Decisions made.

Thanks for all of your supportive comments on my last post! I really appreciate them.

I'm feeling remarkably at peace after writing that post. Making a decision can be liberating and that's just how it's been for me. Now that I've decided to fully listen to my body and hang up the running shoes until after I give birth, I feel free. No longer will I wonder if I can run today. No longer will I have extended internal debates about whether or not that twinge was just a twinge or something more. No longer will I be disappointed when my body tells me to stop when my mind wants to go.

Instead, I can feel confident going for walks, working out in my living room with Jillian and those other exercise tv ladies, or just doing my own thing. I think this will be good for me. (She says, just one week into this no running thing . . . )

My last walk was awesome. Felt great. Chatted with a neighbor. Woo hoo! My last weights workout was equally good. Felt strong. Chatted with . . . well, no one but that's just because I didn't feel like it was appropriate to start up a conversation with Kipper, Elmo or any of the other stuffed animals Conal had lying around the living room. I mean, I have some standards!

So, anyway, walking is my new running. Squats are my new speedwork. Cheers to that!

But, you: You, my friend, should go enjoy your run. And your weekend. Hope it's a good one!

~ Felice

What's done is done.

I had high hopes of being "that mom" who runs right up until the day she delivers her baby. High, high hopes.

My running had been going well. I ran four races while pregnant and put up some decent times. I logged up to 20 miles a week until well past the halfway mark of the pregnancy. I ran with friends, I ran alone. I enjoyed it. Thoroughly enjoyed running while pregnant. And that is why I had such high hopes.

And then those hopes were dashed.

Almost two weeks ago, I had gone for a super 4 miler with two friends and felt great. Two days later, I set out for another run and my body told me I was done. "You're done," it said. I swear! It spoke to me!

"I'm really not. Not done. Not me. I'm still in week 30. So. Not. Done," I said.

"No, I'm serious. You're done. I'm walking," my body replied. And that's what it did. About a half mile into the run it decided to walk. We walked on for another two miles and that was that. I figured I would accept the failed run, move on, and try again another day.

Which is what I did. Two days after Failed Run #1 I set out again.

"Um, did you not hear me the first time?" my body asked. "I told you we were done."

"But, well, yeah. I'm not ready to be done," I said, probably in a bit of a whine, while trying to push on.

Body laughed. We walked. Failed Run #2 was in the books.

The next time I set out, a few days later, I didn't even make it out the door. Nope, I just knew that it wasn't to be. I felt the twinge below my belly and the other things that are just more than you need to know and so I bagged it. Failed Run #3 didn't even have a chance.

"Thank you," my body told me.

So it is that at 32 weeks into my pregnancy, I have officially hung up my running shoes.

Consider me bummed. And I mean bummed.

But not despondent. Nope! I'm proud that I ran as much as I did and now I'll turn my focus to walking and getting back to those plies, squats and lunges that helped me power through labor and delivery for my first son. I'm going to miss running but I'm somewhat looking forward to the two months of cross training. Bring it on!

There you have it, folks. I hope you'll bear with me over the next 8 weeks or so. I'll do my best not to complain!

Hope everyone had a great weekend and is having a good week!

~ Felice

PS: I just posted the Somnio winner over at my other site and have a new giveaway posted, too!

Thankful Thursday.

There are weeks when everything falls into place and then there are weeks when everything falls to pot.

Fortunately, this week has been neither extreme. Things are fine. And yet, I'm bummed. My running is coming to an end and for whatever reason, I'm having a tough time with that. I didn't think that having to stop running would feel so much like failure. What's with that?

I'll deal. To distract myself from my running fails, I'm taking a page from some other bloggers and doing a Thankful Thursday post. So, here's the numero uno thing that I am thankful for today: My happy-pants son.

People said that toddlers turn into difficult wild-men by 18-months and yet, I never saw that in Conal. Active? Sure. Difficult? Nah.

People warned me about the "terrible twos" and yet, with the exception of a tantrum here or there, they sailed by.

People have told me that "the threes are worse!" and yet, he's fun. He's happy. He makes me laugh and we have a great time together.

I'll knock on wood with that last one, considering he's only been three for two months. But, let me tell you: I am honestly thankful for such an overall happy little guy. Yesterday, for example, his nose started to run. I don't know if it is a cold or allergies or what -- doesn't matter. The way he dealt with it does. He rarely, if ever, has a runny nose. So, feeling some grossy-gross goop pouring out of his nose freaked him a little.

"My nose!" he said, pointing to it in all its grossness.

"Looks like you have a runny nose," I told him.

"Oh my GOSH! I have a runny nose!" he replied, smiling and letting me wipe it (thanks . . . ).

He runs around happy. Genuinely happy, laughing and making me laugh. He makes up games. He turns little things into big happy moments. He says, "yes" more often than, "no." I am super thankful for that! Super thankful to have a little boy who loves life and makes my main job easy.


I'm focusing on that right now. Focusing on how thankful I am for the great little boy that Conal is. And I am most definitely not going to focus on the running fail. At least not today!

What about you? What are you thankful for on this fine Thursday?

Thanks for stopping by!

~ Felice

July recap.

We flipped the calendar yesterday and welcomed August. For me, since I am due right at the beginning of October, flipping the calendar reinforced that I have only two months to go in this pregnancy. It's a real combination of yikes! and woo hoo!

On the yikes! side is the trepidation and the wondering if I am really ready to be a mom of two boys. On the woo hoo! side is the fact that I'm already sick of my restless legs syndrome and I haven't even had it for a full month. Sheesh. Have you ever had RLS? Um, it sucks. I only get it in my left leg and, so far, I'm only having it when I lie down for bed. But, it keeps me from falling asleep and it is one of the most annoying, yet not painful, sensations ever.

Anyway, overall I'm excited to only have two months to go! C'mon October 4th!

* * *

So the other thing that happened when I flipped the calendar is that I looked back on my month of July. It was . . . hmm . . . it was OK. I ran fewer miles than I did in June and, certainly, fewer miles than I had planned and would have liked. But, I knew that the slow down would happen and I'm happy to still be out there. Although, if my last two runs are any indication of how August will be, I may be done. We'll see!

Anyway, here's what July looked like:

July stats:

Running (miles): 41.2
Cross-training (sessions): 3

That's it. About 10 miles a week. I'll take it.

Hope August is starting well for you. Have a great week, everyone!

~ Felice

PS: Don't forget to check out my running shoes giveaway here!