Victory laps (pregnant lady returns to the track)

Alt. title: The track is a pregnant girl's best friend

Last week I was worried about whether or not it was time to quit running for the rest of this pregnancy.

This week I re-discovered the track.

Let's be clear right from the start: I am not talking about sprint-til-you-hurl workouts.

But for fitness, and making me still "feel like a runner" (even though I now mostly waddle), the track can't be beat.

After this week's success, I really am sorry I gave up the track completely when I first saw that little plus sign on the home pregnancy test.

I somehow forgot that you don't have to go FAST just to go to the track (even though I've given that same advice to many MANY other runners over the years...).

The track has benefits that I wish I remembered sooner:

• The soft surface is easier on my joints.
• I can run 200 meters and then walk a lap without feeling like a wuss.
• No matter how slow I go, I don't have to worry about being left in the dust by my running buddies - they're never more than a few hundred yards away!
• Restrooms are always within sight!

It is also thoroughly amusing to see my pace times. In January and February I was running laps in the 6-7 minute pace range.

Last night?

Wait for it...

10 minute mile pace for 200 meter repeats!

I'm not upset about the slow-down. Just amused.

It's been fascinating to track my physiological changes as baby grows.

I've put on twenty pounds of baby weight so far. My ligaments are looser. My calves cramp at horribly inconvenient times. (Hello painful 3am wakeup calls!) If I stand straight, I can't see my toes. And while walking is comfortable, standing still for long periods of time makes my feet ache.

So... I can't possibly expect to still be hitting pace targets.

And I'm not trying to.

It's just nice to be out there run/waddling with the running community and getting in a decent workout.

Training for two: week 25

Here are the workout details from week 25...

Friday: 3 mile walk

Saturday: childbirth class
(Sitting in hard plastic chairs for 6 hours isn't a workout, but it left me more sore than my last run!)

Sunday: 4 mile walk

Monday: 3 mile walk + prenatal yoga class!

Tuesday: 4 mile walk + prenatal yoga video in the office (a.k.a. my "coffee break")

Wednesday: 3 mile walk + prenatal yoga video + 2 mile walk/run (0.25 mi run, 0.5 mi walk)
Confession?
Back in February, I promised myself that I'd only run while it was comfortable and healthy. It's still healthy, but running comfort has taken a nosedive in the past few weeks. Running with 15 extra pounds, loose pelvic ligaments, and a 2-pound baby sitting on my bladder... Well... let's just say that I'm not sure how much longer "real" running will be in my fitness routine. Maybe it's time to find an aquatic center for pool running?

Thursday: 3 mile walk


THE TALLY:
20 miles walked + 3 prenatal yoga sessions + 2 mile walk/run + 1 childbirth class!


WHAT I LOVED READING THIS WEEK:

At times a bit overwhelming to read, The Second Nine Months: One Woman Tells the Real Truth about Becoming a Mom. Finally, by Vicki Glembocki, is a book I'm glad I finished.


Mom, Vicki, struggles with a baby who won't stop crying, and a culture that expects moms to speak of nothing but complete and overwhelming joy at the new addition to their family. So when a new parent feels completely overwhelmed, where does she turn?

I won't tell you how Vicki sorts things out, but I will recommend this book.


Public Service Message from Captain Obvious: These posts are not intended to be a set of week-by-week pregnancy workout guidelines. Every woman needs to do what's right for her and her baby, with a doctor's guidance, of course. I'd just like to keep y'all up to date on how things are going in my little world.

Training for two: week 24

Phew!
All boxes are unpacked, and life is starting to get back to normal here at Casa Run + Travel. Which also means workouts and blogging are (slowly) getting back to normal.

Here are the workout details from week 24...


Friday: 2 mile walk + unpacking

Saturday: unpacking...


Sunday: unpacking...
...and we're DONE!
I skipped my favorite prenatal yoga class this week, but it was worth it to have the extra time to unpack, sort, organize, and de-clutter the house. My house looks like a home now!

Monday: 4 mile walk

Tuesday: 2 mile walk

Wednesday: 3 mile walk + prenatal strength routine from fitsugar + prenatal yoga

Thursday: 3 mile walk + 10 minutes of office prenatal yoga on my lunch break


THE TALLY:
14 miles walked, 0 miles run, plus strength training and (not enough) yoga



WHAT I LOVED READING THIS WEEK:

Amidst the volumes and volumes of "how to raise the world's best, most well-adjusted child" encyclopedias that claim to teach you "everything you need to know to be a parent," there are a few books that provide a decent dose of reality.

I have my friend RR to thank for recommending How to Have Your Second Child First. The book provides some practical baby advice, and also a heaping helping of "don't worry so much."

I might read it twice...


Public Service Message from Captain Obvious: These posts are not intended to be a set of week-by-week pregnancy workout guidelines. Every woman needs to do what's right for her and her baby, with a doctor's guidance, of course. I'd just like to keep y'all up to date on how things are going in my little world.

Training for two: week 23

Here are the workout details from week 23...
(Be warned, this was not a workout week.)

This post is almost a week late. Because my kitchen and living room went from this:

To this:

After more than 2 months of waiting, my furniture is finally here! (I just wish the same could be said for my free weights and the power cord for my stationary bike! Of all the things for movers to lose... *sigh*)

(For the record, photo #2 is early on in the move-in process. The pile of packing crates and boxes actually looked much, MUCH worse for a few days, but now almost everything is stowed away in its proper place, and we can walk through the living room again.)


Friday: 2 mile walk

Saturday: Prentatal yoga!


Sunday: Yard work (Re-planted the front flower beds. Mulched the yard.)

Monday: 3 mile walk

Tuesday: Unpacking

Wednesday: Unpacking

Thursday: Unpacking... (notice a theme?)


THE TALLY:
A lot of effort, but very few "workouts."
At least I have a "normal" home again.



WHAT I LOVED READING THIS WEEK:

Reading? What reading?

I'll get back to reading now that my bookshelves are here and have BOOKS on them!


Public Service Message from Captain Obvious: These posts are not intended to be a set of week-by-week pregnancy workout guidelines. Every woman needs to do what's right for her and her baby, with a doctor's guidance, of course. I'd just like to keep y'all up to date on how things are going in my little world.

Weekly roundup: Friday potluck

Welcome to another installment of the weekly roundup we all know and love: Friday potluck! This week's theme: heat, exhaustion, and cool cocktails.


TOO HOT TO... TAKE OFF?

While the east coast was getting battered with day after day of rain, the western states were broiling in a record heat wave. One of the consequences? Cancelled flights!
Who knew that many airplanes can't take off in temperatures over 118?

SWEET DREAMS FOR ENDURANCE RUNNERS

New research suggests that extreme endurance runners (we're talking the 50-100 hour events here) may actually be less fatigued in longer races than in shorter ones.
(Call me skeptical, but I need to see more evidence before I believe this one...)


WHO DRINKS THE MOST BOOZE?

Have you ever wondered whether or not generalizations about Russians and vodka are true? The Economist tallied annual per capital alcohol consumption by country, and the results are both surprising and not surprising. (Yes, Russians drink a whopping 13.1 liters of vodka per person per year, but they're far down the list on most other spirits...)

Alcohol consumption by country (from The Economist)

OTHER BOOZE NEWS: IT'S GOOD FOR THE ENVIRONMENT!

MillerCoors is going landfill free, recycling, reusing, or composting all waste from its production operations. (That might still not be enough to get me to drink their beer... but wait... Coors makes a non-alcohol beer. Maybe I'll try that for the next 4 months.)


IN MY KITCHEN...

Still no furniture or housewares... and taking photos of my microwave oatmeal seems a bit extreme. Hopefully the movers will arrive in time for next week's edition!


QUOTE OF THE WEEK:

"There is no such thing as bad weather..."

(Unless you're on an airplane in Phoenix?)


HAPPY FRIDAY, FRIENDS!

Training for two: week 22

Goodbye toes!
(I got a pedicure this week, but my belly is so big I can't see my tootsies unless I sit with my feet up.)

Hello cellulite on my calves!
(Seriously, I don't want to know what my ankles would look like if I wasn't still working out... But I'm trying to keep a good sense of humor about this. The human body is an amazing machine. If it thinks I need a little extra padding right now, who am I to argue?)

Here are the workout details from week 22...


Friday: 2 mile walk

Saturday: bailing water out of the basement and re-grading the back yard...
Seriously - will the rain on the East Coast EVER STOP???
Um... Yeah. I didn't need another workout after the home improvement projects.



Reston Firecracker 5k, right after the photographer
asked me: "You didn't RUN, did you?"

Sunday: REST

Monday: 4 mile walk

Tuesday: 4 mile walk + prenatal strength routine from fitsugar + leg lifts + prenatal yoga

Wednesday: 3 mile walk

Thursday: Hubby and I added a 6th year to our Independence Day racing streak with a 3.1 mile run at the Reston Firecracker 5k
(Race review to follow...)
Plus we walked at least 2 miles around the National Mall.


THE TALLY:
15 miles walked, 3.1 miles run, plus strength training and (not enough) yoga



WHAT I LOVED READING THIS WEEK:

I took a break from baby-book reading this week to dig into The Complete Sherlock Holmes.

What can I say?
Some days a girl just needs a good mystery story.
(And at 99 cents on Kindle, how could I resist?)

Next week's review will be either How to Have Your Second Child First or The Second Nine Months: One Woman Tells the Real Truth about Becoming a Mom. Finally.


Public Service Message from Captain Obvious: These posts are not intended to be a set of week-by-week pregnancy workout guidelines. Every woman needs to do what's right for her and her baby, with a doctor's guidance, of course. I'd just like to keep y'all up to date on how things are going in my little world.