This is more of a dilema that it should be and it has been on my mind all week. As a way of refusing to let my running life become stagnant for the next six months, I am still entering a few races that I love and don’t think I should have to miss just because I’m slightly incapacitated.

The races I have entered and am determined to run are: Coogan’s Salsa, Blue, and Shamrocks 5k, the NYC Half and the Brooklyn Half. I will be 23 weeks when I run the Brooklyn Half, so I am a little hesitant about that one, but the frist two are not going to be an issue. June, July and August races have very little appeal to me anyway (sorry NYRR team champs!), so the Brooklyn Half will mark my transition from runner to cheerleader.

But back to my initial question: does a pregnant chick wear racing flats? On one hand, when racing nearly one-minute per mile slower than normal, it is important to not look like you are taking yourself too seriously. On the other hand, I don’t see a reason to make racing a 5k any more complicated than it has to be. If I am going to carry an extra 12lbs from the ankles up, the least I can do is reduce a few ounces from the ankels down.

Follow up (since I really wrote this last week): I decided to wear racing flats in the 5k. They were new Brooks T7s right out of the box, and they felt fantastic (and made me regret not wearing fresh out of the box shoes for the Philly Marathon last fall). Of course, things can’t always run smoothly, and just as I was gaining momentum on the downhill, one of my double-knotted laces came untied. Seriously, can someone out there perfect shoelaces already? Apparently shoe laces have been in use since approximately 7000 BC, so I think we have had plenty of time to figure this out. Someone? Anyone?

Now I have to decide if I am going to wear the T7s for an entire overweight half-marathon in two weeks, or if I am going to go with the more sturdy Pure Flows.