Half Marathon at 21 Weeks Pregnant

On December 5th I ran a half marathon at 21 weeks pregnant.  I ran the Fa La La Half Marathon in Westminster Colorado. It was COLD and windy that day and the course was covered with either patches of ice or loads of slush, but that's all part of the fun!


My biggest fan was waiting for me at the finish
 

I  ran my first ever marathon this past May- one year and three days after the birth of my son. I had done some half marathon + distances during training, but otherwise hadn't run in an official half marathon race since May of 2008! Still, I felt well prepared for this run. I had done two 10 mile training runs in November to prepare and had run in a 10k race just two weeks earlier where I averaged 9:23/mile and felt great for being in my second trimester.  That being said, you never know when running while pregnant. Every day is its own beast and a great run yesterday doesn't have anything to do with today. So I showed up excited and ready to own the course, but with lingering doubts of whether Strong Baby #2 would cooperate.

Feeling good early on

 

 

My goal was to come in under 2 hours 10 minutes and I came in at 2:09- so I was happy with that. Honestly, though, I ran the first 9 miles at a 9:10 pace and an old IT band issue flared up around mile 10, meaning that I came in at a 9:49 pace. I still met my goal, I am proud just to have finished a half marathon in my pregnancy AND to have hit the time I set for myself, but I would be lying if I said I wasn't a little bit disappointed after putting in a pretty good showing at the beginning.

My partner and son came out to cheer me on. It made a huge difference to have them on the course- and I'm not going to lie, seeing my son was definitely the best part (Sorry, Honey!). I had some tougher moments along the way and seeing him reaching out for me and smiling when he recognized me in the pack of other runners gave me new energy and a bigger sense of purpose.




This is the moment I saw my guy cheering me on!

It felt great to cross the finish line and I have been able to keep running since (I'm at 25 weeks now). I don't take any run for granted- I know at any point running may no longer be a possibility in my pregnancy. I am thankful for every mile this Baby gives me!