Another (pregnant) race in the books!  On Sunday morning, I ran the West Seattle 5K with my friend Katie, while Casey and Cullen cheered from the sidelines.  I had only ever been over to West Seattle once before – last summer – and I have been itching to get back.  On a clear, summer day this area provides some of the most breathtaking scenery and views in the whole region.  People even spot orcas in the Sound during the late summer months!

Sunday morning was chilly and grey, so the mountains were hiding from us.  But it was still beautiful to run along the water and see the panoramic Seattle skyline across the water.  I was worried about parking so we left really early, and ended up with almost 30 minutes to spare before the race start.  We camped out in a coffee shop to keep the kiddos warm and get some drinks, and we were so busy talking we almost missed the start!

We realized we were the last ones still sitting there and literally ran down the street to make our way into the pack. 

Since we were late to get lined up, we just headed to the very end of the group.  We weren’t really racing for a time, and Katie was pushing a jogging stroller, so we figured there was no point in pushing forward any further.  This meant we had a LOT of people in front of us though, which made our first mile reaaaally slow.

Eventually, we made our way around all of the walkers and spotted Casey and Cullen on the sidelines!

I did my first pregnant race a few weeks ago at 16.5 weeks, and it’s amazing the difference three weeks makes.  I felt (and look!) a lot bigger this time, and I definitely felt it more that first mile.  I never felt any pain or cramping, but I did  feel a lot of pressure in my lower abdomen during the first mile. 

I was shocked when I saw the first mile marker, since I thought we were probably closer to 1.5 miles in at that point (forgot to grab my watch out of the stroller during the last minute rush!).  Once we passed the Mile 1 sign we both picked it up a bit.  Our second mile felt good, and I felt relieved from a lot of the aches and pressure I’d felt early in the race. 

By the third mile, we’d definitely picked up our pace significantly, and I felt really comfortable.  Katie and I were able to chat the whole time, which made the race go by really quickly.  As we came down the final stretch and saw the finish line, I was bummed to see the clock at 33 minutes. 

I didn’t have any “real” goals other than to finish without walk breaks (which we did!), but I had hoped to either meet or beat the time from my last race (31:51).  Due to our back-of-the-pack start, my time ended up actually being 31:57 – still slower than I’d hoped, but still pretty good considering the extra baggage in the belly. 

I’d still like to try again and see if I can finish closer to 30 minutes next time.  I’d also like to finally remember to wear my watch, which I think would make a big difference.  Third time’s the charm?  Let’s hope.

Considering I didn’t run at all during my last pregnancy, I’m just really grateful to be feeling so healthy and active this time around, and I’m hoping to keep running as long as I can.  Nineteen (point five!) weeks and still going!

After the race, we let the boys get down and stretch their legs on the beach.

They had a blast throwing rocks into the water, and eventually cramming them into their mouths (which meant it was time to go). 

So many thanks to Katie for running with a slow, pregnant lady!  She was pushing about 50 pounds of stroller/toddler, so we felt like we did pretty well considering our handicap.  :)  It is always so much more fun to run with a friend.

After the race, we packed up and headed to the West Seattle location of one of our favorite North Seattle spots – Chaco Canyon.  I wish we lived closer to this one because they have a huge play area in the back of the restaurant with a chalk wall, train table, and tons of toys.  Cullen was in heaven. 

I was busy stuffing my face with this delicious lentil burger. 

And a side of kale minestrone soup.  The perfect post-race meal!

After my last 5k I was really sore and felt incredibly drained all day.  I can tell I’m either getting back into better shape (although getting bigger at the same time) or maybe just improving my running fitness, because I felt a lot better this time.  I spent the afternoon packing and cleaning out our garage with Casey, followed by a long family walk in the evening. 

We have a BIG week coming up!  We have our 20-week ultrasound on Thursday, our moving truck arriving on Saturday morning, and a fun (cheesy) gender reveal party planned with friends for Sunday evening.  In the meantime, we have a house to pack up and clean, and a lot of other odds and ends to fit in. 

And here on DG, I have a fun Barre promo to share with you guys (tomorrow), a pregnancy update (Wednesday), and some more moving and house updates planned for Thursday!

Counting down…

This weekend marked a fun new pregnancy milestone – my very first race!  I haven’t written a race recap here in almost a year!  I didn’t run during my first pregnancy, and I was really hoping that I’d be able to give it a try the second time around.  I haven’t really been running all that much up until now – I did one five mile run on vacation with a handful of shorter runs sprinkled in at home, but nothing very impressive.  Instead, I’ve been doing my Barre3 classes consistently a few times each week, which has really helped increase my strength and has kept me in good shape.

So even though I hadn’t been running all that regularly up to this point, I still felt like my activity and fitness level was good enough to take on the challenge of racing.  After the tragedies in Boston a few weeks ago, I felt really motivated and compelled to jump back into the running community – not to be competitive, but just to participate.  I looked at the local race calendar and signed up for the Top Pot Doughnut Dash 5K – and that is where we headed early Sunday morning! 

The race started at 8:30am, and I had to pick up my packet first, so it was an early morning for the whole family.  It was also cool and drizzling rain, so I was very grateful for my fabulous support crew.  (And yes! We got a new stroller – I’ll be writing about it soon!)

The last 5K I ran was last year on Mother’s Day, and that was a much smaller race.  This race was big compared to many of the 5K’s I’ve done in the past – almost 2,000 runners!  I guess a lot of people are as motivated by finish line doughnuts as I am.  :) 

I had originally been planning to run with a friend and her jogging stroller, but her little guy got sick the morning of the race.  I was so sad for them!  This also changed my race quite a bit.  I had planned to talk with Katie and distract myself with conversation, and now I found myself running alone with nothing but the sound of my breath (wasn’t planning to use headphones, so I didn’t take any!). 

I didn’t really have much of a plan, and it was funny at how unprepared I felt compared to prior races.  I had no music, no Garmin, and no idea what to expect.  I decided early on that my only goal was to try to run the whole thing without walking.  I know myself, and I know that if I allowed myself one walking break, it would turn into ten more.  I kissed my cheerleaders goodbye and took off!

I assumed I’d be running somewhere between a 10:00 and 11:00 minute mile, so I positioned myself pretty far back.

Casey and Cullen found a great spot right at the first curve, and were able to watch all the runners take off. 

I saw them as I went back, and smiled and waved.  So speedy I am nothing but a blur.  :)

This race was at Greenlake, which is one of my favorite running and walking spots, and it’s a loop I’ve done hundreds of times before.  So it was nice to know what to expect, and to have a good sense of the course – particularly since I had no Garmin telling me how much further I had to run.  My strategy was to just pick a comfortable pace and try to hold onto it – I knew it was slow, but I also knew it needed to be if I expected my legs to run three miles without stopping.  I spent pretty much the entire race being passed by other runners – very humbling!

It’s a weird thing to run while pregnant.  My instincts wanted me to try to push it – to give a little more, to pick up the speed a bit, but I also knew that I needed to keep my heart rate down and really pay attention to the cues my body was giving.  I’m not gonna lie – even though it was only three miles, it was tough.  My body hurt, and I had to constantly ask myself if it was normal “running hurt” or if it was pregnancy related (meaning I should stop).  All the aches and pains were in my legs and chest though, so I knew I was fine to keep going.

I spent most of the run just focused on my breath, and listening to the conversations around me (creeper alert!).  I willed myself to keep running even if that meant slowing down.  Once I passed the second mile marker, I knew I could push it for one more.  I came down the finishing chute and saw Casey and Cullen waiting and waving!

My official finish time was 31:51 (10:15 average pace) – my second slowest 5K ever, but my first ever pregnant, and one I will definitely remember.  I think (or at least I hope!) that jumping back into running at 16.5 weeks pregnant was just early enough to get going before I get too big or too tired.  Last time I tried to pick it up again around 22 weeks, and it was way too late.  I felt really proud to be a pregnant, running mama!

The 5K was sponsored by Top Pot Doughnuts – a famous Seattle spot.  But they only had one small doughnut truck in the finishers’ area, and the line was at least 500 people deep by the time I finished.  We decided to jump in the car and head to my personal favorite (vegan!) doughnut spot – Mighty O. 

We all enjoyed some post-race treats.  Cullen wolfed down the mini cake doughnuts I got for him, and I had delicious chocolate top and chocolate cream-filled.  Mmmmmmm.

It was a really fun way to spend the morning, and I spent the rest of the afternoon with a runner’s high.  During what should have been nap time (that turned out not to be – no naps all weekend – grrrrr), I looked online for other upcoming races that work with our schedule.

I absolutely loved running the race, and while I know I’m not in a place to set any big goals or plan too far ahead, I’m hoping to keep running and taking advantage of summer racing season as long as I can.  And I won’t feel quite so bad about being passed so much once I have a bigger, more noticeable belly!  :)

One pregnant race down, and hopefully several more to come!