Ok, I'm warning you all that this is very long. Short version: I ran a half marathon at 17 weeks pregnant in near-freezing temperatures (well, it was in the upper 30s at the start, which counts as nearly-freezing in SoCal!) and I finished in 2:28:07. Almost exactly a half hour slower than last year on the same course!

ok, long version:

So the day before I had to get up at my usual time to go rent a zipcar (we don't own a car) and drive 45 minutes each way to packet pickup. (After the race I heard A LOT of people complaining about how ridiculously far packet pickup was from the race, and from the race-sponsored hotels for out-of-towners.) I was hoping to get in a nap later in the day, but instead I spent most of it running around trying to find some last-minute cold weather running gear because a particularly cold snap with high winds had just rolled through LA and the morning was predicted to have temperatures in the high 30s at start time. I was lucky and scored some great deals on running tights, a beanie, gloves, and a long-sleeved maternity shirt to go under my running tank. I spent the day hydrating a ton, but didn't manage to sleep well because DD decided to stay up extra late and then didn't sleep very soundly.

Race day I woke up at 5:30 and did my usual race-day routine of oatmeal and coffee, then geared up and threw on ANOTHER layer of clothes for the bike ride to the starting line, which was about 3 miles from my house. I was hoping to ride there and then also have time to get in a nice half a mile to mile slow warmup jog, but by the time I arrived I felt like I OMG HAD TO PEE RIGHT NOW OR DIE, so I stood in one of the long-ass porta-potty lines instead. I figured with a race as long as a half-marathon I could get away with using my first few miles as warmup. The line took FOREVER and I would have been late to the start, but luckily there was some issue on the course so the start was delayed 5 minutes. HOORAY! I had just enough time to pee (for all of the OMG URGENCY I felt, I hardly had anything in my bladder!) shed my extra layers, and drop my stuff at gear-check before seeding in around the 2:40 pacers.

My strategy going into the race was to take the first half REALLY easy. My training leading up to this event was half-assed at best, and I had blown off 5 shorter runs over the last 2 weeks of training so I knew that I was in no condition to try for my (super secret) goal of 2:20. I figured I'd keep the first few miles at a 12 minute/mile pace (which is what my training long runs often were) and then see how I felt closer to the end, possibly speeding up after the hilly section around miles 9 and 10.

Gun went off and we did the back-of-the-back Mega-race shuffle up to the starting line. Shortly after we passed the start we started to actually settle into a jog, and I quickly realized that I just couldn't hang back with the 2:40 pacer group. I tried to remind myself to keep it slow and easy, but 12 minutes/mile was just TOO easy, so for the first 5 miles I settled for right around 11:30/mile. It was FREEZING and super windy near the ocean, but gorgeous. I kept thinking that I ought to stop at a porta-potty--not just because of my constant urge to pee, but also because I had this non-stop irrational fear that I was somehow leaking amniotic fluid and didn't realize it. I have recently heard of 3 separate women around my stage of pregnancy who have lost their babies due to premature rupture of membranes. The most recent one was a best friend from high school, and when I found out about it (the day before the race) I just cried and cried and couldn't shake the sadness for her. So I guess that was in the back of my mind during the first few miles, which sucked. I reminded myself that I had recently completed a 12 mile training run and my water had not broken, so I was probably ok and kept running.

For the first 5 miles I had gotten this British couple in my sights and tried to keep close to them. The woman had on black tights and tiny white shorts with a neon yellow MIAMI BEACH written across her backside, so it was my goal to follow that butt! They were slightly ahead of me for the first few miles, and then I pulled up near them around the 4th and 5th miles and we had a little chitchat. It actually made me a little jealous to see them running together, because DH was originally going to run with me but then had to back out because of his work schedule--he would have been running the half marathon on no training after working an 8 hour overnight shift on his feet. So obviously that would not do. Instead I went by myself and we saved money on not having to hire a babysitter. But it was still kinda sad not to have him along for the ride. Especially during the first 5  miles, which felt so slow and effortless that it was actually somewhat boring! But the view of the marina was amazing, so I just tried to soak in the surroundings.

Miles 6 and 7 I picked up the pace slightly, closer to an 11 minute/mile. I skipped the porta-potties at miles 2, 4, and 6 and somewhere around the end of mile 7 I began to regret that decision because i REALLY had to pee by then. I lost track of my British friends around this time, because I was so preoccupied with the urge to PEE! Also, I knew that the first hill climb was coming up around mile 8, and I didn't think that it would be a great idea to do that with a super-full balder. Luckily there was a water stop and bathrooms--an actual real brick building with flush toilets!--maybe a quarter mile before the first climb, so I stopped in and took advantage of that. I'd taken my Garmin off auto-pause, and mile 8 was completed in 11:20 even counting the potty break.

My two fastest miles of the race were actually mostly uphill! Miles 9 was completed in 10:58 and mile 10 in 10:35. Last February before a brutally hilly 10k (The Chinatown Firecracker run, which is next up on my schedule!) I had gone online to read up on how best to tackle hills, because my usual routes aren't particularly hilly and I'm not accustomed to running them. I read that the best plan of action is to remind yourself to lift your knees, pump your arms, and keep your chin UP. So I started using that as a sort of mantra to get myself through the hilly section. Lift Your Knees! Pump Your Arms! Chin UP! Lift your Knees! Pump your Arms! Chin UP! went through my head again and again through most of the last 5 miles of the race, actually. After the uphill section there was a turnaround and a gradual downhill which felt amazing. It was funny because the turnaround had us passing closely by runners coming in the other direction, and I had a lot of people doing double-takes and asking each other if I was pregnant, and a few who didn't have to ask and just yelled out "YOU GO MAMA!" or "THAT'S AWESOME" which really gave me a boost. Actually, from miles 9-11 I was most definitely in the midst of a runner's high. It felt like I was floating on air and everything felt effortless and euphoric.

Around mile 12 the euphoria wore off. All of a sudden my calves felt TIGHT and my legs started to feel heavy. I also had some strange tendon achiness in my left achilles region, which I have never felt before. So I decided to slow it down and finished the 12th mile in 11:55, my slowest mile of the whole race. My mantra came in handy right about this time! Lift those knees, pump the arms, chin up, just keep moving, however slowly! Luckily that one-mile ease-up did the trick and by the end of it the achilles soreness was gone and my calves felt much looser. Mile 13 was completed in 10:55 and the last 0.1 was around a 9:40 pace.

Official finish time was 2:28:05. I looked around for the British couple but couldn't find them, so instead I went off to change into my dry clean clothes and got in line for the free post-race massage. I finally hopped on the very last bus that was to shuttle runners back to the finish line, and the Brits were seated right in front of me! Turns out they actually ended up finishing about 10 minutes after me, which was a total surprise!

I was definitely sore for the rest of the day and spent most of it eating, or lying in bed, or eating while lying in bed. I also had my very first experience with the distance runner's post-race  "gastro-intestinal distress," which I had never really experienced after my runs. That set off some uncomfortable braxton hicks contractions all day long, which kind of freaked me out. I had braxton hicks all the time with DD, so rationally I knew that everything was ok. And the baby was thumping and bumping around in there all day between contractions, which were never more than slightly uncomfortable. But still, after all of the horrible second-tri losses that I've been hearing about lately, I couldn't help being a little emotional and worried.

Overall the whole experience was amazing and I'm so glad that I did it. It was so much fun, even all by myself

My next race is the brutally hilly 10k at the end of February, followed immediately by a 5k the next weekend.

Wow!! Great job! You look AMAZING too!!! Cute shirt!!

Kitteh - Congrats on a great race!   You're amazing!   Thanks for sharing your story with us - I definitely enjoyed reading it!!

Lastly, you look Pinktacular!!   Pregnancy definitely looks good on you!!

Kitteh, congrats! I love the pics and I especially love the shirt!!!

Kitteh, this is really fabulous. Congrats on everything! Great pictures and you look amazing!

Pregnant, running a half, and your fastest miles are the late uphill ones? You must be in amazing shape. Your baby's probably going to come out sprinting and run 400 yard before anyone catches her.

Wonderful job, kitteh, congratulations!  You're so cool and smart to stay active and even do races while pregnant.  Love the pictures.  They're so super cute!

Oh, my word, you're so stinking cute!  I always just look like a bloated whale when I'm pregnant, not cute at all.  You did amazing!  And I love the shirt.  : )