Yo, I’m pregnant, not sick.

One of the pluses of being knocked up is the amount of kudos I get for doing regular stuff. I wake up, breathe, take out the garbage every now and then, and I get praised. This is pretty wonderful. People smile at me and I feel that folks are looking out for me. It’s really quite humbling.

The other day I felt pretty darn great after running on the bridle path. I promised myself from the very beginning that I would not try to be superwoman or best pregnant woman.  It is not difficult at all to leave the bar an inch off the floor. (That one day when I slept for 17 hours, not an ounce of guilt!) This was not a time for competition. That said,  I took great joy from my run on the bridle the other day.

Here are my imagined thoughts of the different perspectives from that run:

Baby: It’s hot and humid up in this belly. I am trying to come out looking all mixed-ed and now you got me reaching for a hot comb (because that’s how my baby will speak).

Haters who don’t run: That is so unsafe. She’s really putting that child at risk. That’s so irresponsible.

Haters who run: Whatevs, put on a chip.

Friends who run: Love to see you out here.

Friends who don’t run: I don’t really get it, but we love you anyway.

And hopefully the women out there who are pregnant or trying to be: Any and everything’s possible.

***I was pretty certain a couple months ago that my running-while-pregnant days were over because of the strain I felt in my pelvis and ligaments. I am feeling good again and feel grateful each day that I can run. A bad day/month does not preclude you from future good days.  I am careful to hydrate, keep my breathing even, and listen to my body.

In the last few months, I have ranged anywhere from feeling like a 10 minute mile was a solid effort to being able to comfortably run at a faster clip.

31 weeks pregnant: (2 extended bridles, 1 reservoir) 20:42; 20:11; 12:30    ave 8:07 per mile for 6.5 miles

32.5 weeks pregnant: (2 extended bridles, 2 reservoir) 22:09; 21:18; 13:30; 13:12   ave 8:36 per mile for 8 miles

Comments

[Judy P]

Perspective from a friend who grudgingly runs AND knows what it's like to be pregnant and trying to exercise: You are SO gangsta!!! ;)

[nsq]

Judy, everything counts, and you rock for getting out there. Thanks for calling me gangsta! I will wear it w/ pride. It's up there with the comment from the guy in Harlem who said to me when I stopped at a red light in a snowstorm and had my bike chain wrapped around my neck, "I respect your dawg!" Represent! (Full disclosure, the next day I was mocked by a bunch of drug dealers on the corner who kept repeating back to me , "I totally almost fell." I don't know why I have to inject "totally" in my sentences and don't know why that totally makes me sound like a Valley Girl.)

[Amy May]

I'm seriously impressed at your times, fast lady. My only exercise at this point (38 weeks) is the occasional Zumba, the 25 minutes of walking twice a day for my commute, and sex. All of which totally count at this point as legitimate exercise. Also, don't forget the super competitive people (like college guys wearing basketball shorts) who get really ticked off at being passed by either a) a girl or b) especially a pregnant girl. Hopefully the humidity won't result in the formation of jheri curls for the baby though. That is a valid concern of mine sometimes.

[NSQ]

Amy, EVERYTHING counts! Kudos to you.
BTW, I will admit to wanting a jheri curl in 5th grade and my mother, God bless her, refused. I am so proud to say that I never had one, and in my neighborhood at the time, that was saying a lot!!