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Pushed Play!

Well, I finally pushed play on a workout DVD today. I've been telling myself that my walks are good... but there's something about the Baby on the Way DVD that energizes me.

Walks have sadly become walk... I'm getting my morning mile outside but haven't been able to bring myself to head to the basement in the hot afternoons. Reading at my desk with my fan just sounds nicer. I did get myself a large balance ball and have been using that as a chair at work. The directions specify that it's not a chair... and that pregnant women shouldn't use it. Guess I'm living on the edge... But since using the ball and lightening my work bag my hip pain has almost totally vanished.

Unfortunately I came down with a head cold last week. That was the most challenging thing about the DVD today. I had thought that the sinus pressure part was over... but anytime my head was lower than the rest of my body I rediscovered the pressure. So, I modified. Shame, I like the downward dog in all other parts of my body...

Well, Shakeology is gone and it's time for bed. I've discovered that drinking that right before bed keeps the protein levels up overnight and I sleep really good. Odd, since when I'm not pregnant I use Shakeology more to boost energy and stay awake. I guess my body knows what it needs...

Been a While

Wow, it's been a while since I've blogged. The hubby was nice enough to fix my technical difficulties. I don't feel so bad though, because of the blogs I follow none have been updated for like 2 months. Apparently it's just not blogging season...
So, I'm still not doing my Baby on the Way DVD as much as I'd like. With the lighter evenings our boy hasn't been going to sleep until 8 or so and that makes it harder. But, this week the hubby and I have committed to getting back to pushing play. He's going back to Insanity and I'm going to do the Baby on the Way.

Funny how you can be totally used to working out 5-6 days per week... then when you let it slip it seems so hard to restart. At least I'm continuing to walk at least two miles per day on my breaks at work. And I got a balance ball to use at my desk. It should be good for posture, as well as the baby's position. I plan on starting it tomorrow. Actually brought a ball in today... but I think the box was mislabeled as 65cm. That was one tiny ball. So, it is being returned. Have a 75cm ball for tomorrow.

Where I Need to Be

Well, I've seen where I need to be and I like it. I've done a few days of the Yoga Booty Ballet Baby on the Way and feel great when I get it done. I'd forgotten what a great preggo workout that is. Not overwhelming, but still feels like a workout.

I really love how the ladies are good at stretching out all those areas that pregnancy has a tendency to wear out. The perfect example being the hip area. This area has been giving me more trouble this pregnancy. It's not a constant thing, but there are more sore days that I would like. Even on days when I know my gait is off it still feels great to get a stretch here. Generally eases the pain too.

This time around I've also appreciated the 'connect with your baby' dialog more. Last time it was an interesting thought for me but I don't know that I fully connected the pregnancy with the wonderful little baby until I held Isaiah in my arms. This time I think I'm more aware of the connection I currently share with Willow and how that will develop into a relationship once she's born.

So, the motivation is there to pop in the dvd and push play. I need to follow through this next week, as traveling the next week will again throw a loop into any routine.

Establishing a Routine

Well, it's been over a week since the 1/2 marathon. The stomach issues were totally gone my Monday and I was feeling great by Tuesday. As the weather was beautiful during the week I again found myself longing for a run. So, I was able to get out for several short walks.

And now it's in the 90s and walking outside no longer sounds appealing. I plan on the Baby on the Way DVD tonight. Maybe next week spring will return and I can get outside sometimes.

Now to figure out a consistent workout routine...

Marathon day!

Well, the Lincoln ½ marathon is in the books. What a journey this week has been. Most people will say that their training culminated on race day. My story feels a little different.

Last week my son was ill. He threw up for like three days and when we brought him to the doctor we were told that he also had an ear infection. He was given an antibiotic for the ear infection. So, when the throwing up ceased he had the unpleasant side effects of gas and diarrhea.

On Tuesday, as my son’s symptoms were diminishing, I began to notice the stomach symptoms. Having had two months of morning sickness, I can’t say the throwing up was too out of the ordinary for me; though I was pretty glad to be done with that portion of pregnancy. And anytime food isn’t staying down it’s pretty hard to keep up energy levels. So, the week of the race I was doing a lot of sleeping and going for very minimal 1 mile walks.

Saturday afternoon it dawned on me that perhaps my son hadn’t really had side effects from the antibiotics; perhaps the intestinal issues were part of the stomach bug. My body continued to mirror what my poor little son had endured. I really came to understand and sympathize with his fussing, crying, and sleeping. Saturday night was the worst. I slept little and spent much time in the bathroom. At one point I thought maybe some Pepto Bismal would help. I generally avoid this drug as it tends to have the reverse affect and make me throw up; this expectation did not disappoint. Every time I stumbled back to bed I looked at the clock and thought ‘if I can sleep until the alarm, I can have 3 solid hours…. 2 ½ solid hours… 2 solid hours…’

As expected the alarm clock went off far too early. I initially laid in bed sobbing. My mind rushing. Was it wise to attempt to walk the ½ marathon? How many port-a-potties were along the route and could I make it from one set to the next? The race was filled to capacity at 10,000 and I had taken one of those spots… a spot that could have gone to an actual runner who wanted to be up and active this morning. I had asked someone to walk her first ½ marathon with me and I didn’t want to leave her. But, aside from dignity, would I also be risking my health? Or worse yet, my daughter’s health? If I wasn’t pregnant would I be comfortable going out the way I was feeling? I stumbled out of bed and located some anti-diarrhea medication; turned on the computer and verified that they were okay to take while pregnant.

The husband and I decided that I could eat some oatmeal and take it from there. While sitting on the couch, in a robe, with oatmeal, our ride showed up. We decided that I could get dressed and head down to the start since my mind wasn’t yet made up. Maybe the fresh, cool morning air would do me some good. Or, worst case scenario, I wouldn’t start and could hang out in the stadium where the restrooms are huge and medical personal are around. I got dressed and we got in the car. Our friends reminded me that the race wasn’t mandatory and I said that my mind wasn’t made up, but this was better than lying in bed feeling sad and upset.

We got to the start, checked bags, used the restroom, and wandered over to the start area. My intestines seemed to be feeling better; or at least not worse. I would start the race and take it from there. Worst case scenario the Sag Wagon could drive me back to the stadium.

The marathon had a wave start and we were at the back of the pack. It took us nearly 40 minutes after gun time to cross the start line (hooray for chip timing!). Having done several races before, it was an odd sensation to continue walking, albeit faster, when crossing the start. My mind still wants to run.

It turns out that in the walking section of a marathon there is much more conversation. There are also fewer fans along the route. We were very appreciative for those who were still out there cheering by the time we passed. Some signs were left posted along the route. I especially liked one that said, ‘You have started the race. You will finish.’

Amazingly I only made one port-a-potty stop and we found a bank where we became the line when we stopped. This pregnant lady figured that she’d have to at least pee more than once, but that wasn’t the case. The biggest annoyance during the race came along 48^th Street when they were moving us to the sidewalk so that they could reopen the road to traffic. That made me feel slow! And there were still too many of us in the area to comfortably fit on the sidewalk. Happily that was about a quarter of a mile from the bike path, so the annoyance didn’t last long. We didn’t have any other trouble with using the designated route.

It was great walking with a friend. Without her there were a few times when I would have been tempted to run; notably the start and when the finish line was in sight. But, without her I don’t know that I would have made it to the finish line. (Or, for that matter, the start). There were many times when she would be a pace or two ahead of me and I would will myself to catch up. I’m sure she could have gotten a better time without me dragging her down. Uphills were especially tough for me. Many times I could have let myself slow down; and that could have led to the slippery slope of stopping.

The finish of the marathon was very cool. It was the first time I’ve done the Lincoln since they moved the finish into Memorial Stadium. It was a little sad to have to pass the stadium and then circle back to enter it, but it made for an end with a little slope down and an amazing visual. Had I not been focused on just crossing the line I could have seen myself on the jumbotron. The clock said 4:12 when we crossed. Our chip time was 3:36.

I don’t know that I really had a time goal in mind. I knew that I wanted to be done in under 4 hours. Goals of 3:15 or 3:30 floated across my mind during training. But on Sunday, with a plethora of challenges spread before me, I just wanted to finish without losing my health or my dignity. Success!!

I got my chocolate milk and other snacks and made my way to the shower. I was tired but felt happy. While walking back to reconnect with friends, there was a lady wearing a little baby who did a double take at my belly and my medal and told me, ‘wow! Congratulations!’ I thanked her and it brought a tear to my eye. Of my challenges to make it to the start and finish lines the pregnancy felt like the least.

Eating chips turned out to be a bad idea and the throwing up resumed. When I returned home I crawled back into bed.

 
But, someday I’ll be able to tell Willow that she did her first ½ marathon when I was 24 weeks pregnant with her. It was harder than the one I did with Isaiah at 14 weeks, but for a whole different set of reasons.

Less than 1 week

Haven't been keeping up super well with the blog. Can't say I'm doing super great with the walking either, but the walking is at least going better than the blogging. I'm still just having a hard time thinking of walking as a workout.

But, less than one week until the 1/2 marathon. I bet walking 13.1 miles will feel like a workout...