Trail Running

the pretty trail I ran on yesterday morning

Yesterday I took advantage of being in town after dropping LMS off at Irish music day camp, and hit one of the trails that run through town. I haven't done any significant mileage in quite awhile, and I'm registered for a four mile race in 3 1/2 weeks. I'll be 36 weeks pregnant, and while I hope to be able to jog the first half mile or so (it's a slight decline, so easier to handle), I plan on walking the rest.

there was a short section at the halfway point that was a dirt trail- quite nice, except for the poison ivy I was dodging along the way

So yesterday I walked and jogged 4 miles, just to see if I could do it. Other than having to pee most of the time, it went pretty well. No pain while running, though since then my hips haven't been happy. But they've been a bit sore for the last week or so- probably because I haven't been using my foam roller as much as I should, and I've been doing a lot of sitting, standing, and squatting, which is hard on my hips.

snake that crossed my path. it waited for me to move along before it disappeared into the underbrush

Despite this, I think the race will go fine. I'm expecting sore hips, some Braxton-Hicks contractions (I've had them for the last month or so and exercise does bring them on), and a slow time because of walking the race, but it should be doable.

This does raise the question though: why am I so determined to keep running?

Several reasons.
* I've made significant progress with my running in the last year or so. The New Year's Day 5k I ran was the fastest I've run since high school, and I'm running without the chronic pain and injuries I used to. I totally credit my physical therapist with the progress.
* I remember how bad things were when I was pregnant with LMS. I can't afford to be sedentary- I have a 7-year-old to keep up with.
* The longer I'm able to keep active, the easier it will be to get started again once I've recovered from childbirth. Not that I'll be rushing into things, but I don't want to lose the progress I've made.

Running is fun again and I want it to stay that way :)