Zen and the art of not peeing yourself – 15 wks*

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June 1, 2014 by Amy B

This week will also be known as the week I realized I might have to pull out an assistive device if I want to keep running.

Running while pregnant has its normal aches and pains, but on the days I’ve been fortunate to achieve the trifecta of feeling good, having time, and good, safe weather, I’ve managed to trudge through the beginning creaks for the first quarter mile and move on.

This morning I really wanted to get a run in early. It was supposed to rain all afternoon, and I ended up being housebound on Saturday. I’d put in a pretty pathetic 2 miles on Friday afternoon in blazing heat (stupid, but necessary for my mental health) and with Scott taking off tomorrow night for a work thing all week, my running time is going to be limited and difficult to schedule.

I’d planned to run my favorite regular 5K loop in town, a route I haven’t been able to run for awhile. I hoped it wasn’t going to be too ambitious, which is crazy, right? It’s only 5K after all.

I was going great until Garmin ticked off two miles. It was then as if my uterus decided to descend upon my bladder and say, hey there! Yup, there’s a little baby in here and a lot of fluid and I think were just gonna hang out here for awhile.

Sorry if that image is TMI. Just so you know, it’s not me. 🙂

Truth is, the baby isn’t even very large right now – about the size of an apple – but feels like a watermelon when it’s pressing on your bladder and it’s been 20 minutes since you last peed.

The last fifteen minutes of that run were spent trying to not pee my pants and regretting I’d decided to run three miles instead of two. And even though I hate walking breaks (or admitting to taking them), I’m giving myself permission – no, making myself take them occasionally. After all, this isn’t a race.

That’s another one of the joys of running while pregnant, I suppose. Like I said before, I’ve never run this far into a pregnancy, so I’m giving myself silent high fives over here, but I also remember trying to take walks while pregnant with Aaron and looking for a bathroom when I’d get to the end of the block.

The assistive device? My fitsplint arrived a week or so ago, but I’d been waiting to try it until I felt it was really needed. That time might be now. It seems a little big – I bought a medium to be safe – but I’m worried the small might not last until November. But seeing that there is definitely something to hold up now, it might be time to give it a whirl.

I’ll leave you with a really unflattering shot I took last week. Until next time, I will keep waddling.

*Today is the first day of week 15, so maybe this post should be week 14. Maybe.