Monday, April 9, 2012

TO RUN! And Run Some More!

I ran SEVENTEEN MILES on Saturday. Yes, that's right. On my dilemma of whether or not to train for a marathon, I have given myself permission to just do it.

Running a marathon has been on my bucket list for a while now. I have said for years that I wanted to cross this off the list before having a baby. Then Ovarian Failure happened and I couldn't very well concentrate on training constantly for a 26.2 mile beating on my body, right? People talk a lot about how over-exercise can hurt your chances for conceiving (although if you check out my earlier post about running, it's actually worse to be under-active and overweight), so I put my "run a marathon" at the bottom of the bucket list and pushed it off for a while. 

Some months went by. Then some more. And then in February I started to really think about this whole marathon thing again. I talked to my RE about it. He cautioned that the medicine he was putting me on would make my ovaries get bigger and he didn't want me running ultra long distances (if the meds worked). But of course, the medicine didn't work one diddly squat bit. I haven't had a period for about 5 weeks with no sign of ovulation or period on the horizon. Plus, I can feel it - my body isn't in the zone right now. It's just NOT WORKING. 

So screw it. I'm following my gut and giving myself a break. I'm taking the next 40 days until the marathon and I'm going to train my butt off for it. Maybe I NEED to just do this thing, cross it off the list, and then move on to work on conceiving and not pushing too hard. Maybe it's one of the barriers I have to getting pregnant - maybe my body is waiting until I've done what I always said I was going to do. 

Until further notice, you can expect me to be looking like this: 

I feel good about the decision (even if it makes me a sweaty beast much of the time). So wish me luck! These next few weeks will have me running long runs from 14 to 20 miles and "mid-week" runs of 9 to 13 miles (on top of a bunch of other littler runs and cross training), so I think I'm gonna need it!

5 comments:

  1. omg!!! i just gave myself permission to run a marathon as well!! :-) I decided that i am going to run nonstop this spring/summer and depending on fertility treatments/pregnancy i'll either run my first marathon this winter or next summer. if i'm not pregnant by September i will halt ATTC and focus on my marathon training. i'm SO excited and it gives me a way to cope i think. GREAT job on 17 miles, i'm still at the 5k stage. ;-) but since it only took me a few months to train for a half, i think i can do a full in December. i'm so excited for you and can't wait to see the pics of you crossing that finish line at 26.2 miles!!

    ps-i tagged you in a post...i hope you play along because I'd like to know more about you! :-) http://dogmomchasingthestork.wordpress.com/2012/04/09/ill-show-you-mine-if-you-show-me-yours-lets-play/

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  2. Good for you! I wish I was a runner but it just isn't in me although I keep having thoughts of running with my dog. I've jumped back on my wagon of losing weight and being active to try and keep my mind off of TTC and my lack of pregnancy.

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  3. Wow! I have never run 17 miles! I am willing to bet MOST people haven't. I have done a few 5Ks and the feeling I get from it is always great:) Not sure if I'll ever be up for a marathon - I admire people who train and run them, though! Way to go!

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  4. Good for you! I feel like the never-ending quest to have a baby ensures that so many couples pass up on great opportunities. And, look at that! Turns out it may be just what your body needed. Also, hello! I'm here from ICLW!

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  5. Hi from ICLW!
    Good for you for deciding to run the marathon - I trained and ran my second in January!! Looking forward to reading about your training!!

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