Mile Markers: No Such Thing as Normal

Last week, Ryan and I binged through the BBC/Amazon series “Good Omens.” In the show, one of the characters quipped that “normal weather for the time of year isn’t normal.”  After weeks of thunderstorms, we finally had “normal,” beautiful weather. I ran through temperatures in the mid-50s to low 60s, with clear skies and a gentle breeze, for most of my runs. That alone made it a good week of running. 

There also isn’t such a thing as normal running during pregnancy. Some days I’ll surprise myself with how good I feel and my paces. Other days, I feel like I’m shuffling along slowly. But even though my runs are shorter and slower at 25 weeks pregnant, running still feels mentally and physically good. 

Monday: 55 minute run

Ollie could not focus for the first couple miles of this run. He wanted to stop, sniff, and mark almost every tree or bush we encountered. After a couple miles, he was able to focus more. We ran about 6.3 miles comfortably at an 8:4x/pace. After the run, however, I felt sore. We had painted Isla’s room (finally!) on Sunday and my body felt all of the squatting and reaching! 

Tuesday: 45 min run & strength

This run was not bad, but it was not peppy. I ran at a slow effort on an out and back route, with some lingering tightness and random aches. I felt better around mile 4.2 of this 5 mile run, but I also did not want to push it too far. 

I joined Ryan for an evening strength workout at our gym. It makes a huge difference to get out of our basement and to an actual gym for a strength workout. The thirty minutes flew by, and physically I felt back to normal after this. My body needs the extra focus on posture and stability right now. 

Warm-up: Hip flexor stretch, cat/cow, band pull-aparts
3 sets of:
10 bent over rows
8 single leg deadlifts
30 sec. side plank
10 medicine ball squats
10 half-kneeling single arm presses
10 bird dogs

Wednesday: 30 min prenatal Pilates

I awoke to thunderstorms (and Ollie hiding under the bed), so I opted to not run. I did my go-to prenatal Pilates video, plus some pelvic floor work and foot strength prehab. Isla wasn’t about to skip out on Global Running Day though. It literally felt like she was running all day long in there! 

Despite not running, I logged my Garmin’s daily step goal through walking. I took the dogs on a long walk through the park. When Ryan got home from work, we took an hour-long walk through downtown. After weeks of rain, warm and sunny weather was too wonderful not to be outside! 

Thursday: 65 min run

I’m slowly adapting to warmer temperatures. Objectively, 65 degrees with full sun is not hot, but it definitely feels warmer to my pregnant body. I kept my pace controlled and comfortable for this run and averaged a 9:00 pace exactly for 7.2 miles. 

Friday: 4.5 mile run & 10 min strength

Running during pregnancy is unpredictable. I felt fantastic on Friday morning, despite 90% humidity. I took Ollie out for a run. I felt peppy after the first mile and he was pushing for a faster pace, so I picked up my effort. I ran three miles at a moderate push – 8:04, 7:57, 7:54 – and felt really good. I jogged 1/2 mile to cool down. Maybe that giant burger I ate the night before helped?

After the run, I used the mini band for a quick strength session. I did monster band walks, lateral band walks, banded glute bridges, banded clamshells, and modified deadbugs. 

Saturday: 4 mile easy run

The weather was absolutely beautiful, but my legs were not feeling a longer run on Saturday. I am still not used to my slower recovery rate. After a longer run on Thursday (relative to what I’ve done for my second trimester) and a faster run on Friday, my legs felt sluggish and tight. Some round ligament pain occurred also, although thankfully I order one belly band and have a support belt as well if this persists.

Rather than pushing for 7-8 miles as we initially planned, Ryan and I opted for a shorter run. We ran four miles and finished at the farmer’s market. After breakfast and walking around, we then walked about a mile home. 

We spent our Saturday afternoon doing yard work, which made me glad we didn’t run our planned distance. I planted some zucchinis and tomatoes in our vegetable garden and some new plants our front garden, while Ryan built a stone fire pit in the backyard. I was tired by the end of this! 

Sunday: Rest day

I needed a rest day. The rain made it easier to spend a day inside, off my feet.

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