Before I knew I was pregnant, I made a new running goal for myself: Run a 10K! I found this training plan online and completed one week of training. On Father's Day, I was shocked to find out I was pregnant with Baby #6. That's when the intense mental debate began. I really didn't know whether it was wise to continue with the training plan or not. After a little bit of googling about running and pregnancy, I was somewhat relieved to find that the general consensus seems to be that running during pregnancy is actually fine if you were already running prior to your pregnancy. Some recent studies have even concluded that exercise actually benefits the fetus. I was inspired by a few blogs written by women who continued to run through pregnancy but still had some doubts/concerns going through my head, like, "What if the baby doesn't get enough oxygen if I push myself too hard?" or "What if I get dehydrated and that harms the baby?" When I brought the decision up to David, he simply said, "There's no reason you can't train for a 10K just because you're pregnant!" Granted, he's actually never been pregnant and hasn't himself experienced the dramatic changes your body goes through during the first trimester with nausea, exhaustion, and hormones raging out of control, but he HAS lived with me through this four times. I know I would have thrown in the towel if he wasn't there encouraging me. When I woke up feeling sick and tired and running seemed like the last thing I really wanted to do, he would encourage me to just get out there, insisting, "Running always makes you feel better." Often I ran the first mile or so wishing that he could feel the way I felt but always came back glad that I got my run in!
Thanks to him, I was able to complete this goal today, though I'm not sure if it really counts because I didn't even enter an official race. You'll have to take my word for it that I really did it! David just mapped out a 6.2 mile course for me, and I took his fancy and expensive GPS watch with me, so I could know how much I had completed at any point in time and, most importantly, when I had reached the finish line! David and the kids even came to cheer me on at the finish (with donuts in hand)!
So why not just enter an official race? Lots of reasons!
- Money--You can call me cheap if you want, but I just didn't want to shell out any money for an entrance fee.
- Fear of failure--I didn't want to bring shame upon the Mobley name!
- Time--To actually enter a race means driving somewhere and allowing time for registration and stretching and everything. Nah, I'll pass.
- Competition--I'm pretty competitive, so I was also concerned that the competitive spirit would get the better of me, and I would push myself more than I ought while pregnant.
- Bathrooms--Okay, please don't laugh, but I wanted to run somewhere that I KNEW would have facilities if I needed to use them. If you're laughing, you have never been pregnant.
Although I wasn't actually looking around for motivational documentaries, I happened to watch two in the past two weeks that I found incredibly inspiring. The first was Run for Your Life, a documentary about Fred Lebow, the creator of the New York City Marathon. Later in his life, Fred Lebow battled brain cancer, a battle which he ultimately lost. During his battle with brain cancer, he accomplished one of his life goals and ran his own marathon! If he can get out there and run 26 miles with brain cancer, certainly I can get my pregnant body out there to run 6! The second was Town of Runners, a documentary about a town in Ethiopia, which is the home of many Olympic runners. The girls in this movie emphasize their belief that success comes from hard work. During mile 5, I realized that my run was supposed to be hard and that I shouldn't quit just because it feels hard. These girls encouraged me to keep going even though it was hard!
I realize that running 6.2 miles is really no phenomenal accomplishment. Recently, I have met some pretty awesome runners, marathoners, ultra-marathoners, and competitors at the national level. I will never be that caliber a runner! Yet, I still thank God for the health He has given me that enables me to run and for enabling me to accomplish this fitness goal, however meager it may be in comparison! I thank God for my husband who makes time for me to run, handling breakfast for the family solo three days a week with nary a complaint!
So, now what? My next goal is to be able to run from my house to Quail Hill and back, a 10-mile loop. I developed a plan to accomplish this goal in seven weeks time, provided the pregnancy continues to allow me run. After that, I plan to do a reverse training plan and taper my long runs down to 4 miles over twelve weeks, again assuming that my body continues to cooperate with running! This is what the next seven weeks will look like for me (ideally):
| Week | MON | TUE | WED | THU | FRI | SAT | SUN |
| 1 | 30 min cross | 4 m | 30 min cross | 3 m | stretch | 7.0 m | off |
| 2 | 30 min cross | 4 m | 30 min cross | 3 m | stretch | 7.5 m | off |
| 3 | 30 min cross | 4 m | 30 min cross | 3 m | stretch | 8.0 m | off |
| 4 | 30 min cross | 4 m | 30 min cross | 3 m | stretch | 8.5 m | off |
| 5 | 30 min cross | 4 m | 30 min cross | 3 m | stretch | 9.0 m | off |
| 6 | 30 min cross | 4 m | 30 min cross | 3 m | stretch | 9.5 m | off |
| 7 | 30 min cross | 4 m | 30 min cross | 3 m | stretch | 10.0 m | off |
Wow! So glad that you met your goal and did a 10 K!! Your training schedule is ambitious and hard, especially being pregnant. You are an inspiration to other women. Perhaps God is using you through your running.?
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