In New York with (from L-R): Mary Wittenburg, Allan Steinfeld, Grete Waitz, Lamine Diack and Craig Masback
13th November 2006
Hi Everyone,
I can't believe that it is November already. When I think back over the last few months, everything
seems to have gone so fast and been really busy and now January feels like it is approaching really quickly.
I have been really lucky so far through the pregnancy in that I haven't had morning sickness and have
generally felt good and enjoyed my pregnancy. I have of course had the tiredness that comes along with it
on some days. It's amazing how the body prioritises everything for the baby and I get whatever energy,
nutrients and now increasingly lung and bladder space that is left over!
I have learned to be more flexible with my training and adapt according to how I feel each day. I am now
over seven months and up until now have been able to run each day as well as using the stationary bike or
going in the water. Now that the baby is getting heavier though, my bladder is starting to get sore when I
run as the baby bounces on it, so some days are just run/walk and I can see I will have to switch more and
more of my training to the pool or the bike. I will certainly miss the running but it's not worth being in
pain or stressing my body too much if I can maintain fitness in other ways.
It has also been really nice to hear from so many people who are going through, or have gone through,
pregnancy and compare notes, feelings, anxieties with you all – so thank-you to all of you. It has also been
great to share the whole experience with Jana (Pittman) Rawlinson, who is due about three weeks before me,
and Sian, my agent who is in fact due the day before me. Even though Jana and I are at different ends of the
spectrum as regards events there are so many factors that we have had in common, research that we have picked
up or advice that we have been given that we can share, it has been really great.
As I get near the end now I am eager to meet the baby and know he or she is healthy and strong. I haven't
found out the sex and am looking forward to finding out at the birth.
Recently, I had the opportunity to spend a few days in New York – a trip which will probably be my last
before the baby is born. I was a guest of the marathon organisers as they honoured me with a special award.
This was a great honour that I really appreciated and it was really great to receive it from Grete Waitz,
one of the great women marathon runners of all-time. She is still bravely fighting her cancer, and my thoughts
and best wishes are with her through this.
New York really embraces the Marathon and the city (which is always alive) becomes even more vibrant – if
that is possible. The weather had been beautiful there, but actually changed to being really cold for a few
days before the race, only to be absolutely perfect for race day with eight degrees and little wind. Jelena
Prokopcuka ran really well and simply did her own thing to win the women's race and defend her title – she is
really nice so I was glad to see her win. However, I was surprised that in the ideal conditions and with strong
fields that the races weren't more hotly contested and times weren't faster.
I also had the opportunity to watch Gary run for a change, he had decided to run pretty late in the day as
Steve Cram twisted his arm and so on limited preparation he ran. His decision to take part surprised me a bit
as he had always said that he would never run a marathon. I think the fact that this may have been his only
chance as next year I will hopefully back competing and he will have the baby to look after helped make his
decision. I thought he was in decent enough shape and that the dangers would be that he would go off too fast,
get bored or that his knee would break down. Due to not wanting to aggravate his knee his longest run had only
been an hour so I also knew his legs would be sore afterwards!
He started off conservatively, because he had no idea what he could run, but actually managed to run 2.41,
which was a good effort and more importantly I think he actually enjoyed it but not sure he has any plans to
run a marathon again. Lance Armstrong also toughed it out to get under three hours, a time that at various
stages in the race he looked like he could slip over. He now loves to run – like the rest of us – and with his
busy travel schedule not allowing him to carry a bike around with him, running is his exercise of choice – a
convert!! However, he also acknowledged that it was the hardest thing he's ever done. He was paced by Joan
Benoit Samuelson amongst others and I got to chat with her and get her advice on pregnancy etc. too, which was
great.
Last night saw the end-of-year IAAF gala, where the world male and female athletes of the year were
announced. The winners were Asafa Powell and Sanya Richards, who both had incredible seasons, so congratulations
to both of them. I also had the chance to bump (literally) into a lot of people that I haven't seen for a while.
Watching the video footage of this year's events again reinforces how much I have missed competing this year,
and I can't wait to be back. Certainly the competitive juices still run strongly through me.
I just wanted to say thanks to everyone on the message board for keeping me up to date with everything and entertaining me. The list of names
to thank would be off the page if I had to list them – but thanks. It has now been almost two years since we launched
the site and a lot of you have been here since the beginning, with more and more people coming all the time. I really
appreciate it, and all the messages of support that I get from you guys.
Love,
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