4 months....already?

Wow, it seemed like just yesterday where baby was the size of an appleseed and I had no idea what I was in for.
These past 4 months have gone by so quick. Before I know it, I'll be changing diapers and be deprived of sleep.

Now that the 2nd trimester has come, I noticed that my energy is slowing creeping back. I am now able to hit the gym after work and lift weights like I used to. I kinda have to since my nice runner legs are now ricotta cheese-filled thunder thighs.  My nausea has pretty much gone as well. But, don't be fooled, once the pregnancy Gods taketh, they giveth. Oh yeah.

Welcome to back pain.
I had the worst sciatica which is lower back pain near the tail bone. It hurt so bad to turn around to put my car in reverse. It was so bad, I started to cry one morning while trying to flat iron my hair. Well, thank goodness my insurance covered chiropractic visits because wow....the pain is gone. And.....my painful headaches are gone too.

Another pain that I can't get rid of is the on in my tailbone. This usually occurs when I sit for too long. I have no idea how to get around it except to lean forward at my desk...or sit on a donut.
Hummm..what else...Oh, I really hate bending over to get things. It's not painful but I just can't breathe and when I do stand up, I am so out of breath.

Where to put baby
Well, like many working mothers out there, we have to go through the process of finding an infant day care center that is not only affordable, but reputable. I had no idea that there would be wait lists for this sorta thing and If I didn't just happen to Google it the other day, I would have waited until the baby was about a month old. 
So let the research begin.

Halloween
This past weekend we attended a really fun Halloween party. I got the dates mixed up in my head and was stuck at the party store without a clue as what to wear. The costumes are just ridiculous for women. It's like really....they managed to turn a friggen construction worker's costume into something really slutty looking? Since nothing would fit me in the store beside a pumpkin costume or  bottle of ketchup costume, I decided to just make my own.
I grew up playing games like Streetfighter and Mortal Kombat, which became my inspiration. Since Mortal Kombat was 'in" over 10 years ago.....they weren't going to carry any of the costumes.

I decided to go as Princess Katana...minus the fans because psi(s) are so much cooler.  Even though I a pregnant doesn't mean that I have to dress up all frumpy looking.

So here is my pregnant ninja costume. I am pregnant ninja because in this touch economy, even ninjas still have to work..even while pregnant.

Time to say goodbye...to distance running that is.

My apologies for the lack of posts, but nothing really exciting happened last weekend.

Normally when you finish a marathon or half marathon you receive a lovely finisher's medal, but for Nike, we received a cute little necklace from Tiffany's served to us by fireman dressed in tuxes.

So yesterday was the last of races that I will be doing until baby comes out. It will also be the last time I do any sort of distance running. I most likely would not have gone through with the Nike Women's Marathon because the long distance can be pretty taxing on my body, but I knew that it was for a good cause.

I was going to do a run/walk interval again and it was working out really well for 2 miles until I started to feel sharp pains near my uterus. After that, I decided to walk for the entire race. This task was not easy at all. Not only is the distance and hills exhausting, but my joints were all in so much pain. Everything hurt at mile 3 and continued to well...today (I am still limping around) I thought I was really good at hiding the pain, but I guess not because it seemed that everyone we came across asked if I was doing ok and if I needed anything like ice or food. The way they all looked at me was priceless because they had a worried look as if I was about to pass out. :(


The course was beautiful, despite the hills, wind, cold and rain. I wore my Baby on Board sign as usual and got a lot of praise for being out there. I heard the usual "Go Momma" and "Congratulations" and "How adorable, God Bless You", but my favorite line was "Girl, you better be taking care of yourself ok?"

I did see a few other pregnant folks out there, one was as thin as a rail and had the energy that I used to....that's because she was only 2 months along. Yup, I remember when I was only 2 months along and passing people left and right at the 10k....funny what 6 more weeks can do to you.

I am grateful for so many Team in Training folks out there on the side lines encouraging and cheering us on. I am so grateful for my friend Hillary who walked the entire race with me because when you're in good company, you can accomplish anything.  And I am so grateful for the bountiful porta potties at the numerous stops. No seriously, I am because I had to use them a total of 6 times during the race....thank you again pregnancy for this wonderful ability. I used to be able to do full marathons with only using the rest rooms once.

Let me introduce you to Bob.

So the Bob Revolution, which is a very nice jogging stroller, is the first baby product that we purchased. Yes, even though I will be cutting back my mileage doesn't mean that I am giving up on running altogether. Once this baby comes out, I will be ready to start marathon training again.

Reflections

As I got up this morning and got ready for work, I just thought to myself that it’s coming to an end. When I say “it” I mean my races. Obviously, after the Nike Women’s Marathon, I will take a step back from races and training, and just enjoy running on a smaller scale. I realized how much I have accomplished in such a little time.

It all goes back to March, 2009. This was a very VERY significant month in my life and it was a month where my life was never going to be the same.  During this time, I was living in Boston with my then boyfriend, Dan. It was in this time where I learned the news that my grandfather had Leukemia and given only a few months to live.  I immediately booked a flight to California to see him.

During my stay in California, I visited my grandfather often, my other relatives and my 3-month-old little nephew.  I also enjoyed the beautiful sunny weather because it was cold and miserable back East. It was about two days into my visit that I get a call from my manager giving me the option of relocating to RTP, NC or San Jose, CA. Humm..not a tough choice there. Mind you, I have always wanted to move to Cali, but in due time……….not 4 weeks. The call was bitter sweet. Yes, I was excited to move out Cali to be closer to my ailing grandfather, family and nice weather, but bitter because that would mean that Dan would have to move away from his family and friends with such short notice. 

The other revelation I made during my stay was incorporate running into my workout regime.  Honestly, I have always hated running and could seriously only do about 1.5 miles before becoming exhausted.  To keep myself motivated into running, I signed up for the San Jose Rock n Roll Half.  I was a nervous wreck when I hit the “ok” button when I registered because this would mean that I would have to run 13.1 miles in the next 6 months when 1.5 miles already hurt.

That little button unleashed the obsession that I never knew existed in me, and that was the obsession to run....from my 1st 10k, my first Half Marthon, to my first Full Marathon. It is rather funny when I do look back because during my first full, I wore a veil on my head a a sign that read "Getting Married 3-20-2010". Now during my races I wear a sign that says "Baby on Board".

My trip came to an end and with that, came a lot of emotionally baggage. When Dan picked me up from the airport, he greeted me with a dozen roses. As we were driving home, we grabbed some dinner and low and behold, a diamond engagement ring was attached to a rose. Right there, in the parking lot of Bugaboo Creek, he got down on one knee and proposed.

So looking back at my 2^nd year at the San Jose RnR….it made me reflect back at how much that has happened.  I moved from the East to the West, I was engaged, I ran my first full marathon, I lost my grandpa, I got married, I got pregnant, and now I am going to run my last marathon (for now).

San Jose Rock n Roll Half Marathon

To start things off, we had our 2nd checkup with the doc on Friday and am so glad to say that baby is healthy. We were able to hear the heartbeat and the doc said it was good and strong. I was ok to continue running.

That said, yesterday I ran the Rock n Roll half marathon which I was going to put off, but I didn't want my $100 plus to go to waste. I was so surprised at how challenging the run was.

I was already going to pace myself by running at a 13:00 pace with a 4:1 run/walk ratio. Everything was fine until about 1.5 miles when I really had to use the rest room. Right before mile 2, there was ONE porta potty and a ton of people. I had no choice but to wait in line. This wait cost me 10 min.

Because I was upset that I lost so much time, I had the energy to run at a 10:30-10:50 pace. BAD IDEA. Right around mile 6....I was really feeling the fatigue. It all went downhill after that. I ended up walking a lot of if I did run, it was at a pace where walkers were side-by-side with me.

I began to feel light headed at mile 10 and a lady was really sweet and asked if I was ok.

If it wasn't for the encouragement from strangers and from my Team in Training members out there, I would have quit. I don't run with head phones and I suggest anyone that does a race not to. Sure it's fun to run to your own music, but there is nothing like the cheering crowd to get you pumped up.

I also wore my Baby on Board sign and received so many words of encouragement as well. I also received a lot of cheers and questions regarding my Vibram FiveFingers and hopefully, I motivated people to get rid of their shoes and go barefoot.

I am especially thankful for a few of my Team in Training members who waited a very long time for me, so that they could walk with me the last 2 miles. Again, I was so ready to give up.