Week 22

It was bound to happen sooner or later.  Things have been going so smoothly that I knew something would happen that would challenge my ability to keep running.  This week was that week.  My feet are healed from the earlier abrasions so I am back to full barefooting.  What I wasn't expecting so soon was water retention in my ankles.  Ack!  Cankles!!  Starting back to work full time this week has greatly decreased my water intake, therefore, I am experiencing quite a bit of swelling from not flushing my system adequately and being on my feet all day, every day.  Although I noted these changes, I did not expect it to affect my ability to run.  So what exactly is going on?  About 1/2 mile to 1 mile into my run, I am experiencing extreme ankle and lower calf tightening to the point where I am have to stop and try to stretch out my ankles before I can even turn around and head back to the car.  I have also "popped" (according to my co-workers) so my stomach is sticking out quite a bit further than it was last week.  So this may be a perfect storm of bodily changes that is causing this bump in the road for me this week.  My plan is to stretch my ankles before my run so that I can really loosen up the ankles beforehand to try to avoid the tightening that I am experiencing.  I also want to make sure that I do not cause any unnecessary injuries as the 5K and 10K are just a month away.  Another goal for next week....DRINK MORE WATER!!

Week 21

A new week and a new set of challenges.  I had to run in Vibram Five Fingers a couple of times this week so that my skin could have time to help and build up a protective layer without the risk of infection.  As most of you know, while pregnant your immune system is compromised making open wounds a dangerous thing if you aren't careful.  So even though I ran with a couple of layers of bandages, I also wore the VFFs for an added layer of protection.  I also ran a 5K on fairly rough terrain so again, the safe bet while pregnant was to be more protective of my feet during this time.  Overall, it was a fairly easy running week without too many major challenges.

Week 20

"Whooah, we're half way there..." - Bon Jovi

Hard to believe that I am halfway through this life-changing journey.  Not only did we find out that the little one is a BOY, but I am definitely starting to show and my hips let me know every day that they are expanding and changing as well.  I have noticed the hip changes most during my longer runs.  I was able to get a referral to the physical therapist who is solely doing hip, back, and neck adjustments to realign my body.  My right hip is rotating forward, which in turn is causing my back and the left side of my neck to hurt as well.  The adjustments have truly helped me to continue with my barefoot running without significant pain.  I've also purchased a body pillow to help me sleep more comfortably at night.  So how is barefoot running going this week?  Well, I made one big mistake that is going to take a few weeks to recover.  I went with a friend to get a pedicure.  I know, I know.  Silly, right?  Well, I thought that by telling them to not scrub my callouses off that I would be safe.  Nope.  The foot soak actually softened and removed a good layer of my skin that was protecting me on my runs.  All I can say is, "Ouch!".  I really didn't notice anything during the weekend run but while standing and talking to the group after the run, I realized that I was bleeding.  It isn't even a blister but rather an abrasion from the lack of skin and padding that I had built up over the last several months.  So my weekly word of advice for all of you barefooters, pregnant or not, is to avoid pedicures at all costs!  Embrace your callouses and learn to paint your own toenails.  :)

Weeks 1 - 19

Since I started this blog in the middle of my pregnancy, I just wanted to do a quick overview of the first 19 weeks.  The first change to my running habits came around week 3-4 when I was out on a 8 mile run with my weekend running partners.  Up until this point, I was still continuing with my long runs and then pulling my shoes off to complete the last mile barefoot.  This particular Sunday morning was a little bit chilly and absolutely beautiful running weather.  I found myself struggling to keep up with the group and was extremely winded despite having run similar distances all spring with no problems.  My goal for the year was to get myself back down to a sub-10 minute mile while transitioning to full barefoot running.  So needless to say, I was extremely disappointed with my run that morning and decided to chalk it up to allergies and asthma.  I finished the run but my pace was a full 4 minutes per mile slower than just two weeks prior.  Luckily, before I could beat myself up too much about the poor performance I found out that I was pregnant and everything made much more sense.  The next two weeks weren't much better but at least I understood why I was so winded.  Since my only race commitment thus far was the back-to-back 5K/10K in September, I decided it was best to scale back completely and go ahead and make the full transition to barefoot only and leave the shoes behind in the dust.  From weeks 6-19 things went along smoothly with no major issues other than planning my routes to have bathroom breaks at the beginning, middle, and end of my longer runs.  I kept my pace slow and the distances short with an average of 3 miles per run.  This worked and I was happy to be able to be out and on the trails with minimal changes to my routine.  At week 14, after being urged by my running partner, I finally told my doctor that I had been running barefoot thus far and I asked if it would be safe to continue.  I planned to continue anyway but at least I could hear the doctor's opinion.  It was obvious that women rarely asked about running while pregnant, and never had asked about running barefoot.  The doctor in the room at the time was actually a resident and she said she was concerned about me running barefoot but thought that running in general was okay as long as I wore a monitor and kept my heart rate below 120.  *long pause and crickets*  I guess my face gave it away that I was seriously questioning her ability to advise healthy individuals on appropriate heart rates.  She then looked at me and said, "Right?".  I actually told her that I felt she was incorrect and that I would be lucky to keep it below 165.  She said she would have to check with the doctor about both the barefoot running and the appropriate heart rate.  When she came back to the room, she said the doctor had told her I was perfectly fine on both accounts, as I suspected I would be.  I am not suggesting that 165 is the appropriate heart rate for every pregnant woman, because it's not.  Every person is different but I know how to keep myself aerobic so that baby is getting plenty of oxygen.  As promised, I have been able to keep my heart rate well under 165 and things have gone well.  If I feel as though I am getting too winded, I slow down.  At this point I am still not really showing so most people on the trails assume I am slow because I've had one too many donuts or glasses of red wine.  :)  This will all change shortly as baby begins to grow at a very rapid pace over the next several weeks.