24 Weeks and a few minutes added to my pace

Well, here we are at 24 weeks and Baby Mac is a girl!! She currently weighs a pound and a half and is about thirteen and a half inches in length. She has been

kicking a ton and you can now see my belly move when she kicks.

I've added a few pounds (or more) ;) to my frame and it h

as slowed my walking pace (yes, walking....no more attempting to run). Two miles takes me roughly 30-35 minutes.

Transitioning from a runner with a 8:30 pace to a walker with a 17:30 pace has not been easy on my psyche. However, I am thankful that I continue to feel well

enough to exercise regularly.

I do plan to lace up my running sneakers as soon as possible. And until then I'll enjoy my walks and those precious kicks from our baby girl.

It seems our little girl is a bit camera shy....

16 Weeks and a few logistical changes

Here is an updated belly photo! I am now approaching 19 weeks (I'm a little behind on my posts). So far, second trimester has been a breeze compared to the first. I am feeling great and have a lot more energy.

The weather here has been unseasonably warm (and I am not complaining unless this means record heat all summer, not fun with an August due date!).

I've been able to get outside to workout quite a bit the past few weeks. Running consistently has become increasingly difficult. My expanding middle is not the problem....it is growing Baby Mac sitting on my bladder. So, I have begrudgingly switched to "wogging" (combination of walking/jogging) and increased my weekly mileage goal from 5 miles to between 8 and 10 miles per week.

Many runners I have spoken with say that you come back stronger after taking a break- that was true when I was injured, so I am hoping it will be the same after baby's arrival.

16 Weeks

No More Free Food

I had one last lunch to cash in- Lynn had paid up, but not Adam. Here we are enjoying some yummy Noodles and Company. I had the truffle mac and cheese with tomato and cucumber salad on the side.

No more free food is a sad thought for a woman who is five months pregnant.....

And I certainly won't be making any bets about running this summer!

Running!?!

I haven't had energy for normal day-to-day activities, let alone running! And that is because...

I'M PREGNANT!!! Baby Mac is due 8/16/2012 and we couldn't be more excited!

My commitment to running has been inconsistent since we found out we were expecting back in early December.

Most days I felt too nauseous and exhausted to even think about running. Although, at our first appointment, my doctor said I am clear to run pretty much my entire pregnancy depending on how I feel. I am sure come late spring/early summer my running will become waddling.

As for right now, I am making the most of days that I feel good. I've been mixing running with walking and/or the elliptical. I have a goal for the 2nd trimester (which began 2 weeks ago) to try and run around 5 miles a week (didn't happen the first two weeks, but I have not given up).

Five miles seems like a small number compared to pre-baby mileage, but at least it is something- I will keep you posted on my progress (with running and with the baby bump). See the progress so far....

4 Weeks! 12/10/11 - the day we found out

our whole life was about to change for the better

Baby Mac @ 8 weeks - so amazing!

You can see the head, butt, umbilical cord...

Mommy @ 8 weeks

Mommy @ 12 weeks

Last Lunch from Lynn

I enjoyed the last of my three free lunches from Lynn. We enjoyed Thai by Thai again, the same lunch we had for my first free lunch back in August. Lynn is still looking sad about having to pay up...

But as I've said before, Lynn's bet is what kept me going all summer long. So I owe him thanks for paying up and providing me with three, free yummy lunches, as well for the additional motivation.
Adam- you are next! I'm saving it for something really good and expensive too :)

New Year = New Running Toys

It's been awhile, too long. I'm still running...although not as consistently as I'd like.

What can I say, I am a work in progress. Maybe is it time to make another bet for some added motivation.

But I do have some new running toys that I received for Christmas (and one for my birthday) that will hopefully help with the consistency issue.

The first new toy was a case for my Ipod touch. This is an excellent case and it is easy to change songs through the plastic screen.

Second and MUCH needed toy, new running sneakers!! I had put a couple hundred miles on my old Brooks Adrenaline GTS 10 running sneakers, but I absolutely LOVED the sneakers.

After wearing Asics and Sauconys for previous half marathons, I tried Brooks based on a recommendation from a running store here in VA. Boy, am I glad I tried them, I am never going back to anything else. So I asked Santa for an updated version of my Brooks, the GTS 11. And this time I asked for a brighter, more exciting color. I love them and so do my feet.

This was a birthday gift from my cousins, Ali and RJ. Ali is into running like me and a friend has suggested she read this book. Ali thought I would like it too. I have yet to start it, but I am told that after read parts, I will want to just get up and RUN! I hope so!

There is no place like home...

We returned to Buffalo, NY for the Thanksgiving holiday for the first time in two years. Being back meant Thanksgiving dinner with our families, Friendsgiving at my friend Christina's house, and one of my favorite Thanksgiving traditions, running in the 116th Annual YMCA Turkey Trot. The Buffalo YMCA 8k Turkey Trot is America's oldest road race and one of my favorites.

I knew going in to this year's race that I was in better shape than any prior Turkey Trot. Having run 13.1 miles less than two weeks prior, I figured 5 miles would be a breeze. So, I set a goal time of 45:00.

The weather Thanksgiving morning was balmy by November in Buffalo standards. I started the race towards the back of the pack of more than 13,000 runners and walkers, because of this most of the race was spent weaving around walkers/slower runners. But, I still beat my goal time by 2 minutes.

Here are my race stats:

• Finished in 43:28 minutes
• Placed 138 of 1,009 in my female age group of 25-29
• I came in 752 of 6,074 finishers

I was ecstatic with the results...so I indulged in a little post race celebration in the Buffalo Convention Center. I had the usual crowd to celebrate with: my husband Brendan, my father-in-law, and his crazy group of running buddies. I also had two Turkey Trot newbies...my step-siblings, Colleen and Patrick!

It was SO GREAT to spend time with them after the race (I still can't believe we found each other since the Convention Center was packed with thousands of people). I hope that they will continue to be part of one of my favorite Buffalo Thanksgiving holiday traditions!