The parasite is winning

Since I didn't run when I was pregnant with Faith, I didn't really know what to expect. I did work out last time when I was pregnant, up until the day before I was induced so I thought I had an idea of what I was doing. The magical thing about pregnancy is that you just don't really remember how much it sucked...otherwise why would you do it again? It's a lot like running a marathon in that regard because you only remember how happy you were to finish and look at the shiny medal hanging up now! Wasn't that fun? Let's do it again!

And just like labor, you may poop yourself

I think the most difficult part of running while pregnant is how it can feel fine one day and miserable the next and it's impossible to figure out which it is going to be today. In normal training, if you have a crappy run it's easy to come up with reasons why: didn't sleep enough, ate the wrong foods, wasn't hydrated, etc. Now it's just a crap shoot. I can do all the "right" things and still really struggle with running.

Take today for example: I slept well, ate a good breakfast, didn't feel sick, but I still wasn't really able to run. I ran a mile before I realized the ache in my knees wasn't going away after I warmed up and then I was forced to walk the rest. Sure, I walk at a brisk pace and increase the incline on the treadmill until I feel like I'm working, but it takes for-ever to walk versus run. I ran a mile and walked 5.2 (to make it a 10K) and even with watching TV, I was bored. I'd still rather be bored walking on the treadmill instead of bored while watching TV on the couch because I hurt myself, so there is always that.

Here are a few surprising (to me anyway) problems with pregnancy running I've encountered:

1. Sore feet. My feet ache after I run and I know it's from carrying around extra weight, but it's still surprising to me. At least my feet haven't expanded and my Brooks still fit.

2. So much jiggle. I've been forced to use two sports bras at a time and I also ordered a maternity support belt for running to help hold me in.

3. Extra chafing. I don't know if my stride has changed or if my thighs are chunking out, but holy chafing. I never used to bust out the Body Glide for short weekday runs, but I do now.

4. Anxiety about group runs. I get nervous now that I'm going to hold the group back or that I won't be able to keep up. It's made me more empathetic to slower runners in groups and how they might feel all the time. Group runs are key for me though because it's the only time I run outside (well, further than my short weekday runs). I don't feel comfortable going out for an 8 mile run by myself, which is also a strange feeling.

Pregnancy running isn't all misery, but I'm just going over the parts that suck because I want to be able to remind myself of this in the future when baby fever strikes. Also, part of the joy of being pregnant is scaring other people who are considering pregnancy, so let's not deny me my fun.

When I posted on Daily Mile about how I had to walk today instead of running, someone commented "The parasite is winning!" which cracked me up. It also reminded me of how every time I feel fetal movement, I think of this:

Don't worry, this is nothing like actual childbirth. The blood rarely squirts all the way up the ceiling.

Thanks to everyone for their great book recommendations yesterday! This is going to be my next read and since I loved Seabiscuit, I have high hopes for this book.

It has to be better than 50 Shades of Grey, so the bar is set pretty low. I did realized today that while I made fun of the relationship in 50 Shades of Grey, one of my favorite TV shows has a similar set up (or did in the first 2 seasons). If you don't watch True Blood, I apologize.

So which would you rather do: run with a weighted pack (that increases weekly) for 8 months or read from the 50 Shades of Grey trilogy everyday for 8 months?