I'm Not a Runner

Sprint down.
Touch the line.
Sprint back.
Repeat.
Push harder
Repeat again.
Lungs burn from the effort.
Try not to collapse in a heap.

TRX Rows with a jump.
More sprints.
TRX Push-ups.
More sprints.
TRX Pull-ups.
More sprints.
TRX Tri-ceps.
More sprints.
TRX Bi-ceps.
More sprints.

A total of 30 sprints with everything I have, down and back.
300 sit-ups to finish.

So tired.
But in a good way.

That was the nature of today's 60-minute workout.
With each sprint, I raced Todd, our instructor.
Pushing to the limit of what I thought I could do.
And then giving a little more.
It took me back to my high school days.

Todd asked if I was a runner.
No. Just a mom who has lost her baby weight and feels extra light these days.
After class, Todd told me that I was easily one of the top 5 fastest people he has had in his TRX classes.
Those words will be motivation for days when I feel slow or want to stop.

It feels good to push.
It feels good to feel light – I lug around a 25+lb baby all day every day, so that hour by myself is like running on air. 
I'm not a runner, but today I feel like I could conquer anything.

New Shoe Review:
I recently purchased new shoes. I was long overdue. Shin splits and back pain after working out had become my norm.

I have really wide, short feet so I always put off shoe purchases because it is such a hassle. I typically choose the grey New Balance W990v3 but this time I decided to try the Brooks Addiction 12.

When your feet are super wide, it's hard to find shoes that have any kind of personality. I have been impressed with the Brooks Addiction 12. I really do feel like I am running on air. And while part of that is because of my weight loss, part of it can be attributed to having a new shoe to support me. Plus it's nice to have a shoe that isn't plain Jane.

Why I Continue to Exercise While Pregnant

Jack is three and with that we are in the "Why?" and "What did you say?" stage. This stage is fascinating, but really stretches me as I strive to explain the world in a truthful way, but also in a way that his 3-year-old mind can grasp. And there comes a point in every day where the questions become a bit mind-numbing.

In addition, his "what's?" can become aggravating. It's more that he is not really listening to the answer as opposed to really wanting to know. After two or three rounds of repeating "What did you say, mommy?" regarding the same topic, I typically I ask him to repeat what I said back to me. He always knows. I started doing this to make sure he wasn't having hearing problems. Anyways, at some point every day these conversations really start to eat away at my patience.

As I become more and more obviously pregnant, I have had a lot of people (friends, acquaintances, people I just met), ask me about why I am still exercising. Most moms I know tell me that they just gave up and wanted to lay on the couch after 6 months (which is cool, everybody is different and have different ways of getting through their pregnancy experiences). And some people make a big deal out of the exercise. It is a weird place to be. 

With my last pregnancy, I lived in a smaller town, knew less people, exercised with a smaller group of those people, and had a lot less explaining to do. Trying to quickly explain the "why" of my exercise habits to a new group of people feels challenging at times. I have been thinking about this topic a lot and it really boils down to three main reasons as to why I keep at it...

1. Even though it is getting harder to do, I always feel better when I exercise. The exercise brings aches and pains, but it also provides endorphins, keeps my blood pressure and heart rate low, and helps with some of the uncomfortable things that pregnancy brings like constipation, heart burn, and weight gain. If I'm going to feel bad no matter what, I would rather exercise.
2. Exercise is my personal Mommy Time Out. Per my thoughts above regarding Jack and all of the questions, my workouts give me a break from the "whys?" and the "whats?" For 60 minutes I get to be just another human being with no responsibilities except to myself. Exercise resets my patience and I always leave with a better attitude and therefore am a better mom because of it. Also, I have met some great people through my workout classes and forged some really wonderful friendships.
3. and finally... I exercised until the day Jack was born and I truly believe that being fit allowed me to have a natural delivery. I had a lot of complications during my labor with him and I really think that if I hadn't been in such good shape, I would have ended up having a C-Section. Knowing that motivates me to stay fit with this pregnancy as well.
   

I don't know how this pregnancy is going to pan out. It has been a lot harder this time around. Maybe because I'm 34 instead of 30. Maybe just because it's a harder pregnancy. Maybe I'm having a girl??? (we still don't know). I see the high-risk OB this afternoon and for all I know, they may put me on bed rest, but until that time comes I will be at the gym 4x a week, sweating and making sure I'm as healthy as I can be until this baby arrives. Seriously, having a 60-minute break for "me" is totally worth it.

Why I Work Out

Some people work out to lose weight or get healthy, I work out for stress relief, to meet new people, and because it generally makes me feel good. I guess you could say it brings me joy.

A few weeks ago, my bootcamp instructor asked if I had lost weight. Nope, don't think so (though I rarely step on a scale). Then she asked if I had at least lost inches. At the time I didn't feel like my close fit any looser (I don't track that stuff either), so no again. However in the last week or so I have noticed that I look a bit trimmer and my clothes do feel looser (maybe it's psychological?).

Anyway if I don't work out at least three times a week I get cranky. It's a big reason I exercised so religiously when I was pregnant with Jack. It made me a lot more mellow (aka less hormonal) and it made me feel much better in general. These days I tend to be in a better mood if I get my endorphins pumping while also getting some precious "me" time. Plus Jack loves going to his "class" at the Y.

I don't always love working out. In fact I am the person in class who sighs a lot and rolls my eyes (in a joking fashion). This prompts my instructor to give me a hard time which in turn makes me work harder. It's all in good fun. Just don't ask me to get on a treadmill!

Bittersweet -- The First Goodbye

Over the years I have learned the importance of surrounding yourself with groups of people that will fulfill different needs in your life. For me this includes being a part of a life group (or small group) at a church, participating in group exercise and having a couple of close girlfriends to confide in about life.

When we first moved to Hollywood, Alabama, I really only had one friend. She was the wife of one of Daniel's coworkers. We bonded through working out at the local rec center and we both took our first step towards running – I ran my first 5K with her and then we went on to train for a half marathon together. Sadly, she moved away just over a year ago. 

Working out was one of the few things that kept me sane when I first moved to Hollywood. It kept me from being lonely. It got me out of the house on a daily basis. And it helped me survive my first pregnancy – I even did a 60-minute kickboxing class the day I went into labor.

After Jack came along, I had a hard time getting back into the workout routine. Jack's naptimes and feedings seemed to always fall about the time my workouts would be, so I kind of dropped out of the group workout scene. This made me sad because I had trained with Desiree (of Inspired by Desire) and did Yoga with all of the retired ladies at the rec center for 1.5 years.

After 10 months of trying to jog when it wasn't too hot, I finally made it down to the Core Fitness studio in Scottsboro. Without daytime childcare, I really felt like I could only make it to evening classes when Daniel was available to hang out with Jack (they normally went to the park to walk or ride bikes). For the last 8 months, I have really enjoyed getting pushed to work hard by Betina. She really cares for her students and is not afraid to make you do tough things (which I appreciate). I would rather run two miles than do Zumba so I like it when she does things like make us do 50 burpees in class. I am not afraid to push myself.

One of the things I will be sad to leave (due to our impending move) is my weekly workouts. They are distraction from when life is crazy or for when I just need some time to myself. I know I will join a new gym wherever we move, but I have been really blessed by the women in Scottsboro, Alabama that I have been able to work out with over the last 3 years. Any time I have a "last experience" it always makes me a little sad. I can now check the "first goodbye" off of my list. Tonight was sad, but I have a feeling that when the time comes, the other goodbyes are going to be much harder.

15Weeks.5Days.

Up until about 15 weeks I didn't really feel pregnant. For me this has been a challenge because I don't want to slow down {especially when it comes to exercise} and my OB is of the opinion "if you feel good, do it." I have really had to rely on my yoga and kickboxing instructors to encourage me to modify my exercises because my brain hasn't accepted that things are different {at this point, most of my modifications have to do with abdominal work}.

Around 15 weeks it dawned on me that I suddenly had a little baby bump. My weight gain is almost zero, so it came as a bit of a surprise. My pants all fit the same so it was weird to realize that laying on my stomach is no longer comfortable. It kind of scares me because this bump is little and I can't imagine the uncomfortableness that is to come.

Along with the little bump came a weekend of pure exhaustion – maybe that was my body's way of adapting to the change in my expanding mid section. Thankfully over the last few days the fatigue has once again subsided.

We are leaving on vacation tomorrow and I am looking forward to hiking in the mountains – at a minimum I hope we are able to bag Mt. Mansfield, the highest point in Vermont at 4,393 feet and Mt. Washington, the highest point in New Hampshire {and New England} at 6,288 feet.

Hot Flashes in Spin Class

This morning in my spin class we had a substitute instructor. For some reason there were no men in today's class so my instructor kept saying things like, "That's not a hot flash that you are feeling, that is just you breaking a sweat." I am not sure if she noticed but half of the class was no where near menopause. Being in my mid twenties, I had better not experience hot flashes anytime soon, especially not when I exercise!