Running...I should start that again

I haven't been able to run much lately.  Mostly because of being too busy with finishing up my PhD, but also because I am pregnant.  Right now, I'm 28 weeks.  During my first half-marathon, I was passed by a woman who was 8 months pregnant, and I decided at that point that I wanted to be her one day.  So, when I got pregnant, I planned to run the whole time.  Here's the thing I didn't know: IT'S HARD!

I had a rough start.  I was sick for the first 20 or so weeks and completely exhausted with trying to get everything done and all the stress on my body.  Plus, the bouncing on my bladder is really tough.  Additionally, do you have any idea how hard it is to find running clothes if you didn't start off as a size small?  Most women apparently just wear a size large or x-large, but I'm starting at that size.  I'm currently wearing the Brooks Glycerin capri pants and shorts, which have a nice waistband and a looser-fitting leg, so that works really well for my body.

Now that I'm done with my PhD, I'm going to work on getting back to running.  There is an 8k the day of the Richmond Marathon that I would very much like to do.  It's about a month before my due date, but I can totally do this!

Interesting Perspective on Finishing Your PhD

This blog post is really helpful for anyone else who might be struggling with finishing their PhD like I was.  It really is important to remember that the dissertation is only one step along your scientific career!

Trust me, I'm a Doctor

After months of complications and rescheduling, I finally had my PhD thesis defense on Friday (September 2).  The public talk went really well and the closed-door meeting after with my committee was a lot less stressful than I was expecting.  I passed and I'm officially Dr. Drake!

It's definitely a little weird to have people use that at work.  And people at work really like to use it after you first defend!  Now, I'm working as a post-doc in the Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine department at VCU.

It's also a little strange that this is the first time in 7 years that I am not a student.  And there was only a one-year period between kindergarten and now that I was not in school.  My timing this year in finishing is even more interesting - as people are starting their graduate school careers, I'm finishing mine.  No sadness there, though!