Running a Marathon = Pregnant?

Ok, before Rory and my mother start freaking out - I AM NOT PREGNANT!

But training for this marathon is the closest thing to being pregnant that I certainly ever have been. Before pregnant ladies get upset, I understand that what I am doing does not hold a candle to bringing a human life in to this world through an extremely painful process. But I have been able to draw some strong similarities.

1. I have never been so hungry in my life. All this running is just increasing my hunger like crazy. Tuesday night I ran 7 miles and last night I ran 5 miles and both nights I have come home and eaten a huge dinner. Usually I am not a big dinner eater, but recently I cannot eat enough after coming home from the gym. Pregnancy symptom #1.
2. At any point during this training, I am either uncomfortable or in some sort of pain. My back hurts, my neck hurts, my knees hurt. After my Saturday long runs, Saturday night sleeping is super uncomfortable. Just really pretty miserable.
3. I can't drink. Running 13 miles alone is rough, doing it with a stomach full of beer from the night before is just plain suicidal. Summertime is all about BBQs and concerts and hanging out with friends. And I have had to cut back because I am so tired and most of the time I can't drink. Friday nights have officially become a bust because I have to be up at 6AM on Saturdays. Rory doesn't knwow what to do because he feels bad leaving me but he's not the one who is running so he should be able to go out on a Friday night and drink some Bud Lights and have the summer nights you're supposed to at 25.
4. Running 26.2 miles is going to be HARD! At times during the race, I will want to give up. Everything will hurt and I will really have to push myself to the end. I will probably cry throughout the process. I will have people there cheering me on but nobody will really know what it feels like. And then at the end, when I cross that finish line, I will (hopefully) have the greatest feeling of accomplishment that I have ever experienced in my life. Women who have babies tell me that as soon as you give birth, that you forget about all the pain because of the feelings that overcome you at that point. Hopefully I will forget about the pain and focus on the accomplishment that I just achieved....


P.S. And to make that accomplishment even greater, don't forget to donate to Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation www.active.com/donate/09JuvenileDiabetes/meganmeehan