Today my mom came over to watch Mary while my friend Nicole C., Sophie (remember my dog Sophie?) and me went for a run.  It was my first post pregnancy run so I was really nervous.  It would have been much easier if I left Sophie at home because I spent most of the run pulling her back.  Which was a pain in the boob!  I’ll probably leave Sophie at home until I am used to running again.  We ended up running/walking two miles.  It was a beautiful fall day and it felt great to get out.

Here’s a close-up of Mary’s shirt, thanks to my friend Sharlene!

 You may think those are sumo wrestler legs but I think they are runner legs.  She definitely was born to run.

On Saturday, Frank’s mom and sister threw my last and final baby shower.  Seriously, Baby P is so blessed to have had four showers!  I can’t thank everyone enough.  We are so very fortunate to be surrounded by such loving and caring people.  I can’t wait for Baby P to meet everyone.

Just some highlights from the shower.

Here is the gorgeous cake that Frank’s mom had specially made for the shower.

Frank’s mom also set out the baby pictures of Frank and me on the gift table.  It’s hard to see Frank’s picture because it is so small (he weighted 5 lbs. 12 oz. when born) and maybe because my larger then hairy life picture is next to his (I weight 8 lbs. 10 oz.)

I got the Jeep Overland Limited Jogger stroller that we registered for at Babies R Us!  I can’t wait to use it (although I have to wait until the baby is about six months old.)  It was the only jogging stroller that had a locked front wheel, which is a must for running.  I’m so pumped about this gift. 

By the way, it has been exactly one month since my last run.  No that isn’t a guess, I seriously know the date (7/18) because I’m a total geek and I log all my miles.  Since 7/18 all my logs have been for walking.  What great sadness.

Since all the guest at my previous three showers wiped out our registry, we received a lot of cash at this last shower.  Which is super fantastic because we can now go out and buy 19 of the bumGenius Cloth diapers from Cotton Babies.  We already received two of the diapers so now we’ll have a total of 21.  The store recommends starting with 24 so you don’t have to do wash every night but 21 is close enough!  I’m excited about using cloth diapers not only because of the environmental factor but also because it will save a ton of money over the years.

So all the showers are done and now all we have to do is clean this house up and get it ready for baby.  Which I am in no rush for.  Don’t get me wrong, I’m excited about the baby but I also want a few more weeks to prepare.  On the other hand, Frank is ready for baby right now.  Just around an hour ago he asked if I had my bag packed yet (I don’t) for the hospital and five minutes ago he asked if I was having contractions yet.  He’s getting very excited, can you tell?

I guess I have been so busy that I failed to mention that I am still running.  After that last running entry I thought my running days were over.  Since then I have run seven times and only had cramps once.  I guess I also failed to mention that an hour before I set out for that run I had eaten a Rice Krispy treat and a bag of Skittles.  opps.  So maybe it was a sugar cramp.

So there hasn’t been any cramping but running is becoming a problem in other ways. 

One: it is freaking hot outside.  If I want to keep running I will need to switch back to a.m. runs which is highly unlikely. 

Two: I’ve gained a lot of weight in my thighs.  I hate feeling my thighs rub together when I run.  It is not comfortable at all and to avoid the problem I start running with my legs spread apart which really throws off my balance.  So this morning I ended up walking most of my run because of my thighs. 

Last summer my good buddy Nicole C. and I were doing this amazing boot camp workout.  We both complained about our thighs so we did a heck of a lot of different thigh stretches.  So after my run today I tried doing a bunch of those thigh stretches.  They weren’t as easy as last summer but I think after a few more days of doing them they will be easier.  So I’m going to change my workout to half run half thigh.  For now at least. 

Yesterday I set out for a run and about a quarter mile into the run I started getting cramps.  I walked a few yards and tried running again.  Cramps.  Walked a few yards and tried running again.  Cramps.  Needless to say I ended up walking the rest of my route.  Up until yesterday, running has been cramp-free.  My only complaint was that I was becoming a slower runner.  Dr. Gosser said I should keep running until I experiencing cramping or bleeding.  I was hoping I could run until I was eight months pregnant or longer! Or the naive first time pregnant women!  I knew this would eventually happen but I wasn’t prepared for it.  I was so crushed yesterday that I was nearly in tears (hormones.)  Sure there are other ways I can work-out but it is just not the same.  Running has been my friend for the last eight years or so.  I rely on my runs to relieve stress.  I rely on my runs to wear out Sophie!  

I hope that I am writing this post a little premature.  Before my run I ate really, really extremely bad so I am hoping it was just all the junk food cramping me up.  I’m going to try for another run tomorrow.  Wish me luck. 

This morning Frank and I headed downtown to watch the St. Louis Marathon.  It was an absolutely gorgeous day for a race and I was itching for a run.  The past two years I coached the race and probably logged more miles then the 1/2 marathon runners (with no medal to prove it.)  All my running buddies, minus Sharlene, were running the race so it was really hard to be a spectator.  But at the end of the day I am glad I didn’t run.  I would have worried the whole time about the baby and wouldn’t have enjoyed the race. 

Frank and I had a lot of fun hanging out and getting from one point of the course to another.  We were so lucky to see my friend Joanne three times on the course!  St. Louis is a really hard course.  Hill after hill after hill.  It can be painful.  I remembered what got me through Memphis so I wanted to give Joanne the same pick me up… 

The sign worked!  But it turned out the sign was made for more then just Joanne.  We got to mile 15 about five minutes early and I stood there holding the sign.  We were at the beginning of a long incline into the streets of Clayton.  We had so many runners see the sign and were just overwhelmed.  I was getting high fives, Amen’s, ‘Alleluia Jesus!’, thank you’s, ‘I needed that!’, ‘YES I CAN!’, and so many other comments.  Frank was astonished at the reaction of the sign.  After we saw Joanne we were going to run to mile 18 so we could see her again.  But we stood there for another 10 minutes holding the sign, helping people climb up that hill.  We finally did leave to catch Joanne at mile 18 but a big part of me felt bad for leaving.  I knew people needed to see that sign!  Because, through Christ you can do anything.  Even run 26.2 miles, in the sun, hill after hill after hill.

So at the end of the day, spectator was great. 

Back in May, my co-worker Tabitha and I decided to go on Weight Watchers.  The plan worked great and by August I had lost 14 pounds.  I was at my perfect weight: the weight on my license!  I hadn’t been there in years. 

Two exciting things with losing the weight:    (1) My running got so much easier and my speed increased.  I had the best training of my running career from July-December.  (2) Buying new jeans.  I had been wearing a size 10 since 2002 and was so excited to get down to an 8 again.  (Although to be honest, I have been a size 6 in the waist.  I just had to wear a 10 because my RUNNER’S THIGHS are so freakin’ huge!!!) So I put my pre-diet fat jeans to the side of the closet and started wearing the new smaller jeans.  It was a great feeling. 

The last two weeks my black dress pants have been fitting really snug.  I decided to stop buttoning them but then that meant I would have to wear a long enough shirt to hide the hanging latch.  I was starting to get really bummed about gaining weight so quick.  Frank kept telling me how beautiful I looked and how I was supposed to gain weight since I am pregnant.  I know I know it is supposed to happen but I didn’t think it happened so quickly.

Anyways.  Last weekend I decided to pull out my ‘fat jeans’ from the back of the closet.  I wore them to work last Monday and I felt like I had a load of crap in my pants.  They were so saggy and my belt wasn’t helping.  I couldn’t understand how the size 8 black dress pants were so tight yet the size 10 was too large.  I wore the jeans again on Wednesday and even Tabitha mentioned that they were saggy.  What gives!  So this weekend I took a good look at those black dress pants and realized…

they were a size 6!  Not an 8.  I feel so much better.  I completely forgot that in some brands I was a 4, some a 6 and some an 8.  Wooh! 

So I decided to shelf the size 6 black dress pants for the year.  And I’ll probably set my size 10 fat jeans to the side for awhile as well.  A bonus both ways.

I feel much better now. 

This is a quote in my American Baby magazine:

“Going through labor itself is very demanding-it’s like running a half marathon,” Dr. Atlas says. “Expect many muscles in your body to feel exhausted after the experience.”

A HALF MARATHON?  Only a half?  I’ve been imaging a double full or an Iron Man.  But a half marathon?  You have to be kidding me.  I can go run that tomorrow pain-free.

Please, any mothers out there that have run a half marathon, please help me with this comment.  Is there really a comparison?  I don’t want to get my hopes up! 

Today I logged in my last mileage for the year in my Irish Runner’s Diary.  One year ago this week, I logged 13.5 miles in four days of running.  I did the Biggest Loser workout once and hill repeats twice.  I was sick on Saturday & Sunday so I took off working out.  The weather was 30 degrees and windy on that Monday.  At the time I was the half marathon coach for the St. Louis Marathon for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s Team in Training.

One year later, a lot has changed.  I am pregnant so the intensity of my workout has decreased.  I am no longer coaching so hill repeats are non-existent.  However I ran more miles this week then a year ago.  In four days of running, I logged 15 miles this week.  The weather this week started off in the 20s but today it was 60.

In one year, I have logged 872 miles one my feet.  I went through 2 1/2 pairs of Mizuno Wave Rider shoes.  The best running shoes ever made.  I currently have 205 miles on my shoes.  

In one year, I coached one half marathon, ran in one relay race, completed the Lewis & Clark Half Marathon and finished my third full marathon in Memphis (St. Jude’s Marathon.) 

Sophie never joined me on my weekend runs with my friends.  She logged approximately 450 miles on her four legs.  No wonder she is so muscular.

This has been a good year running.  My best ever.  But I’m glad to see it come to an end.  It will be interesting to see my running log a year from now.  I hope to go through fewer shoes, log half the miles and have no medals to proof my accomplishment.

Running makes me feel free.  I just tie up my laces and go.  The distance doesn’t matter.  Neither does the location.  It’s all about the mind frame I am in at the time.  A couple of months ago my runs were all for the purpose of conditioning my body for the full marathon in Memphis.  Now that the race is over, my runs are for my health.  Being physically healthy is important to me.  God did say your body is your temple so you need to take care of it.  So I think it is my duty to take care of my body through exercise. Running is my choice. 

But for me, running is more about my mental health then physical.  Sure being in good shape is great but I don’t think that is why I run.  Since I only run outside, it gives me the chance to be one with nature.  To really see the beauty in the world.  When spring hits, I get to see the same rose bush slowly bloom each day.  In the fall, I get to see how the leaves slowly change colors.  I get to see what is new with my neighbors, which house is still for sale, who bought a new car, who is having a party.  Running makes me informative.  

But the best part of running, it’s free therapy.  When I’ve had a bad day I can go for a run and the rush of cool air in my lungs will relax me.  When my mind is racing, I can go for a run to clear my thoughts and start with a clean slate.  Even when I’m in a good mood, my run is my high.  All the endorphins kick in and I’m on top of the world.  Running puts me back on track.  There are so many times that I have been flustered and my run has calmed me.  Running is my free medication to a normal life.  Without my runs I don’t know where I would be.              

I hate to think of giving up my runs.  I know that is a possibility and something that I will have to accept someday.  But I hate to think of it.  Running is my sanity check.  What will I do without my runs? I’m thankful to have two working legs and a good set of lungs to make my runs possible.  I know everyone is not that fortunate so I am very grateful for these gifts God has given me.  I hope to take advantage of these gifts for as long as I can.

A new PR has been set and is ready to be broken. I know. I can’t believe I said that myself. Going in this I thought this would be the last one. But now I got the marathon bug and I am itching for another race.

Each of my three marathons holds a special place in my heart. Rome is Rome. Need I say more? I’ll never forget the miles of cobble stone streets, carrying the liter of Gatorade for the last several miles and stopping to take pictures of every historical structure. I’ll never forget stopping to take a picture of a beautiful church and then decided to walk only to find my mom standing right there! Oh the shame I felt in walking at that very moment. I’ll never forget the carbonated water that gave me gas which led to me sucking on the sponges in the medal tubs. I’ll never forget the feeling of seeing the Coliseum which meant I was only .2 away from completing my first marathon. And then the pain I felt the next day while walking up the steps to the Vatican.

I’ll always remember Dublin for the friendship I formed with Joanne, a woman who I have grown to greatly admire and to this day thank God for bringing her in my life. I’ll remember running with her, Ron and Jamie for the first 19 miles. The whole way we talked or listened to Ron sing but made the painful experience an enjoyable time. I’ll remember Mass the night before with Joanne when the reading was 2 Timothy 4:6-8, 16-18 (“My life is already being poured away as a libation, and the time has come for me to be gone. I have fought the good fight to the end; I have run the race to the finish; I have kept the faith…”) and having the feeling that God was there to watch over us on our race the next day. I’ll remember wearing my Cardinal hat during the race because we were in the World Series even though we lost to Boston. I’ll remember waiting at the finish line to see Tara and Chastine complete their first marathon. What a great feeling to be there for Tara as she completed this awesome accomplishment that seemed like such a dream only months prior.

But Memphis, I’ll remember for so many more reasons. Maybe it’s because it’s fresh in my head since the other races were years ago. But Memphis has been a great experience in so many different aspects. I’m going to miss the months of training I invested in this race because I grew so much closer to my Uncle Jerry. Before we found our similar interest in running Uncle Jerry was just my uncle. A good uncle who was always nice to see during the holidays. But now he’s the uncle that I enjoy talking with about life and feel comfortable devolving personal information to him. I feel like more of a friend then a niece which is really nice. I’m going to miss my three hour plus conversations with Sharlene who has become an incredibly supportive friend. I started off as her coach for St. Louis a year ago and now she has become my personal psychologist getting me through these last few hard months. I’ve learned that she is not only a great runner but an amazing listener who always has good advice. I made new running friends: Ray, Bridget and Scott and even though they couldn’t come to Memphis they were there in spirit. I couldn’t have gotten through the training without these five amazing people. I owe them my PR. The five months of training were great and I always looked forward to the conversations we would have during the runs. We all ran the same pace so the training was a breeze. Training is so much easier when you have someone to talk you through the miles. The hills during training were endless and were greatly appreciated each time I came up against one in Memphis. I can proudly say I ran all the hills!

The start temperature was approximately 48 and had a finish temperature of 58. Incredibly unreal for December. There were actually times that I was hot! I couldn’t shed off enough clothes. I’ll never forget seeing Frank and Rachel (Patricio’s wife) at mile three. Seeing him brought me great joy! He is such a supportive husband and I am truly blessed to be his wife. And then seeing him again at mile 15. Frank nearly missed me but he sprinted up the hill with the video camera to film me running. That right there is pure and honest love.

The hills, the hills, the hills. But each hill I cheerfully accepted and looked forward to reaching the top. It was the miles upon miles of crowned roads that left my toenails bruised and beaten. But luckily I was able to outsmart the caliber and got through the race pain-free. I remember the great feeling at the 13.1 mark when I realized we were running perfect 10 minute miles. Only miles later to have the 4:30 pacers catch up with us and quickly pass us. Ironically I finished a few minutes before one of the pacers. Needless to say he was pacing the wrong time. I’ll never forget the “your momma’s so fat” and “your momma’s so dumb” jokes around mile 15. That cracked me up! And what about the two 12-year-old boys playing the guitar and singing. When I waved to thank them, he screamed through the microphone, “KEEP ON RUNNING!!!!” I’ll never forget running past St. Jude’s Research Hospital and later in the race seeing a sick child on the sidelines with his father. And the mom who held her baby girl and said “thank you” to us runners. The pain in my heart for both children made me run stronger. I realized at those moments why I was doing this race and where my money was going.

I’ll never forget around mile 18 or 19 I found myself all alone. I remember the frightful feeling of realizing this was the first time since the last few miles in Dublin that I ran alone. And those were some rough miles. I felt great and I didn’t want to hit the wall so I quickly needed a pick me up. I tried reciting Psalm 23 but only got through the first verse. I tried the Hail Mary but it went by too quickly and the words weren’t giving me the energy. The Our Father never came to my mind. I tried remembering the passage from Dublin but the words got meshed together and it didn’t sound like anything biblical. And then I remembered Frank’s prayer that helped him through the last few months. But again I was fumbling with the exact words. But I knew that was the prayer I needed at that moment. I didn’t have Jerry or Sharlene to get me through the rest of the race. All I had was God. And right then I needed him. I felt strong but I knew any minute my mind was going to take over matter and I would walk. And there she was. On the side of the road around mile 19 or 20 was a woman holding my verse: “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” At that moment I realized I could do all things through Christ who strengthens me. And I would do all things through Christ who strengthens me. For the remainder of the race I prayed this over and over again. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. I WILL do all things through Christ who strengthens me. The rest of the race, which is supposed to be the most painful and hardest, became relativity easy. I had a smile plastered on my race and I felt like I was floating instead of running. I knew God was carrying me through those miles. He was the reason that my race was such a success. I finished in 4 hours 34 minutes and 53 seconds. I shaved nearly five minutes off my Dublin time. He was the reason I found five amazing people to train with during this adventure. The people that I look forward to getting to know outside of the racing community. He is the reason for all the hills I cursed during the training. He knew I needed them to conquer this race. He is the one that gave me the strength to get through the race in one piece. So in all honesty, I owe Him my PR.

And now I am back in St. Louis and wondering where the next race will take me. Maybe Nashville, San Diego or even here in St. Louis. Only God knows where these legs will take me. But for now the race is over but the memories will run on forever.