I had decided after the relay last week that I would take a week off from running. I had been going full speed for the last few months both in my personal and professional lives and I thought a break would do me some good.

However, I couldn’t wait to get back to running. This morning I set out to do 6 miles and had a great run. It was a beautiful crisp fall day, the sun was shining and the trees are just about at peak color.

The air was cool but not cold. The wind was blowing but not enough to make an impact. I had a great run.

Today is Columbus Day and we all had it off for the holiday. We went to the Portland Pirates hockey game in the afternoon, and then stayed to skate on the ice with the players afterward. They do this two or three times a year and it’s always a treat.

My daughter isn’t quite as good on the ice as my son, so my husband and I took turns holding her up as we went around the edge of the rink.

After the game we went home and got the kids to bed. Then I started having some trouble. I had another episode of intense bleeding, much more than I have had before. I thought the worst was behind me, plus this time was much higher in volume so I got a bit worried.

I called my doctor’s answering service. The doctor on call called me back. I had to explain the last couple of months in a few sentences but she seemed to understand what was going on. She asked if I had been taking it easy or if I had been exerting myself. I said, “well, I ran 6 miles this morning…” and she literally said, “Um (pause) yeah”. Luckily I didn’t have the chance to tell her that I also ice skated for 45 minutes this afternoon!

She said it was most likely my body just actually ridding itself of this failed pregnancy once and for all. So that was good news. However, if it kept up for more than 4 – 6 hours, or if I feel dizzy and/or light-headed, then I needed to go to the emergency room. Not good news. She told me to take it easy and rest this evening. I did not bother to ask if I could run tomorrow, I’m guessing her answer would have been No!

It’s been about two hours now and things have settled down, and I’m going to head off to bed. I think I’m going to be fine. I have an important client meeting in the morning so I hope things stay calm so I can have some peace of mind at the meeting.