No, I'm not pregnant. I'm training for a marathon.

First, this entry is not written by Danna, so those of you who were starting to knit a blessing dress when you saw the word pregnant in the title, stop! Second, I didn't mean to post so soon after Kristin did so be sure to read her post, too. Third, Hi!, I'm Suzy. I'm Kristin's and Danna's third marathon training partner. Because I just finished my twenty mile run last Saturday, the 31st, while Kristin and Danna ran 18, I was given the honor of posting this week. I am running in the Top of Utah marathon, two weeks before the St. George marathon that Danna and Kristin are training for. I have been running with them, when I can, since June.

After finishing twenty miles, I felt like I could go another six. That was an exciting point for me! I was really proud of Danna and Kristin, too! Danna, especially, was inspiring as she pushed through a difficult run. She told us at the end of the run, "I didn't talk because I was thinking to myself, 'If you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all.' " Kristin was extremely patient as she listened to me detail every pair of cute jeans that my children refuse to wear. Kristin, I think, was starting to hallucinate on part of the run and thinking the she saw, "Jeff." She yells out to a random runner, "Hi, Jeff. Oh wait, your not Jeff, are you?" Then we see him again and she says, "Hey Jeff" and waves. Then we see him one last time. By this time, Kristin has trained him as well as Pavlov's dog and he says, "Jeff is now done with his run." Danna and Kristin are a riot to run with.

I am the mother of 3 children and as I have progressed in my marathon training, I've noticed some striking similarities between being pregnant and training for a marathon. Kristin and Danna nicely pretend that this is fascinating so I thought I would write about what I've noticed. I heard when I was pregnant, that it was as draining on your body as training for a marathon but I didn't quite believe it. Now I know better. Here is a list of similarities that I have noticed.

• When I first started training for a marathon, I didn't think I could actually run 26 miles. When I was first pregnant, I didn't think I could actually handle it for 9 months.
  
• I need an afternoon nap everyday.
• If I drop something on the ground after a long run, it gets to stay on the ground because there is no way I can possibly bend over to pick it up. If you've never been pregnant and want to see what this feels like, try holding a basketball at your waist and bend over it to pick up something off the ground. Oh and make sure all your muscles are sore before you do this.
  
• I have to use the bathroom frequently and make sure that my plans for the day include easy access to one.
• I have to swing both of my legs out of the car in order to get out. Also, if I sit down on the floor, it is pure pain to stand up again.
• I use "the force" to get the things I need while I am laying down resting, i.e. "Danna, will you get me that ice pack that is across the room? I can't get up. Kristin, will you fill up my water bottle? I can't get up. Rick, will you change the baby's diaper? I can't get up."
• The closer I get to my due date, I mean marathon date, the more crabby and impatient I get. (Why can't the marathon/baby come today? What can I do to make it come sooner? Why am I doing this anyway? I am ready to have my life back, whine, whine, whine.)

You can probably guess that my husband is a patient man. He had no idea that he was really going to have a wife acting like she was pregnant when she was really training for a marathon. We don't even get a baby when I am finished. But we do get shiny medals which we plan on framing, we never have to change their diapers, and we can leave them home alone while we go out to train for another marathon.