With the help of some meds from the doctor my third month of pregnancy is far better than the second!
The rate of exhaustion is still WAY up there – but with morning sickness at bay I have settled into a nice routine if running three to four times a week. Coupled with walking the dogs and some ab and weight training , I’m starting to feel much better about the remaining 6 months!
To celebrate my ability to eat, and jog again, I decided to sign up for a fun 10km with friends on Dec 20th.
The goal is simple. Pick an event to keep me honest in my training. After running nothing more than 5km for my second month of pregnancy – the 10km loop the following week was quite the jump. But I rationalized it wasn’t that bad seeing as the month before I was polishing off 15km no problem.
My husband Syd was kind enough to accompany me for my run walk to get a sense of where I was at. Normally I would finish off a 10km run in an hour. Today we did 11km in an hour and a half! I gulped down the humble pie and reminded myself that the goal wasn’t to do what I normally do – the goal is to stay active and do what you can on any given day.
As the weeks come along and my running is getting more solid again I’m feeling better about my race in a few weeks. But jogging for 2 has proved to be a bit of Russian roulette: One day I feel like a rock star, the next I am winded by walking up a few flights of stairs! My running gear is only getting tighter as I build the mileage back up – but I have to remember why I’m doing this.
A buddy of mine is recovering from serious neck fractures and has picked the same 10km as the first of many recovery runs. The jokes are flying about the preggo and the cripple tearing up the 10km! But that’s not the point. The point is we’re both finding a way to do what we like to do – no matter how modified it may have to be on the day!
It’s humbling not to be fast – but it’s a good exercise to remember why I participate in sports. I do it because I like it – not because I’m the fastest. Sure when people pass me on the race that I think I should be faster than – it’ll bug me. But it’s a lot better than sitting home doing nothing!
If you read the pregnancy blogs about exercise – they encourage you to participate in gentle stretching. Perhaps do two walks of 15 minutes each day. Let’s just say – the bar is set very low my friends. But that does not mean you can’t participate in sport!
After consults with my chiro and doctor here are the moderating factors:
1. Don’t do sports where you can risk falling (good bye mountain bike)
2. As long as you can keep a regular conversation at the pace you are going (and drink lots of liquids) you are fine to do whatever you’d like!
So as my mother asks what I’m out to prove running a 10km while pregnant – the answer is simple. I’m doing what I love to do, in a way that’s safe for both of us. I can’t think of anything better for both of us really, mentally and physically.
That’s the way I ‘roll’ lately.
