Short Long Run day!

Today was long run day.  It was quite strange, this morning, knowing that my long run would be so short in comparison to the long runs of the last few months was a strange, but good feeling.  My friend M joined me, and we hit the road/gravel by 8am.  I completed the entire run with a toque on, as it was a chilly one this morning!  It was such a great run.  We laughed and chatted through our 10 miles, and although the wind picked up and worked against us in the last half, it was brightening up and turned into a nice day.

We talked about running with bellies, and other's perceptions of what we should or shouldn't be doing while pregnant.  I know I have talked about this before, but it is a topic that seems to be coming up lots in my life lately, and I just can't get over the opinions people feel they are entitled to share sometimes.  I am not racing for PBs (enter the PPB!) or the gold medal.  I am running in races, sure.  But I am running within the limits my body is capable of.  My goal within each run that I do, whether it's a 5k run around the neighbourhood with the boys, or half-marathon with a chip on my shoe, is to finish feeling strong and not too overworked. I actually enjoy taking this time to relax a bit.  Skipping speed work at the track over the last month has been kind of a nice break.  Taking an extra recovery day here and there is a nice break.  That's what it's about for me.  I like to think that I don't look crazy out there running while pregnant, but I would like it if people would just keep that opinion to themselves sometimes.  I certainly feel like pregnant women give up a lot for those nine months, (most of it necessary, of course) but staying healthy through running does not fit into those "forbidden" items!

At the end of the run, my good friend M did a 'wive's tale'-type test with my hands to determine the gender of our unborn baby.  Someone had just taught her this highly scientific and very accurate test, so she thought she would share.  So, now I know the gender of our baby! phew!  I am all about trusting any test that can be done on a cold morning at the end of my driveway :)

The bonus about our run being so much shorter this morning, was all of the extra time I had afterwards.  We took the boys to the Butterfly Conservatory in Breslau, ON.  It was such a great outing on a fairly cold day.  The boys just loved it, and so did we.  We will definitely go back, but next time, we will try to remember to keep the camera in the house before going instead of the car (duh) as it was so cold, that the lenses fogged up when we got into the tropical atmosphere of the indoors, so we did not get any photos. Boo!

Here's to a good Monday, tomorrow!

Rearview Milo