no expectations
Since posting about not being able to run anymore (and feeling sorry for myself + weepy for days), I actually have been able to run a little bit. However, it is nothing like I had been doing.I am still doing a run/walk and only going for 20 minutes at a time, 3 days per week. Typically, these run/walks look like this:
- 5 minute walk warm-up @ 4.0 mph
- 2 minute run @ 5.0-5.5 mph (depending on how I’m feeling)
- 1 minute walk @ 4.0 mph
- Repeat run/walk for remaining 15 minutes
I am not experiencing any of the bladder burning sensation I had been experiencing before, but if I do experience anything like that, I call it a day. My theory now is to go into each workout session without any expectations. Pregnancy is all about the unknown and I can’t just plan these workouts and expect them to go as perfectly as they were going pre-pregnancy. (It was very rare for me to miss a workout before got pregnant.)Going into each workout with no expectations has really made me feel a lot better about not being able to run like I used to. And honestly, my body can’t really handle more than 15 or 20 minutes of run/walking. So, on the days I don’t “run”, I am doing the elliptical for 30 to 60 minutes, which I have had absolutely no issues with and get to enjoy reading magazines and zoning out while I workout. I am really enjoying my “workout plan” right at the moment, but I am fully prepared should I have to cut back even more when/if I have to.As far as strength training goes, I am actually going back to something I started at the beginning of my pregnancy and have done religiously in the past.
CrossFit. CrossFit is a high intensity interval program involving body weight exercises, Olympic weight lifting, gymnastics moves, and functional conditioning to give you a hard core workout. I was really into it a few years ago and it made me much stronger + a more efficient, faster runner.Before you freak out that I am pushing my body too hard for being pregnant, I am actually NOT doing the traditional CrossFit I did in the past. CrossFit Mom takes many of the same workouts (and adds in some of their own) and dials down the intensity. There are less repetitions, lighter weights, and you are taking as many breaks as needed and not worrying about how fast you get through the workout like traditional CrossFit. I feel like I am getting a good workout in without pushing in less than 20 minutes, which will definitely come in handy once school starts back up and not having as much time as I have now.
If you are interested in CrossFit, I suggest checking out their website, and also the CrossFit Mom website. CrossFit Mom would be a great starting point for beginners before working your way into the more challenging workouts CrossFit offers. And of course, if you have any questions about CrossFit, I’d be more than happy to *try* to answer them for you!