May also be referred to as: "the worst 5k ever"
At least for me!
Since I had started running again regularly last summer in preparation for my very first 5k, and had made tentative (and early) new year's resolutions last December to train for and run a half marathon in order to help keep me motivated to keep running- but found out days after Christmas that we were expecting again (though, not a surprise), I definitely had to re-evaluate some of my goals and determine how to best approach running and training during this pregnancy. I felt very comfortable with the idea of running while pregnant. I'm a huge supporter of being active through pregnancy (and that pregnant women CAN, in fact, lift heavy objects!) and listening to your body to determine when/if you need to lighten up your activities.
At least for me!
Since I had started running again regularly last summer in preparation for my very first 5k, and had made tentative (and early) new year's resolutions last December to train for and run a half marathon in order to help keep me motivated to keep running- but found out days after Christmas that we were expecting again (though, not a surprise), I definitely had to re-evaluate some of my goals and determine how to best approach running and training during this pregnancy. I felt very comfortable with the idea of running while pregnant. I'm a huge supporter of being active through pregnancy (and that pregnant women CAN, in fact, lift heavy objects!) and listening to your body to determine when/if you need to lighten up your activities.
Morning sickness hit me the hardest this time around, beginning at only 5 weeks. Considering I couldn't even keep my eyes open after 7 pm (and I go running at night), I think it is needless to say that absolutely no running happened for the first 10 weeks or so after I found out I was pregnant. Once I hit 14-15 weeks and started feeling better I was itching to get back out running. I found and signed up for a 5k scheduled far enough away that I felt comfortable being able to train and prepare for it in time. It was at the end of April, and the weather should be beautiful by then, right? EXCEPT... that's right... I live in Utah, where spring officially starts in March, but winter doesn't actually end until May! :)
The morning of the race arrives and it is cloudy, rainy and cold. I am an Arizona girl through and through, and also very much like a cat... I don't like to be cold, and I really despise getting wet. And now I am planning to run for three miles in the cold rain. I was slightly apprehensive, to say the least.
This smile you see?? Faked it. I am super not excited about what I am about to do.
It wasn't just the rain that made running this race such a challenge for me, though. After making sure that I used the restroom right before the race, I found out less than 5 minutes into the start of my race that in my effort to make sure that I would be well hydrated for the run, I had actually over-hydrated and found myself needing to use the restroom again. I decided to tough it out and run through the discomfort to the water/port-a-potty station, which being 22 weeks pregnant (baby on top of a full bladder while running= not comfortable!) lasted about 1-2 minutes before I just couldn't run another step. I ended up having to walk about a mile and a half to the water station, and considering the entire run was only three miles, you could say I was pretty bummed about that. :(
By the time I was able to start running again, it had started pouring, and note to future Katie: if you there is a possibility that you might end up running in the rain, invest in 1) a waterproof jacket of some sort and 2) a hat with a visor and possibly one of those super awesome sweatbands you wear around your forehead. I was completely soaked, my nose was running like crazy, and whatever product was in my hair from the day or two before (I didn't shower the morning of a 5k, obviously!) was running into my eyes and they were burning, and I could barely see! That last mile was even more depressing then the one that I had to walk.
And considering the weather, Kyle had decided to keep my cheer squad (a.k.a: him and my kiddos) in the van the entire time, which means that when I finally finished (with a time of over 45 minutes- eesh), I had to walk about half a mile in all of the above stated conditions to find our car and see my family and let Kyle know what-the-heck took so long!
Oh gee, I really wish I had gotten an "after" picture to show the difference between this dry and slightly optimistic Katie, and the soaking wet and miserable one seen once the race was over. It would have been a pretty funny comparison!
Kyle asked me very seriously later if I was at least glad that I had decided to go through with it, and though it wasn't ideal, that I had at least finished something that I had decided to accomplish. To be completely honest, my answer was (and still is) no! Though, I do look forward to being able to train for and run more races in the future, this was a race that I kind of wish that I had just decided to skip.
But, in order to not sound like the absolute biggest Negative-Nancy ever, let me say that there was at least one positive thing to be taken from this experience: Once Baby-boy Locklan makes his appearance in August, I have plans to begin training for either a half or full marathon being held in Salt Lake the next April, which means that I will have to train through the entire winter (which is sure to be a lesson in self-discipline in and of itself!), and also means that I could very easily find myself running 13-26 miles in the exact same lovely Utah-spring weather conditions, and I am now at least slightly more prepared for how to more comfortably run in inclement weather if necessary. That's something, right? ;)
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