Week 25

As week 25 quickly comes to an end today, I am now 2/3rds through this pregnancy.  We experienced an unseasonal heat wave this week with highs in the 90s, with heat indices over 100!  I did not run on Monday or Tuesday and I honestly did not get enough water either day.  Our Dayton Barefoot Runners group met up on Wednesday evening for our midweek group run.  We normally meet at "depot" on the trail which has very nice facilities (bonus for this pregnant lady!) but it is also the location of a 9/11 memorial.  Since Wednesday was the 12th anniversary of this tragic event, there was a memorial service starting at the same time as our group run.  In order to be respectful of the ceremony and to avoid an overfilled parking area, we met at an alternate location just down the trail a ways.  The air was thick and the temperature was still 90 degrees when we set out.  Not enough water intake and running around all day at work meant that I started out the run with swollen ankles.  I ran solo while two other group members ran ahead.  About a mile in I decided I needed to stop for a break because my ankles were just too tense to keep running.  One of the group members was running back towards me at this time and she kept me company for the rest of the run.  We ended up with just over 2 miles with some walking in between.  It was just not my day for a good run but I was out and I was moving so that is a victory in my books.

I then met up with the DBR group again on Saturday morning for our weekend group run.  The heat wave was over and it was a nice, chilly 41 degrees when we started out for our run.  I tried to keep up with the guys for about 1/10th of a mile and quickly waved them on because the pace was just too quick.  I slowed back down and ran solo for a 1/2 mile before stopping for a walking break.  I walked 1/4 mile before running again.  I ended up turning around at the one mile mark and headed back to our meeting spot.  I ran for another 1/4 mile after turning around and then decided to take a walking break for 1/4 mile.  Then I finished the last 1/2 mile running.  I probably could have done a bit more but I decided to not push it any further since it had been a rough week.  I also decided not to run on Sunday, which was the first time in a while that I had not run back-to-back on a weekend.  It seemed much more important to me to try and get some much needed rest.

The Air Force Marathon is this weekend and I still plan to run barefoot in both the 5K on Friday night and the 10K on Saturday morning.  The weather is supposed to be nice and cool so I am hoping that helps out a bit.  I also realize that I will probably need more walking breaks than I had originally planned on even 1 month ago.  I am not trying to beat any personal records because just being out there as a barefoot, 6 month pregnant woman is enough of a challenge for me.  At this point I doubt I have any local readers besides the group who already knows me, but if you do spot me out on the course this weekend I will be wearing a shirt that says "Barefoot and Pregnant and Still Running!".  Admittedly the "still running" line should probably read "still slogging" (slow jogging) but that would take too much time to explain to curious folks.  :)

Goals for Week 26:  DRINK MORE WATER!  I've had 40 ozs so far today and I want to get in at least 90 more before the day is over.

(Photo after my 6-miler on Sunday 9/9/13)