Over the two years since I have written on this blog (which was under the name 'Later I Shall have Chocolate'), a lot has happened. Daniel & I got married, had a wonderful 4 week honeymoon in America, vowing to return for our 10 year anniversary (if not earlier). We scored a 2 week holiday in Europe thanks to Daniel's work and we finished building our dream home, however it took us another 8 months to sell the house we had been previously living in.
Although there were some amazing things that happened, 2014 did have some sadness. My beloved Nannu passed away whilst we were in Europe. We had the opportunity to say goodbye to him before we left but I always have a small regret that I was on the other side of the world when he left this world. On the day of my Nannu's funeral, Daniel and I found out we were pregnant. We were so excited and told family and some friends quite quickly. It was the uplifting news we needed after the passing of my Nannu.
However, 4 weeks later, at our 8 week viability scan, we found out the pregnancy was not viable due to a blighted ovum. The news was devastating for both Daniel and myself. I felt like a failure that I could not give my husband and my family the child and grandchild that they all wanted. My body never recognised that I had a miscarriage so at 10 weeks, after once again confirming the pregnancy was not viable, I had a minor operation done to remove the pregnancy as my body was not releasing it on its own.
The one thing I learnt from this was that is was not my fault. I started to talk to people around me. In the space of about 3 months I had spoken to 3 other people at work who had all had miscarriages during 2014. Lots of others told me it had happened to them and I was reassured to know that they had went on to build their family.
In October, I had taken a new job, so Daniel & I decided to wait a couple of months to try again. We were also moving into our house in December so we thought the right time would be after we had settled into the house. However, it seems God had other plans.
In early December (about a week before moving into the new house), I had the most vivid dream. I saw my husband holding a baby girl in his arms. I usually struggle to remember the dreams I have but this one stood out to me. That day I brought a pregnancy test but decided to wait to use it. In my mind, I didn't think we would be pregnant yet.
After a couple of days, and realising that I was late, I decided to take the pregnancy test without telling my husband. It was positive. I was so excited but at the same time, scared given what had happened last time. I walked downstairs and showed my husband the test. He was so excited. We agreed not to tell everyone straight away. I didn't end up getting the pregnancy confirmed until 2 weeks later as we were so busy moving into the house and I had a 4 day work trip to Renmark.
This time the pregnancy felt different from the last. I actually had some morning sickness, started to crave certain foods and I actually 'felt' pregnant. I was determined to continue with my running (something which I had done, even after having the miscarriage, it was a form of therapy for me). However I actually felt sick this pregnancy so my running was reduce significantly.
At Christmas we started telling family (I was about 7 weeks), but we chose to wait until 13 weeks to tell friends, although some friends were suspicious given my late of alcohol during summer events. Once we got past the 13 week mark we felt comfortable enough to tell friends and officially announce our pregnancy. We were due to welcome our first child in August.
At 19 weeks we found out we were having a baby girl, something I was adamant about given the vivid dream I had before finding out we were pregnant. This was very exciting for both families as this was going to be the first granddaughter and on my side of the family, no girl has been born since my sister, Victoria, in 1996.
I was very lucky that my pregnancy was reasonably straight forward. Apart from the WORSE HEATRBURN from 26 weeks onwards which cause me to vomit several times a week, I did not have any other complications. The last time I ran was at 18 weeks for the 5.5km Run for the Kids. After that time I stopped running because I felt a lot of pressure on my hips and my bladder.
I will be completing a separate blog post about Scarlett's birth story but going forward, for me this blog is to continue to document my running after becoming a Mummy to Scarlett, hence the new name for the blog 'Running after Scarlett.'
For me, I will use the rest of 2015 to build up my fitness once again. I aim to participate in a few Parkruns to get my running speed back up, but aside from that I will not have any specific goals. Once I receive the all clear at my 6 week post partum appointment, I will use that weight as my starting weight to work towards getting back into shape.
My goals for 2016 are as follows:
1) Fun Run for Kids - 15km. I would like to aim for a sub 1:20 time. The best time I have on this course is 1:31:05.
2) Half Marathon - I am desperate to run a sub 2 hour half marathon. I think this is something I may not achieve in 2016 but I want to have the goal on my list as I can chip away at the time during the year. My current PB for a half marathon is 2:06:52
3) Marathon - In my first (and currently only) marathon I was aiming for 4:30. I ended up finishing on 4:39:38. I was still thrilled with this time considering the state of my fitness a year earlier but I am still wanting to go sub 4:30. I would like to complete another marathon by my 30th birthday which is 18th October, 2016 (I am not fussed if I do not achieve this time by my 30th birthday). There are a few options for a full marathon next year which include Great Ocean Road (May), Gold Coast (July), Adelaide (August), Blackmores - Sydney (September) & Melbourne (October - usually one week before my birthday). Most likely I will make my attempt in Melbourne as I am not sure how easy it will be to travel with a new baby but I am open to seeing how my training goes if I can attempt it earlier.
4) Parkrun PB - I want to complete a sub 25 minute 5km run. My current PB is 25:42 which was on the Point Cook course (very flat).
5) As I am not longer a member of a gym, I will commit myself to completing 1-2 Kayla Itsines workouts a week to supplement my running(number of sessions depends on time and how much running I am doing). I have my own weights at home now so having a baby should not be an excuse as it is a 28 minute workout so I can complete whilst bubs is sleeping on early in the morning whilst hubby stays with bubs.
6) I will also go to a casual class at the gym once a month. I am interested in Body Pump, Body Attack and Spin. I do not want to commit to a membership but I enjoy classes so still want this as part of my routine.
There seems to be a lot in there, but these are 2016 goals so I have time to work towards theses. Once bubs is a bit older I will be able to take her out for my shorter runs. I also have a great support system in place with a very helpful hubby and my Mum will also be able to stay with bubs so I can go on runs.
It feels great to be able to but this down in writing and actually hold myself accountable to my fitness/running goals for 2016. I also hope to be able to at least semi-regularly update this blog so that I can document working towards these goals as well as documenting Scarlett's milestones so that one day she can have a look back at this.
Day before going into labour at 40 weeks and 4 days.
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