16 « July « 2011 « This Runner's Trials

16Jul/1129

Run For Your Cause 4 Miler 2011 Race Recap

Posted by runnerstrials

I ran this race one year and 13 lbs. ago. I was in awesome shape and had high hopes I'd do well. I trash-talked my husband all week and told him I was going to beat him.

The race sucked for hubby and I. We decided to run together and finished in 30:43, a 7:41 pace. I was so disappointed.

Fast forward one year, and I had a completely different race experience.

Baby and I finished in 44:00, an 11:00 minute pace, and had so much fun!

Wearing my adorable pregnancy running shirt obviously.

I couldn't have done it without my awesome running buddy, Caitlin! She was nice enough to run with me the whole time. She has a triathlon tomorrow so had no qualms about keeping her pace slow for the pregnant woman. It was much appreciated

Instead of pushing it, we just enjoyed ourselves. It was so great to chat and catch up with Caitlin! At times, I honestly forgot we were running. I had zero abdominal pain which was such a relief.

I learned a very important lesson today: This is how running should feel when you're pregnant. I'm done pushing myself. I want to keep up running during pregnancy as long as I can, and that means I need to slow my pace down a lot more than I originally intended.

Surprisingly, this is beyond fine with me. I feel like a huge weight has been lifted off my shoulders. Based on how my runs have been going, I knew there was a chance today could be my running swan song. Instead, I learned I can run pain free as long as I keep it really slow. I could not be happier!

I felt on top of the world after the race, and decided to take advantage of it by hitting the pool afterwards. I swam 800m (slowly) and it felt so good! Go me

Kelly also ran the race (with her mom!) and did wonderful too!

The highlight of the morning was spending time with Kelly's "baby". I love all dogs, but I have a huge soft spot in my heart for Rascal. My goal is to have a dachshund just like him one day.