I was planning on getting my belly taped* on Wednesday and trying one more time to run. I was going to wait till then to decide if I was or wasn't running the half on Saturday.
However, after a lot of thought and consideration and prayer Saturday and Sunday, I've decided I'm not doing the half. I hate quitting, especially since I actually trained for this half. Usually I don't get my long runs in and squeeze in whatever workouts I can. I was actually diligent this time, since I knew I had to be properly trained. The reality is that I peaked a month ago at about 20 weeks- all the aches and pains I've been experiencing didn't surface until after then. So frustrating. If the race allowed walkers, I would just walk the whole thing, but they specifically say no walkers, so I'd have to run most of it to finish in the time limit.
At the same time, I'm not willing to risk injury to myself or the baby, so better part of valor, and all that. And once I finally made the decision not to run the half, I felt so much better- like a weight had been lifted off my mind. So definitely a good decision.
Walking is better than nothing, so it's not like I'm going to stop being active all together. And I'll keep attempting to run. When I was pregnant with River, I ran part of a 5k at 23 weeks and part of a 4 miler at 36 weeks, so I have hopes that I'll be able to manage short runs here and there. Looking back at my post about the 5k at 23 weeks, I mentioned then that I had ligament pain during that race, so apparently this time frame (20ish weeks on) isn't a great one for me and my ligaments.
In order to keep my goal of one race per month, I'll be doing a local fundraiser towards the end of April. I ran this race last year, but they've changed the location this year so it's not quite as convenient. It's very walker-friendly, though, so my plan is to walk most of it and jog any downhills that are present.
*After last week's painful ligaments during my long run, I researched taping pregnant bellies. A friend of mine ran a half a year ago while 29 weeks pregnant (!) and she mentioned getting her belly taped beforehand. I had my knee taped with kinesio tape before I ran the Disney half the first time, so I know it can be helpful. Unfortunately, it's not something I can do to myself. So I stopped in and talked to my old physical therapist about taping my tummy for the half marathon to see if they felt comfortable doing it. They'd never done it, but were willing to give it a try. I'm sure it would help, I just don't think it would help enough for me to be able to run the race without pain. Here's what I was planning on having done (the criss-cross pieces circle around and end at the top of the opposite shoulder on the back):
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I actually got outside two days this week, and it was wonderful. Tuesday I pushed River on the bike path while Sunshine was at her Irish music class. I walked most of it, but did manage some running. My ligaments didn't enjoy it though :( Wednesday I pushed River to the library and back while our car was getting some maintenance work done. This was a much more leisurely walk since Sunshine was walking next to me.
Monday- rest day
Tuesday- 3.64 miles outside, pushed River in the jogger on a bike path, walking with some running
Wednesday- 2.08 miles outside, pushed River in the jogger, walked the whole way
Thursday- busy day, so no workout
Friday- even busier, so no workout
Saturday- 3.46 miles on the treadmill- mostly walking
A total of 9.19 miles for the week, most of which were walked.
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