Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Stretch marks??? I have STRETCH MARKS?!?!?!?!?!!
I was looking in the mirror after my shower this morning and saw 2 red marks on my left hip. Upon closer inspection...yup. Stretch marks! Granted, they are very small, maybe about 1/4" long each and about 1" apart. Looks like a vampire bit me on my hip. When they fade, no one will notice it but me. BUT, I had managed to escape stretch marks for 37 weeks and 2 days of this pregnancy. Oh well!
Thursday, September 24, 2009
Keep moving!
My walking has become pretty much non-existent since the 1/2 marathon. I took 2 weeks off, then walked 2 miles last Sunday. I haven't gone out and walked all week, and I'm really feeling irritable today. I truly believe that regular exercise keeps the blahs away, especially important during pregnancy. My hormones are really getting to me today, and I just know that a nice 30-45 minute brisk walk would chase those blues away. I am planning to get up early and walk tomorrow morning. Let's hope I can drag myself out of bed to do it. At 36 weeks 4 days, I'm a lot bigger than I was a mere 2 weeks ago. I am not in too much of a hurry for my little guy to get here, but I am looking forward to being able to do some real running again...
How to complete a 1/2 marathon at 34 weeks pregnant
I'm a little late on this one, I know, but here are some helpful hints if you absolutely must wog a long-distance race when you are oh-so-very-pregnant...
1. Make sure your doctor knows what you are doing. My doctor kind of advised against it, but at my appointment 3 days prior to the 1/2, all my vitals looked good (blood pressure, urine, baby's heartbeat, etc.). She saw no reason why I wouldn't be able to do it, as long as I stayed well hydrated and was prepared to stop if I started to get dizzy, etc.
2. You had been training prior to getting pregnant, and have been relatively consistent throughout the pregnancy. My longest wog before the 1/2 was a 10 miler done 3 weeks prior. Also, you are not a first-timer. I had 2 1/2's and a full under my belt in the past year, so my legs and body had seen the distance before. If you've never done a 1/2 marathon, I would advise you to wait until after the baby.
3. Have good, moisture-wicking running clothes. Please see previous posts about my running gear. I can't say enough about the Fit Momma running skirt. You are comfortable, cute, and well-covered.
4. Belly support is essential! I used a hydration belt that doubled as belly support. I would not have been able to do the race without it. In addition to keeping me hydrated, it kept the belly up, minimized bounce, and took pressure off the pelvis.
5. Good, cushioned running shoes that are suitable for your current weight/foot shape. I am normally a neutral shoe runner. However, the extra weight of pregnancy put added pressure on my already low-arches. I put some stability insoles in my neutral shoes and my arched didn't ache. I had some rubbing and potential blisters, but my arches were fine.
6. Race to finish, not PR. I knew that my only goal was to finish. In fact, my time was a whole hour slower than my best 1/2. There is plenty of time later to PR. Keep that baby safe!
7. Finally, stay hydrated, fuel often, and have fun! I took both water and powerade at each water stop. I did end up having to use a portapotty once, but staying hydrated was definitely key in me being able to finish the race.
1. Make sure your doctor knows what you are doing. My doctor kind of advised against it, but at my appointment 3 days prior to the 1/2, all my vitals looked good (blood pressure, urine, baby's heartbeat, etc.). She saw no reason why I wouldn't be able to do it, as long as I stayed well hydrated and was prepared to stop if I started to get dizzy, etc.
2. You had been training prior to getting pregnant, and have been relatively consistent throughout the pregnancy. My longest wog before the 1/2 was a 10 miler done 3 weeks prior. Also, you are not a first-timer. I had 2 1/2's and a full under my belt in the past year, so my legs and body had seen the distance before. If you've never done a 1/2 marathon, I would advise you to wait until after the baby.
3. Have good, moisture-wicking running clothes. Please see previous posts about my running gear. I can't say enough about the Fit Momma running skirt. You are comfortable, cute, and well-covered.
4. Belly support is essential! I used a hydration belt that doubled as belly support. I would not have been able to do the race without it. In addition to keeping me hydrated, it kept the belly up, minimized bounce, and took pressure off the pelvis.
5. Good, cushioned running shoes that are suitable for your current weight/foot shape. I am normally a neutral shoe runner. However, the extra weight of pregnancy put added pressure on my already low-arches. I put some stability insoles in my neutral shoes and my arched didn't ache. I had some rubbing and potential blisters, but my arches were fine.
6. Race to finish, not PR. I knew that my only goal was to finish. In fact, my time was a whole hour slower than my best 1/2. There is plenty of time later to PR. Keep that baby safe!
7. Finally, stay hydrated, fuel often, and have fun! I took both water and powerade at each water stop. I did end up having to use a portapotty once, but staying hydrated was definitely key in me being able to finish the race.
Friday, September 11, 2009
WE DID IT!!!
Baby and I survived the 1/2 marathon, and finished under the 3:30 limit! (3:26)
Here's my race report:
Gear all ready to go:
My blackberry was set to go off at 3:45am. It was early, but I was ready! I put on my fit momma running skirt, c9 sportsbra, bamtex maternity tank, headsweats visor, Nathan speed 2 hydration belt, Garmin 205, balega socks, and Asics gel nimbus 10! We got up and got ready, and I headed down to the family reunion area at about 4:45, because I was going to check a bag and thought it had to be checked in by 5 (they didn't finish checking until 5:30 or so, though). Met up with some running friends and started getting excited for the race!
Very pregnant!
My back sign that got a lot of attention on the course:
Waiting in corral D
The race started and we were off!
I tried to stick to my .25 jog/ .25 walk plan for as long as I could. I think my first mile was around 14 min, and then it just got progressively slower. My goal was strictly to finish, though, so I felt pretty good about things.
Going up the Ball Rd. overpass
Going down
I took water and powerade at every water stop, heeding my doctor's orders to stay hydrated. I also wore a hydration belt, and refilled my bottles a couple of times throughout the course. I GU'd every 3 miles...3, 6, 9. Didn't do 12 because I forgot and didn't really need it anyway. I received a lot of comments on my back sign from people passing me. A lot of people said "yeah, coast 2 coast!"...others would say "congratulations" and that I was an inspiration...or that I made them feel badly about themselves! LOL! There were a few people that shrieked OMG she's PREGNANT! LOL!!!!! It was a lot of fun. People are funny! Mary had fallen behind me early on, but she caught up to me at the Honda Center. It was at that point that I had to take a potty break. Now, I pride myself in not needing to take potty breaks during a race, but baby on bladder is not a comfortable feeling, so I had to stop. OMG. I think I've been traumatized. I used the absolute most disgusting porta potty EVER. Someone had pooped, yes, I said POOPED on the seat. ew, ew, ew. So the seat was flipped up, and thankfully the rim was clean. Ew. If I hadn't been so desperate, I would have just passed. Anyway, I did my business and we were off again (I had wipies in my belt just in case I had to use the porta potty and was sure glad I did!). We passed the fuel station and they were all out of clif shots...no biggie since I don't like them anyway! Going through Angels Stadium was FUN! We didn't get to do it last year, so it was different.
After the stadium, we were in the home stretch. My feet started to hurt and it was getting hot, so at around 10.5 miles, we decided to just walk. I was calculating the time it would take to finish, and figured we would finish under 3:30, even if we walked two 18 min miles, so we went ahead and slowed down. The heat and humidity were kind of thick, too, and I didn't want to overexert myself. I think we may have averaged about a 17:30 min mile. Slowing down was good, too, because we got a lot of ASI pics once we got back into DCA! LOL! At mile 12 I decided to post that I was at mile 12 on facebook. LOL. I was psyched that we were going to finish under 3:30! We ran the last .1 mile and finished strong! We did it!!! C2C baby! woo hoo! We took our finisher pic, got our bagel and banana (yay), picked up my checked bag, and then met up with the rest of our running friends!
It was a great race. The weather was perfect...it was nice and cool at the start, and didn't heat up until around 9:30 or so. I felt great, too. My feet were sore for the rest of the day as we were walking around Disneyland and California Adventure, but the extra walking helped with any residual soreness in the legs. My time was about 1 hour longer than it was at last year's Disneyland 1/2, but I wasn't pregnant then, either. Most importantly, I was able to complete the 1/2 within the alloted time without overexerting myself and while having a great time!
As long as you are training before you get pregnant, continue to train during your pregnancy, and are having a healthy and normal pregnancy, wogging a half-marathon should not be a problem. Please check with your doctor, though! I saw my doctor the Thursday before the half, and she said that my blood pressure, urine, and weight all looked good, and she didn't see any reason why I couldn't do the half as planned, other than she thought I was crazy. :)
Here's my race report:
Gear all ready to go:
My blackberry was set to go off at 3:45am. It was early, but I was ready! I put on my fit momma running skirt, c9 sportsbra, bamtex maternity tank, headsweats visor, Nathan speed 2 hydration belt, Garmin 205, balega socks, and Asics gel nimbus 10! We got up and got ready, and I headed down to the family reunion area at about 4:45, because I was going to check a bag and thought it had to be checked in by 5 (they didn't finish checking until 5:30 or so, though). Met up with some running friends and started getting excited for the race!
Very pregnant!
My back sign that got a lot of attention on the course:
Waiting in corral D
The race started and we were off!
I tried to stick to my .25 jog/ .25 walk plan for as long as I could. I think my first mile was around 14 min, and then it just got progressively slower. My goal was strictly to finish, though, so I felt pretty good about things.
Going up the Ball Rd. overpass
Going down
I took water and powerade at every water stop, heeding my doctor's orders to stay hydrated. I also wore a hydration belt, and refilled my bottles a couple of times throughout the course. I GU'd every 3 miles...3, 6, 9. Didn't do 12 because I forgot and didn't really need it anyway. I received a lot of comments on my back sign from people passing me. A lot of people said "yeah, coast 2 coast!"...others would say "congratulations" and that I was an inspiration...or that I made them feel badly about themselves! LOL! There were a few people that shrieked OMG she's PREGNANT! LOL!!!!! It was a lot of fun. People are funny! Mary had fallen behind me early on, but she caught up to me at the Honda Center. It was at that point that I had to take a potty break. Now, I pride myself in not needing to take potty breaks during a race, but baby on bladder is not a comfortable feeling, so I had to stop. OMG. I think I've been traumatized. I used the absolute most disgusting porta potty EVER. Someone had pooped, yes, I said POOPED on the seat. ew, ew, ew. So the seat was flipped up, and thankfully the rim was clean. Ew. If I hadn't been so desperate, I would have just passed. Anyway, I did my business and we were off again (I had wipies in my belt just in case I had to use the porta potty and was sure glad I did!). We passed the fuel station and they were all out of clif shots...no biggie since I don't like them anyway! Going through Angels Stadium was FUN! We didn't get to do it last year, so it was different.
After the stadium, we were in the home stretch. My feet started to hurt and it was getting hot, so at around 10.5 miles, we decided to just walk. I was calculating the time it would take to finish, and figured we would finish under 3:30, even if we walked two 18 min miles, so we went ahead and slowed down. The heat and humidity were kind of thick, too, and I didn't want to overexert myself. I think we may have averaged about a 17:30 min mile. Slowing down was good, too, because we got a lot of ASI pics once we got back into DCA! LOL! At mile 12 I decided to post that I was at mile 12 on facebook. LOL. I was psyched that we were going to finish under 3:30! We ran the last .1 mile and finished strong! We did it!!! C2C baby! woo hoo! We took our finisher pic, got our bagel and banana (yay), picked up my checked bag, and then met up with the rest of our running friends!
It was a great race. The weather was perfect...it was nice and cool at the start, and didn't heat up until around 9:30 or so. I felt great, too. My feet were sore for the rest of the day as we were walking around Disneyland and California Adventure, but the extra walking helped with any residual soreness in the legs. My time was about 1 hour longer than it was at last year's Disneyland 1/2, but I wasn't pregnant then, either. Most importantly, I was able to complete the 1/2 within the alloted time without overexerting myself and while having a great time!
As long as you are training before you get pregnant, continue to train during your pregnancy, and are having a healthy and normal pregnancy, wogging a half-marathon should not be a problem. Please check with your doctor, though! I saw my doctor the Thursday before the half, and she said that my blood pressure, urine, and weight all looked good, and she didn't see any reason why I couldn't do the half as planned, other than she thought I was crazy. :)
Monday, September 7, 2009
Disneyland Health & Fitness Expo
Friday, we went to the Health & Fitness expo at the Disneyland Hotel.
Loaded up on 1/2 marathon merchandise, and then hit up the runningskirts.com booth to get our free gift! (if you wore your runningskirts.com skirt to the booth you would get something). It was a cheetah print chapstick. I haven't tried it out yet but it looks snazzy. Christy, of runningskirts.com also gave me a onesie as a baby gift! I had seen her at the LA Marathon Expo in July when I purchased my Fit Momma. I was very excited! It says "my mommy runs faster than your mommy"...how cute!
We picked up our packets, bibs, shirts and goodie bags. We also got our Coast 2 Coast wristbands
Thought this was funny
Loaded up on 1/2 marathon merchandise, and then hit up the runningskirts.com booth to get our free gift! (if you wore your runningskirts.com skirt to the booth you would get something). It was a cheetah print chapstick. I haven't tried it out yet but it looks snazzy. Christy, of runningskirts.com also gave me a onesie as a baby gift! I had seen her at the LA Marathon Expo in July when I purchased my Fit Momma. I was very excited! It says "my mommy runs faster than your mommy"...how cute!
We picked up our packets, bibs, shirts and goodie bags. We also got our Coast 2 Coast wristbands
Thought this was funny
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
red bamtex tank is here!
Last Sunday (well, two Sundays ago), I finally broke down and ordered the bamtex maternity tank in red from maternityactivewear.com. I had nothing to wear for Disneyland, and didn't want to look too frumpy (after all, they do take pictures!). It finally arrived today (came from Canada)! I just tried it on and it fits great. I ordered the medium, which was a good choice. I think I need to get a new sports bra now, but other than that, I should be all set for the 1/2...
Skirt - check. Tank - check. Visor - check. Socks - check. Shoes - check. Hydration belt - check. Garmin - check. Fuel - getting @ Expo.
Skirt - check. Tank - check. Visor - check. Socks - check. Shoes - check. Hydration belt - check. Garmin - check. Fuel - getting @ Expo.
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