The Irvine Lake Mud Run.

The mud run, mud walk, mud stroll, mud slip and slide, mud swim and there was even some mud sit down time. I am so glad that I didn't drop out of the race just because of my pregnancy. It was so much fun! The original plan had been to just walk it and go around any obstacles that I felt uncomfortable doing.

But we ended up jogging quite a bit of it ... 'we' being dad and I ... and I didn't skip any of the obstacles. There were times when we had to walk because I just felt very out of breath, though the rest of my body felt like it could have gone on forever. I just basically listened to my body and dad listened to me.

We were told that it was a 5k race (3.1miles) but we passed the 3 mile sign a good 20 minutes before we crossed the finish line. So we are thinking it was closer to 3.5-4 miles. Our total time was 01:06:49. Over-all we came 447th out of 705 racers which I thought was awesome considering we weren't out there to get a good time or a good placing. Had I not been in the first trimester of pregnancy, we definitely would have gone a lot harder and I know that the next one we do one (after the baby is born), we will have a much better time because I won't be afraid of falling and harming my unborn child.

The next mud run in Irvine is March 31st. I won't be doing that one as it is 2 weeks before my due date, but dad and Josh are planning to do it. So I can stand on the side line with mum and cheer them on as Josh and mum cheered dad and I on this time  :) 

So even if you are not a 'runner', I highly recommend a mud run. I have never laughed so much during a race in my life! And it's all about team work. I cannot imagine doing a mud run alone. I think that experience is meant to be shared. Not only that, but there are times when you need help getting up a muddy hill ... I know I'd still be out there somewhere had I not had dad to help me!  ;)

The blog title?

You know, if you are reading this as someone who doesn't know me, it just occurred to me that I have never really explained the title of this blog. As far as I can remember I have not mentioned running of any kind in any of my blogs. So here it goes ... 12 blogs later, finally an explanation.

Before I became pregnant I was an avid runner. I was on the road or in the gym 5-6 days a week running a minimum of 5k (3.1 miles). I also did the elliptical machine, the StairMaster, the bike and rowing machine from time to time as well as light weight lifting. I like to think I did swimming too, but I don't think once every 2-3 months really counts.

Obviously since taking the pregnancy test which came up positive I have scaled back big time. I remember the last workout before the pregnancy test ... by the end of it I wasn't feeling well and had some abdominal cramping. I also read that if you work out hard for prolonged periods of time keeping your body temperature elevated you could be doing damage to your unborn child. Of course I don't want to do that, so I haven't been pushing myself as I was before. I had been working on improving my 5k time, but that can now wait.

For the past few weeks it has been difficult to workout anyway, due to the nausea and exhaustion, but when I do make it to the gym or out the front door, I just walk. My muscles feel like they are getting a workout, but I am not turning red and sweating buckets like if I was running. I sometimes lift lighter weights than before, but it has really come down to listening to my body. If something doesn't feel right, then I stop.

I do still have a mud run with my dad a week from tomorrow. I considered dropping out, but its only 5k. I figure we can walk/roll/skip/jog through the mud. We are not out to win, just to have fun. I signed up months ago and it wasn't cheap, so I'm still participating! I am not missing out on my chance to get dirty!