For those of you questioning me + 10 things pregnant running has taught me about running.

5 miles @ 9:54 average pace!  I was not sure that I would be still running at this point when I first got pregnant but I am beyond happy that it is still a part of my days.  It sure feels like I’ve still got some more running in me for the next few weeks but of course, we’ll play it all by ear.

On my run yesterday I was thinking a lot about the different things I have learned about running over the last 35ish weeks.  A lot of the things I’ve learned are things I want to keep doing with my training after I have this baby too.  For the previous 4.2ish years before getting pregnant I think I was pretty much ALWAYS in training mode for some big (to me) race or some big goal and it has been really nice to have these months of running just to run.  It’s been a really great break for me mentally and physically and soon I’ll be taking a 6 week break from running altogether and I’m sure I’ll learn even more lessons about running (while not running;) during that time too.  I have 10 things that I wanted to share that I’ve taken away from pregnant running this time around.

1.  To focus on paces less.  Pre-pregnancy = I check my watch 20 times per mile (slight exaggeration).  Pregnancy= I look at my watch to see when I need to turn around and don’t even notice the pace until the end of the run.  I want to find a happy spot somewhere in the middle of those two methods this next year.  I want to rely less on my watch and teach my body more about what a certain pace feels like.  I want to focus more on effort level than exact numbers and teach myself how to run in the effort level that my workout calls for that day.

2.  Pregnant running has taught me to be okay with doing things differently.  I am one of those people that LOVES to get in a routine of doing something (with everything in life… I doubt you’ve noticed that on my blog… I kid) and stick to it like glue.  Pregnant running is a great reminder to me that THINGS CHANGE and that’s okay.  Change is good:)  Almost immediately I went from doing speed work Tuesday and Thursday of each week (pre-pregnancy) to not being able to even think about moving my legs any faster than a certain pace once I got pregnant.   With running we are always adapting to our current situation.  Our bodies change (whether they are getting stronger and can handle heavier loads of training or they are injured/pregnant/sick/etc and need to slow down), our life circumstances change which effects our running, our goals can sometimes change etc.  Running teaches us to adapt, to be flexible, to go with the flow, to change and grow according to where we are in life. I love that about running.

3.  I started listening to podcasts during my runs once I got pregnant and I LOVE doing this now.  I will definitely be using music again next year with speed workouts and the fast stuff but for every easy run/long run that I am doing on my own… you better believe I’ll be listening to podcasts still.  They help me to think about different issues I probably wouldn’t normally think about.  A lot of different podcasts have taught me so much more about running and those Oprah podcasts have taught me a lot about gratitude.  Overall, podcasts just make runs even more fun for me.

4.  BUT I’ll also include some silent running time too.  During this pregnancy I started to include time during my runs where I don’t listen to a thing.  Sometimes it is for a few minutes and sometimes it is for 30 minutes.  I’ve loved taking time each run to think without any other noise but my footsteps and breathing.

5.  Pregnant running has taught me again to invest in quality sports bras…  I need to remember to always do this ha and not just when I’m pregnant.  A good sports bra makes the whole experience of running feel 400 times better.

6.  To have times throughout the year where I’m really not training for anything.  Pregnant running reminds me that while yes, I do miss training hard for marathons… I actually really love running according to whatever my body feels like doing that day.  It’s really nice.  A healthy mix is going to be the perfect combination for me.

7.  Hot chocolate is a post-run option that I need to always include with my training… not just during pregnancy;)

8.  To really listen to this body of mine.  We get one body, it is really smart and it sends us a whole lot of signals… Pregnant running teaches me to listen extremely closely to what it has to say.  Not that I will take that into my next training season of life and slow down or take walking breaks all of the time like I do during pregnancy BUT if my body is telling me something about over training/an injury… pregnant running has reminded me to listen REALLY closely to those signals it sends out.  Taking care of our body needs to be the #1 priority.

9.  Running is fun and pregnant running reminds me of that with each run.  There is no reason for us to take it so seriously (and stress out and feel so much anxiety about it).  It’s just running.  I’m not an elite that needs to win the next big race to support my family and it’s not something that I should place a lot of pressure on myself over.  It’s just running, it’s my hobby and it feels so good to congratulate myself constantly for each mile rather than get down on myself for not hitting my workout paces perfectly.  It is fun.

10.  Our bodies are freaking amazing.  Pregnant running has been another reminder to me of how amazing our bodies are—>  How strong we are, how amazing it is that our bodies can endure, how they can change and grow, how they recover/heal/strengthen, how they carry us over the miles and how they can grow humans;)  Our bodies are remarkable.  Living life with gratitude towards our bodies rather than constantly wanting to change it sure brings a whole lot more happiness to our lives (take my word on this one)!

What I was thinking about non-stop for the last .5 miles of my run… the delicious cantaloupe that was waiting for me on the kitchen counter to devour.

*I also had some pancakes with Brookie!

Yesterday Brooke seemed SO much older to me for some reason.  She sure is fun to chat with these days!

Adding keychains to her backpack is the cool thing to do in Kindergarten so I’m keeping my eyes open for some cool ones for Christmas;)

And then the backsplash work began.  Thank you x a million to my sister for letting us borrow all of their tools.  Using their tools made this project SO cheap (we paid only 17 cents per tile too)!

How Brooke feels about all of these house projects:

My amazing sister (remember how she did her entire kitchen on her own?!) came over to help so I did more the kid side of things:)

It’s all coming together!  I think I’ll have our whole before/after post of our kitchen for you next Monday!

We needed some fuel for our day so we ordered Pizza Factory (THEY DELIVER!!) and it hit the spot.

We also had their breadsticks and I could live off of these.

My sis sure has her hands full with these two but they are best buds and it was good practice for me to chase around little ones again.

Fast forward many hours later and Brooke requested that we have a picnic for dinner which worked out nicely because our counters and tables were completely covered with things.

Dessert= one of my sister’s homemade oreos that I brought home from Sunday night.  Homemade ores > normal oreos.

Andrew stayed home to finish the backsplash (he finished late last night… don’t you love how house projects always take about 4 times longer than you expect them too) and Brooke and I went to an activity for her school.

We officially have everything that we need for the baby now that her fake fur vest has arrived.  Andrew was really thrilled when he saw this…  growing up with 4 brothers = this is a whole new world to him:)

PS Friendly reminder about those evil sidewalk cracks… I ran into a friend yesterday that tripped on a sidewalk crack (I’ve done this probably 15 times over the course of my running years) while running and she tore two tendons!!  She luckily is working with an amazing physical therapist and on the road to recovery but these sidewalks are dangerous for us… BE CAREFUL!

PPS for all of you that were really questioning my Stranger Things 2 commentary on my unpopular opinions post (about not really liking it)… my brother wants me to retry it once I’m not pregnant because he thinks I will like it more then:)  He is probably right, I’m going to trust him on this one.

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How has your body proved to you about how amazing it is lately?!

Fallen recently on a run?  Who has tripped over a sidewalk crack before?!

Who has watched Stranger Things 2… what was your opinion?

If you could choose the perfect number of races to do per year (pretend races are free for this question), what would that number be?