Inspiration City

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You guys – I did it!  I finished the Runner’s World Heartbreak Hill Five and Dime.  That means that I completed the 5K and the 10K – back to back.  9.3 loooong miles, including a climb up the famous Heartbreak Hill!

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I attended the race as a Runner’s World blog ambassador, and I had originally intended to complete the Hat Trick – which is the 5K and 10K on Saturday and the Half Marathon on Sunday – but then I got pregnant.  And running suddenly felt so hard.  Running during my first trimester was exhausting (not painful, just tiring). Since I stopped running when I was pregnant with Henry at 16 weeks due to ligament pain, I kind of felt like I was ‘doomed’ this time around to stop early again, too.

 

But then… I had three doses of serious inspiration

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First, I got this comment from a reader named Haley:

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For some reason, it really struck a chord in me.  I thought, “YEAH – Maybe second trimester running CAN be different.”  I guess I had never considered that I could trudge through it in the first trimester and maybe pick it back up again later.  And the thing is that I WANT to keep running.  I FREAKING LOVE RUNNING. 

 

Then, I arrived into Boston and got swept up into that Boston running community atmosphere.  I felt so AWESTRUCK to be in the most wonderful running city in the entire country (nay, the world?!).  I got to meet some really cool people, like Sarah Reinertsen (the first female para-athlete to complete the Kona Ironman) and the famous Shalane Flanagan, who ran a 2:22 Boston Marathon this past year. 

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And then, last but not least, I hung out with my blog buddies Anne, Julie, and Theodora throughout the weekend.  They made me believe that I could actually do the Five and Dime if I approached the race smart – they talked me through a walk/run game plan that had me finish the races at about a 13:00 – 13:20 minute per mile pace.  Just knowing that I had friends who believed that I could do it was truly enough…

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And so I did it!  Two shiny medals.  So excited.  I’ll do a full weekend and race recap later, but I just had to pop in and say that I feel so inspired

 

I’ve really been suffering from the inspiration boo-hoos on and off for the last 9 months or so – about various things for various reasons.  I think I’m just in the middle of a huge life flux (clearly!) and hobbies and activities that I hold near and dear to me sometimes get pushed to the wayside because of scheduling or stress or (truthfully) just sheer laziness.  I’m definitely been on an upswing lately, but I feel like this weekend especially  pulled me from my doldrums.  So much of motivation is about surrounding yourself with inspiring people, huh? 

 

Hope you had an awesome weekend, too!

{ 30 comments }

 

  • Lauren June 8, 2014, 7:35 am

    So happy you came and conquered! Running is DEFINITELY different for me during pregnancy but I’m happy I can still hold on to it. Even if it’s only a few miles a day, I’m still grateful to be able to have that “me” time before the baby gets here.
    So glad you had a great time in Boston and so sorry I missed you! Safe travels back to your beautiful family. xoxo

  • Emily @ Fit as a Mother... June 8, 2014, 7:51 am

    Wow – good for you! I don’t think in could’ve for it pregnant.

  • Elizabeth {Positively Healthy} June 8, 2014, 8:19 am

    So great about your races!! I would have to say as well that Boston is certainly an inspiring city, just love the whole atmosphere. Now I am inspired after reading your post!

  • Steph June 8, 2014, 8:52 am

    Congratulations!!! I am 19 weeks and still running. My pace is about three minutes slower than normal, but I am happy with myself for sticking with it and I’m feeling good. I was more sporadic in the first tri due to exhaustion, but as Haley said, 2nd tri running is much different! You’re inspiring me to sign up for a race:)

  • Amber @ Busy, Bold, Blessed June 8, 2014, 8:53 am

    Yay for a surge of inspiration! Congratulations on the races 😀 I just went for my first run in months yesterday morning. I’m feeling inspired to get back to running and you’ve always been a running inspiration to me <3

  • Beth June 8, 2014, 9:15 am

    Way to go Caitlin!!

    You sound like you have a really good attitude about this life Flux. It’s something you’ve wanted for a long time. I always tell friend going through the same thing that the motivation is like a good friend. It will come back and be stronger than ever.

  • Kelly June 8, 2014, 9:26 am

    I can’t agree enough about pushing through the sluggishness of the first tri!! Thanks to encouragement from reading runnerstrials pregnancy running and from her comments on my Instagram I knew that running through the first tri would be tough and that if I stuck it out it would get better. And it DID!! I started feeling better running around 14 to 16 weeks. Things improved drastically once I hit 20 and I still feel really great running now at 31 weeks. I totally understand that some women have a hard time with ligament and other pain and can’t or shouldn’t run. But if you want to run and don’t have any health reasons not to I highly recommend sticking it out. I feel like running through my pregnancy has helped me feel good throughout my pregnancy in so many ways mentally and physically. I hope you decide to keep running! 🙂

  • Megan (The Lyons' Share) June 8, 2014, 10:35 am

    Congratulations, Caitlin! You are amazing! What a huge accomplishment! I couldn’t agree more that surrounding yourself with inspiring people is the key to feeling inspired yourself – that’s one of many reasons I love this whole crazy blog world 🙂

  • Abby June 8, 2014, 10:37 am

    Awesome! Truly inspiring! Way to run!

  • Kali June 8, 2014, 11:15 am

    I love shuffling through races when I am pregnant! I have a belly hitch-up band thing from Gabrialla that I have had to start using each time around week 18 that has helped me with the ligament discomfort. After that, the biggest problem is running too far away from a bathroom.

  • Aishah @ Coffee, Love, Health June 8, 2014, 12:04 pm

    So happy for you and proud of you, Caitlin!! You are such an inspiration (you always have been). I love reading about your life and honesty about various experiences. Your blog is my happy place. xoxo

  • chdatty natty June 8, 2014, 12:11 pm

    I hear you on the lack of motivation. I recently finished my first open water swim triathlon and didn’t drown and was almost middle of pack for my age group (20 out of 31) so I felt good about it, but this past week I’ve been so unmotivated and grouchy and irritated and just want to get out of this rut! Just thought I’d share so you know you aren’t the only one 🙂

  • Kayla tocco June 8, 2014, 1:07 pm

    I just wanted to say thank you so much for this post. I’ve recently just hit week 7 of our first trimester and for someone who’s only been running since February of this year I watched my mile times on my weekly five milers drop from an avg 10:30 pace to between 13:30 and 14:30 miles. I’ve been so discouraged even though I know why it happened and then you add in the 105 degree heat we’ve been having here in vegas and running while always hard has been extremely difficult for me. I just want to run and particularly do it outside but I find that I have to walk the majority of the time. I have found that my runs are slightly faster on a treadmill and I think that’s in part because I’m out of the heat so I’m thinking of just focusing on the treadmill for a while to keep me running. Good luck to you and it’s an inspiration to me to follow your blog because despite you being more experienced as a runner I can relate to a lot of the challenges you find yourself currently facing. Thank you!

  • Erica June 8, 2014, 2:12 pm

    CONGRATS (on both the races and the pregnancy :)). Thats awesome. You’re an inspiration <3 <3

  • Erin m. June 8, 2014, 5:42 pm

    Congratulations! I give pregnant women who run sooo much respect!

  • Heathers Looking Glass June 8, 2014, 6:28 pm

    Congrats! Unfortunately I ahven’t run much due to some terrible RLP, and I think my running days are VERY numbered if not completely over. I just pay for it days after with being so sore and it’s not worth it for 3 miles ha. Power walking to the rescue!

    • Caitlin June 8, 2014, 8:25 pm

      Whoop whoop! I love power walking 🙂

  • Theodora June 8, 2014, 6:36 pm

    We’re so proud of you too! For running safely and strongly and pushing through when you didn’t think you could do it.

  • Cathy June 8, 2014, 7:37 pm

    That is awesome!!
    I’m so inspired & jealous! I’d love to do that race one year.
    Congratulations on the medals, you deserve them!

  • Amanda June 8, 2014, 8:44 pm

    Yay! Definitely keep running as long as you have the desire! I’m in the 3rd trimester (30w2d) and still running a couple times a week. It’s definitely getting more difficult, I’m much much slower and only doing 2-3 miles at a time these days, but I’m doing it! On the days I’m just not up for a run I do the elliptical, its easy on the joints and gives me that same endorphin high. Keep at it Momma!

  • Katie June 8, 2014, 11:44 pm

    My university’s wind band travelled to Boston in March for a conference and I ran about 3 miles with a friend. I had no idea it had such an awesome running community!

  • Runner Girl Eats June 9, 2014, 6:17 am

    Congrats! I have zero experience running while pregnant but I think it’s great that you are giving it a shot. Seems like the perfect weekend to get some inspiration and motivation.

  • Stephanie @ Whole Health Dork June 9, 2014, 7:03 am

    Sometimes you just need an awesome experience to pick you out of your funk. I hear you on the inspiration boo-hoo’s. Feel like I’ve been suffering from that a bit lately due to an overbooked schedule. Keep remembering that inspiration you felt and don’t forget to reach out to your friends–I always forget how energizing it can be!

  • Amanda - RunToTheFinish June 9, 2014, 7:07 am

    I love that this weekend really helped to get you excited about it again!!! It really was great getting to hang out a little more, I feel like it’s always been a quick fly by hello at past events! congrats on toting that little belly up those insane hills after a night of…perfect sleep.

    • Caitlin June 9, 2014, 7:09 am

      Hahah you too Amanda!!!

  • Alett June 9, 2014, 7:14 am

    Congratulations on the “five & dime!” – so proud of you!

    (I seriously would have been there to cheer but had some panic training for my 70.3 this coming weekend – eek!)

    xo

    • Caitlin June 9, 2014, 7:18 am

      OOOOH which one are you doing?

  • Haley June 9, 2014, 9:11 am

    Awwww, so glad I could provide some inspiration… Especially to someone like you who provides inspiration to others Every.Single.Day! You go girl!!!

  • Abby June 13, 2014, 11:53 am

    Working out during the first trimester is so hard. I had to give myself permission to really step back and listen to my body, which meant taking a nap instead of heading to the box more often than not. However, I did keep with it and continued Crossfit until Week 38 in my pregnancy. It made such a HUGE difference in my overall energy levels and mood. I had my baby last Saturday via an emergency C-section (boo, I had planned on an all- natural birth at our birth center!) , and everyone has been absolutely astounded at my quick recovery. I truly believe I owe it all to continuing Crossfit for so long.

  • Katie @ Runs for Cookies June 18, 2014, 3:51 pm

    Congrats on finishing the 5 & Dime! It was so nice to meet you. The whole weekend was so much fun!

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