21w5d

So ... when I last updated, I wasn't running very much. Starting the second trimester was like a switch got turned. All of a sudden, my hips hurt less and I wasn't as slow. I started running 3 miles 3 times a week, with the weekend run moving first to 4 miles and then 5 miles. Last week, I added a 4th run for a grand total of 14 miles/week. Woo! I think I'm going to repeat that this week, and then maybe next week try to add a 5th day.

I've started running in the morning before work - I found that the temptation to just laze around after work was too great. It's been working out pretty well. The bad thing about AM running is that it means I have to treadmill, though - aside from the fact that it's kind of cold in the mornings here, it's still dark until almost 7AM. While I've run in the dark in the mornings before, that just seems like a bad idea right now.

I might run a race this weekend - it would be my first for the year. I didn't race this spring because I felt out of shape and opted to volunteer for a few races instead. I didn't race this summer because it would be really hard to go from top-10 to bottom-10. Well, and with my weekly mileage dropping to 3 mpw it's not like I was able to run in a race. Anyway, this Saturday is our 5 mile time-prediction run. I ran it 3 years ago and it's a nice, low-key event. But best of all, since it's a time prediction race, my being slower than usual won't matter. I really would like to take part in a running event while pregnant, and this is about my only chance. The racing season pretty much ends after this race, and doesn't start up again until April.

Pregnancy is going pretty smoothly. Aside from running slower, I don't really feel pregnant most of the time. The books, magazines and e-mail newsletters have all pissed me off by declaring that by 20 weeks you will definitely have felt movement. I maybe felt something two nights ago. We learned at our 18 week ultrasound (where we did NOT find out the gender as per my wishes) that my placenta implanted in the front, so it's supposed to take me longer ... and while knowing that has helped me not worry that something is wrong, it hasn't made me feel better. But overall, I'm feeling pretty decent.

Clothed, I don't think I look very pregnant yet - just kind of chunky:

Bare-bellied, it's a little more obvious, especially compared to 4 months ago:

I better save something for tomorrow.