Way back in June, Cory and I celebrated our 11th anniversary by running the Mueller Marathon. 

This race is put on by Mad Moose Events, I really like their events and am eyeing some of their races in Utah for late 2018/early 2019.

This race is completely held in Muller State Park near Divide, CO.

Since this is only a couple hour drive from our house we decided to spend the night at home and just get up extra early race morning. We packed Cannon up the night before and he spent his first night away from us at Grandma and Grandpa’s.

The drive to Mueller State Park was easy so early in the morning and we arrived at the race start nice and early. I was expecting the laid back atmosphere of an ultra even though this was a marathon, but I was disappointed that there was only ONE bathroom. The race didn’t bring in any additional bathrooms and the parking lot where the race started only had one pit toilet. Racers were having to jog to other parking lots to find additional bathrooms. It didn’t seem like a great start to me. I don’t need fancy VIP bathrooms at a trail race, but more than one would be nice. 

That being said the start was low key with both the marathon and 25k starting together. I could immediately notice that we were not in the low country of Denver anymore, the lack of oxygen was evident. It was all climbing and descending from the start, I don’t recall one flat section.

There were parts that were beautiful, but overall compared to other Colorado trail races I have done, but I wasn’t overly impressed.

I think this report sounds super negative, and it really shouldn’t it wasn’t a bad race, just not a recent favorite. If I had to give it a grade it would be a B-. There were 4 aid stations total that were well stocked with fun ultra style food. The volunteers were so nice and helpful. And it was some seriously good hill training.

I enjoyed running with Cory as it had been a long time and it was a great way to celebrate our anniversary. By the time we were done we were tired and ready to get back to our little boy!

Baby is now the size of: 

Sleep: Still pretty good, rolling over is getting harder and sometimes my belly feels heavy while laying on my side (laying on my back or front are both not options anymore).

Maternity clothes / preferred attire:  My few regular clothes are running out of room. I wore a non maternity shirt to work today, I caught a view of myself in a mirror when I got home. I don’t think I will be wearing it again until the summer!

Symptoms: Nothing new, heartburn, some round ligament pain and fatigue.

Cravings, aversions and favorite foods: Surprisingly craving salads (good!) and candy (not so good) I have been really looking forward to Easter candy coming out, so weird.

Exercise: Getting back on track now that everyone is on the mend. Taking advantage of anytime we can get outside.

Mood: A little overwhelmed with the semester starting but also enjoying having more of a schedule. Also feeling like time is running short before this baby gets here (yikes!)

Missing: Getting up easily, my running coats, full caffeine coffee and walking up the stairs without wheezing.

Best moments: Going to my 24 week appointment. It was great to hear that everything was on track and getting to see this little baby sucking on her fingers.

Worst moments: Can’t think of anything too terrible.

Buying: Maternity belt I am hoping this will help with round ligament pain and possibly make running more comfortable.

Dreaming About: What color baby girl’s hair and eyes will be.

I am by far not the most accomplished pregnant runner out there. I heard on Ali’s (Ali On The Run Show)  podcast that Gwen Jorgensen ran more while pregnant then ever before, clocking in around 100 miles a week. I can’t even relate to that. I feel like I am more of the “Average Joe” just trying to stay moving while pregnant. My pregnancy began while recovering from a broken toe so I was starting from close to zero.

I did run a trail 10k at 6 weeks pregnant in Breckenridge. The race almost didn’t happen because I wasn’t feeling great at 6 weeks pregnant and Cannon threw up for the first time on the way up to the race. We decided to drive the last few miles to the race start as it would be a good place to finish cleaning Cannon and the car up. After sorting everything out, Cannon was in a great mood and it seemed like a good idea to give him a break before making him get in the car to drive home. We decided it was best for me to go ahead and run the race and I am so glad that we did.

Cannon had a great time hanging out in Breckenridge with his dad and I enjoyed one last trail race for the season.

Then in November I ran a fun Turkey Trot 5k with my family at 17 weeks pregnant.

I have been trying to continue to run a few times a week during this pregnancy even through I think my next race won’t be until this baby is on the outside. Some things that have made running a little more comfortable:

Hoka One One Clifton 4 – The extra cushion of the Hoka Cliftons definitely have helped keep my feet happy. Packing a few (ha!) extra pounds puts a toll on my feet and last time I was pregnant I had a bad case of plantar fasciitis, I may get it again this time but so far so good!

Lululemon High Wasted Wunder Under Pants – Even during my first trimester I liked having a high wasted pant. It made my belly and back feel supported even while there wasn’t much of a bump.

Treadmills – One of the challenges of running while pregnant is the need for frequent bathroom stops. We have a Nordictrack treadmill set up in our basement gym and LOVE it. It has incline and decline, it has been great helping Cory and I train for many races. Being able to stop and dash to the bathroom whenever I need has been helpful. I have also been using the treadmill at the gym quite a bit so I can use the child care to look after Cannon.

Garmin Fenix 3 Sapphire – I LOVE this watch so much. I used to always forget to charge my 910, but I wear my Fenix 3 all the time so I don’t forget to put it on or charge it. I love that it is a smart watch.

Garmin Run Heart Rate Monitor – It is important to not have your heart rate get too high while exercising as it might draw blood and oxygen away from your developing baby. I used my Garmin HRM and walk breaks to make sure that I am keeping my little one safe.

GapFit Breath Capris – These capris are buttery soft and so comfortable. As I have out grown my normal running gear these have been amazing. The full panel isn’t too tight or too loose, there is nothing worse than tights falling down or squeezing your belly while trying to run.

Maternity Belt – This is one piece of gear that I haven’t tried yet, but was suggested to me by my Midwife. I have been experiencing some round ligament pain and she suggested that I invest in a maternity belt. I have also hear of other pregnant runners using them. I plan to give it a go and see if it helps!

Lots of Grace – Sometimes it’s hard to accept that I am not running 6-7 days a week, 50 + miles a week or as quickly as I used to. I am trying to remember that this time is beautiful, exciting and temporary. Running will be there for me in the summer =)

Any mother runners out there? How long did you keep running in your pregnancy? Any suggestions of things that kept you going?

Baby is now the size of:  A Cantaloupe and almost a foot long…I don’t know how these fruit sized equivalents are determined. Are they length or weight based? I don’t know, but this little girl is definitely getting bigger. I am feeling quite whale-ish these days. I feel like I look 34 weeks not 24…I am trying to remember that this is temporary and SOOOOO worth it.

Sleep: Still pretty good, I am trying to decide if it is worth getting a pregnancy body pillow. Any mamas out there, are they worth it?

Maternity clothes / preferred attire: Mostly maternity, I am not going to get away with normal work clothes anymore like I did last semester so I have been thinking about work outfits that will work around this bump and not terrify my students.

Symptoms: Such bad heartburn this week and a little swelling in my feet when I stand too long. Some headaches and sleepiness. Overall nothing too bad, I am getting towards the end of the second trimester so I know being comfortable is going to be short lived, trying to prepare myself.

Cravings, aversions and favorite foods: Nothing to strong, mainly anything quick and easy. We have been so busy and I have been pretty tired.

Exercise: Working on it!

Mood: Feeling a little overwhelmed with trying to get ready for the semester to start but things will be

Missing: ease of movement, breathing (having congestion and lung capacity is down), running and wine

Best moments: Hiking with Cannon, we all love it so much!

Worst moments: I had some pretty painful round ligament pain, much worse than with Cannon. luckily it’s not every day.

Buying: All the cute baby girl things!

Dreaming About: Decorating the nursery (pinterest board here)  and picturing bring her home to snuggle.

 

This year I decided to focus more on short term goals and let the year unfold as it comes. In December I really got out of the habit of exercising regularly, between holiday obligations and being sick I really got off track.

1. Strength train four times a week – I am excited to get back into 21 day fix
2. Cardio 6 times a week
3. Cut out more sugar – pregnancy cravings, and being so tired has me running to sugar more than I would like to admit. I need to focus no cutting it out and getting more greens in.

Balancing being the primary caregiver to a toddler, pregnancy, career and a house isn’t easy but I am far from the first person to add a child to a family and I hope to just do my best and give myself grace when I am not my best.

Weeks 22 and 23 were the week of Christmas and were grate and also a little awful. After getting over the stomach virus that hit me week 21 I came down with a head cold. I was so sick and tired and fed-up with feeling sick and tired. I spent most of Christmas day fighting a migraine while trying to enjoy my time with family. Before it sounds like I was having too much of a pity party (maybe I was a little) I was really grateful to have Cory around most of the week to help with Cannon and allow me to rest as much as possible. It’s weird being pregnant and having it take so long to get over viruses.

Baby is now the size of:

Sleep: Sleep is actually going really well. Later in my pregnancy with Cannon I had a really hard time sleeping but I can’t remember when that started. I am enjoying as much sleep as I can while it lasts. I tried to sleep as much as possible to see if I could kick this stupid cold.

Maternity clothes / preferred attire: I am at about 40 percent regular clothes and 60 percent maternity clothes. This belly feels like it is getting huge…where am I going to put 17 more weeks?!?

Symptoms: Some heartburn, some round ligament pain and lots of little baby kicks.

Cravings, aversions and favorite foods: Craving lots of bland easy foods while I am still trying to completely recover from being sick. Oh and lots of Christmas cookies.

Exercise: Not much beyond hikes and family walks.

Mood: Honestly pretty grumpy, being sick for so long and feeling to sick and tired to really enjoy the holidays. Things are starting to look better now.

Missing: Champagne on New Years Eve, staying up past 9pm, breathing like a normal human and running. We used to have a  tradition of running a half marathon on New Years day as a fun way to kick off the year. That tradition hasn’t happened since 2015 and seems so long ago! In 2016 I was pregnant with Cannon, 2017 I wasn’t feeling up to 13.1 miles (Cory and I did enjoy 8 miles on Boulder trails)

and this year I am not up to running more than 3 miles. I have high hopes for 2019 but we will see how recovery goes.

Best moments: Spending Christmas with my family, Cannon loves his Grandparents and Uncle so much. Having little ones really makes holidays that much more magical.

Worst moments: Feeling so terrible that I had to nap through part of Christmas day.

Buying: Double stroller (WHAT?!?)

Dreaming About: Next Christmas when we will have two little ones to shower with love.

This goals post is harder to write than most years. With a baby coming in April I don’t want to set many athletic focused goals.

I would love to race something fun in late 2018, and I really hope to, but I don’t want to put undue pressure on myself to run any specific distance. After having Cannon my body didn’t feel ready to run anything more than six miles until six months after having him and who knows how recovery will go this time.

Given that, I think my main goal for 2018 is keeping my family healthy. I want to have keep this sweet little girl happy and healthy until she comes into this world, have a healthy delivery and keep Cannon happy and healthy during all of this baby craziness.

Since I can’t seem to think long-term about big goals beyond healthy I hope to focus on smaller goals each month this year.

Wishing you all a happy and healthy 2018!

Baby is now the size of:

Sleep: Sleep is actually going pretty well (except for one really terrible night). The belly isn’t so big just yet but I think that might change soon. I still have to get up once a night to pee but it’s better than the first trimester.

Maternity clothes / preferred attire: About half and half but that is also changing quickly.

Symptoms: Lots of heartburn, some back pain and some belly pains.

Cravings, aversions and favorite foods: No aversions really but in week 21 I got hit with a terrible stomach bug. One horrible night I spent all night dashing to the bathroom unable to keep anything down. It took a couple days to feel even close to normal again. I couldn’t eat normal food for a while so it was lots of bland, salty foods. For a few weeks a had serious aversions to anything I ate the day before I got sick.

Exercise: Nothing….really a big fat zero other than maybe a few walks, and a family hike. But with the stomach virus then coming down with a cold later in the week I spent all my free time resting and sleeping.

Mood: My mood was very high and very low over these two weeks. We got to see our sweet little girl top to toes at our 20 week anatomy scan. Everything that they could see looked good and right on track, it’s such a relief to see her and know that everything is developing as it should be at this point. The low point was getting so sick. It’s never fun to spend all night being violently sick, but adding worry to what this kind of illness could be doing to your growing baby is agony. A few days after being sick I didn’t feel the baby moving as much as I normally do, so I was really worried. I called my doctor and they agreed to see me that afternoon. It included Cory having to take the afternoon off to watch Cannon and waiting to see the doctor for 90 minutes but the heartbeat sounded strong and my OB felt that I just needed to hydrate more and take it as easy as I could.

Missing: Energy, Running and wine at Christmas parties

Best moments: Seeing our little girl on the ultrasound.

Worst moments: Being so sick and so worried

Buying: Lots of Christmas gifts online and material to build Cannon a Learning Tower

I think he likes it….

Dreaming About: What our little girl is going to look like. Will she look like a Cory or a mini Cannon.