Mercury Rising

I was sitting at the computer when I heard a hissing sound and loud pop outside on the porch. When I went outside to inspect the cause of the noise, I noticed broken glass from the thermometer. Apparently, the mercury had risen so high, so fast, that the thermometer just exploded.

Okay, I just completely made all that up; I don't even own a thermometer, but as hot as it has been the past few days, that could certainly happen. The termperature has climbed to the century mark and walking outside is truly like walking into a humid oven. Why your oven would be humid, I don't know, but if it could, it would feel like my front yard. I say all that to say that my running during pregnancy dream has become just that, a dream, nightmare really.

When I found out I was expecting, I experienced a sense of excitment. This time I had no broken ankle, no out-of-shape lungs. I was in the best shape of my life and ready to run during all nine months. I just forgot to factor in the extreme heat and humidity of southern summers. They're hard enough to bear when you aren't carrying around another person, while pushing in a stroller a thirty-pound toddler. I know, I know, women run during pregnancy all the time, but do they live in the south? No, I'm convinced these women, I only read about but never actually see, live in Minnesota or Seattle.

Truth is, I could run, but I just don't feel that it is safe for the baby. Maybe I'm being overly cautious, but when God places the care of a developing fetus into your hands, that is no small task. So, I've resigned myself to long walks, spin, pre-natal Yogalates......and lots of naps. Honestly, I'm rather enjoying the break from training and (get ready to laugh here) racing. I've forgotten how comfortable and enjoyable a stroll can be. It's nice to not feel the overly-driven, super-competitve urge to push myself. While I think stretching what I once thought were my limits is good for me, it probably isn't the best idea during pregnancy or heat waves. And I find that I'm now having dreams of my post-pregnancy comeback half-marathon and quite content waiting until after the baby is born to reach that goal.