Running While Pregnant: Week 15

Or maybe I should call it WEAK 15.

Last week was ugly.

Until it wasn't.

It's strange how easily I allow my running (or lack thereof) to control how I feel about Life. Of course, it doesn't feel like I allow it... it feels like it controls me. Anyway, It was a tough week for a variety of reasons. 

Our family schedule really got ramped up a notch. Or 20 notches. The boys started a new activity on Tuesday nights (hip hop dance & theater arts) and we are all at rehearsals for AChristmas Story on Wednesday nights. In addition, last Sunday was the start of Tech (a.k.a. Hell) Week for Little Shop of Horrors. Yes, we scored two tech weeks out of this show... thankfully my role is very, very, very small so I don't have real performance stress. But, I have to get my butt to rehearsals basically every night, even if I'm only in two numbers. I've also picked up a third daycare kiddo. She's a great 2-year-old who plays wonderfully with my other 2-year-old, but the addition of a new personality to our little mix takes some energy. I don't understand the  math, but when you double the number of 2-year-olds, you - at a minimum - quadruple the mess.

In addition, Scott decided to try a Juice Fast this week. Below is the start of a glowing, loving Blog I was writing about it last week:

I'm quick to praise lots of people on my blog. I shout out to Marvy Moms on (most) Mondays.  I've dedicated many posts to people who are having birthdays or getting married or struggling with health problems. I can't even imagine how many posts here are dedicated to how hilarious/frustrating/perplexing my kids are. And let's face it, I'm pretty much in a constant state of reminding myself and anyone else who will listen how incredibly amazing I am.


But I know for sure I've spent very little time talking about my husband and what makes him so amazing. He had a birthday on Monday and in honor of that, here are five things you might "need" to know.


1. Starting with the most recent interesting fact: Scott is on the fourth day of a Juice Fast. (Cleanse?) We recently found a couple of fascinating documentaries on Netflix (Forks Over Knives and Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead) about plant-based diets and their ability to heal the body, mind and spirit. Now, unlike me, Scott is NOT a vegetarian. Not even a little. But he was definitely interested in the benefits of the juice fasting. He struggles with his weight and always has. Each summer at camp - where meals and a schedule are regimented and following a plan is simpler for him - he goes on a very successful diet (no carbs, no caffeine, no desserts, no seconds...) He loses anywhere from 20 to 40 pounds each summer. And each fall he continues (mostly) on this diet... until he doesn't. And eventually a good deal of the weight comes back on. So he begins again the following June.


The cleanse is going pretty well. He bought a juicer with money his parents gave him for his birthday. The first day he felt like hell. He said it was like he had a really bad flu: exhausted, dim-witted, and HUNGRY! By day three, though, he was back to feeling like himself. Not hungry and at his usual energy level. He hasn't decided exactly how long he wants to stay on the juice-exclusive (oh, and water and veggie broth) part of the plan. the big question in my mind is what he wants to do AFTER. I suggested that we become a vegan family - not a huge leap for me -

Oddly enough, he called at the exact moment I typed that and we had a conversation that annoyed me beyond all reason. Suffice it to say, my hormones seized me and I could not, would not finish that sweet, sweet blog that was going to be all about my amazing husband. I was that pissed. I fought the urge/didn't have time today to write a rant about all the reasons I was all twisted up over all kinds of stuff. Let's just say that even in the height of my hormonal rage, I knew I was in the middle of a hormonal rage and controlled my keyboard.

SO! With that unnecessarily lengthy introduction, here's what I did last week. (Things in quotes are from my calendar).

Wednesday:"Stretching ligaments? Ouch. Tried to do stair steps... Did about 10 minutes. LAME."

Thursday: "Grrrr. Bleh. Nasty." That's referring to my mood, not my physical state.

Friday: Told Scott to yell at me at 5AM until I got out of bed and ran. He failed to yell at me but he did nudge me a couple of times. I got up and ran the slowest paced 30 minutes of my life. For real. But, I did it.

Saturday: Did my first 5K in years and years and years. This was a very small local race to benefit youth hockey. I know several families whose kids play (thank God mine DON'T! Talk about nutty schedules!) and I thought a 5K would be a good way to stay in the game. It was a very hilly course – a cross country ski course that I've skied and hiked a couple of times, actually, but quite beautiful. I figured I'd shoot for under 30:00. I managed to run a 27:27. I like that because it's easily divisible by 3. I can live with 9:09 miles, given my state of gestation and the hills. The boys and Scott arrived just in time for the finish so it was great to have them there. (MUCH easier on the family when I run a 30 minute race 10 minutes from home than when I run a 4 hour race 3 hours from home.)

Coming down the lovely, downhill finish. If I'd known they were going to use Styrofoam, I would have brought my own water bottle! But, I DID carry it to the finish to be sure it got thrown away!

Sunday: Didn't figure I would get a run in but I managed to work Little Shop rehearsal to my advantage. I am in the second number of the show and then I literally have nothing (not even set changes to assist with) going on until the finale. Sunday was a gorgeous evening. Cool and dry and begging for a run. I brought my running clothes and after the my first bit, changed quickly and sneaked out the door. Wolfeboro is a great town to run in at night, especially compared to Tuftonboro (my town). I had on a bright white jacket and my headlamp but because there are gen-you-ine street lights, I almost didn't need the lamp. (If  'Everything's Up to Date in Kansas City' comes to mind, then you may have a musical theater problem similar to mine...) I left my watch at home so I just ran out for 5 songs on the iPod and back to the theater for five songs. It was a great (approximately) 30 minutes that I completed needed. Before the run my day was full of not-enough-time-to-get-stuff-done-that-I-don't-really-want-to-do-anyway mixed with a dash of my-husband-is-probably­-working-on-that-laptop-and-not-playing-but-it-wouldn't-bother-me-if-he-would-ask-me-if-I-need-any-help-getting-the-house-and-our-lives-in-order-for-a-new-week and well, I was really in need of a little sweat time. Again, we'll blame hormones.

Monday: I considered doing another mid-rehearsal 30 minute run but when all of my daycare kids got picked up by 4:00, I decided to do 30 minutes around my backyard. (Thus I was reminded of another advantage to country livin': I can run around my backyard 20 or 25 times and there are no neighbors within sight to question my sanity when I do this. It was fun because for the last 15 minutes the boys were out with me running and chasing and being hilarious as I went. After I was done we took a short walk down the road to a lake a threw some rocks. (Thus I was reminded of another disadvantage to country living: no sidewalks. Every time a vehicle drove by we had to stop and move into the weeds/ditch/whatnot to remain safe. I wish it was safe for my kids to, at some future date, walk or ride their bike down the road to visit a friend or go to the post office... sigh... le urban envy....)

Here ends the longest blog entry in recorded history. Sorry about that....