Bigger and Bigger

So, it has been quite awhile since I posted a new blog. No, I did not fall off the face of the earth, and yes, I am still pregnant!

My work computer blocks my access to blogs (all blogs) randomly and for different periods of time. Why blogs are considered "personal data storage" is beyond me. 

Anyway, I am 38 weeks and 2 days today! Eek!!! Although mentally and physically, I am totally ready to have this baby; our home is totally NOT ready! The bathroom project, since they screwed it up so bad, took over a month longer than it was supposed to. It should have been done mid-June...they finished last week!

Needless to say, we are still working on organizing it and putting things back where they belong. So, since the basement isn't fully together, neither is Silas' new room. Which is where we stored everything that was in the basement while the work was taking place. Since Silas' room isn't even ready to get ready, he is still in the nursery... which means the baby is homeless (or will be once he or she is here). But, we have a bassinet, so the baby will just sleep in our room for the first couple of weeks. My only goal now is to have Silas' new room ready to get ready for him before the baby comes. That is, have the basement in order and everything that should be stored in the basement there... so that the back bedroom is back to its "pre-construction" state. Then it will be a "simple" matter to get it ready for Silas. 

I was hoping for a somewhat relaxing maternity leave this time around; time at the beach, time in VT... yeah... that is obviously NOT going to happen. Last time, I spent my 12 weeks painting, packing, moving into our new house, and unpacking and organizing that new house. This time won't be much different except that it won't be a new house... just the current one. 

Anyway, I have kept up with exercise even if I haven't kept up with blogging about it. Still hitting the treadmill (no way am I going out in this heat and humidity to run outside) about 3x a week, and strength training 2x a week. Feeling good physically, if not entirely comfortable. And, if I do say so myself, I have remained rather small. I am pretty much all baby, as one stranger in the lunch place remarked: "It looks like someone just placed a pregnant belly on you! Your tiny!" and as a co-worker proclaimed only yesterday, "Wow! You're due in two weeks?! But you're so small! My sister in law just had a baby and she was HUGE!"

So, why oh why do some people feel the following statement isn't offensive, "Girl, you are getting bigger and bigger each day! That belly is growing so big!" OK, biatch. First of all, I have gained all of 1/2 lb in the last 3 weeks. Did it not occur to you that yesterday, I was wearing a bit tighter of a top and today I am wearing a flowy sundress... so I just appear to be bigger. And not only that, have some damn tact! Nobody, pregnant or not, wants to hear the words, "Wow, you are so big! You're getting bigger and bigger!" Seriously. I don't care if I am getting bigger because I have another human being growing in me. It is still rude. Especially since I have been exercising and eating healthy all in an effort to ONLY gain weight the baby NEEDS. I have gained 30 lbs. Saying it like that, I don't mind it so much. Really I don't. Even though I worked and slaved for months to LOSE 30 lbs prior to getting pregnant, it actually doesn't bother me hearing the words, 30 lbs. I know in order for this baby to be healthy, I need to gain weight. Plus, all my maternity clothes are a size 8 or 6...and they are a bit big on me. But, generalizing it by saying I am getting big? No, I am NOT getting big. I am growing a human being. There is a difference. 

Didn't your mom ever teach you, "if you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all?"

The Treadmill vs. The Great Outdoors

I love running. I never thought I would say that sentence, but there it is. Up until this past fall, I had never considered running as a form of exercise I would partake in. Of course, prior to last July, exercise was not really something I considered partaking in--so that just goes to show you how much and how quickly our perspectives can change.

What changed? Last fall, I discovered through some online friends of mine, the C25K Training Program. I started it a bit reluctantly, not sure if I would like it--but I was wrong. I loved it! I loved running!

When I decided to start the program, I didn't belong to a gym, so I ran in a cute little park down the street from our house. It isn't a big park, one loop is about or a little over 1 mile, but there are some nice hills and stuff to keep it interesting--and always lots of good people watching:)

I got pregnant in November (though I didn't know this until mid-December), and basically stopped exercising for awhile because I was too tired to open my eyes more or less go out and run. Now, it was the middle of winter, so I joined a gym once I started getting my 2nd Trimester "Second wind". I used the treadmill at the gym and started a Strength Training program with a personal trainer as well. It has been great. I feel good, have been able to keep my pregnancy weight gain at a healthy level, and have been getting stronger and if possible, I think leaner as well.

At first, the treadmill was quite a challenge. I had heard that a "0" incline is basically like running downhill, so I always try to set it around 1.5-2.0 incline. The biggest challenge was facing the boredom of not going anywhere! I had good tunes on my iPod, but seriously, I am running in place smack in front of a mirror. Do I just run and watch myself for the next half hour or so? Do I watch other people? That would be kind of creepy if they caught me. I got in the habit of staring blankly at whatever necklace I was wearing (I wear "small, minimalistic" jewelry and don't usually take it off very often, even for sleep, so yes, I would be at the gym with some jewelry on), until my eyes kind of got out of focus. Similar to looking at one of those "Magic Eye" posters at the Dentist Office where if you stare at it long enough, you actually see the picture. 

("Wow. It's a schooner." 

  "Ha ha ha ha. You dumb bastard. It's not a schooner... it's a Sailboat."

  "A schooner IS a sailboat stupid head!)

Eventually, I got over the boredom and awkwardness of running on a treadmill and was able to run for quite awhile once I hit my stride. As my pregnancy has progressed, I haven't really been able to push it much past a half hour or so. While running, I feel like I could go on forever, it is when I stop that I get light headed and dizzy and need a good 10-15 minutes to recover... so I have given myself a strict 35 min treadmill limit because that seems to be the magic number.

Now that the weather is finally and consistently fairly gorgeous, I have been longing for the days of running in the park. The sunshine, the fresh air, the variety of scenery and of course, the people watching. So, after months of hibernation on a treadmill, I ventured outside last night for a run in the park for the first time since November. I have taken several good power walks in the park with Silas in the stroller, but I hadn't gone out for a run yet.

Well--let me just tell you--having now experienced both kinds of running for a significant period of time and NOT simultaneously, anyone who says there isn't much of a difference between the two is a big fat liar!

I was struggling! At some points, I was going along fine, and others it was like I had come up with a special torture just for myself.

I am sure that being 32 weeks pregnant, and not having really run much in the last two weeks (on a treadmill or otherwise) were also factors in the fact that I couldn't even run two laps without having to stop twice to walk. Technically, I stopped 3 times, but one time I stopped because I had to go to the bathroom:) But, I think the main part was that my body was NOT used to all those ups and downs anymore. I had been conditioned to run at the same level, same pace and after months of it, my body was all... what are you trying to do?! What happened to those ideal running conditions with no variation. Seriously, you want me to run up a hill right now?!

I had naively thought that running at a 1.5-2.0 incline (ok, mostly a 1.5) would keep me conditioned to the running "field" I was used to for the first 2-3 months of being a runner. Yeah--it isn't true. I think a 3.0 or 3.5 incline would have been more appropriate.

Obviously, there are benefits to both types of running, and I don't think it is fair for any person to say one is better than the other. One is better than the other only for each individual person. Naturally, just running itself is a huge benefit to you cardiovascularly, muscularly, mentally even. But, I personally, love running outdoors. The scenery changes before you, even if you are running in circles in a small park, and there are lots of people to watch in a park, which is always a good time. Fresh air never hurt anyone and neither does a little sunlight. Plus, I think the fact that outdoors isn't all one level the whole time gives the added benefits of making the course interesting, and keeps your HR going up and down, which is ideal for max cal burn. But, for cold, windy, rainy, snowy, icy, ultra humid days or whatever--the treadmill is great because it allows you to still get in a good run... without all the uncomfortableness of crappy weather.

Of course, another factor in why my run last night was kind of stinky, my left ankle is hurting. It isn't visibly swollen or bruised or anything, so I don't think it is a major injury of any sort; but it has been hurting on and off since last Monday when I hit the gym for the first time in a week. I think I might have strained it on the treadmill at some point and then running outside last night just sort of made it worse. I have it all wrapped up in an Ace bandage now, I figure better safe than sorry. 

Anyway, people are always debating which is better, the treadmill or the outdoors. I think it is "6 to one, half dozen to the other" (a favorite saying of my dad). This has been my experience with both, and if I had to choose one over the other as the only option for me... the Great Outdoors would win every time. But then again, I am just a little dirty crunchy hippie girl who longs for the great outdoors living in the concrete jungle.