First Trail Run as a Prego!

Since being pregnant, running has become a totally different sport for me. No more care and concern for times, no competitive racing, no worries about increasing distance. This more laid back approach, which is what my body is telling me it needs right now (and also what the doctor ordered), has been difficult to get used to. Quite frankly, it's been a little boring. But I keep getting out there because I know how important this is to me and my growing baby.

To switch things up, though, I decided to go for a trail run today. This is the first time I've hit the trails since being pregnant--I was honestly a little apprehensive about hitting the trails because of the uneven footing and hilly terrain on some of my favorite trails. I figured, though, that I needed a change of scenery, literally and figuratively.

I ended up at Jefferson Memorial Forest, which is one of my favorite places to trail run. There are trails of varying distances and terrain which really make it more exciting. And with the opening of the semi-new Yost Ridge Trail, they really opened up the possibilities for increased distance and adventure, if you desire. And that's where I started. The trail begins with a gradual incline that doesn't let up for several hundred feet or more--it's always a good place to warmup before your workout. About 1 mile in (I may be off on the distance a little) there's a fork in the trail where you can either go left to the Paul Yost area of the Forest or right toward the Horine reservation area. However, each of the times I've been on this trail in the past, the trail to Yost was not complete and therefore not open. This morning it was! So I excitedly ran the trail to the Yost area and met a huge friend--a beastly Pyrenees! She was very interested in me and decided that I needed a running buddy. She stayed with me for about 2 miles, even as I ran over to the Mitchell Hill Lake trail at the Horine side. She made me feel very guilty for not bringing my own dog out, but I was also grateful that I had not because I don't know how these two would have gotten along!

All in all, I had a great, safe and fun run. But trail running is SO MUCH harder now. Talk about having to take walking breaks--and lots of them--to keep my heart rate in the appropriate range. But it was definitely worth it. It was just great to get out and get into something different--I bet the LO was bouncing around a lot and probably wonders WTF I was doing!

Happy Running, folks!

First Race as an (almost) Family!

Today was the second leg of the Polar Bear Grand Prix winter racing series, the Frostbite 5K. The first leg was postponed and then cancelled due to snow and icy conditions on the race course, so it was good to finally get out there with everybody! And while it wasn't the first race since I found out the good news, it was the first race where I actually KNEW about the little plum/lime within--and DH ran with us!

The race went a lot better than I expected--I wasn't feeling well at all before the start. We made it in and parked, got our bib and waited in a short line for the THREE port-o-pots! I quipped that maybe they could have used the money that they aren't refunding us from the first race to spring for more port-o-pots. That, at least, would have been nice.

After a half-mile warm up (that's about all I had in me this morning), me and DH lined up and the race started right on time. Smooth start but I forgot about the seemingly never-ending hill that greets you at the start of the race. Almost instantly, my HR alert was beeping so I had to walk up the entire hill.

The first mile went well, despite what I thought was a tough start on the hill--14:00. The second mile was also pretty fast for my recent times as a Prego--13:40. By the end of the 5K, we rolled in at 42:30 by my Garmin. I felt GREAT. I wasn't even breathing hard!! LOL It's the first race I've EVER run where I crossed the finish and didn't feel like I had even been running.

Obviously, this was my slowest 5K ever, but it was one of the most fun. I had my DH at my side, and we just took it easy breezy! And it WAS breezy!!!!

Hope everybody had a great Saturday morning! Happy Running!