“Unexpected” does not always mean “bad.”  Even the most obvious blessings in life, at times, can cause the greatest complexity or the largest shift in our current path.  I received such a shift in early December when I found out I was expecting a sixth child. 

While we joyfully prepare for the new addition, I had to put on hold or rethink my running plans for the near future.  In previous pregnancies, I was able to run comparable mileages until the day of delivery without cutting back my intensity much until a few months prior, but I do not think that is going to be the case this time.  For one thing, I was running higher mileage and doing faster workouts this time around before becoming pregnant.  Secondly, I am over a decade older. 

Good news for parents: If something like this has happened to you (whether it be a positive change or a negative change), you are not alone.  There will be days when we nail everything we want to be and do, and there will be days when we are so far from the standard that we want to throw our hands up in hopelessness.  I trust whatever God is working through us in this season.

• Pregnancy is temporary although most people would argue that it is easier than the season that follows. I am resolved to use this time of preparation to focus on some key aspects of health that I cannot attend to as much as I would like when I am running 70 miles a week. I hope to invest more time working on flexibility, mobility, balance, strength, sleep, and nutrition.  My exercise regimen is no longer about me or my performance, but it is also about pulling in the best nutrients and movements for building a new baby.

In the meantime, I will register for Tunnel Hill 100 or 50 mile (November 2025) as a run to look forward to and remind me that this precious, unanticipated break from a rigorous training schedule is only temporary.

• Every week my paces are slower and slower.  Instead of comparing to my “real” paces, I am setting performance goals and process goals that are appropriate for the season.  On February 23, 2025, I set a new pregnancy personal record in the half marathon at the Cowtown Marathon in Fort Worth, Texas.

25 years-old; 17 weeks pregnant; Rock-N-Roll San Antonio Half Marathon; 1:54:55

40 years-old; 15 weeks pregnant; Cowtown Half Marathon; Pregnancy PR! 1:54:31

• I ran through all of my other pregnancies up to the delivery day.  This one however, has not been as easy.  Instead of forcing the running, I am going to engage in other enjoyable movement activities that I usually do not have as much time for such as walking and weightlifting to replace part of the mileage.

• Even as I am looking forward to the future with new baby, I am embracing and enjoying everything positive about this season. Occasionally over the past ten years, I have felt a little saddened that I would never go through the stages of pregnancy or early childhood again.  Who would have thought that I would have this great joy one more time!? (One more time?) Certainly not me.  As a result, I am soaking it all in and using this opportunity to refocus our family on foundational and guiding principles that were the cornerstone of our home when our first five children were young. Our oldest children have grown into young men and women who are enjoyable people to be around, insightful conversationalists, funny, and in tune with the leading of the Spirit. Our crazy antics have included cross country trips in the green van (with no AC in the summer and getting lost in Mexico), abandoning school to make silly videos, pushing through school until the wee hours of the morning and then making a late-night run for French fries, attempting unsuccessfully to bike 100 miles, and actually succeeding in hiking over 100 miles.  Each and every one of the kids has their own unique mix of talents and personality that they add to the richness of our family, and we are thrilled to add another person into the fun.  In the midst of dreaming about life with the new baby, the kids and I have laughed and reminisced about so many almost-forgotten but precious memories from when they were growing up in our beloved hometown, Granbury. 

Putting your goals and intentions in print is risky because someone is bound to hold you accountable to them (hopefully gently), but I cannot think of any better way to find assistance for my own feeble motivation. 

As always, if you want to chat more about seasons or volunteer to help with the management and administrative duties for any of our sports or program as we keep rolling forward, contact me! 

~Coach Melissa