a bunch of food, which I normally don’t eat but figured baby needed, walk around to stretch my legs….I eventually went to the bathroom, but it was funny that I didn’t need to immediately!  Baby presses down on my bladder, but I just have to try and block that out of my mind when I race because I know I really don’t have to go to the bathroom!  I then was also able to catch my husband finish his third half marathon, with his second best time—a 1:42.56.  I am still so amazed at the times he can run given that he only runs once a week….ONCE A WEEK!  And it’s just speed work with Runners Soul Race Team.  Imagine what he could do if he took it seriously!

Mom and I


Overall, this event was again fantastic.  I had a great run, my family had a great time participating in it, and the event itself was put on so smoothly (like always).  I always enjoy this event, but this year will be extra special as it fell on my 33rd birthday weekend and baby shower.  This is a 10km to remember!

Aug27

Taber Cornfest 5km Recap & End of Summer Wrap Up

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It’s Sunday, August 27th.  Tomorrow is the first day back to work for teachers, and students start up with mini-schedule on Tuesday, September 5th.  The first full day of classes will be on Wednesday, September 6th.  That day also marks that I will be 32 weeks pregnant.

This was a summer like none other, first and foremost because I have been pregnant.  There were many things that did not occur this summer that usually would.  For instance, drinks on patios.  Sure, Dan and I were able to make some of our evening outings the same with trips to Telegraph Taphouse, but having an ice cold alcohol free Erdinger doesn’t pack the same punch as a Lagunitas IPA.  Right now, I am drinking a club soda with grenadine and cut up peaches.  I’ve got to cool off somehow!  I also did not travel much this summer.  Figured it would be wise to save money and really didn’t want to deal with the potential pains of flying or driving long distances while pregnant.  Since I didn’t travel, I was able to teach summer school in July.  I was very happy I did, as it kept me busy and earning the extra money was awesome!

“Adaptation” has been key.  That’s really the best word for how I’ve dealt with summer 2017.  Because of my ever-changing body, I needed to adapt my running.  Notice, I adapted.  I did not quit.  I am proud to say that I ran 4 times a week all summer long.  I golfed in ladies league on Mondays.  In August, I added in a baby bump boot camp on Thursdays and a cardio class on Fridays.  All of these things kept me busy, and most importantly kept me sane.  I knew I needed to keep my running up this summer, because it really is a key part of who I am.  Other summers, I would have signed up for races in Calgary or Edmonton during July or August but this year I held off.  I knew driving up there to do a race would not be the wisest idea.  However, I kept an eye out for events local that I could do.

That brings me to yesterday, when I ran in the Taber Cornfest 5km.  This event was celebrating their 25th year, and would be offering a 5km and 10km option.  Taber is a small town 50 km east of Lethbridge.  It would be an easy drive out on race morning, and while I was not going out to break any records or place in any divisions, I was going out to race the best that I could at that given day.

With summer being so hot down here in Southern Alberta, my paces for training runs have not been anything crazy.  I had come to terms with that in the past month, knowing that just getting out there and completing the training runs during the week was what mattered…not how fast I was going.  I had a goal in my mind to run around a 33 minutes 5km in Taber, roughly a little faster than an 11 minute mile.  Based on how my running was going in August, I knew I could attain that goal.

Race morning was nice and cool.  It had gotten quite tolerable the night before and this carried on into the morning.  By the time the race started at 9 am, it was only around 59F.   I went out and held a pace that came naturally to me and felt comfortable.  I kept checking my heart rate during the first mile and it was always under 150.  My breathing was in check and I was feeling great.  Suddenly, mile 1 came and my watch hit 8:39!

I was WAY ahead of my 11 minute mile pace.  For a brief second I thought about really slowing it up.  But, my heart rate was good, my legs were feeling strong….so I stuck with my gut and just kept on going.  Mile 2 slowed a bit, but it was still a 9:03.  OK….if I can hold the final mile around this pace and watch my breathing I can definitely finish under 30 minutes!  

The last mile was harder than the first two, as my heart rate did climb up a bit.  I kept watching my FitBit and whenever the bpm got into the 170s I would try and focus on my breathing to bring it down.  Mile 3 clocked in very close to the same time as mile 2, with a 9:04.  I did let myself go a bit the final stretch, wanting to close the gap on the women in front of me.  When I crossed the finish line, my watch stopped at an unofficial distance of 3.16 miles.  My official chiptime would be a 28:02!  I placed 4/23 in my age group, 11/98 in women, and 35/158 overall.


Running 5km races are not really my thing.  They are hard for me!  Call me crazy, but I’d much rather run a half marathon.  It took me a really long time to get my personal 5km best of a 20:42.  The fact that I am about 7.5 minutes slower than my personal best all while being 30 weeks pregnant makes me super happy.  Why does it make me happy?  Because it shows that my hard work this summer is paying off.  I have been reasonable with my running this summer, with the overall goal being to remain healthy while progressing in this pregnancy which should then make it easier to get back to my racing form after the pregnancy.

With being 3/4 of the way through my pregnancy, I know every week will pose a new challenge.  I am also mentally preparing myself for the possibility of having to stop running any day.  There are a variety of things that could come up that would put my running to a halt.  If my doctor told me that it was no longer safe for me to run, I would stop.  I mean, come on…I am not an idiot.  If something I was doing was putting the baby and/or myself in danger, I would quit it.  But, I have been having a fairly low-key pregnancy with no issues so my doctor has been very supportive of my choices to continue running and working out.  I am very fortunate to have an OB who supports my running, as she knows it is something I did not just start overnight.  Before being referred to my OB, my family doctor was also very supportive of me continuing on with my running, as long as I didn’t have a high-risk pregnancy.  I actually had an appointment with my family doctor last week to just confirm that he would be able to take the baby on as a patient and his words of encouragement meant a lot.

I am also very fortunate for the support my family and friends have given me this summer.  They are pretty well adjusted to the fact that running is a part of my identity, and it doesn’t seem to surprise them at all that I have continued.  I think this is one reason actually that my husband sometimes seems to forget how far along I really am in this pregnancy, because I have still gone about my running as I normally do.  He doesn’t seem me out there training in the summer, but he knows I’m out there doing it.  And he knows it makes me happy.

So what are the two next two months going to be like?  For running, I will still continue with my 4 times a week running.  I will be joining my cross country kids on their runs during the week, and will likely be the caboose of the group.  I also am considering doing a 4-week session of the Baby Bump class at Kinetic, as it is offered on a Friday at 4:30 pm.  This will keep me active and help burn off the energy from the work day.  My mom comes to visit near the end of September.  She will be a huge help around the house getting things set for baby, and we will be having my baby shower.  There is also the Lethbridge Police Race on September 30th, where I will be doing the 10km, my mom will be walking the 5km and my husband will be doing the half marathon. When she leaves in October, I will have just had my 33rd birthday and I will surely start to feel the nerves and anxiety attached to becoming a family of 3.  Baby is due November 1st, which may seem like a far way away from August 27th….but we all know it’s closer than you think!  I can pencil in a lot of things, but I know stuff could change in an instance after one doctor appointment!  

 

Aug9

RunDisney Virtual Running Shorts 2017

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I’m not someone who partakes in “Virtual Races” much.  For those of you who don’t know what a virtual race is, it’s any event where you register to race the set distance but on your own course.  Some actual road races offer virtual options, which usually need to be completed and logged during a certain window of time.  And some companies put on virtual races just as events where people can log their times and earn a medal to commemorate the run.

The times I have done so was when I did a Digital Running Virtual Run to tack on to my RunDisney Dopey Challenge in 2014 (Hat Trick medal, Grand Slam medal), an “Interstate Challenge” (run a race in Canada and USA…easy!) which then led me to doing a “Time of the Season” challenge with them (run at least a km race in every month of 2014….HUGE four piece medal once done!)  I also did the Knotts Berry Farm Coaster Run 10km as a Virtual Race in 2015 solely for the Snoopy medal.  I mean, duh….

I would rather just be out running an actual race than doing a Virtual Race.  And a lot of the Virtual Races that I see people doing are through promoters in the USA, which then means its a US dollar registration fee, and since our exchange rate in Canada isn’t really that great at the moment it just gets pricey.  It has to be something special for me to consider a virtual event.

In Spring 2016, RunDisney announced their first “Virtual Running Shorts” which would take place in the summer.  There would be 3 different 5km virtual runs you could do, one for each month, with a different medal for each month plus a challenge medal if you did all three.  I was intrigued by this last year since I knew I couldn’t run that much distance in the summer, as my foot surgery was early June, but opted to not push myself post surgery with events (even if just a 5km virtual run).

This year, RunDisney offered the Virtual Shorts again and I jumped on board pretty quickly.  The price tag sort of made me contemplate if it was worth doing-each virtual race was either $40 a piece or you could pay $142 for all three plus the challenge medal and other goodies.  This was then when our Canadian dollar was really at its worse, so after the tax and fees and exchange rate, I did end up paying quite a bit for what is basically just appears to be 4 medals.  Would it be worth it?

I was impressed with that I received my package from RunDisney very early in June—even before some other people in the USA!  They mail you all four medals right away, each individually packed, plus the other goodies which was a collapsible dog bowl, dog tag, and cool towel.  The additional goodies were only for if you registered for the whole challenge, and are dog items since the mascot for the series was Pluto.  They are definitely not something on their own worth registering for, and if you don’t have a pet there really isn’t a use….but I have to say we used that dog bowl a lot this summer with all our travels to and from Calgary for Snoopy’s acupuncture!

 

I opted to keep all the medals in the box and would only remove each one as I completed a race.  What’s the point of hanging them all up right away?…I needed to earn them!


Since I wanted to be able to hang my medals early each month, I tend to chose early dates to complete my virtual run.  I also tried to choose days that were important to me, just to make them a bit more special.  I ran my June 5km on June 7th, which would have been the day of my dad’s 65th birthday.  I was 19 weeks pregnant at this point, and full of emotions, as Snoopy was not yet back to walking.  I finished this 5km in a time of 34:55.

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I opted to use the Canada Day Red Dress Run 5km event as my July digital run.  That event ended up being closer to 6km in length, but I made sure to stop my watch once I reached the 5km point so I had a time for my virtual run.  I had most fun doing this run as part of the RunDisney Virtual Running Shorts series mainly because I took the “Dress in Red & White for Canada Day” theme as the opportunity to wear my Minnie Mouse tutu!  It was also fun for it being during an event, as I pushed myself a bit more and ran a 31:45.  I was 22.5 weeks pregnant.

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I couldn’t wait any longer for my last medals, so once August 1st rolled around I went out and did my final event.  The whole month of July had been incredibly hot, but I had stuck with my 4 days a week training plan of running.  Honestly, having these little 5km virtual events each month helped keep me going through the heat and this pregnancy!  I was just shy of 27 weeks along in my pregnancy when I completed the final 5km, in a time of 35:41.

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All four medals are hanging proudly on my medal hanger, and I even made sure to hang them right by all my other RunDisney bling!  Participating in this virtual event was perfect for me, given that my last half marathon was end of May and that I wouldn’t be doing any other long races this summer during my pregnancy.  It helped keep me accountable this summer, when otherwise I may have just gotten frustrated that I wasn’t registered for any summer time 10km or half marathons.  If someone needs a little extra push, this race series may be a good option for you.  While I most likely won’t do it again next year (I’m doing Start Wars-The Dark Side and Disneyland Half Weekend, so I get the real deal!) I am happy that I registered for it this summer!

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Jul23

My “I’m 63.75% Through This Pregnancy” Post

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I am 25.5 weeks along in this pregnancy.  So, if you consider 40 weeks being 100% through, that’s where I got my percentage up on the header.  But some people like hearing about it in months….so I am approximately 5.7 months along.  That is, if you look at it in terms of 5 months and 3 full weeks, with each week being 21 days.  And then you approximate each month to have 30 days total….so that’s where the 5.7 comes from.

This is why I haven’t really done a post on my pregnancy yet.

I started this blog in 2013 to talk about running, Disney World and my dad.  I have been running since high school track, and then ran my first half marathon in 2004 at age 19.  By 2014, I felt like I had some knowledge to share.  And now in 2017, I feel even a bit more knowledgeable, or at least it is easier to share my insight.  For Disney World, I have been going since 1991.  I have continued to go well into my adulthood, with my mom, my husband, and most notably with my friend Maureen when we went for 16 days.  I have stayed lots of places on property, read all sorts of blogs and updates on the parks….I feel confident I can help many of my family and friends plan a Walt Disney World trip if they were to ask for my help.  And my dad, well…he is my dad.  I had to use this blog as a self-reflection on things I was struggling with since he passed in 2004.   I have not only found out more about my dad’s past as a Quebec orphan since starting this blog, but have found out more about myself in the process.

But pregnancy.  Well, I can’t tell you one thing that I can guarantee to be a helpful insight.  

I can’t give advice on this area!  Sure, I can tell people how I handled the miscarriage I had in January but that hasn’t even still fully settled in.  And what I did after the miscarriage may not work for everyone.  And I dont expect it to.  Much like how my current pregnancy is not like anyone else’s and people shouldn’t be following my advice.  Because lets face it; I’m sure someone out there will have some scrutiny for something I’ve done.  But really, I don’t care if you do!


What I’m going to share below isn’t a list of things that every pregnant woman should do, or what to expect in their pregnancy.   I’m just going to go over a bunch of different things I’ve encountered and dealt with during this pregnancy.  So in no particular order, other than what maybe you’d expect me to discuss….

Darker hair and paler skin…
Sun bleached hair and a tan…oh, and a belly.

 

Exercise during pregnancy

At first I was anxious about someone saying the quizzical “Are you sure you should be running still?”  Well, you’re not my doctor, but thanks for pretending like you know what’s best.  So, no one has said anything.  Maybe some strangers have thought things as they’ve seen me in races or running in the summertime here in Lethbridge.  But those who know me know I am playing this smart.

Since finding out I was pregnant, I set a goal to myself to keep running 4 days a week as long as I can.  I am proud to say that I have stuck with that ‘training plan.’  I need a plan to follow so I can hold myself accountable, so that’s why I set that goal of 4 days a week.  I generally do one “long run” and then three other shorter runs.  Yes, my pace has been slowly getting slower, but I am still getting out there.  I watch my heart rate to judge if I can pick the pace up or if I need to reign it in a bit.

I also have my weekly 9 hole golf league on Mondays and I most recently started going to the free HIGH fitness class put on by Kinetic On The Go (think of a Zumba hybrid). I had been doing the classes Kinetic On The Go brought to the school I work at during the Winter and Spring, and I figured I would try them again as I am considering registering for a Post-Natal Baby Mama Boot Camp they do at the studio.

Summer slows things down for road races, but I do have a couple things set in the final stretch.  Currently, I am taking on a RunDisney Virtual Run series, where I do a 5km in each the month of June, July and August.  I only have August left to do.  I run the 5km on my own time and log the race.  It’s given me something to “check off” each summer month.  On September 30th, I am planning on running in the Police 10km in Lethbridge.  It will be a combo walk/jog/run, as I will be almost exactly 8 months along.  If I am not up for the 10km, I’ll drop down to the 5km.  There are also some other local 5km races mid October, but I’ll wait until October to see how I am doing.   Even if I could just do the Bare Bones 5km as a walk on October 22nd that’d be amazing.

Side Effects, Symtpons and Pains

I have been pretty fortunate to say the least!  I have not puked once, which is obviously what everyone automatically assumes will happen upon finding out they are expecting. I had some very slight nausea in the single digit weeks of the pregnancy, but that subsided quickly.  I never had any full over sickness that caused me to call in sick during 2nd semester of school, so that’s a huge positive!

I have had some issues with headaches, but I figured out the main cause: hydration.  A headache starts to creep in mid afternoon if I haven’t been hydrating enough all morning.  The summer heat also kicks it up a notch, so I need to drink even more.  My only other minor issue were leg cramps in my calves.  These started in June and I would wake up with a Charlie horse.  I talked to my doctor about them and I started taking a calcium magnesium supplement three times a day.  Problem solved!  Really, the cramps weren’t too bad at all, but I think it has to do with my high pain tolerance.  The occasional back pains I get I know have to be pregnancy related, but I always just think of them like pains I would get from after a long run or race.  Overall, I’ve been feeling pretty good!

I’ve also had no food aversions!  I was very nervous about this, as I really didn’t want to have to change my diet too much.  All the normal foods that I ate before being pregnant settle in my stomach just fine.  There was one evening that cooked Brussels sprouts sort of bothered my sense of smell, but I had them again another time and were just fine.  And luckily, I am still able to enjoy all the spicy food I always loved!

Diet Staples I Miss

BEER.

It is no lie that I love beer. Specifically, I love hoppy beer.  iPA’s are my favorite!  While I am obviously handling the no alcohol stipulation, I would be lying if I said I didn’t miss it.

My husband has bought me a variety of non-alcoholic beer.  They are not all created equal! In my opinion (and he agrees) the President’s Choice brand at Canadian Superstore is the best available and at the best price.  While I don’t generally go for a blonde beer normally, their NA blonde tastes pretty comparable to a standard blonde beer.  It does the trick after an afternoon of yardwork!  But in case anyone is keeping notes, my husband asked what the first drink would be that I’d want after the pregnancy is complete…..with no more than 5 seconds of thought I responded with Lagunitas Lil Sumpin Wild.  If you’re in Lethbridge, you can buy it at Andrew Hilton on 3rd ave.  Then, just shoot me a message and I’ll tell you where to drop it off!

Other than beer, I miss egg yolks.  Cooking my eggs scrambled or as an omelette is getting old.  I also missed making sandwiches for my lunches during the school year (apparently listeria is a risk in cold lunch meat….).  I did make some occasional grilled sandwiches at home by heating up the meat first on a skillet.  I was anxious about the threat of “no soft cheese” but it is so easy to find pasteurized cheese, specifically Brie, at the grocery store.  I’m a Wisconsin cheesehead, so I need my daily dose of cheese!

What Else Is On My Mind?

The main thing is that it still doesn’t seem real.  Even though I have had four ultrasounds.  Many doctors appointments.  Blood draws.  Feeling baby move.  Setting up the nursery.  Buying baby things. Looking up information about what’s the best breast pump.  Getting really excited about finding a ridiculous good deal on used items on Lethbridge Swap and Buy.

Maybe it’ll feel more real once Dan and I start our prenatal classes this week through Alberta Health Services.  Maybe it won’t feel real until we are on the way to the hospital, or maybe even not until I give birth to this baby.  I can’t determine when it’ll actually “feel real” to me or when it’ll really hit me that we are going to be parents.  But I do know Dan and I are as ready as we can be for every unexpected, unpredictable, wonderful thing that comes our way.

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October 1st, 1984.  Me!

 

Jun16

Ladiesfest 2017

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Runners Soul in Lethbridge puts on an awesome “Ladies Only” race each June, aptly named Ladiesfest.  It is an 8km event that starts and finishes at the Lethbridge Lodge.  I have never actually participated in this event (as I am usually away at the High School Track & Field Provincials) but this year the weekends did not interfere!

My husband Dan got asked to help volunteer, which was great because I got to see him on the course!  I had picked up my race packet the night before at Runners Soul, so we just had to show up at 7:30 the morning of the race.  It was VERY windy, even for Lethbridge.  If I was actually racing this would have made me nervous.  Instead, I was just happy it wasn’t super warm out.

“Flat Andrea” the night before!


There were close to 700 ladies in the even this year.  We all lined up and started promptly at 8.  The first mile is completely downhill, following the Wendy’s Hill we take during Moonlight Run.  This is a very fast first mile, but we had the wind pushing us backward as we made our way down.  Mile 1 was 7:11.

Miles 2-4 were down in the river bottom.  The trees blocked some of the wind nicely, and the loops we made on the paths was great.  There were a lot of great volunteers down on the paths showing us the way, plus some awesome highlights—there was someone playing a full-size baby grand (seriously, I think it was) piano.  How they got it down there and back up is a mystery to me!  I held the pace I wanted during these miles down by the river, running a 8:42, 8:48, 8:51.

The last mile was a doozy.  Running up Whoop Up Drive heading East.  The “Run with Johan” group had a fun water stop for all of us planned, with crazy costumes and energy.  I joined up with my friend Emma as we trudged up Whoop Up.  We never walked!  Once we got up to the top of the hill, I knew there was about 400 m left of the race so I kicked it in with anything I had left.  My last mile was a 10:13 (after climbing 246 feet, according to my watch!) and I finished in a time of 43:51.88, which was good enough for 72/696 overall and 8/113 in my 30-34 age group.

First Ladiesfest & 19.5 weeks pregnant!


The race was capped off with flowers and chocolate being presented to us as we crossed the finish line, and then an AWESOME brunch held in the Lethbridge Lodge ballroom.  This is a fantastic women’s run and Runners Soul once again does a wonderful job at putting on a first class event!  Can’t wait for next year!


Jun7

Calgary Half Marathon 2017

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I first ran a Calgary Marathon Weekend event in 2009.  That marathon was AWFUL for me, and I took a break from running full marathons.  But, in 2013 I returned to Calgary for their half marathon.  And in 2014 for the full.  And 2015 & 2016 for the 50km.

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Calgary Marathon Expo

 

This year, my husband and I ran the half marathon.  I went in with a few time goals, with my overall goal being to run a sub 2 hour half marathon.  Normally, this is no problem as I have been running low and sub 1:40s for a few years now.  But, being 17.5 weeks pregnant would be new running territory!  If that goal couldn’t be met, I wanted to beat my first half marathon time of 2:05.30.  Third goal would be sub 2:10.  And after that, just completion.

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Runners Soul Marathon Club

Weather was set to be comfortable, and the 7:00 am start is always nice.  In my experience running Calgary Marathon Weekend event, the heat really kicks in at around 9:30 and on.  I would be done before the heat of the morning arose, and off those non-shaded city streets.  I was concerned, however, about needing to use the bathroom multiple times.  I am needing to stay hydrated more than ever, but that comes with consequences!

Husband & Wife…
Yup!

Dan and I started in separate areas of the starting corral.  I actually started with our cousin Erin, even though I knew she’d be gone from my sight in a few short steps.  I started farther up than maybe I should have, but I also know so many people self-seed themselves incorrectly.  I planned on pushing the first mile just so I could get some space and not be trampled/ran into/stepped on.  This plan worked as I ran mile 1 in 8:33, and therefore had plenty of elbow room.

Miles 2-5 were consistent and uneventful.  Actually, the eventful parts of these miles were people running by me commenting on my shirt!  “Run Faster!  I’m pregnant and still kicking your ass!”  I heard a comment from a guy at one point saying he’s done a lot of races and that’s the best shirt he’s ever seen.  I got a lot of “congrats” and thumbs up.  It kept me smiling and moving, and I’m sure it kept a bunch of other people moving!  Miles 2-4 were 8:45, 8:59, 8:58, and 8:59.  I was on pace to break 2 hours (ideally wanted an average pace of 9 min/mi…I was on track!)

Mile 6 was my slowest, at a 9:46.  This is due in part to my one and only potty break.  I spotted two Porta Potties downtown at around mile 5.8 and there was no line.  PERFECT!  But, they were both occupied.   I had to wait probably somewhere around 15-20 seconds, went in and was out quickly.  Probably used about 45 seconds there.  But, it was needed.  Hopefully it wouldn’t come back to taunt me as my time approached the 2 hour mark.

I was never able to get my pace back below that 9 minute mark, but I hovered right around it.  Miles 7-10, which mentally were the most challenging as you saw people already heading back to Stampede grounds as you were heading to the turnaround, were 9:05, 9:03, 9:14.

During those miles, I took advantage of the soaked sponges, as I do at every Calgary event!  The sun was up, clouds were non-existent…it was warming up!  I needed to keep my body temperature down. I kept watching my heart rate and every time it got near 170 I would slow down a bit and adjust my breathing to bring it down to a 150.

On the home stretch I knew I could get that sub 2 hour.  I ran a 9:02 for mile 11, 9:08 for mile 12 and a 9:11 for mile 13.  The problem was when my watch hit 13.1 miles, I wasn’t at the finish line.  This can happen in a lot of races, especially if you veer off the course to use a bathroom, run zig-zagged to go to aide stations, don’t run the tangents of the course….I pushed as hard as I could so I could get under 2 hours.  My watch read 13.9 when I finished, and I finished in a 1:59.12!  A sub 2 hour half marathon!

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Finish area 

Dan was in the finish area waiting for me (I’m not sure how he managed to stay there without the volunteers kicking him out after he finished).  He ran a personal best of 1:41.08.  This was over 11 minutes faster than his only other half marathon, which he ran a year before this.  Look what a little training can do!  And with him running that time now, if I can get him to keep on with running, I will have some friendly competition post pregnancy!

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Another half marathon in the books!

 

May13

Medicine Hat Rattler Run 10km 2017

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The Rattler Run was the first race I have done where I officially made it known I was pregnant!  I had “pregnant-raced” in secret while 7.5 weeks along (Moonlight Run 6km) and at 10.5 weeks (10 & 4 Mile Road Race 2017) but this would be the first weekend that I had made it public knowledge to all our family and friends.  I was 13.5 weeks along and feeling good, so I knew I would still have a respectable time.  Mainly, I just wanted to have a great day with my husband at this event!


Race weather was perfect for late April and the 11 am race start time is perfect for us as we travel in from Lethbridge.  Dan and I both started near the front of the pack, as I wanted to make sure I had room around me right away.  He went off ahead of me and I wouldn’t see him until the finish.  I got myself settled into a comfortable pace and hit my first mile in 7:32.  I was very happy!

I started to slow immediately the next mile.  The biggest change I have noticed in my body while running is how heavy my legs feel.  Probably due to increased blood flow and all.  The heaviness caused me to automatically slow down, and that’s ok.  8:13, 8:30 and 8:37 were miles 2-4.  These were all down below Medicine Hat College on a really pretty route next to some coulees.


The route was different for the 10km compared to the other two years I had ran it.  We had to run up the hill at Kin Coulee Park this time.  I would describe it as a mini-Moonlight run….mini because the hill is only about 1/4 of the Wendy’s hill you need to run up at moonlight…but still a pain this late in a race!  My heartrate went up as I started climbing up, so I immediately took it easier up the hill to settle my heart rate back down.  Ran mile 5 in 9:34.

The last mile was a struggle mainly because my legs were just beat by the time I got to the top of the hill.  Had to do another loop around the college and in to the finish line.  I finished mile 6 in 8:53, and then kicked it in for the last bit in with a final time of 52:40.

I had set my A goal for this race to be a sub 50 minutes.  I knew by 5km in that wouldn’t be happening, nor would it be worth it.  My B goal was to run between 50-55 minutes. So I made that!  C goal was under an hour.

Dan’s race went pretty well too, but he was a little frustrated because of a cramp he got really early on.  With all the speed work he has been doing I know he can run an even faster time, so I think he is looking forward to some redemption down the road.  He finished with a 46:47.


Final results/placings weren’t available immediately, so we hit the road because Dan had a meeting to get to.  As we drove away from Medicine Hat, I realized I had placed 3rd in my age group!  Luckily, my friend Heather was still at the event because her son was waiting for his award.  She picked my medal up for me.  I had thought my placing days were done until post baby!  My stats  were 3/25 Age Group, 13/83 Gender, and 52/152 Overall.  Dan was 7/15 Age Group, 17/69 Gender and 21/152 Overall.  A great day for both of us!