Not your everyday wake-up call

When I tell you I had a crappy morning this morning, I literally mean I had a crappy morning. After very little sleep last night – Hello Leg Cramps! Thank you for joining me on my pregnancy journey! – my alarm clock went off entirely too early.  Remember that run I promised I would do on Thursday? I did not. When my alarm went off this morning, I decided I’d hit snooze once. I would trade one mile of my run for one extra sleep session. I would then run to Thalia Island and back. 2 miles. Beautiful sunrise run. I’d still make it to work on time.

Completely out of character, Christian woke up with my alarm clock. He quickly jumped out of bed. Our dog was missing in action. This is never a good thing at 5:30 in the morning. Christian found Alex downstairs. Poor dog must have had a tummy ache because he had diarrhea in our family room in front of the back door.  Hello crappy morning! Poor doggy. Yes poor dog, but poor mom and dad who had to clean it all up. Christian took the hard part. He picked up what he could. I followed behind him with the carpet shampooer. Fortunately it just happened, so I think our family room carpet is safe. And the poor dog has been perfectly fine all day.

Me on the other hand, I’ve barely been able to keep my eyes open all day. I missed my already abbreviated run this morning. After cleaning up diarrhea, my daily morning smoothie did not sound or look good at all. Sorry if you are drinking a smoothie right now! I skipped it for some whole wheat waffles and fruit.

Let’s face it. We all have days that are blah. We all have days that just go wrong.  I know I’m not the only person who has stared at their computer screen after lunch hoping his or her head doesn’t hit the keyboard.

As my forehead hovers over my keyboard, I can’t help but think about my run this weekend. Double digits baby.  I’m going for the big 1-0. Although I’m feeling slightly defeated today by my lack of a workout schedule this week (one prenatal yoga class), I have no doubt I will complete my run tomorrow. My pregnant pace, run/walk method, makes me feel pretty invincible these days – if only I could get out of bed of bed on time and if only it were fall instead of summer. I won’t have to battle my alarm clock tomorrow morning, and I think I might be spared from some of the heat by the weather gods. Tomorrow morning should be in the mid 70s and partly cloudy. Thank you weather gods!

I learned my lesson last weekend. I won’t be running on the boardwalk.  I’m so bored with running in my neighborhood though (not that I’ve run all week!). I might have to go explore First Landing State Park, but then I run into the dilemma of having using the bathroom every few miles. I have no probably hiding behind a tree, but the park is usually pretty busy in the early morning hours. No one wants to see my full moon pregnant hiney! 

Pregnant running sounds like a blast, doesn’t it? Numerous potty breaks. Super slow pace. Lots of walking. Huge demand for water. Swollen feet. Numb hands.

As soon as I put my running shoes on my feet, not one of those complaints matter.  When I run, it’s one of the few times during my day I actually don’t feel pregnant. Yes. I’m aware of my stomach. I’m even more aware of my ever-growing boobs. Yes. There are a lot of new things to consider since I’m running for two. Yes. I pee a lot. Yes. I’m slow. All of those things don’t matter when I’m running. I’m just simply running. It’s me and my running shoe (and maute moo) tackling mile after mile. The running movement is familiar. It’s comforting. It’s relaxing. While the physical challenges are different, the mental challenges are all the same – pregnant or not.

If I haven’t said it before, or if I don’t say it enough, I am so thankful that I’m able to run at this point in my pregnancy. Maute Moo and I will be up with the sun tomorrow morning to tackle a ten-mile run. Don’t let my trend this week worry you. I can always wake up early on the weekends just not during the week. If it turns out to be another crappy morning, I’m ignoring it and leaving it for my husband. Okay! Not really! But at least I won’t have to skip my run because I have to get to work!

Happy Friday! And Happy Weekend! Check back tomorrow night so I can brag tell you all about my run! Double digits is huge in my world, pregnant or not. I ran the Surfin Santa  10 miler in 1:40 last year. I’m hoping for less than 2:30 tomorrow!