Pregnant and Half-Ironman

Two years ago I found out I was pregnant, just five days before my "A" race. I'm reminiscing since I'm racing Oceanside 70.3 again in just a few days.

Re-post from June 7, 2011:

This year started off with with some heavy training. My "A" race was early, so I needed to kick start the new year with some major mileage. I got a triathlon coach and began the hard work. My schedule wasn't an easy one. My workouts doubled to two a day. My Saturday mornings were devoted to long bike/run bricks. At first I loved having structure, but then the miles began adding up and I was exhausted every day. It wasn't uncommon for me to have 150 mile / 16 hour weeks.

The day finally came for my big race and I was ready. I was thrilled and of course super nervous. I've already written my race report for the Ironman 70.3 CA months ago, but I left out one little detail. It wasn't even part of the race, but it consumed my thoughts the entire day. After I crossed through the finish line, Skyler was there to greet me. The part I didn't tell you is what happened after that. I flipped over my bib...

...and gave Skyler the shock of his life. I am pregnant!

So you're probably thinking...wait, but I thought she did a half-Ironman. Yes, I did that too. Here's what happened. I had just finished one of my hardest weeks of training and was winding down for race week. On the Monday before the race, the start of my taper week, I had a hunch something was up. This could have been anything, as I had been doing some crazy training. A quick trip to Target confirmed what I thought. Just five days until race day. What to do? Tell Skyler? Not race?

I saw this as a blessing in disguise. I really wanted to do this race and I really wanted to get pregnant. As I thought about it, I realized I had been pregnant during the toughest training days of the year. If this baby could make it through that, then this race would be a piece of cake.

Five days later I had the best race of my life. A miracle?! I don't think so. A blessing.

So here are the details: I'm 14-1/2 weeks along, just starting the second trimester. I'm definitely showing...a lot. I'm due December 2nd. Skyler is the best almost-dad in the world. I've been nauseous almost the entire time and he's been super sweet at accommodating me. As for my training, it went from 16 hours a week to 2. I haven't done much of anything. Actually that's an exaggeration, but it's definitely changed. I'm a snail now. I have to move so slow to keep my heart rate down. But I don't mind....we're have a baby...my baby and me!!