Not only did I accomplish my goal of running 100 miles before this new Baby Girl arrived; but I ran my 100 miles by the end of my second trimester!
About a week before the milestone, my very-dear friend asked if I was going to stop when I got to my 100 miles. At the time, I had just returned from New York, and my feet were so swollen that it felt like I was running with elephant legs. But the swelling has gone down now, so I think that I will indeed keep running as long as I can. When I asked my doctor early in my pregnancy--when my husband was freaking out--she said that my body will tell me when it's time to stop.
But so far, I really feel best when I'm running. Throughout the rest of the day, I feel huge. I noticed my back-side in the bathroom mirror the other day and was a bit surprised at my width. My back hurts a bit on my drive home at the end of the day, it's getting harder and harder to get up off the ground, and the combination of both Ella and me growing is making it challenging to carry her. But when I run, I don't notice a thing. My male colleague asked if I have to wear a special "girdle" to keep my belly in place when I run, which made me laugh. But it also made me aware of just how engaged my muscles are when I run--especially in my abdominal area. Let's hope that this also pays off when it's time to deliver!
I'm also finding that I'm sleeping better--at least so far. I don't remember when I started to really struggle with trying to sleep while pregnant with Ella--perhaps it was a little later in my pregnancy. But for now, I think that my little morning runs are helping me to have just enough energy to make it through the day, and are making me just physically tired enough to sleep well at night (bathroom breaks aside). Of course, I could also be sleeping better because I no longer have the luxury of taking naps every evening as I did while pregnant with Ella. Looking back, I'm sure those naps contributed to my lack of sleep at night.
But as I get farther in my pregnancy, I will give myself permission to just run our smaller block (0.7 miles) instead of the bigger block (1.2 miles). I was proud that I didn't "wimp out" and cut it short during those first 100 miles, but I know that I need to be careful these days. The other benefit of running the smaller block is that Ella can manage to run that distance by herself as well--with two little stops along the way to look at the anthills. I do, however, worry about tripping over her little feet--she tends to zigzag all over the place, despite my best efforts to encourage her to run in a straight line with a little distance between us. But it's still great to encourage her and teach her words like "perseverance" and "endurance".
Today's blessing was the chance to go on a "nature walk" with Ella and pick up trash along our road. Her class has been focusing on nature this month, and they've done a couple little trash pick-ups on their campus, so it's nice to be able to share the experience with her. I admit that she spent most of the time in the stroller, but she was great at pointing out pieces of trash for me and reminding me to be quiet so that I didn't scare the lizards.
