How is it possible to come sick from vacation?

I don't get it. I took the past week off so that I could go to the Okanagan and spend a week at our cabin on Shuswap Lake. The first 4 days were fantastic - sun, beach, wharf, boat, relaxation. Then, on the 5th day my throat started to hurt, by the 6th I had a bad cough, headache and overall body ache. By the 7th day I was ready to come home and camp out in bed.

I got home on Monday afternoon and then today finally went to the doctor just to be sure everything was okay. It's been a long time since I've been 'sick' and this cough is really causing me a lot of rib and chest pain, not to mention the crackling noises in my lungs, the difficulty breathing and the wheezy sound coming from my windpipe! I just wanted to make sure it wasn't something more serious.

Anyhow, the bad news is that the doctor says it is definitely some kind of infection, but the good news is that he says it's 'not quite bronchitis or pneumonia'. Not quite? He sent me home with an inhaler to make breathing easier and an assortment of OTC goodies. I'm taking the day off work tomorrow and hopefully will be feeling better shortly.

In other news, the baby has started having hiccups in the past week or so and the poor little guy gets them several times a day! I guess we all have things to deal with these days!

I'll try to post more tomorrow about my week off, the lake and running as well.

32 week photo...

And I may as well post this too...here's a shot my husband took of me last night after my run. Getting bigger...

And yay, I also found another running shirt that still fits! Can't say it's the most flattering, but hey, at least it covers!

Tums: My new best friends

32 weeks, 5 days along - 7 weeks, 2 days left to go. Understandably, some of the aches and ailments that are common in later pregnancy have been bugging me the past couple of days. Most notably - HEARTBURN! Yuck!

I think because baby is getting bigger, he is taking up more of the space that my stomach used to occupy, and as I understand it, this pressure on your stomach can tend to cause heartburn later in pregnancy. Yep, so I've learned. It's been nothing major, but because I've been pretty lucky so far, having this pop up and bug me kind of sucks.

Anyhow, I wasn't feeling that great this afternoon and since I forgot my wallet at home today I didn't have any money to run out and buy myself some Tums. So, when I got home, I gobbled a few down and felt much better. I also somehow got the bright idea that hey, maybe a run would make the old heartburn feel better.

This idea seemed to stick so I ran upstairs and got dressed before I could change my mind. Hey what's the worst that could happen - if I lost my running mojo I could just walk, right? So, I got out there and hit the road. I walked for the first 6 mins or so to get warmed up and then took off at a very slow jog. :o)

I ended up running a total of 4.3 km in 36:08, so my average pace was around 8:24/min. Tonight was just a nice night - not too hot, not too cold - so I really enjoyed myself out there. At the start I had a bit of kind of uncomfortable stretching kind of feeling in my sides until I got warmed up and then it went away. So it was good, but boy it felt even better to get home and plunk my butt on the front steps and guzzle the rest of my water!

To race or not to race...

Well, way back when this whole pregnancy thing began, I vowed to continue running through my pregnancy (at least for as long as I reasonbly could). Luckily, I've had a really good pregnancy, and I continue to run (I'm now at 32 weeks), albeit much more slowly and less frequently, but hey, it's still running.

Somewhere along the line, I decided I would try to run a 10km race for each month I was pregnant. And, here's my track record so far...

• November 2008 - we conceived at the end of November and clearly I didn't find out for a few weeks, but my husband and I did run the Haney to Harrison 100km Relay where my leg was 13-ish km, so I'm counting that as complete.
• December 2008 - I found out on December 11 that we were pregnant and around here there just aren't that many organized races in December. Hmm, I did run a fun 10km club run in the snow on Dec 21st (4 weeks pregnant), but it wasn't a formal race, so I don't know if that really counts.
• January 2009 - I actually did two races in January. The first was the Resolution Run 5k turned 3-ish km due to snow. And on January 18 (8 weeks pregnant) I ran the Chilly Chase 10km with my seester.
• February 2009 - February 15 I ran the Historic 10km race in Fort Langley. It was a gorgeous sunny, but cold day, I was 12 weeks pregnant.
• March 2009 - Hmm, I kept up the running through March, but ended up missing my planned race at the end of the month because of having a cold and our poor kitty passing away.
• April 2009 - In April, I ran the Sun Run 10km with 55,000 other runners in Vancouver. It was a chilly start, but ended up being a fantastic race. I was about 21 weeks pregnant.
• May 2009 - May brought one of my favorite prego races to date, the Pacific Spirit Run at UBC. The race was on May 9th and I was about 24 weeks along.
• June 2009 - I wasn't so sure if I'd be able to make it through all 10 kms of my scheduled June run, but ended up having a fantastic race. On June 12, I ran the Longest Day 10km at UBC at 30 weeks pregnant.
• July 2009... ???

So as of June, my track record is 6.5 for 8 (I added that 0.5 in there for the 10km club run I did in December in lieu of an actual race). I've just been perusing the race event listings trying to decide what to do for July. My last race in June ended up being great, but I am finding that having a great run can sometimes just be totally hit or miss these days. So, I could sign up for something in July and it could be:

• just fine (hopefully)
• tougher than I expected so I end up walking most of it (not a problem either)
• totally terrible (hopefully not)

I've identified a couple races I could shoot for at this point. I could do the Midsummer 8k in Kelowna on July 5 as I'll be up at the cabin that week for a week of vacay. I could also wait a couple weeks and do the Vancouver Summerfast 10km on July 18 (the day after my maternity leave begins). This race goes around the seawall and through Stanley Park, so at least if I end up walking a lot of it, no big deal, the scenery is nice. And of course, there is always the Berry Healthy 5k on July 25 if I chicken out and decide a 5km course is more my thing.

I'm not really sure what I'll do at this point. I am totally at peace with the fact that 10km of running might be too much, in which case I am quite content to walk the majority, if not all, of my next race if I find things a bit tough. The moral of this all is that I'm just happy to be out there - I promised myself I would run as long as I could, and that I would use that as a means to stay active and healthy throughout my pregnancy. I feel fortunate to have made it this far, and it's so beyond finish times and average pace - just being part of an event with my little guy on board is the real achievement.

Of course, I'll keep you posted on what I decide to do...

I just wanna run!

This past weekend has been mostly busy with me running around on errands and shopping for stuff for baby. Now that the shower has passed, I know what kinds of things we still need so I tried to get a bunch of that stuff out of the way. I'm also trying to figure out how his nursery will be decorated, and three full crib bedding sets later, I'm still undecided. I think I have it narrowed down, but will have to wait until hubs gets home tonight so I can get his opinion.

Anyhow, today was equally busy because I had my usual doctors and RMT appointments and a few things to do in between. When I got home I sat down on the couch and woke up 2 hrs later! Yikes! Not only that, I had missed the first half of the bombshell media circus that is Jon & Kate Plus 8! (I know, you're probably laughing at me or feeling pity for me) I hate to buy into it all by watching, but I just had to find out what the big announcement was - thankful to my trusty PVR, I'm all caught up and life can go on.

After wolfing down some leftover dinner I thought that I really should get outside and do some exercise. Having just eaten I figured a nice, brisk walk would be just right, so I donned the old running shoes, dug out the iPod and hit the road. I contemplated a run, but didn't want to push myself with such a full tummy and I wasn't totally sure if I felt like a full on run tonight. A walk would have to do.

There's something about those new shoes though...they're still too new maybe...regardless, when they hit the pavement they just make me want to run! I love them! (Thanks again onlineshoes.com) I set out at a fast walk but when I crossed the busy street near my house, I ran across the road and once I got those feet moving, I didn't want to stop! That sounds dumb, I know, but I guess tonight would have actually been a good night for a run.

Since I had a burst of energy, I ran along the way for another 5 mins or so, but not really being dressed in running gear and without copious amounts of water on me like I usually wear when running, I didn't think it would be a good idea to push myself. Put on the brakes, back down to a walk.

I still enjoyed myself - I walked about 3 km (not entirely accurate since the battery was low on my Garmin and therefore was slow to pick up the satellites and then died somewhere near the end of my walk). However, I wish I would have initally set out for a run because I think tonight would have been a good one.

One lucky little boy...

Well, I'm all rested up now (finally) from my 10km race on Friday night. By Sunday I was actually feeling pretty good, but decided to give myself a few extra days rest. I was going to go out and run tonight after work, but that got kiboshed by the necessity to go pick up some fabulous finds I purchased on Craigslist today at work! Treasures in hand, Wendy's junior bacon cheeseburger and fries in my tummy (oops) and I'm finally back at home for the night.

I'll go out for a run this weekend, I promise.

Anyhow, the rest of last weekend was great. A very good friend of mine (and her mom) threw a baby shower on Sunday for our little guy. I couldn't have asked for a better day - the weather was warm and sunny, almost everyone could make it, the food and drink was great and it was just all around a great afternoon.

I don't have too many photos yet as I'm still waiting to receive some from a few friends, but here's at least one exciting shot of me in gift-opening action.

Everyone was seriously way too generous - the gifts that our little guy has received are amazing and I'm so pleased with how practical and thoughtful everyone has been. When I got everything home, I had to lay it all out so I could remember what was received...

His poor little nursery looks like a baby store at the moment! I was also lucky to receive a few really beautiful handmade items including my sister's very first ever quilt (she had a friend teach her how to quilt!), a beautiful quilt from one of my oldest friends (stitched ENTIRELY by hand!) and a gorgeous white crocheted blanket from my mother in law. This one's got 'home from the hospital' blanket written all over it. I also received the elusive DIAPER CAKE from a good friend of the family.

It's too cool to take apart, but the engineer in me wants to see how it was constructed! I also love reading back through the cards - so here's a little taste of a few we received...

Anyhow, he is one very lucky little boy, that's for sure. And, he's one very ACTIVE little boy too! Now that I am at almost 32 weeks, he feels pretty big in there. His movements are no longer cute little kicks and waves, but big jabs, feet in ribs, major earth-moving rolls that are truly hard to ignore! It's pretty crazy how busy he can be in there!

I'm starting to feel a whole lot more pregnant now too. Instead of just having a tummy in the way, it has now become pretty awkward to bend over even the slightest amount to tie shoes, put on socks or don my panties! Any slight bend sends arms and legs and feet into my ribs and stomach - not comfortable! I am very interested to see how much more he (and I) grow in the remaining 9 weeks. They say about a pound a week, so that could be almost 10 more pounds! Yikes!

Longest Day 10k - Race Report

Well, I survived. That's right, I survived Friday night's Longest Day 10k Road Race at UBC. Yahoo! Not that I thought I was going to die, but I have to admit, I was feeling a little tired during the day and was curious how a 10km race was going to go for me at 7:00 pm.

As mentioned before, I tried to take things slow for the week leading up to the race, just to be sure I was feeling as rested as possible. On Thursday night I ended up going for a brisk walk (despite my friend bailing on me) and unfortunately my hamstrings were feeling a little tight on Friday. Throughout the day at work, I just sat with my legs up, drank lots of water etc. and hoped for the best.

Since the race was being held on campus at the university where I work and my work day is done at 4:30 pm, I had a bit of time to kill before the race started. My husband came out around 5:00 pm and we headed to the campus village to have dinner. Probably against my better judgement we headed for my favorite sushi restaurant and stuffed ourselves with teriyaki chicken bento boxes. Hmm, not my typical pre-race meal, but hey, when the baby wants sushi, the baby gets sushi!

By the time we were done dinner, we headed back to my office building for a quick clothing change. I had my Garmin charging because when I checked it at 4:00 pm, the battery had drained to 0% - I guess the buttons got pushed in my gym bag! Oops! But it was fully charged by the time I was ready to go run. My husband dropped me off at the race start and I had just enough time to check my gear and walk to the start line.

After only standing around for a couple of minutes, the gun went off and the race began. Thankfully the race started with a nice downhill stretch so that was a good way for me to get warmed up and settle into a comfortable pace. I had set my Garmin to time me for 5:1 intervals and it turned out to be the perfect strategy. It was a lovely night, still sunny but not too hot in the sun. I don't know how many people raced, but it was a nice sized group and we all stayed pretty much together for the first few km.

We wound our way around the edge of campus before heading back in, winding through the new residential area and eventually making our way to Main Mall, the main pedestrian drag through the middle of campus. The route was a big loop and I snapped this picture after we had looped around the new library and were headed back down Main Mall in the opposite direction.

Being a smaller race, the mix of runners was interesting. I could tell (from their bodies and their conversations) that there were a lot of very competitive runners there. I think the race is actually a part of several competitive road race series. There were also a lot of recreational runners who all wanted to chat as they passed. I think one of the funnest parts of racing while pregnant is the comments you get. Here's just a sampling from Friday night:

• "Did you have to pay for two race entries?"
• "Do you get to divide your total time in two because of the baby in there?"
• "Wow, you're pregnant???"
• "Holy crap, I can barely do this without being pregnant!"
• And my favorite, as I was looking down at my Garmin "You'd better not be timing contractions over there!" to which I replied "Yeah, they're 2 minutes apart, think I have time to finish??" :o)

I had told the organizers when I checked in that I might have to stop after the first loop (5k) depending on how I was feeling. My goal was to do all 10k, but if things weren't feeling good, I'd just complete the 5k. But, as we neared the 5k mark, I was feeling great. At times the baby was sitting a bit high which made breathing a bit tough, but then he would settle out and lower a bit which made it so much easier to breathe. I think a lot of the positive and funny comments from the other runners and spectators also helped me along. So, I turned off and headed around a second time. And snapped a few photos of course!

By the time I got the end of the second loop however, I was ready to be finished. I can't say I was exhausted, but the old abdominal ligaments were starting to feel a bit sore so I was glad the 10km mark was near. It felt great running up to the finish because some of the volunteers had walked over there now and recognized me and cheered me on. For only about the 2nd time in my life, my name got announced as I crossed the finish line. The announcer said "And here comes 10km finisher Nikki Scott who looks like she's got a soon-to-be-finisher along with her!"

I glanced up as I crossed the finish line and couldn't believe my time was about 1:19-ish. That's not a stellar 10k time for the average runner, but it`s about the same as my last 10k in May so I was very pleased.

I didn't stick around the race fair for too long because I wanted to get to the car before my legs seized up, so I hobbled along to the parkade and headed home.

My official time and results are as follows:

• Total time: 1:19:38
• Average pace: 7:57/km
• 5k split: 38:23
• Overall ranking: 402/423
• Females 16-39 age group: 116/118 females, oh yeah baby!

Anyhow, it was a really great race, but I have to admit I'm a bit sore now two days later. On my way back to the parkade I snapped this awesome shot of myself. Oops, cut my head off. Oh well, this is what a 30-week pregnant chick looks like after a 10km run!

And in case you're wondering, that pink top is about the only one I have left that still fits! So yes, I'm pretty much dressed the same in all of my recent running pictures! It's just the belly that seems to change.