My running times have slowed down, could I be pregnant?

I like to run. I go to a regular running club once a week and I LOVE going to ParkRun every Saturday. But my times were slowing down a bit and I was really struggling to run at my usual pace.

It was July and during the heat of the summer and we were in a mini heatwave but I just couldn't run like I used to. I went on a regular 10km route that I've done loads of times before and I just couldn't run. I walked LOADS. I walked on hilly sections, I stopped halfway and had to buy water and I just felt out of sorts.

I few days later it suddenly dawned on me..... could I???? Could we??? Surely not!!! People don't get pregnant on the second month of trying, do they?

My period was not late yet as I wasn't actually due yet and had another few days until I was due on. Although my periods are always all over the place and quite irregular, my handy little mobile phone ap was telling me I had another 4 days to wait until Aunty Flow was coming to visit.

I mentioned it to my husband on the Friday night that maybe... just maybe my running was flaky because, what if, what if I was pregnant???

We were actually off for an evening bike ride, another ten miles of exercise and the ride was great in the warm summers evening but driving home we stopped via Tesco to get a pack of pregnancy tests. Even if we weren't... we would need them for the coming months so worth a purchase.

My husband didn't want to test that evening as didn't see the point until my period was actually late but I had insisted on buying tests that could tell you whether you were pregnant up to 5 days before your missed period.

Saturday morning arrived and I went off to Parkrun as I did every Saturday morning. It was another HOT day. Like really hot, 25'C before 9am hot and I had to walk up sections and talked to other runners who were saying how gruelling this heat was and again I was slower than the previous week. I blamed the heat, naturally, anyone would. But I got home and felt awful. Maybe I had just dehydrated, maybe last nights bike ride and this mornings run was too much in the heat and I just needed a rest.

Sunday arrived and I couldn't wait any longer for my period due date to arrive, so we sat in the bathroom together and I pee'd on a little pregnancy test stick. My husband sitting on the edge of the bath, myself sitting on the edge of the toilet. He was reading the instructions and asking how long it would take for a result to appear.
I instantly replied, I don't think we need to wait for a result as a line had appeared instantly. It was saying we were pregnant!!!

WHAT THE ACTUAL!!!
We hugged, a weird, emotional awkward hug, trying not to wipe the pee stick test still in my hand on his clothes as we hugged.
I couldn't believe it! Perhaps it wasn't the heat that was slowing down my Parkrun times and perhaps there was in fact another reason for my body slowing itself down.

We were expecting a baby!!!

Honeymoons and baby making.

Once we were married, and still not using any contraception it was now our time to really start trying for a baby.

Just a couple of days after the wedding we flew out to Mauritius for a two week honeymoon and it was amazing. We were so in love and we made love a lot. It was the best time of our lives just being the two of us. Relaxing, enjoying the scenery, the food and each other and it was an amazing break after the stress and build up to the big day.

We got back from honeymoon and settled back into normal life. Back to work, back to our home and back to thinking about the next chapter of our lives, starting a family.

We knew it could potentially take months to conceive and with myself now being 33 and my husband 38 we didn't want to waste a minute of trying. We had slept together a lot during our honeymoon and believed the dates were right but nothing had happened. I wasn't expecting anything to happen on first attempt but the practising was lovely!

Once back from honeymoon I decided to look into my dates and even buy ovulation testing kits to give us a much better idea of when we should be trying.
Each day I would pee on a little stick and wait to see if I was ovulating. But nothing showed up! It was only early days so perhaps my dates were wrong and it was only month two of trying, so plenty of time to get our heads around ovulation kits and dates and fertile signs to look out for.

It was my husbands birthday this month and we celebrated between the sheets and classed this as month 2 of trying and waited to see again if anything was to happen.

Where have we been for the last 2 years??

In early 2017 we decided to start trying for a baby.

But it February 2017 my then boyfriend completely changed our lives. Whilst on holiday in Vienna, whilst at the zoo looking at the pandas, he popped the question and asked me to marry him!

Of course I said yes and we began making plans to get married in just 14 months time. We had been together for nearly 9 years and in 14 months time it would have marked 10 years of being together and this was the perfect date for us to get married.

But where does this leave the baby making???

I didn't want to be pregnant whilst walking down the isle. I also didn't want to have morning sickness walking down the isle.... and lets be honest... I wanted to be able to enjoy the day and have a glass of bubbles or two and we decided the best thing to do was put a hold on the baby making plans and concentrate on the wedding.

April 2018 came around quicker than we both expected and before we knew it we were walking down the isle, saying our vows and are now husband and Wife.

So that leaves us with going back to that next stage in life... trying to start a family.