This mama is one tired mama tonight! I had my glucose test this morning, a doctor’s appointment, worked all day, got my car inspected, picked up Cole, went to Yoga (thank goodness)….
and now I’m sitting on my couch with my feet up watching my favorite team kick off football season. Go Packers! My family is all from Wisconsin. I would have been disowned as a child if I didn’t love the Green Bay Packers.
My wonderful husband made dinner while I was a yoga – all of my favorite football foods. Deep friend Chicken strips, fried pickles, and lots and lots of chopped up veggies (peppers, cucumber, carrots, radishes, and brocoli).
Welcome back football! I have missed you!
Baby Cole Cheesehead
Not so Baby Cole cheering the Packers on to a Super Bowl win
Christian and Me (early dating) - smart man! He cheers for the Packers too (now!)
Now I just need to try to keep my eyes open while I watch the rest of the game…..
Sunday at mile 10 of my half-marathon, Christian told me to “Dig Deep” after I ran up to him slightly defeated and with hips on fire. Mile 10 marked the ended of the worst part of the race course. The past 3+ miles were hot, boring, had no crowd support, no band stages, and very little energy was left in all the runners around me. It is certainly a portion of the course that requires a runner to rely on themselves to get through the worst – at least it was for me. It was also at this point that Mister Moo decided to get cozy in my hip bones. I knew Christian was up ahead at the 10 mile marker waiting for me. I definitely needed his smile at this point.
I was so happy to see Christian. I ran straight to him instead of running by and waving. I think the only words I got out of my mouth were “This is hard. My hips are burning”. He pulled a GU out of his support team bag and my water bottle of Nuun. He sent me on my way with two simple words – “Dig Deep”.
Dig Deep.
Two very simple effective words.
EXCEPT.
Sometimes those two words make me want to smack Christian. They also make me laugh (now!).
Let me rewind back to the fall of 2010. Christian and I had a kid free weekend. I was craving the great outdoors. Christian was sick of hearing me saying, “I just need some elevation in my life”. We headed out on our first overnight backpacking adventure – the white oak canyon/cedar run loop in the Shenandoah National Park. It is a 8.2 mile loop with 2500 feet of elevation gain that offers over night hiking off of one of the connecting trails. Our bags were packed. We were set. (By the way, it is ranked strenuous by the national park system. The National Park System isn’t lying when the rank the trails.)
2 days of camping gear on my back. Yes! I love it!
We hiked the loop going counter clock wise. Everything we read said this was the more difficult route to follow, but it provided the best views of the waterfalls. We were there to enjoy nature. Yes please to the better views. We were also there because Christian and I love to challenge ourselves physically. Yes please to the more difficult route. Our relationship blossoms in nature. We are in sync. We work together. We are truly balanced when we are on nature adventures together. We knew we were up for the challenge.
We would have missed this if we hiked the other direction.
The 12oo foot climb to the top was worth every step we took. Waterfalls followed us along the trail. It was beautiful. Once we got the top we hike an additional 2.5 miles of gradual incline along a fireroad (basically a wide trail that can allow 4 wheel drive vehicles to travel down it, just in case). At this point, we were both tired but still feeling good.
At the trail head, we picked up the Cedar Run Trail. We had 1.7 miles left of hiking down 1500 feet. Not too bad? Right?
So Happy to find the this post (especially since I didn't know what was ahead of me)
Let me just say that I much rather hike up a mountain than hike down the mountain. I also do not prefer to hike down a trail that resembles the bottom of a river bend – small slipper rocks lined the entire path. I was never able to find my footing. I rolled my ankle at least two dozen times. My legs were tired at this point. I was EXHAUSTED. I kept telling myself it is only 1.7 miles. Easy.
At some point along the portion of this trail, Christian started to tell me to “dig deep”. It was getting dark. We wanted to be at our campsite before it was pitch black outside. We were racing the sunset. Every few minutes, I’d hear him say “dig deep Kristy”. At one point, I remember thinking (or maybe screaming) “I AM DIGGING DEEP. I’VE BEEN DIGGING DEEP FOR THE PAST 4 MILES”. We fell back into our normal silence. One foot in front of the other. It was now dark out. Christian said it again. “Dig Deep Kristy.” The only words that formed in my brain (I was too tired to utter them out loud at this point) were “F*** Digging Deep. I’m tired”.
We finally made it to our campsite. Christian lead the way with his trusty headlamp. I followed his feet. I was too tired to look up. That night I slept better than I have ever slept before – on the ground. in a tent. simple exhausted.
Finally found our campsite. Still Smiling!
Dig Deep has become a fun little joke between Christian and me. I have long since proven to him that I don’t need to be reminded to dig deep on our journeys. I push myself hard than anyone one around me every could. Sometimes on our adventures he will say it to me to make me laugh. Sometimes he will say, and I want to smack him because I AM DIGGING DEEP. One Sunday it brought a smile to my face and gave me a little bit of energy to keep going.
As difficult as the hike down the Cedar Run Trail was for me, I can’t wait to tackle that hike again. It was beautiful. It was challenging. I wasn’t left wishing I had done more, seen more, or tried harder. We will be back to repeat that adventure over and over again.
Morning SunriseAnd we found an apple orchard on our way homeand a yummy sandwich place in the cute little town (with great dessert!)
With so much Mister Moo talk lately, Cole hasn’t been featured as much in my blog lately. Sorry Cole. Today marks the start of my 24th week of pregnancy, but more importantly it is the first day of Cole’s 2nd grade career. Hello 2nd Grade.
What a difference a year makes?
Last year Cole was starting 1st grade in a brand new school. He was riding the bus for the first time. He was a nervous mess. I don’t know who cried more – me or him?
1st Day of 1st Grade
This year the first day snuck up on us. He was returning back to the same school. It was uneventful. Cole fell right back into our normal morning routine. We headed to the bus stop. I reminded him that his lunch money was in his front pocket of his book bag. His note for his teacher was in the front pocket. He was in Mrs. Darden’s Class. His room number is Room 38. Does he know how to find it? Does he remember where to go after school?
Yes. He got annoyed with me. He told me he knew all of that already. He knew what to do. He knew where to go. He had done this all before.
Okay Cole! I get it. You are growing up but do your poor mom a favor. Let me be your mom for as long as I need to be your mom. I needed to tell you these things so I will be fine. I needed to remind you to reminded myself that you know what you are doing. I know that you will always be okay. Taking care of you and making sure you are fine makes me okay because sometimes I’m not fine.
Watching you grow up and letting you go is one of the hardest things I will ever do. Watching you grow up and letting you go is one of the most amazing things I will ever do. It is rewarding. It is challenging. It makes me cry. It makes me smile. It makes me laugh. It makes me proud. I makes me fall in love you every single day all over again.
How did we get to the point where I’m the one begging for the hug instead of Cole tugging at my leg begging to be picked up? This mama still needs bedtime stories and good night kisses. Thankful Cole still loves those moments too.
Now that I the Rock n Roll half-marathon is behind me, I am happy to shift gears. I’m ready to tackle a birthing plan instead of a training plan for the next 4 months.
The goal = natural child-birth.
I’ve updated the Running Tab on my blog is you’d like to read about my future plans for running.
How am I feeling 1 day after my half marathon? My legs feel good. My calves are a little tight, but they feel good. Mister Moo is happily kicking up a storm. Overall, my body feels good. My back. That is a different story. It feels incredibly uncomfortable. I’ve been complaining about lower back pain for a few weeks now. It has been bugging me on and off. This past week, it has kept me up almost every night. Last night was no different. I went to bed at 10pm. I woke up at 2am with horrible lower back pains. I never got comfortable again. I finally gave up on being in and out of sleep at 6am, and I got out of bed. Since then I just can’t get comfortable. I can’t stand comfortably. I can’t sit comfortably. I can’t lie down comfortably. I’ve spent most of today moving from one position to another while begging for back rubs from my husband. It feels great when he puts pressure on the lower right side. I’m pretty confident I’m having posterior pelvic pain.
I have a doctor’s appointment on Thursday. I also plan on going to yoga Wednesday in addition to my Thursday class. Functioning on a few hours of sleep is good practice for after the baby comes, right?
Click the picture for a link to prenatal yoga poses for back pain relief
For those who think you shouldn’t run while pregnant, this is a very common condition for pregnant women. I’ve been experiencing the pain long before my race. I do think the race aggravated the condition, but it did not cause it. The pain is also not causing any harm to my baby. It’s only causing discomfort for me.
I went into today’s race with one thing on my mind – Enjoy the race. Going into my training for this race, I had two huge obstacles to overcoming – One obstacle stacked right on top of the other obstacle. I was recovering from a stress fracture in the shaft of my femur, and I’m pregnant. I’ve completed every training run pregnant. Time goals were never meant to be a part of my plan although they snuck up on me as race day got closer.
After showering and laying out all of my gear last night, I got to bed around 10:30. At 2:30am I woke up with horrible back pain. This has happened for the past 4 nights. It feels like someone drilled a hole in my lower right back, and all of the nerve endings are on fire. I tossed and turned for at least an hour. Thirty minutes later my alarm clock went off. It was race morning.
Wake-up Time: 4am
Race Day Breakfast – Whole Wheat Eggos
Race Day attire – Nike Run Skirt. Lululemon Tank Top. Underarmor Sports Bra. Lululemon socks. Shoes. Ipod. Garmin. Headband.
Temperature when I left my house: 70 degrees, 88% humidity
I got in my car and headed for the oceanfront. I needed to be on the shuttle before 6am to avoid the road closures. I arrived at the convention center, helped myself to a banana. I ate the apple I brought from home. I used the bathroom (twice). I meet up with the Moms Run this Town group. I entered my corral. Corral #16.
Race Start Time: 7am
As soon as I crossed the start line, my excitement (and a little bit of anxiety) for the race became a reality. I made it to race day. I felt strong. I felt prepared. I felt incredibly proud of myself and the little baby in my belly for properly training for this race.
The first 5 miles were perfect. I felt good. I was having fun. I didn’t listen to my iPod because I was enjoying the race day crowd and the chatter of the runners around me.
Mile 1: 11:58
Mile 2: 13:31
Mile 3: 13:26
Mile 4: 12:58
Mile 5: 13:17
As mile 6 approached, I really had to use the bathroom. There were a few port-a-pottys scattered along the course, and every single one of the them had a line of 20+ people. I was not willing to wait that long to use the bathroom. I finally spotted one behind a band stage. There were only 7 people in line. I knew my bladder had reached its holding limit, and this was the best line I’d seen all day. I very impatiently waited close to 7 minutes for the bathroom.
Mile 6: 17:10
After waiting and waiting, I was determined to make up sometime on my garmin. I ran hard this mile. I was feeling good. Why not? I also knew my family was up ahead waiting to say hello.
Half Way Mark - Coming in to say hello to my family
At mile 6.5, I found my family waiting for me with a HUGE smiles on their faces. I think I swallowed back tears for the 1/2 mile leading up to them. I’m still a little bit in shock that I accomplished this goal today. For those of you who don’t know, emotional crying + running aren’t always the best combination. I had a hard time catching my breath. I stopped to say hello. Kissed my husband. Kissed my son. Thanked my mom and my aunt for all their support. I was off running again.
Mile 7: 13:26
Mile 8: 13:53
This is when the race got hard. It is a boring, hot section of the race. At mile 9, my hips felt like they were on fire. Mister Moo, who happily kicked along while I ran for the first half of the course, settled into his comfort zone at this point. Right in my hips. OUCH! OUCH! OUCH! I ran until the burning became too much. I walked. I ran again once the burning eased up. I repeated my race plan to myself more than once. Breath in. Calm. Breath out. Smile.
Mile 9: 13:35
Mile 10: 13:55
Mile 11: 14:50
Mile 12: 14:09
I found Christian again at mile marker 10. I stopped to enjoy a GU and a pep talk. Dig Deep Kristy. His favorite words. I found him again at mile 12 and on the boardwalk leading to the finish. My friend Carrie also came out to cheer me on. She found me 5 times!!!!! Their smiling faces brought me so much energy and happiness on the course. I can’t thank my family and Carrie enough!
As I made the final turn to the boardwalk, my emotions got the best of me again. I had to keep swallowing back tears and gasping for air! I did it! I put one foot in front of the other, and I accomplished something that seemed out of reach (and almost impossible) 3 months ago.
Less than a mile to go! Come on Finish Line!
Mile 13: 14:01
Final .1 (.27 according to my Garmin): 12:44 pace
Finisher Medal
I DID IT! I FINISHED A HALF MARATHON PREGNANT! I am beyond happy, proud, and excited to have the story to share with Mister Moo as he gets older. Most importantly, I truly enjoyed the race today. I pushed hard. I made sure I stayed inside a safe window of discomfort for the little mister in my belly. The race was everything I hoped it would be. It was AMAZING.
Official Finish Time: 3:03:37
Average Pace: 13:50 (Garmin)
(and for the competitive side of me that doesn’t go away just because I’m pregnant – I technically ran the course in less than 3 hours IF I can delete the potty break time!!! 🙂 I’ll take it!)
Kristy Maute 