Does This Look Weird to You?

Because based on the looks I got on my run to H and R Block this afternoon it looked weird to the tens of people I ran past. But really, what's a gal to do? I tried to drop off our W2s and other assorted tax forms on my drive home from work but there was some Chicago Public Schools rally blocking the traffic downtown so I couldn't get through. I suppose the options at that point were to drive home and park and then either 1) take a cab, 2) walk or 3) run to the tax place with the paperwork. I didn't want to waste money (or sit in the crazy rally traffic) with a cab. Walking the two miles there and back seemed like a giant waste of time especially since I still needed to run today. So, I tossed the paperwork into my empty Nathan hydration pack, threw on some winter running clothes and went for a run!

34 weeks "running errands"

It was hilarious! The LOOKS on people's FACES! I need to run outside more often because it is so entertaining! The folks in my gym(s) are used to the crazy pregnant woman who runs at least a mile every day (and her crazy husband who runs 3 miles every day!). But regular people on the streets of Chicago are apparently NOT used to a 34 week pregnant lady on the run! Most people looked confused as they saw me approach, and for some this look turned into one of surprise or shock when they realized, yes, yes, she's pregnant. One 70+ year old woman looked absolutely horrified. Only one person- a thin, apparently fit woman with a toddler in a stroller- gave me a wide grin. Must have recently been a pregnant runner herself. But really, people, does this look that odd? Maybe don't answer that:)

Is the hydration pack that gives me away?

Exercise During Pregnancy....What I've Done (so far)

Running at 32 weeks

In a future post (in progress), I will discuss general exercise recommendations for pregnant woman. Here I will write about what I did.

To give some background, I've been a runner and marathoner since 2006. (I first became a runner so that I could complete a marathon so the two happened at the same time.) Since 2006 I've completed 13 marathons, so on average 2 a year but in reality I had been escalating my number of marathons in recent years- I did 3 in 2012 and 4 in 2011. My average monthly running mileage varied but was in the 70-100 mile range. I intermittently also lifted weights, did the occasional fitness, weights, or spinning class at the gym. But really, running was my major focus.

In 2012, I began to up the ante a bit by adding in more spinning and learning how to swim with the intention of eventually doing an Ironman. (You may see the theme that I don't do things partway!) My first ever triathlon was the Chicago sprint triathlon in August 2012. Despite barely swimming at all during the swim, I had a great time doing this race with my friend Sara! Immediately after Chicago, I signed up for the Lake Geneva Sprint Triathlon as a redemption race. Two weeks later I found out I was pregnant (thus learning that babybison also did her first triathlon!). Being so early in the pregnancy, I saw absolutely no reason to not do the triathlon, though did acknowledge I should probably take it a bit easier than I otherwise would and drink plenty of water. The Lake Geneva tri was the last time I rode a bike outside during my pregnancy. As I'll note in my general exercise during pregnancy post, avoiding the possibility of falling and causing serious trauma is important. If I loved, loved, loved biking outside I probably would have ridden carefully for a couple more months but it just wasn't important to me and I had to ramp up my running mileage for my fall marathons anyway.

Val's Pregnancy Exercise Rule #1: Cut out activities where you could experience trauma. (biking, downhill skiing, horseback riding, etc-  all carry risk of falls!)

When I found out I was pregnant (we learned at 5 weeks), my race schedule included the Lake Geneva Sprint Tri (week 6), the Des Moines Marathon (11 weeks), and the Outer Banks Marathon (14 weeks). I had toyed with doing the Chicago Marathon as well but wasn't particularly jazzed about it so it was a no brainer to cut that one out (3 marathons in a three week period seemed excessive during pregnancy).  I didn't for a minute consider not doing my two goal marathons. I just knew I'd need to change my goals for the races! The month I learned I was pregnant was actually my biggest running mileage month of the year- 118 miles in September. I had already started my mileage ramp up for my fall marathons, having run 17 miles Labor Day weekend. Sure I read a little bit about endurance running during pregnancy, and the general rules to follow (don't get too hot, make sure to keep the pace conversational) but the question was always how to do it safely not whether I would do it.

Val's Pregnancy Exercise Rule #2: If you were doing it before you got pregnant, you can keep on doing it!

September was a great training month overall with lots of swimming, biking, running (including a 20 miler) and classes at the gym. In October, I definitely tapered and I remember having significant fatigue from weeks 7-10. Like absolutely needing to lay down some afternoons. Like never having been that physically exhausted in my whole life despite sleeping for 9-10 hours every night. Organogenesis will get you. Really, who knew making teeny tiny organs could be so tiring! Plus the (very) mild, (very) minimal, (but still there), low grade nausea made activities less than desirable. There were multiple days where it took all of my motivation (and my desire to maintain my running streak) to get off the couch to run even one mile. But I plugged along and from very early on adopted the rule that I would continue to follow throughout the pregnancy:

Val's Pregnancy Exercise Rule #3: If you feel a symptom or sensation when you are at rest, it is okay to feel that same symptom or sensation while exercising. However if the symptom worsens in frequency or intensity, back off or stop.

Des Moines marathon 11 weeks

During the first trimester, my main symptoms were nausea which often was improved (and definitely never worsened) by running, and this odd sensation of feeling like the baby (or something) was wedged into my right pelvic bone. I have no idea what I was actually feeling, but the beauty of rule #3 is that it doesn't matter all that much what you are feeling as long as it is not exacerbated by exercise. Any woman who thinks she can identify all the sensations she has during pregnancy is either lying to you or to herself because seriously, it's a free for all in there. I mean I had "sensations" from week 5-7 that I was later told must have been increased blood flow in my ovary and uterus. I'm a doctor, a medical doctor, and I had NO IDEA you could feel pregnancy related sensations that early on! Crazy.

Both marathons went well from the pregnant running perspective. You can read the full race reports here (Des Moines) and here (Outer Banks). I actually had a really, really great time in Des Moines- one of my favorite race experiences of all time. I know I could have killed it if I wasn't running pregnant. But I was super careful and even took walking breaks simply for temperature control in the last 6 miles and still pulled out a respectable 4:22.

Outer Banks Marathon 14 weeks

Between the two races (which were just three weeks apart), I only had 5 runs of any significant distance (i.e. 3 miles or more). I was still tired, then I got a terrible cold (which I had during the Outer Banks marathon, yeah, so pregnant and couldn't breathe through my nose for that one!). In November and December the wheels really fell off in terms of my running life and really my exercising in general was not where it should have been. I know the reasons (excuses). First the cold that lasted 2 weeks, then I had an amniocentesis so wasn't supposed to over-exert for a couple days, then we had some scary news about the baby's health (false alarm, she's fine, but it took 3 weeks to get all the tests back) that really rendered both Adam and I pretty non-functional except for the most essential of activities (like work). Plus the pregnancy niggles were really in full bloom and seemed to be new and different every day making it more and more challenging for me to follow exercise rule #3. I seemed to be forever questioning every new sensation racking my brain to remember if it was one I had during rest or a new one that required me to stop. For a few week period, every 3rd work-out ended prematurely because I wasn't sure if I felt okay or not. Very frustrating. Plus the constant having to pee niggle was the PITS! There were multiple 45 minute work-outs where I would pee 4 times, yes every mile. This made running quite unpleasant so I resorted to a good deal of hill walking and started to spin and swim more frequently during this time.

From October to December I was a bit of an exercise sinking ship. I got in a handful of decent runs (at least one a week including a 10 miler at week 22) but running definitely fell off. Then the day of the half-marathon I was shooting for I had another miserable cold. I wasn't going to let that stop me but when I felt all kinds of pelvic sensations on the jog to the start I made the safe choice and went for a 4 mile run with Adam instead.

Luckily, in early January I got back on the exercise bandwagon with the motivation of a second attempt at a 45 in 45 challenge, initially posed my one of my friends on-line. I had completely failed at my first attempt (45 in 4 of 5) in Nov/Dec but decided to give it a second chance as a way to stay motivated (45 in 45). And it worked! While I was a few hours shy of exactly meeting my target, trying for the goal of working out an average of 45 minutes every day for 45 days helped increase my exercise frequency and intensity for the months of January and February, and the motivation is still holding strong now at pregnancy week 32 in mid-March. In addition to the obligatory 1 mile running daily, I averaged at least 1 spin a week, 1 3+ mile run a week, 1 swim a week and 1-2 strength training sessions a week.

Val's Pregnancy Exercise Rule #4: It's never too late to set new ambitious exercise goals even when pregnant!

30 weeks, on my way to the gym

Regarding strength training, I need to thank my husband for his support on this one. He's the one who found the Active Mom's Club, a prenatal and postnatal fitness organization with small group (3 women) training sessions for prenatal women. There are so many rules about which exercises and which positions are acceptable for women at the various stages of pregnancy- to prevent injury, to prevent decreased fetal blood flow, to prevent diastasis recti- so many rules! Training with a small group with a trainer who specializes in pregnant woman took a lot of the guess work out of strength training for me. Plus, it's much more motivating to have a trainer than to do it alone. I've been going once a week and doing the exercises one additional day on my own and I do believe my strength is actually improving during this pregnancy! I've more than maintained.....I've actually gained in the strength department, and when this baby fat (18 lbs of it!) melts away during the first two postpartum months I'm hoping I'll be happily surprised by the muscle that lies beneath:)

Val's Pregnancy Exercise Rule #5: Strength training is the exception to Rule #2.

The third trimester has been generally good to me and the niggles are actually decreasing. The having to pee niggle is all but gone (just 1 break after mile 1 and I can run for another 30 minutes!) There was a week there when I first experienced Braxton-Hicks contractions where I really paid close, close attention to whether the frequency or intensity increased during exercise and since they didn't, I feel confident in managing these during exercise as well. I try to be reasonable, not to be overly anxious, but to always error on the side of caution if I have any questions.

I really lucked out in terms of timing with this pregnancy. Being pregnant from August to May means I won't have to miss the late summer/fall marathon or triathlon season here in the Midwest. I am skipping the Spring marathon season this year (and notably the Big Sur International Marathon since I'll be 38 weeks pregnant), but should be in tip top shape for next Spring's season.

In future posts, I'll write about pregnancy exercise recommendations in general and then about what I would do differently were I to become pregnant again, hoping this can serve as advice to other pregnant wannabe athletes as well as myself if I ever think about doing this again (though I think once is more than enough, thank you very much!)

32 weeks

First family photo!

Just a quick update on fun things that occurred during week 32 of our pregnancy!


Last weekend, I succumbed to the baby bump craze and took some pregnancy photos. I wasn't initially planning on doing this, but so may people (including strangers) have been commenting on my "cute" baby bump that I figured maybe one day I'd want some pictures to reflect on the "cuteness" of it all, so Adam and I headed up to the Chicago Botanic Gardens for a photo shoot. Adam is an excellent photographer and despite being just a little on the cold side, we had a great time and got some wonderful shots. Here are a few of my favorites:

Had to be goofy!

With one of babybison's bison bibs!

This was a great week of exercise. Two prenatal training sessions, 2 great spins and a glorious 4 mile run. The 4 mile run was so wonderful! I felt comfortable, no niggles- pregnancy related or otherwise. I felt like I could have gone a few more miles but I kept thinking about the 18 lbs I've gained and how my poor joints haven't had a lot of time to adapt to the weight and the fact that my knee hurt earlier in the week so I left it at 4. But I'll try for more next week if I'm feeling good. In addition to this being a solid run physically, mentally it was awesome as well since it took place on a treadmill next to a 20 something young guy, who was running 30s/mile slower than me. I'm not ashamed to admit it, that made me feel really good about how I'm doing running-wise 32 weeks into my pregnancy! :) And I got new running shoes that just happen to be my favorite color purple! It's hard to believe these will be the shoes I wear on my postpartum runs only 8 weeks away!

That's a serious bump!

I promise I'm running!

Today was another fun day with a little baby celebration at my in-laws house. In addition to a lovely lunch, a crazy amount of adorable little girl clothes and catching up with the family, I was treated to a hand, back and foot/leg massage from my niece Maya. This girl has mad massage skills! No joke, her hand massage is way better than any I've ever had at a salon! It was so sweet for my mother and sister-in-law to arrange this event!

So cute!

Leg massage with Maya.

And lastly, in response to lots of queries about "the nursery" from friends and family, here's a picture of the crib all done up with lavender elephant sheets. Since babybison will be in my room to start, which was already purple, lavender was the easy choice for bedding and room decor. I'm not modifying what's on her wall which is 30+ photos of good memories over the past few years that Adam put up for my birthday years ago. He adds photos periodically to ensure the number of photos keeps up with or exceeds my birthday year, so there are 35+ right now. And my wedding photo is on the side wall. What better for babybison to look up at than photos of her parents enjoying each other and their family and friends? And soon enough, she'll be on the wall as well!

Close up of the crib with extra sheets, blankets including two from Grandma Bison!

The crib and changing table. Changing table with eventually have cute baskets on the
shelves and a diaper pad with supplies on top!

The New Hardcore...Running at 30 weeks

What is 'hardcore'? Definitions include "intensely loyal, or die-hard" as in a "hardcore fan", "extreme", "unswervingly committed, uncompromising, or dedicated". Certainly most would agree on certain athletic examples of hardcore- like swimming across the Bering Strait or winning an Ironman.  But those of us who strive to be better day-to-day athletes need to bring our definition of "hardcore" down to Earth a bit so that we can have our own slivers of "hardcore" to keep us motivated. For example, silly as they may sound, my little glimpses of hardcore include the time I ran my daily mile in my work clothes and clogs in the snow before a rare night out with some girlfriends (I couldn't skip my run!), bursts of speed during marathons when I think I have nothing left, long runs (15 mile +) in less than 20 degree weather, or speed workouts when I ran faster than I ever had before.

In the past few months, hardcore has been decidedly lacking. It's difficult to feel hardcore when your running pace and distances are slowing over time. However, paradoxically, over the past week I had a few glimpses of hardcore once again. The more pregnant I become, the more happy I am with my ongoing work-outs. I keep thinking I'll have to slow down or "give up" on quality exercise soon, but each week I surprise myself by pulling out some legitimate sweat sessions. For example, on Monday I went to the gym, ran 2.5 miles at an increasing pace (notably with 2 much younger non-pregnant women walking on the treadmills next to me!), then worked my muscles to near fatigue at my training class which was intermixed with 3 x 3 minutes of moderate sprints when my trainer told me to "shake it out with some light cardio".  Light cardio, ha! How about running at 7.0 mph at 30 weeks! That's a legit non-pregnant workout. I'd say it's hardcore for running at 30 weeks! Tuesday I did a spinning class and despite staying in the safe cardio zone of not getting short of breath (almost) the whole time, I somehow rode 1 mph faster than usual. Again, a legit non-pregnant workout. But I'd say it's hardcore for spinning at 30 weeks pregnant!

So today, I'm going to take some time to congratulate myself. On still running. On still spinning. On still swimming. On INCREASING my weight lifting while pregnant compared to prior. On working out 5-7 days a week even during the third trimester.

That said, I think my 45 in 45 goal is not going to remain realistic. I'm about to be "on service"  for the next two months which means my schedule is not going to be very flexible. I'm finding that in order to maintain my current exercise schedule I need to allow for adequate rest time every 3rd day or so (rest time= feet up on the couch for at least an hour) and I won't be able to do this consistently for the next two months.  Plus, I've pretty much nixed early morning workouts (I'm prioritizing sleep), thus some days it just might not be possible to squeeze in more than 10 minutes a day. So rather than keeping track of time and potentially feeling bad if I don't reach my goal of 310 minutes each week I'm going to shoot for 5-7 quality work-outs a week: 2-3 weight work-outs, 1 run of some distance (3 miles?), 1 spin and 1 swim. Hopefully, I'll still have glimpses of hardcore:)

With only 10 weeks to go, I'm starting to think about postpartum workout plans. While I fully realize it may not be possible to keep up my 1 mile run a day immediately postpartum, I'm going to try! We took the BOB Ironman for a spin at REI last weekend and it is awesome! So light! Though it won't be as light once we put the infant seat and the infant in there:) And I'm looking forward to swimming lessons, getting my new road bike (my "push" present!) and starting post-natal personal training at week 6!


So here's my last week of my 45 minutes/day challenge. I'm glad I did this- I'm sure it helped to keep my exercise routine intact for longer than if I hadn't set these (slightly unattainable) goals!


Day 1: ran 1 mile, swam 0.5 miles (35 minutes)
Day 2: ran 1 mile, weights (35 minutes)
Day 3: ran 1.5 miles, weights (45 minutes)
Day 4: ran 1 mile (10 minutes)
Day 5: ran 1 mile (10 minutes)
Day 6: ran 3.5 mile, prenatal training class (85 minutes)
Day 7: ran 1 mile, 13 miles spinning (55 minutes)

This week: 275 out of 310 minutes = 35 minute deficit

30 weeks!

.

On Complacency....and Pregnancy Weight Gain

No one strives to be complacent. In any sphere of life. But I believe there are so many instances in life where we are lulled into complacency, even encouraged to be complacent. Weight gain during pregnancy is one such situation. Clearly, when normal weight women become pregnant, they need to gain weight. Fetuses and all the support structures they require weigh something. And people who start out thin (or healthy), will need to gain lbs corresponding to these structures. But how much? What should this weight distribution be? How do fit women balance eating with the decrease in exercise intensity that inevitably is a part of a healthy pregnancy?

I am doing many things well during my pregnancy. But there are things I wish I had done differently and changes I plan to employ going forward. When I first became pregnant, I immediately changed my exercise intensity intentionally, but unintentionally also decreased my frequency due to fatigue. The amount of calories I took in probably decreased from baseline (though I wasn't keeping track) and my hunger level definitely decreased which made sense given my decrease in exercise. But I didn't play close attention to what I was eating and aside from keeping up my running mileage enough to complete my marathons, I didn't have specific exercise goals. Looking back, I should have started tracking what and how much I was eating more closely and set some specific non-running goals for myself. And I should have incorporated more weight training (but that's the story of my life, in general, not just during pregnancy!)

My 2nd trimester started off well with another marathon but quickly deteriorated from a physical fitness standpoint as I took a few days off from heavy exertion for my amniocentesis. Then some unanticipated concerns about our baby's health (don't worry, everything ended up okay) made me pretty sad for a few weeks while we were in medical limbo and I just couldn't force myself to stay as active as I should have. And I definitely wasn't paying attention to what I was eating. For the past few weeks, things have been going well. I feel great, babybison is kicking away in there, all is good. And my 45 in 45 goal (45 minutes of exercise for 45 days in a row) has really helped me to stay active. Eating wise, I have tried to not go crazy, but I have definitely been paying a bit less attention than usual to my intake. But my 14 lb weight gain at my last appointment (though I was wearing heavy boots, I like to believe it was only 12!) was shocking. But the number was less disturbing to me than the fact that I feel and look out of shape. I'm happy to gain weight in the fetus and the uterus and the amniotic fluid, but I really don't appreciate weight gain in my legs....or back....or arms. That is not pregnancy weight gain- it's complacency. And I will not continue to be complacent.

So I decided to look into the data. What is the pregnancy weight gain breakdown? How much is actually required? Where do these guidelines come from? And what do I need to do in the last 3 months to ensure the health of both my baby (weight gain) and me (no excess weight gain and the barest minimal of fitness loss).

First, a bit of history.....

Prior to the 1930s, there was a societal belief that excessive maternal weight gain led to obstetrical problems and women were actually advised to not gain more than 15 lbs. In the 1970s a few studies indicated that maternal dietary restriction correlated with low birth weight babies and the weight gain recommendation changed, somewhat arbitrarily, to 20-25 lbs. Note that all of these "studies" including the one I go into detail below are observational studies- it is not ethically possible in the modern age to rigorously study maternal weight gain. A high quality study would be one that randomly assigned some women to the currently recommended weight gain (25-30 lbs for normal weight women) versus less weight gain, and then compared outcomes. Not many women would volunteer for such a study and even if they (and their physicians) were willing, there would be no way to truly control each woman's weight gain, let alone control for all the other factors that go into maternal and fetal health (smoking, drinking, exercise, medical problems, etc).

The current weight gain recommendations come from various bodies such as the Institute of Medicine (IOM). The IOM guidelines were updated in 2009 and, interestingly, the update focused mostly on avoiding excessive weight gain particularly in overweight women.  They discuss how many women go into pregnancy already overweight and how they need to carefully limit weight gain and how women who go into pregnancy with normal weight end up gaining way too much and often don't lose it postpartum (thus remaining overweight or obese for the rest of their lives). They recommend many women spend time losing weight PRIOR to getting pregnant so as to start from a healthy weight. So we've come full circle from asking pregnant women to restrict weight gain in the 1930s to asking them to gain in the 1970s to asking them to carefully gain and even consider pre-pregnancy weight loss.

Here are the official weight gain guidelines from the IOM:

Just to give you a sense, a 5'5" woman who weights 150 lbs has an upper limit of normal BMI of ~25. More than that= overweight. Note that 27% of women of childbearing age are obese, not just overweight, but obese!

For those interested here is one of the more recent, sub-optimal, study the guidelines are based on.
This study followed ~3000 women in Brazil in the 1990s, with results recently reported in January 2013. They followed womens' weight gain in the 2nd and 3rd trimester and compared them to the 2009 IOM recommendations. What they found was interesting:

• Roughly 50% of women had "excessive" weight gain in the 2nd and 3rd trimester
• Women who were obese prior to pregnancy were at higher risk of gaining excess weight.
• Mean weight gain was higher in the 2nd trimester than in the 3rd for non-obese women (good news for me, hopefully the vast majority of my weight gain is behind me!). Obese women just kept gaining.
• "Insufficient" weight gain (defined as below the minimum as recommended by 2009 IOM) was correlated with a lower risk of c-section (statistically significant) and higher risk of pre-term birth (not statistically significant). However, note that "insufficient" weight gain during the 2nd trimester only was predictive. Being below the average during the 3rd trimester did NOT have detrimental effects. 
• "Excessive" weight gain (defined as above the maximum as recommended by 2009 IOM) correlated with higher risk of c-section and large for gestational age babies. "Excessive" weight gain during both the 2nd and 3rd trimesters was harmful.

(Data obtained from PLOS Jan 2013)

Another interesting point is the variable weight gain recommendation in other countries. No surprise that they are lower elsewhere as compared to here in part due to smaller frames of women in some Asian countries and in part because Americans tend to think more and bigger is better (often to our detriment).

• Japan weight gain for normal weight women- 15-26 lbs
• UK weight gain recommendation is up to 27 lbs (Interestingly, one site's first comment was "first and foremost, it is important to accept that you are going to put on weight during pregnancy", quite contrary to the American view of "woo-hoo, bring on the ice cream, I'm eating for two!")
• France- 19-26 lbs
• S Africa, Ghana- 24-35 lbs

Finally, here is a estimated breakdown of where pregnancy weight gain goes. Not sure how they came up with this but I doubt is was from rigorous scientific study:

• Baby: 7-8 pounds
• Placenta: 1-2 pounds
• Amniotic fluid: 2 pounds
• Uterus: 2 pounds
• Maternal breast tissue: 2 pounds
• Maternal blood : 4 pounds
• Fluids in maternal tissue: 4 pounds
• Maternal fat and nutrient stores: 7 pounds

Source: American Pregnancy.org

Bottom line for healthy weight women: Stick with the recommendation, but feel comfortable that it's perfectly safe to stay at the lower end of the weight range. 

Bottom line for overweight and obese women: Plan to lose weight BEFORE becoming pregnant. Get healthy first before bringing a little one into the mix! If you do get pregnant while overweight/obese you must calorie count and stay active and be vigilant about minimizing weight gain.

Bottom line for me: It's normal to gain the most during the 2nd trimester. So I should be/can be careful from here on out. I'm up 14 lbs now. As long as I ensure I do not gain more than 1 lb a week b/t now and the end, both me and the baby should be a-okay. While I'm not going to start weighing myself daily, or restricting my food intake, I AM going to start counting my calories from time to time as a way to keep tabs on things and just keep myself in check. People in general (and me in particular) tend to eat more reasonable portions of healthier foods while tracking their intake. So that will be my step to avoid complacency during the next 12 weeks. That and continuing to have aggressive exercise goals (though they will change probably on a weekly basis), including my least favorite workouts of all- weight training. If I can turn some of this new found fat into muscle it will still be weight gain, right? :)

I'm the Girl Who Cried Wolf (Week 6 of 45 in 45)

First off, thanks to those who have reached out with encouraging words during my "down" exercise days. It's nice to have folks recognize the effort I'm putting in day in and day out to not become a couch-dwelling pregnant slug. Which is a bit harder than the effort to not become a couch-dwelling non-pregnant slug!

But I feel a little bit like the boy (or girl) who cried wolf. You know the story. The shepherd boy keeps scaring the villagers by claiming a wolf was nearby eager to attack the flock of sheep. The day the wolf actually comes, he cries "Wolf, WOLF" but no one believes him since he's fooled them so many times before.

Well, I keep "crying wolf" by over-reacting every time I have a failed work-out. I let myself catastrophize the situation thinking I'll NEVER have another good run (while pregnant), or my running days are over (for this pregnancy), when in reality I'm experiencing likely normal ebbs and flows in my body's tolerance of running and exercise in general. Bad days are often followed by good days, often multiple good days in a row. So next time I have weird pains that cause me to bail on a run or anything else I will do my best to not freak out, and just hope the next day is better!

I suspect the day will come when all I can muster is my one mile a day. But until I have a week of consistently bad work-outs, I will not cry wolf, I will not jump to any conclusions about pregnancy work-outs being over, etc, etc. Even when I'm not pregnant, I've had 'bad' weeks due to work or illness where my total workout time for the week was a paltry 7 miles. So I need to give myself a break. At the same time, though, I need to start watching my dietary intake like a hawk so that if/when my exercising decreases my eating decreases proportionally. (Stay tuned for a post on pregnancy weight gain.)

With no further ado, here's the breakdown for 45 in 45 week 6:

Day 1: 1 mile run (10 mins)
Day 2: 11.5 mile spin, 1200 yd swim, 1 mile run (85 mins)
Day 3: 5.1 mile run, 1 mile hill walk (65 mins)
Day 4: 1 mile run (10 mins)
Day 5: 1 mile run (10 mins)
Day 6: 2 mile run, prenatal training (70 mins)
Day 7: 11.5 mile spinning, 1 mile run, 0.7 mile hill climb (60 mins)

This week: 310 out of 310 minutes (RIGHT ON TARGET!!)
Total deficit: 225 on going deficit. At least I didn't add to it this week!

When I first start this 45 in 45 challenge (take 2) the goal was to exercise 45 minutes on average for 45 days. Day 45 is two days from now and I'm behind by 225 minutes. Now if only I had a marathon to run I could knock that 225 out in one fell swoop! But I don't. So, strictly speaking, this challenge was a fail.

But I really don't want to call it a fail, because it kept me motivated to at least attempt a full 45 minute workout everyday (with a few exceptions of long days at work). It took me time to get into the swing of things, but my workout deficit time became smaller each week and this week I did indeed reach my goal. So maybe with a few more weeks I could make this a true success.

So, like a 6th grade teacher whose prize pupil claims the dog ate his homework, I'm going to give myself an extension. I'm going to extend the challenge for 4 weeks- to March 14th, to try to work down that deficit and make the final average 45 minutes a day of exercise. So what if it will be 45 in 73 instead of 45 in 45. It's keeping up physical fitness that counts! And not giving up.....

45 in 45 Week 5

(Borrowed from elsewhere- not my babybison!)

This hasn't been the best week. Two work-out fails. Yesterday, I left spinning early after only 30 minutes because I was having a weird left lower quadrant and back ache that I didn't have prior to spinning class. As I've mentioned before, one of my rules for safe exercise during pregnancy is to back off or stop if I have different or worsened "sensations" than I have when NOT exercising. Maybe I'm overcautious, but I don't think so. What other barometer makes more sense? I can't think of one. So I stopped early. The ache continued (it was so, so mild and not associated with any other symptoms) for a few hours but I otherwise felt fine and by the evening I felt totally fine and did my run and hill climb with absolutely no problems.

Just now I went to do a 3 miler outside since it's relatively warm at 30+ degrees. I was hungry though so had a sandwich and crackers a few minutes before I left. Usually, I can eat (or drink) immediately before- or even during a run with absolutely NO GI consequences. Guess I'm lucky. (I had dinner and a glass of red wine before one of my treadmill 20 milers in the past!) But I guess with the real estate at a premium in my abdomen and pelvis, I don't have the flexibility I used to have. I had to abort my run at 1 mile because I wasn't entirely sure if the pain I was having was GI vs other. GI=niggle. Other could be baby. So I stopped. Hopefully, as my body adapts to the end of 2nd trimester and the beginning of the the 3rd (can you believe I'll be in my 3rd trimester in a week and two days!?!), I'll figure out what new issues are just niggles and which are legit. Even as I write this I feel totally fine again so I'll probably head down for an arm weight w/u and swim in a bit.

Still, it's frustrating to get motivated and ready to work out and having to stop well before my heart, lung, head or legs want me to.

Just me whining.

Here are the details of last week's workouts:

Day 1: 1 mile run, 300 yard swim (20 minutes)
Day 2: 1 mile run 13.6 mile spin (55 minutes)
Day 3: 1 mile run, 1000 yd swim (45 minutes)
Day 4: 1 mile run, 2.5 mile hill climb (45 minutes)
Day 5: 1 mile run (10 minutes)
Day 6: 1 mile run, prenatal weight w/u (45 minutes)
Day 7: 1 mile run, 8.5 mile spin, 2.2 mile hill climb (75 minutes)

Total:  295 out of 310 (deficit down to 15 minutes!!)
Total deficit: 50+60+70+30+15= 225 deficit

With only a week left, I'd have to exercise for 75 minutes a day every day b/t now and next Thursday. Not sure how realistic this is. Especially when I have to stop from time to time like I have this week. This Sunday in particular is a near impossibility since I'm on Division Call.

What do you think, friends? What kind of modification should I make for myself so I can still call this personal challenge a success? Give myself an additional week of 45 minutes day so the deficit can be spread out over 2 weeks instead of one?

I'll see how the next few days go.....

Lest I Give the Wrong Impression.....

....working out during pregnancy is not easy. My post yesterday might lead you to believe that every day, and every workout, is wine and roses. Well, let me assure you, there is very little wine. Not really many roses, either. I am generally staying upbeat, and certainly like to project an upbeat image on this here blog, but there certainly are challenges. However, I like to find the humor in the challenges and I certainly did today!

I really did not feel like moving my gravid behind off the couch this evening. I had a nice healthy dinner (salad!) and was enjoying The Following pilot on hulu. Adam was gone at a work event (hence the guilty pleasure TV watching) and since I'd been out of town for a week and then had two great work-outs this week I wasn't feeling particularly inclined to do anything physical. However, I obviously had to get my one mile run in so I figured I might as well put my suit on under my running clothes and plop myself in the pool since it's been a couple weeks since I last swam.

Run went fine. Just a mile, but very comfortable. Got into the pool, did a couple slow warm-up laps. Did my usual pregnancy body check- any aches/pains? any weird pulling sensations? No, nothing different than when I'm sitting or laying or working or otherwise NOT physically exerting myself. Arms are sore but that's from prenatal training so actually a good thing. So I carried on.

A few laps later though, I felt a bit odd. The only way I can describe it is that I felt like a pregnant cow. No, I'm not being down on myself for gaining weight. While I don't love having an extra 12ish pounds on board, I know I'm supposed to and I know I don't have complete control over where those pounds go (why on earth my upper legs need to gain weight in order to birth a child I do not know!). But I felt how pregnant cows, or cats, or elephants LOOK when they are pregnant- like they are dragging around  a rolly polly weight in their bellies. Being pregnant feels DIFFERENT when you are laying face down than when you are sitting or laying on your back or side. I didn't notice this until this week because I really hadn't "popped" until this week (week 25). But it felt so WIERD and I couldn't stop thinking about it and I really didn't enjoy the feeling of being similar to a pregnant bovine or feline or definitely not an elephant! I do love bison, but even I have limits to how similar to a bison I wish to feel!

So, I used an excuse to stop exercising that never would have crossed my mind (and hopefully never will again!). I stopped exercising because I literally felt like a pregnant cow.

There's really nothing else to say after that.

;)

Absolutely Glorious Imperfect Run!

Today I had a great run. It's been a few weeks since my last enjoyable run. I was beginning to worry that runs >3 miles were just not going to happen anymore during this pregnancy, at least not comfortably. But today was marvelous! Yes, I required two pregnancy related pit stops (thank you Navy Pier!). Yes it was gloomy outside. Yes, I may have been caught in an absolute downpour for the last 10 minutes of my run where I gained 10 lbs of water weight on my clothes and shoes (this in addition to my 10+ lbs of pregnancy weight- I owe my joints a big 'thank you' for their ability to handle all this!).

But I ran 5.5 miles absolutely comfortably. Nearly effortlessly! I enjoyed 50 minutes of wonderful 60 degree weather in Chicago with a nice cool breeze coming off the lake. My breathing was comfortable, my pace was reasonable and even respectable. I continue to be so grateful to still be able to run without issue. I'm proud of myself for staying in good enough shape pre-pregnancy that I'm virtually unlimited (within reason) during pregnancy. I urge all women who are even contemplating getting pregnant in the next few years to get active NOW so you have a strong base to build on if you do get pregnant one day. I could have, maybe even should have, run farther today, but I'm satisfied with what I did accomplish. And with very minimal pregnancy niggles! And after a pretty tough trainer work-out yesterday!

Happy Val.

The Ultimate Pregnancy Niggle

In the past, I've written about the importance of distinguishing between significant pains and niggles, defined as "slight but persistent annoyances, discomforts, or anxieties". In running, niggles can be short lived pain, sharp or dull, nagging GI sensations, or side cramps, just to name a few. Things that you can and should ignore to get on with your work-out. Because, let's face it, if you are looking for exercise to be comfortable, then you aren't really going to have any strength or cardiovascular gains. (When I ask my patients if they sweat or got short of breath during their exercise if they say 'no', I say 'work harder!'.)

Never is it more important to distinguish between niggles and legitimate problems than when exercising while pregnant. I assume this is one reason why so many obstetricians advice not starting new vigorous exercise routines when pregnant- if you don't know what normal discomforts to expect when running or spinning or lifting weights, you won't know when to let up on work-out intensity. 

Luckily, I'm an experienced exerciser so I can distinguish b/t scary pain and niggling pain (I think). And when in doubt, I slow down or stop. There have been about 5 work-outs during the course of this pregnancy where I've stopped early. A couple were runs where I had persistent pelvic discomfort that stopped as soon as I stopped running, and one was a swim where I felt a strange pulling sensation. Probably neither was malignant, but still, it's better to be safe than sorry.

But knowing when to stop is one thing. Finding ways to suffer through the niggles is another. And I'm finding the ultimate pregnancy niggle to be very tough to contend with. And what is this niggle I speak of? The need to pee. It's insufferable!!! No matter how many times I go, I STILL feel like my bladder is full and it is SO uncomfortable! I know it's just in my head because I KNOW after going 3 times in 1 miles (TMI) there is NOTHING LEFT, so I try, try, try to ignore it, but it's so hard! One thing I noticed Saturday during my 3.5 mile run (for my 35th birthday!), is that running faster helps! I don't know if it's a change in my stride or just the fact that I focus more on form and breathing, but the need for speed reduces the need to pee. The problem is, I'm not supposed to run too fast- the whole stay conversational rule and all. So I see lots of short fast runs with hill walk recoveries in my future. I imagine I'll develop more niggles during the third trimester and will continue to find new work-arounds. I think the key is to have lots of options for exercise. For example spinning on Sunday was fine, great even. 

I'll leave you with a couple of these belly bump photos that we are supposed to be taking. It seems that it's the thing to do. Seems kinda silly to me but I'd hate to NOT take them, then regret it later! So here you go:

I think this is the first day where I really thought 'eek! I look pregnant!' Week 24

Check out the awesome bison mittens my parents gave me to go with my bison hat! Bump week 24

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It's the End of the World as we Know it (and I Feel Fine)

I was supposed to run a half marathon on Saturday. The Polar Dash half marathon here in Chicago, to be exact. But I woke up Friday with a terrible sore throat that developed into a full blown head congested, runny nose, sore throat tornado of a cold by Saturday morning. Initially, I was going to run anyway. I thought, 'come on, it's just a half marathon'. Indeed I did run a marathon just two months ago also with a cold, also while pregnant (14 weeks at that point). But I wasn't quite as sick and I was definitely 'less' pregnant! Adam tried to be the voice of reason, trying to talk me out of the race, especially given the pregnancy. But he also knows me well and didn't want me to be full of regret if I didn't run. To be honest, I was most worried about my mental health. I'm a runner. A distance runner. That's a a huge part of my identity. And let's face it, my next opportunity for (marathon) distance running isn't until next fall given babybison's much anticipated arrival in May. I was worried that if I didn't do the race, it would be the beginning of the end of pregnant running. And the beginning of the end of my endurance and cardiovascular health. And the beginning of the end of my mental health.

Adam and I compromised by dressing for the race, jogging to the start, and making a final decision about the race en route. That was a wise decision. About 0.5 mile into the jog, I felt pretty miserable from the cold. But I also was feeling a bit of pelvic pressure- no pain, nothing serious- but not something that I'd want to carry on with for 13 miles. So we took off our bibs and went for a leisurely 3 mile run together instead which was really nice.

Initially, my back up plan was for Adam and I to make our own half marathon this coming weekend (assuming I'd be all better). But as the weekend progressed, I gained some insight into myself and my motivation for running the half marathon in the first place. The first insight occurred during my treadmill work-out on Sunday. After my 1 mile run, I did a 35 minutes hill climb (walking) and read the latest Runner's World. There was a touching article by Marc Parent, writer of The Newbie Runner. He was reporting on his first ever half marathon experience. It was a good article- it really took me back to my first marathon experience. The feelings of pride and invincibility. Struggling through the tough miles, feeling like a rock star during the good miles, digging deep to get through the last miles. The spectators, especially friends and family. Doing something you never thought you could do. It really reminded me of some of my proudest athletic accomplishments. And I realized: I'm a runner. It's who I am now. I think I've always been a runner, but I didn't actualize this part of myself until I started running and ran my first marathon  back in 2006. At this point, 6 years later, I'm not in danger of NOT being a runner EVEN IF my running mileage goes downhill (WAY downhill) over the next few months. I realized I had a deep fear, that if I didn't keep up at least 1/2 marathon level mileage during this pregnancy, I'd be in danger of never being a runner again. Like I'd fall into some deep abyss of lethargy and inactivity. But reading that article, and remembering the positive emotions and memories from my marathons, reminded me that I am not only a runner, but I'm a marathoner and while I may be a low mileage runner temporarily, I will NEVER be a non-runner again. That will not change, baby or no baby.

I realized the other reason I was so bummed about missing the Polar Dash was that I really wanted to do the half as a pregnant runner. Yes, I did the Chicago Tri, the Lake Geneva Tri, the Des Moines Marathon and the Outer Banks Marathon pregnant. But I was in the closet! I couldn't advertise the pregnancy. Silly as it sounds, I want to run a race with my "running for two" tee shirt on. Primarily, running is important to me and my well-being. But, part of my identity as a runner is being a motivator to others. I'm vocal about running and its many benefits, in my real life and in my social media life. It's a big part of who I am. It's my little way of doing good in the world (well besides my job- hope I'm doing some good there, too!). I can think of at least a dozen people whom I've helped or encouraged to start running for the first time, to run half marathons, to do a triathlon, to do a marathon, or just to do a quick 5 minutes of cardio prior to Thanksgiving dinner. That's important to me.

I like to think that continuing to run (and vigorously exercise in general) while I'm visibly pregnant can be a motivator and an example for others to follow. It wasn't so long ago (1970s, the decade in which I was born!) that women were told they couldn't run marathons because 'their uteruses may fall out'. And I'm sure that are some old-school obstetricians who advice against running or exercise during pregnancy even for super fit, healthy ladies. (Again- some pregnant women have complications and shouldn't run- clearly there are exceptions.) And using pregnancy as a excuse to take it easy and eat too much and move too little is rampant in our society. So, maybe it's silly, but I really do want to do a race or two in the next few months. But there's no reason they need to be half-marathons. A 5K will do!

Finally, I also realized how glad I am that I did those two triathlons this summer/fall. As my running mileage decreases, I can easily fill in the time with spinning and swimming. Both of which I'm starting to enjoy more and more. In fact, I can take this opportunity to become better at both. Especially swimming. I really think I can become a stronger swimmer over the next 4 months than I ever was before (starting from a base of non-swimmer, I have lots of room for improvement!). And with two triathlons on my athletic goal list for 2013, this will serve me well!

So while endurance running may be over for a while, it is not the end of the world and I feel fine about the whole thing. Running will continue, distance running will take a hiatus and spinning, swimming and hill walking (seriously, you'd be surprised how short of breath you can get climbing a treadmill hill!) will take over. So without further ado, here are my athletic goals for 2013, i.e. the Year of the Babybison!

1. Chicago Triathlon, International Distance August 24, 2013
2. Half-Ironman Triathlon, Fall 2013 (destination tbd)
3. Sub 4 hr marathon Fall 2013
4. Boston Qualifier Spring 2014
5. Ironman Wisconsin September 2014
(6. Continue working on my 50 in 50 goal with marathons in 2 new states in 2013.)

Short-term steps I'll take during pregnancy to help achieve these goals:

1. Finish 45 minutes of exercise in 45 days
2. Increase swimming distance to 1700 yards.
3. Increase biking distance to 20 miles
4. Strength training weekly with the pre-natal group

So, for a few minutes Saturday morning when I realized I would have to bail on the half marathon, I felt like it was the end of my (running) world. But I've done some thinking. I've adapted. And at the end of the day I am just so grateful to be able to exercise at all. So I feel fine:)