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900+ pregnant miles and postpartum running plans

900+ pregnant miles and postpartum running plans

We are  very much homestretchin’, everyone. This little (big!) fetus’s officially-unofficial gestational age is 37 weeks and change — soon to be 38 weeks, as of Friday — which means that most medical circles would consider me/us somewhere in the “term” department. At this point, theoretically speaking, the kiddo could come any day now (though, truth be told, they kinda arrive whenever they want to anyway), or I could be pregnant for up to two weeks postpartum, well into the beginning part of September. It’s a little odd to go to bed each night wondering if I’ll be pregnant for only hours more or nearly another month. A was six days post-due date, so I’m kinda banking on this one not coming “on time,” too.

At any rate, I figured it was high time to update my little running-while-pregnant mileage chart, now that I completed my final race of this pregnancy (TSFM’s 5k), and because this pregnancy could conclude any day now. Here’s how we stand:

Gestational Week Mileage Notes
0-1 75.35 peak of 50k training
1-2 53.1  
2-3 36.5  
3-4 44.87 50k race unknowingly pregnant, though I had a hunch…
4-5 27.51  
5-6 0 feeling like ass – hi, first trimester!
6-7 0 feeling like ass/family in town
7-8 0 feeling like ass/in the Caribbean with my family
8-9 16.8  
9-10 0 feeling like ass
10-11 5.1  
11-12 11.32  
12-13 20.61  
13-14 19.8  
14-15 20.8  
15-16 13.58 408k race
16-17 0 feeling like ass
17-18 25.41  
18-19 21.27 5k s.i.b. race win pushing A!
19-20 28.36 5k wildflower race running/pushing A
20-21 9.1  
21-22 31.51  
22-23 12.3 in Disneyland most of the week with family
23-24 33.15 San Luis Obispo half marathon with a bunch of super awesome people!
 24-25 22.91  
25-26 40.53 13+ mi Long Run with RA in Mountain View, Palo Alto, and Sunnyvale — first time running with the gang since the autumn!
26-27 11.1  forced down week for some recovery
27-28 25.86 in Disneyland for Memorial Day
28-29* 32.16  
29-30 22.51  
30-31 37.3 Ran 7 consecutive days (rare even for when I’m not pregnant), primarily because I was visiting family in Ohio and always had childcare available
31-32 38.52 ZOOMA Napa Valley 13.1 race
32-33 14.06 planned down week
33-34 28.53  
34-35 21.2 10+ mile LR with Saurabh, first one with him in a while!
35-36 30.67 Random 17+ mile LR with Mere; was hoping for 10-12 and felt great and just went with it
36-37 32.69 TSFM weekend, including TSFM 5k race
37-38 33.08 finished July as my highest volume month of this pregnancy (and being nearly as pregnant as I’m gonna get)
38-39 7.36 (as of 8/4)  
     
     
total: 904.92 (ish) miles!  

Like I’ve said before, this is all more or less accurate, but because of the way practitioners calculate gestational age versus how I organize my training weeks, there’s a little buffer zone (which is why the chart makes it look like I’m already between week 38-39 of the pregnancy, whereas I’ll be 38 weeks on Friday). No matter; it’s all details. This stuff is all for entertainment and edification purposes anyway.

I didn’t take weekly “bump” pictures for this pregnancy (or with my first), but here’s a visual of what the pregnancy has looked like for me, a la (most) of the races I’ve run during since I’ve been at +1 status:

50k'ing at about 4-5w preg
50k’ing at about 4-5w preg; can’t tell I’m pregnant. I remember thinking around mile 18 “I’m kinda tired, more than I should be by now… I bet I’m pregnant,” though I didn’t take any tests for a couple days thereafter

 

408k at about 12 weeks? 14 weeks? Obviously not remembering that smiling + running = grimace-looking
408k at about 16 weeks and obviously not remembering that smiling + running = grimace-looking

 

winning the she.is.beautiful 5k stroller division with A was a highlight of this pregnancy (sometime around 19 weeks?)
winning the she.is.beautiful 5k stroller division with A was a highlight of this pregnancy (sometime around 19 weeks?)

 

with Erica and also-pregnant pro runner Steph Bruce at the SLO Half in April at about 6 months (24 weeks) pregnant. I was blown away by how good I felt running 13.1 on a not-easy course this far along
with Erica and also-pregnant pro runner Steph Bruce at the SLO Half in April at about 6 months (24 weeks) pregnant. I was blown away by how good I felt running 13.1 on a not-easy course this far along. Noticeably pregnant by now, but the bib is kinda blocking it here.

 

queen-waving to Linh. PC: him/RA
blurrily queen-waving to my pacing friends during the ZOOMA Napa Valley half at almost 8 months/32 weeks pregnant. This race was rough in parts for me again this year (as it was in 2014), but it was only a tad slower than the SLO half… though I was almost 8 weeks more pregnant by the time I ran ZNV.

 

a little GGB and Karl the Fog action after the turn-around [PC: Keith]
36 weeks pregnant – 9 months – for The San Francisco Marathon’s 5k (shake-out run pictured here). Pretty sure it looks like there’s a basketball shoved under my shirt. The 5k was a blast though (again, something I thought I’d never say!).

Looking back at these pics and at the mileage log I’ve kept, I’m honestly so amused by it all simply because, as I’ve said before, going into this pregnancy, I had no expectations for how I envisioned my running to look. Pregnancy is such a weird, unpredictable, literally life-altering metamorphosis, and though I have been here before and ran through most of my first pregnancy, there were times during this pregnancy when I felt so shitty that even the mere *thought* of running would have me running to the bathroom; I couldn’t even think about running a mile, much less run one. Things changed though — pregnancy keeps us on our toes — and more often than not, I have felt/continue to feel great and more-than well enough to run, and so I do. The mileage is arbitrary, the pace is comfortable and conversational, and like I’ve written before, I damn near end each run with a silly shit-eating grin on my face because I’m just so stinkin’ happy to be out there doing what I love. I know many pregnant women who run who can’t do it during their pregnancy for one reason or another, and I get how lucky I am. To be able to run at all — regardless of pregnancy status — is a gift. I treasure this shit. A lot.

With this pregnancy coming to a close — whenever it does — I’ve got some postpartum ideas and big goals floating around in my noggin, but few things are hard-and-fast plans. I have some final races on the calendar to close out 2015: the 10k at the Let’s Go 510k in Berkeley in late October, the Mermaid Series’ Sirena 10 miler in SF in early November, and probably the Berkeley Half Marathon the weekend before Thanksgiving. In no way am I expecting PR performances or even strong performances at any of these races; I’m thinking they’ll more likely be (lack of) fitness indicators (or just GA runs). Plus, I would absolutely LOVE to get in strong-enough shape to be able to pace Saurabh for his last ~20ish miles of his 50 miler at TNFEC in December, but we’ll see.

Ultimately, I’ve written all this immediate postpartum running business in pencil, if not feather (if one can write in feather) simply because postpartum running is tough work. Even the smoothest, complication-less childbirth takes a toll on your body — speaking from experience — and I am absolutely *not* planning on running anytime before my 6-week postpartum period ends; the risks just far outweigh the benefits. More importantly, Kiddo Dos will only be that tiny once in his or her life, and I have every intention of relishing and revelling in those fleeting moments while I have the opportunity.  Running can wait. And, speaking from experience, I think my very-gingerly return-to-running postpartum with my first pregnancy really allowed me to lay the groundwork to get (relatively speaking) strong and fast again, which ultimately resulted in me basically blowing all of my PRs out of the water in the process. I didn’t plan for that to happen, but you can bank on my excitement when nearly every PR I had set pre-pregnancy fell — shattered — in the 18 or so months after I gave birth. Being intentional and methodical with this business is the name of the game.

So, that’s where I am these days. I’ll continue to run for the remainder of the pregnancy as long as my midwife blesses the idea and as long as I feel well doing it. Truth be told, I am more comfortable running than I am doing anything else, including sitting, lying down, or even walking around. I never thought I’d say that at 9+ months pregnant, but then again, I also never thought I’d still be happily and eagerly running along at 9+ months pregnant, either… but hey, I’ll take it (and thank my lucky stars for it).

Newport Marathon training: the highlights

Newport Marathon training: the highlights

A 10-week turnaround between Oakland and Newport made me think that writing weekly training recaps would be a bit cumbersome, if not also repetitive, so most of my bantering lately has been less about “I did this workout and this workout and I felt great” blah blah blah–though no doubt, you can glean that from my dailymile any ol’ time you want–and more about some bigger picture stuff.

With the marathon just two weeks and change out from today, I still wanted to write through some of my training so I could examine everything from a bird’s eye view. As I’ve written earlier, writing through these things makes me think macro instead of incessantly micro, so this will probably not be the most titillating post I’ve written (sorry, friends). Come back later for some entertainment.

In terms of the weekly mileage breakdown, it’s looked like this, beginning with one week post-Oakland (which was on 3/23):

from the week of 3/24 through the week of 5/5
from the week of 3/24 through the week of 5/5

 

Of course, dailymile rounds the mileage, so it’s a bit misleading, but that’s the general gist of how the mileage has broken down.

Any seasoned runner will tell you that the mileage is meaningless unless you’re a) having fun and, equally important, b) healthy, and I’m happy to report that all is well in both territories.

The last time I wrote about my training, I talked about the funning I had done, which included running more trails in Alum Rock as part of my recovery, Ragnar SoCal with the other fine folks from TSFM ambassador group, and my first 1:45 pacing stint down at the Santa Cruz half marathon. That post basically captured my first four weeks post-Oakland.

Here’s how the subsequent weeks have shaken out:

  • week of 4/21: 74.54 miles, including some awesome spectating adventures at Big Sur International Marathon down in Carmel and Monterey. Also, I think this might be a weekly mileage PR.
driving down to BSIM with Meredith just blew. I mean, these views. Ew.
driving down to BSIM with Meredith just blew. I mean, these views. Disgusting. (source: Meredith)

 

at Hurricane Point with Meredith, my Bootlegger badass who had just run Boston 6 days prior (and nearly PRed) before coming out to run BSIM as part of the B2B challenge. Words can't express how incredibly proud I am of her--or how incredibly SCARED I am of plummeting to my tragic death off this cliff, backwards
at Hurricane Point with Meredith, my Chicago Bootlegger badass who had just run Boston 6 days prior (and nearly PRed) before coming out to run BSIM as part of the B2B challenge. Words can’t express how incredibly proud I am of her–or how incredibly TERRIFIED I am of plummeting to my tragic death off this cliff, backwards. My palms are sweating just looking at this picture. (source: a stranger)

 

Meredith and I stayed in the woods in Big Sur. Seriously.
Meredith and I stayed in the woods in Big Sur. Seriously. (source: Mere)

 

Bootlegger love at the BSIM expo. This picture makes me stupidly happy.
Bootlegger love at the BSIM expo. This picture makes me stupidly happy. (source: Lee Ann’s beau)

 

showcasing Chicago love on a run in Monterey before the spectating fun began
showcasing Chicago love on a run in Monterey before the spectating fun began (source: a nice stranger who probably secretly judged me)

 

Anil on his way to a 50+ minute -- read that slowly -- PR. Nothing like smiling at mile 25.5.
Anil on his way to a 50+ minute — read that slowly — PR on a super tough course. Nothing like smiling at mile 25.5.

 

Mere rockin' it at BSIM just days after a hot Boston. Note the Boston bib on her backside. :)
Mere rockin’ it at BSIM just days after a hot Boston. Note the Boston bib on her backside. 🙂

 

Bootlegger Lee Ann (space) giving the queen's wave at 25.5.
Bootlegger Lee Ann (space) giving the queen’s wave at 25.5. Inquiring minds want to know how she looks so good at the end of a marathon… and oh yea, her BSIM performance also came just days after a PR at the BAA 5k.

 

IM-in-training Saurabh (in white). I cannot fathom running 26.2 after swimming and cycling for hours. He probably went on to ride and swim for a cajillion hours post-BSIM and just didn't tell anyone. I wouldn't be surprised.
IM-in-training Saurabh (in white). I cannot fathom running 26.2 after swimming and cycling for hours. He probably went on to ride and swim for a cajillion hours post-BSIM and just didn’t tell anyone. I wouldn’t put it past him.

 

  • week of 4/28: 71.09 miles, including another 1:45 RunningAddicts pacing gig at Brazen Racing’s Western Pacific half marathon (1:44:30, still too fast, though this was my first time pacing sola) and getting to see Chris start and finish the WP marathon
with Jennifer, who had run with Johnny (1:35) to a PR and a women's OA/AG finish, and Anil (1:50 for his first pacing gig), who had just run BSIM and massively PRed the week prior. Fun story about Jennifer: we raced against each other a few weeks prior at the non-10k and instantly recognized each other at WP. It's a very cool feeling to begin to recognize some familiar faces at races.
with Jennifer, who had run with Johnny (1:35) to a PR and a women’s OA/AG finish, and Anil (1:50 for his first pacing gig), who had just run BSIM and massively PRed the week prior. Fun story about Jennifer: we raced against each other a few weeks prior at the non-10k and instantly recognized each other at WP. It’s a very cool feeling to begin to recognize some familiar faces at races.

 

Chris flying in around mile 25.5
Chris flying in around mile 25.5

 

with Albert (left) and Chris post-Chris' marathon. Very fun to finally meet Albert, another TSFM ambassador and RA member, who had just crushed the AR50 miler in early April, and to celebrate Chris' marathon completion and OA/AG placement post-race. Clearly, we are all business.
with Albert (left) and Chris post-Chris’ marathon. Very fun to finally meet Albert, another TSFM ambassador and RA member, who had just crushed the AR50 miler in early April, and to celebrate Chris’ marathon completion and OA/AG placement post-race. Clearly, we are all business.

 

  • week of 5/5: 71.92 miles, including my longest LR (23) to date… and on a Wednesday because, #life.
a rare morning where I started, not finished, my run with the sunrise
a rare morning where I started, not finished, my run with the sunrise

 

oh ya know, just a couple hundred sheep in Sunnyvale. Carry on.
oh ya know, just a couple hundred sheep in Sunnyvale. Carry on.

 

...aaaaaaaaand the sheep exodus. This amused me to the extent that I recorded it and didn't realize that I was commenting (to myself) about "how cool this is!" (#craycray)
…aaaaaaaaand the sheep exodus. This amused me to the extent that I recorded it and didn’t realize that I was commenting (to myself) about “how cool this is!” (#craycray)

 

That’s about it. Training has been punctuated with the standard fare mix of recoveries, MLRs, LRs, and speed and tempo stuff, and things have been good, fortunately. It is pretty cool (and gratifying) to me to look at all these pics throughout my training cycle thus far and relive some of the crazy-ass stuff I’ve seen or done while on the run because, if nothing else, it’s assuring me (or reminding me, anyway) that, for as much as I want to perform on 5/31, I’ve already had a fuckin’ blast with this truncated training cycle. That, in and of itself, is a victory.

Your turn. Interesting encounters on your runs or rides of late? Any spectating or volunteering fun to report?