Third trimester running and exercising is going well. My pregnancy has slowed my pace to roughly 10-12 minute miles, and just this past week I dropped from mainly 60 minutes of elliptical or 6 miles of road running a day to 40-50 minutes or 4-5 miles. An unfortunate side effort of my bigger body has been chaffing in my armpits (of all places!). The bigger bra and my swollen glands just rub in ways that I do not rub normally. These are the main changes I've noticed running while pregnant. Dropping pace and distance, feeling tired and needing weight support for my stomach, and strange chaffing! I can't complain.
Spectating
So I haven't entered a race in months. It's mostly a financial decision. I can run for free, so why enter a race just to get my run in? We are trying to save for Baby #3. It's just been easier to run alone, with Rick and the kids, and with my running group. I have missed racing, but I will be back.
Not racing has given me opportunities to volunteer and to spectate! I went to the For Life Ministries 5K on Saturday, March 29 to watch Rick run. The race was super small (50 finishers), and my kids and I set up the water station (visited twice by runners on the out-and-back course). It was a drizzly, slightly chilly morning. We met some nice people also volunteering at the water station with us that day. I could tell they were new to running when one called the Powerade "juice" (which I quickly corrected, knowing that runners would not understand why juice was offered on the course!).
Pictures were taken by Gregg Gelmis.
 |
| Race start |
 |
| Rick finishes 2nd overall! |
After the race, we went back to the start/finish. There was a one mile race getting started, but since we had not paid I did not intend for us to run. Then the director of the race said, "Anyone who wants to run the one mile, please come to the start line!" My kids both really wanted to run. Rick lined up with my son, and I decided to stay with my daughter. Nevermind the fact that I was in jeans and a raincoat or that my daughter was in flip-flops and tending to a cup of busy snails! It led to a first for me--first time running a race pregnant and in jeans! Surprisingly, we finished around 11 minutes! Both kids wanted another mile and went back out with Rick. So my daughter finished 2 miles in flip-flops! By her picture, you can tell it didn't bother her a bit!
Five Points of Life Kids Marathon was the following weekend on Saturday, April 5. This event is free for kids to enter, but they have to log 25 miles prior to the event day's 1.2 miles. My kids participated last year and wanted to again this year. They love finishing on the baseball field, getting a medal, and having pizza and popsicles afterwards.
 |
| Pictures from Five Points Facebook page |
