The postpartum postmortem part 1.

Earlier this year, when my pregnancy was still new and barely noticeable, I had this idea of summing up each of the three trimesters as I went along. I thought I would share some stories of my running exploits, maybe scare a few non-mothers away with my tales of fatigue, queasiness and never-ending Braxton-Hicks contractions. You know, fun stuff like that.

But, well, no. I never got around to writing the recaps but I continued to want to so -- lucky you -- I will recap my three trimesters now, from the vantage point of (almost) four weeks postpartum. I know! So exciting, right? Let's get to it.

Part 1: The first trimester

Here's the thing about the first trimester: You're tired. Really tired. Tired like you've never felt before. Imagine, if you will, a Mack truck of fatigue running you over 15,689 times and that's sorta what it is like. No exaggeration.

So, my first trimester involved that sort of fatigue but I was fortunate to be able to continue to run. I had to take a little bit of time off here and there and I had several low mileage weeks in the beginning (thanks, of course, to that Mack truck of fatigue) but, overall, my running was decent.

In fact, I ran 154.5 miles in my first trimester. That included a 10K race (51:24) and the marathon relay 5.7m leg (50:25). My race results buoyed my running spirits and helped me believe that I would be able to run throughout my pregnancy.

I knew that I would not be able to run at my pre-pregnancy level, however, so I decided to turn my focus outward and I started a running moms group to train new runners for their first 5K.  This was big for me. I mean, huge. And, I loved it. Also, mom runners rock.

Physically, I felt good during this trimester. I wasn't showing much, although I had begun to gain weight and my hips had widened right away, but I still felt normal. The weirdest symptoms during the first 13 weeks was that I couldn't eat lettuce or onions. For some reason, they skeeved me out like nothing else. That soon faded in my second trimester but, sheesh. Lettuce and onions really turned my stomach.

Speaking of stomachs, I was hungry all the time, a symptom that would continue until . . . well, it still continues so who knows when that will fade away!

And that's about it. My first trimester was exciting in that it was when I found out I was pregnant but, other than that, it was fairly uneventful -- and that's what you want when you're preggo! Stay tuned for part 2, coming soon . . .

~ Felice