Running Through My 2nd Pregnancy

Pregnancy #2: Anna Kathryn, 10/14/16, planned C-section

This pregnancy was a little -ahem- unplanned. I felt like I had just “recovered” from a tumultuous post-partum year (read the you-couldn’t-make-this-up-post here). I was back to training under Jerry and seeing my times improve to the point where I was dreaming of a sub-3 hr. marathon at Grandma’s in June of ’16. I had found a job I truly loved, our daily schedule was filled with joy and love, and – most importantly – I was truly HAPPY!

Then, one evening I felt a little nauseated so decided to take a pregnancy test. My eyes popped out of my head when I saw the result…

Not going to lie, I cried for a few days after finding out. I mostly mourned the loss of my Grandma’s Marathon goal & the fun I was having training day-in-day-out chasing that goal.

It’s funny how situations can change from “the worst ever” to “the best possible” :). Now that I’ve had time to process what this pregnancy means for our family, I honestly don’t think I would have timed this pregnancy any differently! Greta and baby #2 will be almost exactly two years apart; I’m in love with that time gap. I hope they grow up close and look forward to the adventures they will share together.

Training so far has gone SO MUCH BETTER than with my first pregnancy! It helps that I was nearly 12 weeks along before even finding out I was pregnant (yep…), logging crazy miles in preparation for Grandma’s. Through 20 weeks I had averaged OVER 70 MPW. That’s crazy. Through 30 weeks I was still logging between 40-50 MPW. Paces have been faster and I’ve felt better overall.

Here are blog post recaps!

Surprise!: Finding out we were expecting!

At 11.5 weeks (unknowingly)

Week 15: To do an ultra? Or not?

Week 17: Track workout bearing the pasty prego belly; also celebrating 10 months sober!

Week 18: Fast and the Furry 5k in 19:36, nearly 2 MINUTES faster than at this time in my first pregnancy!

Week 20: A recap of mileage through the 1/2 way point in this pregnancy. WOW.

Week 22: Grandma’s Marathon, 3:38 — followed by a trip to the E.R.

Week 23 – running in Alaska!

Week 26: Post-Grandma’s training resumes with a 41 mile week

Weeks 27-28: Mile repeat times starting to plummet, bi-polar depression days, and a fall

Week 29: 32.7 mile week including a 23:46 5k

Week 30: Last double digit run?

Weeks 31-32: The start of bigger ups and downs

Weeks 33-36: Mileage is really starting to dwindle, plus a 25:01 5k

Week 38.5: T minus 2 days! Running isn’t very enjoyable now so I’ve mostly stopped. We are making delivery plans and bi-polar management plans for after she arrives.

Week 39: Meet Anna Kathryn!

Total mileage ran during pregnancy: 1856.7!

Total mileage ran in 2016 up until the day I delivered: 2016. Not planned, but a cool coincidence!