A moment to Brag...

So I'm feeling pretty darn proud of myself right now because for the last two weeks I have been totally rocking my workout routine! I made a goal to work out every day (except Sundays) and so far, I haven't missed ONE day! 6 for 6 last week, and so far I am 4 for 4 this week.

To count it as a workout day I have to do a minimum of 30 minutes of exercise. Some days I do two 30 minute sessions. One session for my strength training DVD and one power walk session. I try to do both but if I don't get one in at least I feel good that I did 30 minutes of something that day.

I can tell it's making a huge difference from my last pregnancies. I have more energy and my weight gain is happening at a much healthier pace than last time around. (in the 2nd trimester with Brinley I gained 10 lbs a month 2 months in a row! yeah, 20 lbs in 2 months was a bit extreme) Now I'm shooting for the recommended 4-5 lbs a month and I'm right on track for that to happen.

I've mostly been walking these days but yesterday I wanted to see if I could still run. So I did 2.5 miles and didn't walk the whole time. My average pace was 9:53 min. per mile. I was feeling quite proud of myself for the first 2 miles but the last half mile I started having those contraction like cramps again. I probably should've walked but I was so set on running the whole thing that I kept at it and when I was done the cramps continued for about 30 minutes.

Moral of that story is, it was a nice ego boost to see that I can still run, but I won't be running anymore, at least until I want this baby to come out and then bring on the contractions! For now though I think power walks and aerobics should be enough to keep me fit throughout this pregnancy.

So that's the update for today. Oh yeah, and we also found out we're having a BOY! We're so excited to buy some boy stuff and get some blue in this house that is overrun with pink : )

World's wimpiest workout partner

On Friday night I wanted to go for a jog outdoors but it was dark and I'm always nervous to run alone when there could be creepos out there. I was trying to think of a solution when Taber suggested I take our dog Monty. Dogs love to run, I figured it was a great idea. Now, Monty can be a real diva sometimes and I'm sure that Maltese aren't exactly bred for running. Still I figured I was mostly walking anyway so he should be able to keep up. I got all ready with a reflective vest, headlamp, and my trusty new workout partner. We set off into the night at a very slow jog. He was way excited at first and was 6 feet ahead of me pulling hard on the leash.

Sadly that only lasted for about half a mile. After that he slowed way down. Soon he was right beside me. The further we went the slower he got until his leash was all the way extended backwards and he was a good 10 feet behind me. I was determined to get 2 miles in though so I literally PULLED that lazy little bag of bones for the last half mile until we made it back home. What kind of wimpy dog can't WALK 2 miles?!! I mean seriously, we had to walk most of it because the guy could not keep up. I checked my stats later, we were doing 14 minute miles, come on MONTY! 2 year olds can go that fast, DOGS are supposed to be 10 times faster!

When we got back I gave him some water and then he sprawled out like he was half dead on the floor. I swear you would've thought the guy just ran a marathon.

I told him he was officially the world's wimpiest workout partner and that I wasn't taking him out with me again. Of course the next morning when I was lacing up my shoes he was wagging his tail and just begging for the leash. I decided to give him one more chance. SAME THING HAPPENED!! Our little 2 mile walk ended with me dragging my dog on the leash back to our house. I decided he is totally useless as a workout partner but still makes a great companion and a patient, loving (albeit wimpy) little lap dog.

August mileage challenge

Today I saw a cool challenge on It's What Moves Me, one of the running blogs I read. Whitney is 6 months pregnant and has accepted the challenge to walk, jog or run 80 miles in the month of August!! I was pretty impressed. I ran 87 miles back in March when I was training for my half marathon but that's when I could run double digit distances and before I was pregnant.

I love the idea of having a mileage goal though so I've decided to adjust the challenge to be more realistic for me considering my current fitness level. In June when I was nauseous all the time I ran a sad total of 16 miles. In July, feeling a little better, my monthly total was 25. I figure if I shoot for 50 miles in August that will still be a heck of a lot more than I've been averaging and be a pretty worthy goal for me. That means I'll have to run/jog/walk an average of 2.5 miles 5 days a week for the rest of the month. Much more than I'm doing now but totally doable!!

I started today with a 2.25 mile jog/walk on the treadmill. I jogged the first mile but was having really tight almost contraction like cramps the whole time so I slowed down and walked the rest of the way. Once I started walking the cramping stopped so I was glad I listened to my body and backed off. I walked at 4mph and a 2.0 incline and was still able to work up a good sweat! Next time I think I'll start off right away with walking and then when I warm up I'll attempt to speed it up. I think jumping into it too fast is what caused the cramps.

Anyway, I'm excited to have a solid goal to work towards this month. Wish me luck!

Life in the 2nd trimester

Well I'm approaching 16 weeks and happy to report that I'm totally over the morning sickness and my energy is starting to come back! My house is getting clean, I'm playing with my kids, I'm even cooking dinners! My family is happy to have normal mommy back instead of pregnant zombie mom. I started doing a strength and toning workout DVD in the mornings and I really like it. Much easier on the bladder than running and I feel like I'm toning parts of me that don't necessarily have to look pregnant.

Running has slowed down quite a bit. The bladder can barely take a 20 minute run so yeah, it happens once or twice a week max. My pace is about 10:30 these days and sometimes it can be disheartening but then I remember that I couldn't even WALK a mile when I was prego with Teya so jogging 2 is pretty darn good for me! I had to stop comparing myself to all the buff pregnant runners out there and compare myself to me. When I was pregnant with Teya I was completely sedentary, did ZERO exercise, gained 40 lbs, and looked like this (warning, it's scary).

And when I was pregnant with Brinley it was a little better since I tried to walk once in awhile and wasn't as sedentary since I was chasing around a 2 year old. Still, I wasn't exactly tiny.

So looking at my previous pregnancies, I'm happy that I'm actually working out 2-3 times a week and still maintaining some semblance of fitness. See, pregnant me running at on the track last week (excuse the cheesy face). I might not be fast, but at least I'm still moving : )