My new hero: Paula Radcliffe

Sure, from reading the stacks of Runner's World that are accumulating in my closet, I knew who Paula Radcliffe was. I could have told you that she was the women's marathon world record holder (2:15:25 in the London Marathon, if you were wondering.) I could have told you that I estimate her body fat percentage to be .1%, and that even if I stopped eating completely, I would never look like her. I could have told you that she's British and blonde. But, that's about it. I have a newfound respect for her after reading an article in this month's issue of Runner's World that chronicles not only her racing victories (and embarrassing moments), but focuses on her training through her recent pregnancy. Here's a NY Times article on the subject. Basically, the woman is incredible: running through most of her pregnancy, and returning to training only 12 days after giving birth to Isla. It really helps to reassure me about having a baby of my own one of these days. David and I have set our sights on a year or two from now, but it's hard not to have the discussion here and there when my boss and one of our close friends are both giving birth this spring. I am so worried that after all the work I have put into my body and all the training I have done, I will just lose that during pregnancy, being forced to sit around and have nothing to do but eat during that third trimester. At least now I know that I can run for at least 4 or 5 months of the pregnancy, then I'm sure there are plenty of exercise options for the last few months. I'm not worried about getting back to where I was after pregnancy; I plan on getting one of those running strollers as soon as the baby is ready to come with me. It's just a matter of how far I'll have to go based on how much damage I did with extra pregnancy pounds.

Back to Radcliffe: another reason to love her is the story behind her London win, and her impromptu side-of-the-road pitstop. She was having bad stomach cramps that were slowing her down, so she stopped for about 10 seconds on the side of the road to relieve herself and kept going to win. She was 5 minutes ahead of the second place finisher! Seriously, how hardcore is she?