Running for Two

I always say that running is my drug of choice. I. Love.To.Run.  It makes me feel so good and is my own time of the day that I don't have to talk (or listen) to anyone, I  can zone out and just be in my own world.  I deal with life while running.  I am thankful everyday that I am still able to run while pregnant. My doctor has said since day 1 that as long as I wasn't having any complications, was staying hydrated and not exhausting myself I could keep running as long as I wanted to.  So far I've been able to maintain my pre-pregnancy 25-30 miles a week. Though I have started to slow down and I take more water and bathroom breaks on long runs I am thankful I can still do it.  I don't know how far into this pregnancy I will be able to run. It seems that somewhere around the 30 week mark it starts to get pretty hard from what friends have told me so we'll see. 

I was fortunate enough to get to run the Mickelson Trail Half Marathon this past Sunday for the second year in a row. Its a great race in Deadwood on the famous Mickelson Trail. It got pretty warm for running but I didn't have any trouble since my pre-race game plan was to get water at every water station and take walk through the station to cool down for a minute. I ended up drinking 2 cups of water at each station because of the rising temperature which made me have to stop twice to use the bathroom but I still managed to pull a 2:04:38! By far not my PR but at 18 weeks pregnant I was very happy with it. Here are a few pictures Todd took:

Around mile 10 & P.S- WHY has nobody ever told me how wonderful running skirts were?? First time I ever ran in one (came free when we ordered our jogging stroller :) ) and it was amazing!

After finishing! Baby Saksa has run his/her first half marathon! 

Running for two is definitely different than running for one. You have to listen to your body more and not push yourself too hard but I think the rewards and benefits are worth it.  I doubt I'll run more than a 8 or 10 miler from here on out but I'm very happy with 13.1 while running for two :)