Running While Pregnant and Barring It All

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I decided to embrace the bump and run completely bare belly yesterday. It was a nice out, but pretty hot. My pregnancy temperament was not in the mood to entertain a sweaty, tight tank top either. It took me about an hour to completely sell myself on the idea. I probably looked in the mirror, second guessing myself, about 20 times.
And then I thought, whatever. This could possibly be one of the last times that I get to enjoy this phase of my life. Why not embrace it? I am officially in my sixth month and just two weeks shy of my third trimester. We are headed for the home stretch. Now is not the time to worry what people will think about how I look. Now is the time for me to fully embrace and enjoy myself. So, yea, I had to give the belly a high five for confidence.  Even more awesome: I ran in a public park while the community Farmer's Market was going on. So many people gave me great compliments about how great I looked. Yae!

It has taken me about a month to finally be able to run five miles again due Braxton Hicks, Round ligament pain or just being flat out too dizzy. But I FINAALY did it. I've also realized that running with a belly means not watching the clock so often, which is really hard to do. It's not the time to push myself to a faster pace.

Funny thing (possible TMI moment): I have always been that runner who needs an immediate bathroom break after the first mile. I mean immediate. I don't have more than a five-minute grace period before I land in the danger zone. But being pregnant, it's a necessity to not only stop after mile one, but almost every other mile to relieve the pressure on my bladder. I think Mr. Grey (our affectionate nickname for our anonymous little boy) loves the motion of running. I know he's going to come out with running shoes for feet. 

Prerun fuel is also really important. I have been diagnosed with anemia since the bump and my sugar levels can drop at a moments notice. So making sure I have the right fuel in my tank before I get on the open road will make or break me. My typical go to meal before a run: wheat bread with natural peanut butter and honey, a banana and some low-sugar apple juice.

I had such a good time. Cannot wait to do it again, bugger and longer.

Have you let the belly hang out in public yet?