On October 12, at The Showdown, I had the honor of pacing a
half for the first time. Little did I
know I had company. A tiny zygote was
swimming inside of me. And so began my
adventure. After I got home from my next
pacing gig two weeks later my husband saw my distended belly and asked if I was
pregnant. This infuriated me since I had
lost my first pregnancy in February and we had not been able to get pregnant
again yet, or so I thought. I was
convinced my protruding belly was the typical post-race refueling food baby. As the day wore on my breasts felt sore, I
felt strange, and I got curious. The
next morning I got my big fat positive.
With two halves under our belt I considered running a full
before giving birth but after researching the dos and don’ts of pregnancy
exercise I learned the golden standard.
Continue doing what your body is conditioned to. Mine was conditioned to half marathons on a
whim but definitely not for 26.2. So I
loaded up. I took every opportunity to
pace and added a few I just had to do.
The first half I ran knowing my little one was on board was
a little nerve wracking. You see, I had paced those first two halves 45 minutes
slower than my race pace. Now I was free to run my own pace but I didn’t know what
that was. So I just ran comfortably and
it worked like a charm. I finished
feeling accomplished but not exhausted and not worried in the slightest about
over taxing my system and harming my passenger.
Next up was The New Year’s Double. 13.1 miles on New Year’s Eve and 13.1 on New
Year’s Day. A whole new beast. The most
significant challenge was the training.
Between half #3 and New Year’s exhaustion and morning sickness took
their toll. My cross training became
virtually nonexistent as I honed in on my training plan determined to stick to
it as closely as possible. And in all honesty, I fell short. But I didn’t have a problem with that because
I had a new sense of importance. My focus was no longer on running my best and fastest;
my focus was on completing these events with a smile on my face and a healthy
baby in my belly. And I did. With two friends by my side crossing the
finish line on New Year’s Day. 5 down, 5
to go!
There was a long break between 5 and 6 but as I entered my
second trimester my energy levels rose and my cross training returned. I was on top of the world and had an absolute
blast pacing Cowtown for #6. For the
first time I had the honor of pacing friends, who actually crossed the line
ahead of me (and their goals) and I met some pretty wonderful new friends. But one thing became apparent. I was obviously pregnant. Every five minutes I’d hear a comment as
someone new would spot my passenger. I’m
sure they meant well and everything they said was absolutely positive but my
goal as a pacer is to encourage others, not to steal the show. It didn’t dampen the magic of the day in the
end. I didn’t get to cross the finish
line with the people I had gotten there with but I did get to push them
on. Every single one of them finished
ahead of me. Awesome. When I crossed the finish line and was
heading down the chute to the medals and water I looked to my left and there
was a girl wearing the same For Two Fitness tank in yellow. It was wonderful to
see a fellow pregnant runner. To share a similar path.
The following week I took on another solo adventure, The
Xpress, in my hometown and blew my personal pace goal out of the water. Baby Boy (did I mention that my passenger is
a boy?) and I pushed hard and “raced” again.
It felt amazing to run for the feeling of freedom and strength again. It was another beautiful day full of accomplishment
and a sense that I was doing everything right.
You see, there is no more supportive group of people on this journey
than runners. Every time I’m out on a
course people are somehow amazed at what I am doing. They say the kindest, most encouraging things
and never cease to amaze me.
Next up was another solo event. My 5
th Runniversary, Rock N Roll
Dallas. Again, I ran much faster than I
expected to comfortably run. That’s the
beauty of these huge events, the excitement never ends and you always have
company. Somehow running through the sea
of people you don’t feel so exhausted and the same pace feels like a stroll
through the park. I enjoyed every moment of it because I knew 9 and 10 were
both pacing events. This might be my
last opportunity to just run. Just me
and my son. And it was beautiful. Not a worry in the world, just floating along
enjoying the day and soaking up the joy of running and pregnancy.
Then came Women Rock Texas, my first all-female event. I have to admit I was skeptical, but it was
wonderful too! The weird part was before
the race started half a dozen women approached me and told me that they had
read about me online and wanted to run with me.
That they had come with the goal of beating the pregnant lady. Another half a dozen repeated similar stories
on the course. I still have no idea what
they are talking about. How on Earth did
they hear my story? Regardless, that day
was magical. I felt like I got to bond
more with these runners. There was
something special about this event. Be
it that people felt a special connection to me knowing my story, or that it was
a looped course so we had more interaction as we passed each other, or maybe it
was the Black Girls Run club on the course supporting their runners. They were the happiest, most encouraging
spectators ever. Or maybe I’m biased
because they gave me a popsicle in a tube.
Again, I met amazing women, made wonderful new friends, heard inspiring
stories and crossed the finish line on cloud 9.
The grand finale, number 10, The Fairview started in the
exact same place my pregnant half running journey began. The Fairview is The Showdown’s sister
event. That day I paced a group 5
minutes slower than my first pacing gig 6 months earlier only this time I was
six and a half months pregnant. That day
I got to run with the most inspiring runners of my entire journey. At the risk of sounding like a broken record
it was magical and beautiful. It was the
perfect end to such a meaningful journey.
In the end I hope that I have inspired women to stay active throughout
their pregnancies. That no matter what we are going through we should take care
of ourselves, both physically and emotionally, first and foremost. That pregnancy is not a disease or a
disability. That a woman can be strong
and active throughout her pregnancy.
That exercise is not detrimental to a baby, that in fact it is
healthy! I hope that I did not
discourage anyone, that I helped to inspire someone to follow their dreams, to
push a little harder, not to give up.
1 | The Showdown | 10/12/2013 | 02:28:32 | 2:30 Pacer | 1 week, 6 days pregnant |
2 | No Limits Wild Asphault Run | 10/26/13 | 02:29:00 | 2:30 Pacer | 3 weeks, 6 days pregnant |
3 | DRC Half Marathon | 11/02/2013 | 01:55:10 | | 4 weeks, 6 days pregnant |
4 | New Year's Double | 12/31/13 | 02:07:41 | | 13 weeks, 2 days pregnant |
5 | New Year's Double | 01/01/2014 | 02:10:48 | | 13 weeks,3 days pregnant |
6 | Cowtown Half Marathon | 02/23/14 | 02:39:37 | 2:40 Pacer | 21 weeks pregnant |
7 | Xpress Half Marathon | 03/01/2014 | 02:05:03 | | 21 weeks, 6 days pregnant |
8 | Rock N Roll Dallas | 03/23/14 | 02:07:52 | | 25 weeks pregnant |
9 | Women Rock Texas | 03/29/14 | 02:44:24 | 2:45 Pacer | 25 weeks, 6 days pregnant |
10 | The Fairview | 04/05/2014 | 02:34:53 | 2:35 Pacer | 26 weeks, 6 days pregnant |