Me, Russ and Tim ringing in the New Year!

I felt like I closed out 2012 in the best possible way, with my husband, baby and our dear friend Russ in the comfort of his home. Last New Year’s Eve, Tim and I visited Russ in the hospital, so it was nice to see him at home and much healthier than he was then. I explained a little bit about Russ’s story in a previous post that can be found here, http://wp.me/p2VDql-1A .

Without Russ, Tim and I never would have met and he is always dear to me because of the person he always is despite whatever he’s been through. The last couple years he’s been through quite a lot. He warmed my heart again last night because of how excited he is to meet our little girl. I can’t wait for her to meet and know her Uncle Russ, what a lucky little girl she’ll be for having such great people in her life that already love her so much.

As far as running goes, my last couple runs in 2012 were both 4 miles and both went pretty well! Saturday the roads were covered in snow, but I couldn’t stand the thought of running 4 miles on a treadmill so I took the chance and ran outside. I ran extra slow, being careful of my footing and didn’t have any falls. Then Monday’s run went really great again! Most of the snow had melted from the roads, except for a few icy patches that you just had to navigate around. I just felt great pretty much the whole time and had one of my faster runs in a while too (averaged 8:09 pace for the 4 miles).

What I did notice about running at 31 weeks is that it takes more out of you than you realize at the time. I felt great during the run, but later in the afternoon I got really tired and even layed down for a quick nap. My body felt drained and tired like after a 20 mile run felt pre-pregnancy. The 3 mile runs don’t seem to take as much out of me, or maybe eventually those will too. I have to remind myself that I am weighing almost 21 pounds more than I did 31 weeks ago, so naturally my body is working harder everywhere to carry that extra weight around. Even though I felt great on yesterday’s run, by the end of it my ankles were feeling really tired–again, something more similar to what I would have felt after 18-20 miles before. I don’t really care though, it feels so good just to be able to do it.

I hope 2013 is a great year for everyone. I know for me the big event is due to arrive sometime here in the next 6-9 weeks!!