Scaling Back

I'm not going to lie, scaling back on the ole running is sometimes difficult.  I say sometimes because other times I am quite happy to get that extra sleep in the morning or lie on the couch thinking about the clothes I could (should?) be folding which would make lying on the couch seem more productive.  Building a baby for the first time sort of makes me feel like my body now has a mind of its own and will tell me what I am going to do next.  Being a runner, I'm sort of used to telling my body what we will be doing so this is a switch.

That said, I would not change the state of things.  No sir ree.  If building a baby means I'm tired more often and run a little less, that is fine with me.  Extra fine.  But scaling back still takes some getting used to.

I feel it a little when I total my weekly mileage and the numbers are so small.  I'm back to my pre-Jason days when I was running in a month what he was running in a week.  I'm grateful to be out running, but the numbers sometimes make me sigh.

I felt it again recently when I had to change my race plans.  Jason and I have a new favorite trip/race that we like to do every year and it is a half-marathon.  Last year I PR'd there, finishing in 1:44.  This year I won't even be able to go the distance and I'll be doing the 5k instead.  I debated for a while and I read about NYC Running Mama doing a half-marathon at 28 weeks, which was further along than I would be for my half marathon.  She did fine, but she talked about the last 3 miles being tough and how it took her several days to recover after she did it.  She didn't make it sound totally worth it.

Taking that into consideration along with the fact that I haven't run over 8 miles in several weeks, along with how I usually have to pee somewhere around 4 miles into a run, and how long it takes me to recover from a 5 miler... I know it is not a good idea.  Still...I've seen and read of so many other women who have done it that it makes me wonder if I could too.

But the decision has been made and I will do the 5k.  It is still nice to be able to participate in the event and it is always fun to see Jason finish and cheer for him.  I can start a log of 5k PPRs (Pregnancy Personal Records), which is just plain fun, and I will have a safe and happy little baby (currently the size of a lemon, so they say) growing in my belly.  That right there makes scaling back totally and unarguably worth it.