Noticed.

So, yesterday when I was out for my run, I had just slowed down to walk up the biggest hill in the neighborhood when I crossed paths with a neighbor. It was Flash's owner (you may recall my concern over Flash's disappearance a while back).

We both stopped to say hello and I gave Flash a little pet. He's looking good these days, so I'm happy.

But that's not the point. After we said our hellos, Flash's owner said something along the lines of, "Haven't seen you out much lately. And now you're walking up the hill. Coming back from an injury?"

Nope, I told him. Just pregnant.

And then we chatted about pregnancy (yikes, I know . . . ) and kids and then went our separate ways.

As I ran on, I couldn't help thinking about how people are seeing me right now. They think I'm wimping out. Or that I'm injured. Or that I'm just packing on the pounds. Yeah, that little conversation with Flash's owner made me want to go out and get a running shirt that announces my pregnancy. Something that gets my point across: Nope, this is not my normal running weight and, uh-uh, this is not my normal running pace. Blame the little bun in the oven for sucking up all my oxygen and whatnot.

But, then, I don't know . . . really? Am I really going to worry if my neighbors think I'm getting plump? Well, maybe a little. Especially those neighbors who will look at me and say to themselves, "Ah-ha! I knew that running was a silly thing. That girl runs all the time and look at her! Fatter than ever!"

Yeah, I don't want people thinking running is making me fat, that's for sure. But should I care?

No, I shouldn't care. I should listen to my own advice and run my own race. Even if it involves walking up the hills.

I'll work on that tonight.

~ Felice

PS: Have you entered to win a sports bra?

Wordless Wednesday.

(OK, fewer words.)


The little guy found last year's summer hat and decided to wear it. All the time. Everywhere. From around the house, to the library and the grocery store. Never mind that, at the time, it was chilly out. He'd found his own bit of summer.

Happy Wednesday, everyone! Hope you get in a good run -- I'm looking forward to mine!

~ Felice

PS: Don't forget to enter my sports bra giveaway!

Six weekend miles.

I had big running plans for this weekend but the plans changed. A much, much needed nap won out over the run on Saturday. I felt a little wimpy but I gotta tell you, I really needed that nap more than I needed the run. So, Saturday's planned miles were not to be.

Sunday was the group run and, unfortunately, most of the members couldn't make it. We had a strong group of four, though, who all got out there and enjoyed some sunny -- if a little windy -- miles. Suzy and Darlene ran together and I lead Jen on a run/walk (Jen is one of the moms who just started running 4 weeks ago).

Since I was doing a 3-mile run/walk, I got to the park early and ran 3 miles before meeting the group so I could get in a total of 6 miles for the day. I'm glad I did because I feel it is still important for me to extend my distance and breaking it into two runs actually works well.

Out on the run/walk with Jen, I feel like I had a true "coaching" moment. I recognized that Jen was pushing her pace both during the warm-up walk and in the first running interval. So I slowed her down and we talked about why starting slowly is important and she had a much better run than she had anticipated. In fact, because I had put 5 minute running intervals on her schedule, she'd been a little nervous at the start and wasn't expecting success. But she got it! She ran the entire plan and, at the end said, "I didn't feel like I was going to die!"

And that's a good thing :-)

Here we all are post-run:

Jen, me, Suzy, Darlene

You can totally see that I am going to need some maternity gear really soon!

Speaking of gear, I have a sports bra giveaway going on here. (A new, larger sports bra is the one thing I've already moved onto.) Go check it out!

Five Things Friday, ep. 19.

1. Apparently, all I had to do was mention the heat wave in a post and that scared it away. Today we're looking at gray skies and a high of 57. Nice running weather, but not the sun and warmth of the past few days. It should be good for those of you who are racing (locally, at least) this weekend. Good luck!

2. Hey, Moms! Do any of you who ran through your pregnancies have recommendations for maternity running gear? I'll need to get some within the next few weeks. Please let me know if anything worked particularly well -- or didn't work at all. Thanks!

3. I posted a review of KD Energy bites over here. These bites were created by an area runner and they are pretty tasty! Check them out.

4. The running group is meeting again on Sunday for our third run. Unfortunately, many of the members can't make this run but I'm sure we'll have a good time anyway!

5. I excited about some of the awesome giveaways I have coming up over on my other site, starting with a sports bra on Monday! Get ready, ladies! I feel really fortunate to have the opportunity to review so many goodies and share them through giveaways. After the sports bra, look for breakfast, juice, sunblock, yogurt and more!

Have a great weekend, everyone! Hope it is filled with running and fun!

~ Felice