Five whole months, I thought. No problem, I thought. It can’t be harder than running a marathon 13 weeks pregnant, I thought. That was me, a year ago, entering the NYC Marathon lottery for the fifth time. I probably won’t even get picked, I thought, reflecting on my previous unsuccessful attempts. But then I did get picked. And then, in June, I had a baby.
I was very happy to find out in October that we were expecting our first child, due in June. Of course, despite my excitement, I had my fears and reservations, and among those was HOW THE HECK AM I GOING TO MAKE IT THROUGH SKI SEASON IF I CAN’T SKI. My worst fears were confirmed at my eight-week appointment, when my doctor said in no uncertain terms “no downhill skiing.” So here are my tips for pregnant ladies out there, especially those who are worried about how pregnancy and the potential loss of running, skiing, and other activities will impact many aspects of their lives…
Race: Williams Route 66 Marathon
Location: Starts and ends in downtown Tulsa, Oklahoma
Time of Year: Sunday the weekend before Thanksgiving
Race: Austin Marathon in, you guessed it, Austin, Texas
Time of Year and Weather: Sunday of President’s Day Weekend, mid-February; 50-55 degrees and overcast for the race; high of 76 for race weekend
Size: With 17,000 runners (half, full, and 5k) this is the 25th largest marathon in the USA. Of course, the vast majority of those runners were doing the half.
What: The BMO Harris Bank Mesa-Phoenix Marathon, aka The Phoenix Marathon, aka The Mesa-PHX Marathon. (There were approx 17 different hashtags associated with this race at various points — a little bit of an identity crisis, I think.) (Not to be confused with the Rock ‘N Roll Arizona race, also held in the Phoenix area.)
Where: Mesa, Arizona, just a few miles outside of Phoenix. Race started in Usery Mountain Regional Park and ended in the Mesa Riverview shopping center.
When: Saturday on the last weekend in February.
Hi all! Writing here from the comfort of my sweet, sweet air-conditioned home. This Memorial Day weekend I ventured up to Burlington, Vermont and ran the Vermont City Marathon, marathon number 17 for me and state number 12. But it almost didn’t happen! Suspense!
Race: Asheville Marathon
Location: Biltmore Estate, Asheville, in the hills of western North Carolina
This was my last week before taking a little break for my honeymoon in Hawaii (!!!!!). I really wanted to get in a lot of core work while I was thawing out from the snow storm and while my legs were getting back into distance-shape. But I also was really hoping to (finally) get myself out for a long run, especially given my new goal…
Website: Ocean Drive Marathon.
Location: New Jersey Shore.
Time of Year: Sunday at the end of March.
Size: Fewer than 400 marathon runners. Similarly sized 10 miler and 5K run the same day.
Weather: I had pretty unpleasant weather for this race. It was chilly and damp and, toward the end of the race, rainy! Expect wind.
Expo and Swag: Expo is no-frills at the Wildwoods Convention Center. Basically just packet pickup with a few small vendors. Shirt is a nice long-sleeved tech tee. You might want to size up.
We are in the homestretch of my historical race recaps!!! I’ve already covered marathons I ran in my first seven states, plus my most recent state, West Virginia. Just three more recaps to cover: Rehoboth Beach Seashore Marathon (Race 11, State 8), Ocean Drive Marathon (Race 12, State 9), and the Philadelphia Marathon (Race 13, Repeat of State 6). First: the Rehoboth Beach Seashore Marathon, which I ran in 2013…
Website: Rehoboth Beach Seashore Marathon.
Size: 2,900 runners for all races. There is a half the same day as the full.
Location: Rehoboth Beach, Delaware.
Time of Year: Saturday in early December. I ran this race the weekend of my 28th birthday.
athlettuce 