sweating it out in the water

I can honestly say today that I worked up a sweat in the pool. Can't say for certain that this is the first time but today was definitely a bit of a killer. Nothing special other than when we did our 50 meter repeats I was given a 10 second head start. The issue goes back to me being the slowest during our swims which I'm not worried about currently given that I resemble a manatee and my lovely swim partners are rocking some banging bodies. Typically they do a lap or 2 more than I do and we all start together but during the repeats they likely need a bit less rest than I do and you know that I'm not one to sit out while they keep going. To solve the problem I was given a 10 second head start while they kicked and then took off. Now it's not a race but there is no way that I can be bringing up the rear with a 10 second head start, buddha belly or not, so I was hauling ass each time. Very suddenly the pool wasn't nearly cool enough and these felt almost as terrible as a track workout. That said it felt good to get it done, even better to sweat a little. Suddenly no guilt over any amount of Santa cookies consumed later this evening. Swam for an hour today.

Hanging in and not following direction.

Forgive the sporadic posts, blame the holidays and travel. I didn't work out today but wanted to update the old blog for fear that if I don't it'll be 2014 before you hear from me. We had a bit of a scare last week that resulted in some time off and several stern reminders to not do too much. I'll fully admit that those reminders went in one ear and out the other. I can't hear you when I'm running after a 2.5 year old and the husband's job thinks it's no problem to send him here there and everywhere leaving us to fend for ourselves. Call his boss, have a logical conversation with my toddler and then we can talk. That said I'm pushing the water and trying to be mindful of my limits. Still getting in about 5 workouts a week with primary base being in the pool. It would be lovely if I could remember how nice these swims are and totally get lost in the world of running post baby. I'll tell you speed work in the pool is nicer than repeats on the track in the heat of the summer, things to remember...things to remember. As for baby, we've hit the 32 week mark and I'm 32lbs heavier. Aches and pains abound but nothing that acupuncture, the chiropractor and whining can't handle. We are no more prepared home side for this kids arrival than we were weeks ago, it's like we are in a state of denial. I started to panic a bit last night and found that denial is a happier place to live so I've shifted back there. It's funny how different things are the 2nd time around, I just can't stress about it. This poor kid will arrive with no name, no place to sleep and a big brother who is becoming quite territorial about the 350 hot wheel cars that inhabit our playroom. Good luck kid, good luck. Goals are to survive the next few weeks and end up with a healthy kid while maintaining everyone's sanity....sounds easy, doesn't it?

water logged

I've been absent, sorry. The abbreviated holiday season is kicking my ass. As promised, I'm going to fess up that as quickly as the plan for a streak happened it fell apart. Between work, travel, puke bugs and kitchen building the daily workouts fell to the wayside. No guilt, I'm getting in btw 4-5 workouts a week. It is what it is, I'll have next spring to beat myself up over missed workouts. Hit the pool early this am. I've hit the point of pregnancy where sleep is elusive at best, I swear it's preparation for what's to come. So the 5am wake up call was surprisingly easy to handle, that and if I went to the pool I was guaranteed not to be the one to deal with anyone else's puke. Yes it's been that bad here lately! Swimming with Cat is a breeze, she brings the workout and keeps us on track. It's really nice to swim and just let your mind wander. If I had to I could guess the distance but does it really matter? We are on track to hit up our stroller class today. That has become a lot more challenging. When it's cold we are indoors and man it's a killer workout out. That and push ups done correctly mean that my baby gut hits the floor. Amusing to watch, I'm sure. Swam for an hour, circuit training for an hour.

Streaking

If you are on facebook or twitter at all there is all this buzz about streaking through the holiday season. Basically promising to run everyday from Thanksgiving to New Year's. I read an article in the NY Times this am about how just 45 minutes a day of activity during the holidays is enough to counteract all the unhealthy (but delicious) holiday festivities. I've never done anything like this, although with previous years trainings have likely come close. I am a fan and proponent of the day off and you don't take a day off if you are streaking. I'm also in no condition to run every day, but could conceivably complete some kind of workout daily. I thought about this in the pool this morning and quickly started to list of reasons why this won't work. Joe is traveling a good amount, I have a conference in Boston, weekend shifts galore, rush of abbreviated holiday season, and so on and so forth. But this is important, it's a healthy motivator and a fitness challenge (one of the few) that I can actually accept. So it's on. Starting today until 1/1 I'm going to make my best attempt at no less than a 30 minute workout. Just as I'm quick to brag about my accomplishments, I'll be sure to report on any days that I'm not successful. Workouts will consist of likely yoga, swimming, stroller class, running (waddling), the push up challenge (more on that another day). Joe is in, anyone else? Swam for an hour today.

cool return

After a 2 week hiatus, I returned to the pool. Came close to calling it and hitting the showers before getting wet when it looked like circle swimming would be my only option, but just as I walked towards the locker room a lane opened up and I ran out of excuses. Which is too bad given that the pool felt cool enough to justify a wet suit. Nothing exciting, nothing hard. A mile made up of 5 laps of swimming alternated with 5 laps of pulling. Shockingly it went quick and my mile seemed like nothing. More time at my disposal and I would have stayed in a bit longer. Didn't seem to irritate any injured areas and no I didn't fess up to the chiropractor that after his visit I was headed to the forbidden land. He didn't ask so I can't be faulted. This week will likely hold 3 more swims, maybe 4. Given the weather and holiday, not sure if we'll hit up an exercise class or not. Really trying to be ok with the less is more school of thought, but not an area of strength. Preggo updates are equally as boring as lap swimming. Holding at 23lb weight gain, the only positive to this from my perspective is that my goal of 35 remains a realistic option. For anyone wondering I've managed this pregnancy with a continued vegetarian diet, limited dairy but not total elimination. So far I've noticed no negatives to this and haven't had any providers grill me about it so am not worried. Discomfort is now at a 3/4 rather than the 7/8, still happier in the evenings not doing much. House remains torn up and panic is setting in related to my belief that we might have bitten off more than we can chew. Swam a mile today

33 degrees at 27 weeks

Just last night I was complaining to a friend about my training envy. Seems like everyone I know is getting into training for some big spring races and it's killing me. I'll get there, and my challenges will have less to do with miles trained and more to do with hours slept and ounces fed. So you'd think that today I'd be totally jazzed at the idea of an outdoor workout in 33 degree weather. Not so much. Multiple issues here. First, my cold layers don't all fit so squeezing into a mix of alternatives was a challenge to say the least. Other issue is that of course today we figure out the the kid's snow suit is just a bit too small so we both looked like over stuffed sausages. Then the kid proved that he would have been better off if we had relocated to Austin, he was pissed the entire time. While other kids seemed not to notice the cold, mine pouted in the stroller and glared at me the entire time. Hello guilt trip. Don't get me wrong once we got going it did feel good and gave me a taste of what I've been missing. That and we needed the socialization, my advice to new moms is always the same...find a group and get out of the house. No I'm not a new mom anymore but I still need that group mentality. There is something about rolling up with mittens, scarves and goldfish tumbling out of your stroller and finding everyone else is having the same problems. That and there is bound to be someone crying louder than your kid. Update on the pain, things seem to have stabilized a bit. It's no longer getting worse and some days seems slightly better. If nothing else I have hope that this will pass after birth so eyes are on the February prize, just hanging on til then. I might even break the rules and dip my toes in the pool Friday am.

1 day out

I won't lie, today started with high expectations. I had really hoped (foolishly) to be pain free. And although I woke up feeling good and it was the first morning in several weeks I wasn't wincing while making it to the coffee pot, the day ends surrounded by icepacks. Part of the problem is that my stroller class went indoors today, it was only 29 at 9am, way too cold for the kiddo's to play while we sweated outdoors so we headed to Rhode Runner and got our asses handed to us. I saw the post on facebook and couldn't bring myself to like it b/c I knew the pain that accompanies an indoor class. Today's class was circuit hell, 5 mins at each station with 3 exercises each and I'm limited to spent the majority of the time in plank/boat/or doing push ups. As a result my arms are beat and I had trouble folding laundry tonight. Whining aside, you know I totally loved every moment of it. The best part was watching the kid attempt mountain climbers at lunch and push-ups at dinner! How's that for imitation?! Tomorrow I'm off as I got pulled from the pool and will go back to class on Friday. I do plan on discussing with the doc the idea of swimming and not kicking, just using the pull buoy the whole time. Again it'll kill my arms but get me back in the water sooner than his 3 week plan. Somehow I'm not sure this doc fully understood what he got himself into with me.