Another vacation run

In the sunny sun sun of Siesta Key, I went for a run.

35 minutes. No idea how far, as I didn't have a watch... or a water bottle... Didn't matter, it was lovely. I didn't actually run on the beach, but the neighbourhood was quiet and full of beautiful homes and lush vegetation.

Other than that, the vacation was restful and eatful. We did toss a frisbee around on the beach for awhile, and I was able to chase it down pretty well. The sand was more of a hindrance than the belly was. :-)

I think I'm starting to feel movement, a little more consistently. Hard to tell though - it's like digestive movement, only in a place where I'm pretty sure I now have a uterus instead of intestines.

Three days straight might be too much

I'm not sure that trying to cram my workouts into the beginning of the week is such a good idea. After running on Sunday and trying a crossfit-type circuit yesterday, I tried another regular gym workout today, the last free day before vacation.

I was tired before I went, and the exercises were harder today than usual.

Rowing: 4500m in 22:35 (Daddy-o, you'd better get rowing!)

Alternating sets of:
Squats - 65 lb x 8, 8, 8 (I usually do 10's more easily than today)
Calf presses - 240ish x 8, 8, 8

Finisher squats - 45 x 15

Alternating sets of:
Back extensions - 10, 10, 10 (I usually do 12's, but I couldn't squeeze out any more today)
Bench dips - 10, 10, 8

Weigh-in: Still hovering at 138.

I had a little nap before my workout today, and now I feel like I need another one. Yikes. When I start trying to get in 4x starting next week, I'm going to be more careful to spread things out over the week!

Starting the week out right

I tried another crossfit mom workout today:

"Noah" (with some adjustments)
5 rounds
200m run (I did 1/5 mile, which is 323m at 7.5, 7.5, 8, 8, 8 mph)
10 push ups (5 regular + 7 knees-down per set)*
10 good mornings #45 bar (1st two sets I did 40 lb, then upped it)
10 pull ups (85 lb standing with lat pull cable; 2 sets pull-up grip, 3 sets chin-up grip)

I managed to navigate through the gym fairly seamlessly -- and ran up and down the stairs to keep up momentum. :-)

Finished with 1/2 mile easy jog and then 60 v-sit ball tosses (with a slightly bigger ball - 4-5 kg?)

Heartrate: I took my heartrate on the treadmill after the 5th interval of running and clocked in at about 140 bpm. I did it again after my five minutes of jogging at 5.5 mph and clocked 150 bpm. Wtf? I think it was because the first time through it took awhile -- the treadmill asked me a bunch of questions in French before it would take the reading. At any rate, it took three minutes for my HR to go from 150 to -120... Is that good or bad?

Note on HR in pregnancy. In the olden days, the guidelines from the American Association of Obstetricians and Gynecologist prescribed that a pregnant woman's HR should not exceed 140 bpm during exercise. This has been modified, and now it's suggested that a pregnant woman should be able to pass the "talk test" during exercise, or stay with in the 12-14 ("somewhat hard") level of perceived exertion.

My 150 bpm felt well within those guidelines. :-)

Speaking of guidelines, I found some great info on exercise in pregnancy in a newsletter from the Sport InformationResource Centre (SIRC).

A nearly-normal run

I roused myself from a prone position late this afternoon to go for a run -- thus squeezing in workout #3 for week 17 at the last possible moment.

I'm really glad I did it. Today, jogging felt almost normal -- as in, similar to what I remember jogging in a non-pregnant state to be.

I did 5.2 km in 32:30 minutes. The last time I did this run, it took about 5 minute longer. I didn't push any harder today; it was just easier. Belly didn't feel heavy, breathing wasn't laboured, legs had lots of energy. I did have to go to the bathroom the whole way, but I'm getting used to that.

So, in general: yay for today!

It will be tricky to get in my 3-4 in the coming week, as we are taking a mini-holiday to go to Florida for a few days. Maybe I'll bring my runners and explore the gulf coast a little. (At my pace, a very little.)

I think I squished the baby :-)

Okay, I probably didn't actually squish it while rowing or during crunches -- I think I'm starting to feel movement in there, and it kept giving me pause during today's workout. (It feels like intermittent pressure, or sometimes like a muscle twinge, but right in the the spot where the wee offspring resides...)

So, I've been looking at but not really doing crossfit for pregnancy workouts. Most of the WODs (workout of the day) involve circuits between rowing/treadmill and weights. At my gym, the cardio equipment is on a whole separate floor from the weights, so it's not that convenient for circuits.

Today, though, the prescription was better suited, so I used it as my starting point. The prescribed WOD:

Row 500m then:
21-15-9
Lunges
Good mornings #45

Here is what *I* did:

Row 1000m (4:50 min), then:
22-16-12
Lunges #25
Good mornings #30 (first set), #35 (next 2 sets)*

And then:
21-15-12
Lat pulls #60
Crunches on the ball

Followed by:
V-sit ball toss (3 or 4 kg ball) x 60
750m row (3:40 min)

* I'd never done good mornings before, so I started light. I think I would be able to do 45 lb easily next time. Fun exercise!

Weigh-in: 138!

I meant to go for a run yesterday afternoon, but after a long afternoon walking around the market, I was pooped when I got home, and ended up spending more than 2 hours lying down! (reading for a bit; mostly sleeping). I've been sleeping like crap lately, so the extra rest felt good.

Starting in November, I'm going to try to get to the gym or out for a run 4 times a week instead of three. Now that I've written it down, I'll have no choice!

Back to work!

Well, back to working out, anyway.

We returned last night from our maritime vacation, and I hit the gym this afternoon. (The morning was given over to our first appointment with the midwife.)

Treadmill: 10 mins; 0.9 miles (warm-up). Worked up to 7.5 mph which felt fine, though tiring. Heartrate when I slowed to walk: 130 bpm (but I'd jogged at a slower pace before walking).

Squats: 65x 10, 10, 10, 10 alternating with
Presses: 40 x 10, 8, 6, 5

RDLs: 75 x 12, 70 15, 15, 15 (dropped the weight and slowed the pace because of a slight twingy feeling in my left lower ab)

Inclined chest press: 45 x 12, 8, 8, 8 alternating with
Crunches (on the ball): 20, 15, 15

Rowing: 2000 m, 10 mins (1 min easy/hard intervals/103 watts average)

Weigh-in: 137

Maritime run

I managed to get one workout in while visiting my also-pregnant sister in Nova Scotia. (She's not so much into the exercising, but does do a LOT of housework on a daily basis.)

I jogged 4.5 country kilometres (ie: hilly) in 28:30. It felt good, though the beginning was mostly uphill and I was very winded (despite the slow pace). It was cool, so I survived fine without my water bottle. In general, it felt very good.

Other than that, I ate more cookies that I needed to, played a lot of cards, and commiserated with my sister as we watched our fellas enjoy delicious (looking) ryes and cokes. Sigh.

So energized

Sixteen weeks! Apparently, the wee parasite is now as large as an avocado. Looks WAY bigger from the outside. :-) And it's supposed to double in size in the next three weeks or so. Eep!

I really enjoyed the gym today. A late night, fitful sleep, sleepy morning... but the gym was great, and it revved me up.

Here's what I did:

Alternating sets of squats and calves
Squats - 65 lb x 10, 10, 10, 10 (that's 14 more squats than last time, but I didn't feel like I was overdoing it)
Calves (standing presses with DB; total 165 lb): 8, 8, 10 each leg

Alternating sets of RDLs and presses
RDLs - 75 lb x 15, 15, 15
Presses - 40 lb x 10, 8, 7 + 3 push presses

Alternating sets of back extensions, crunches, dips:
extensions: 3 sets of 12
crunches (single leg on the ball): 3 sets of 22
dips: 10, 10, 8

Rowing machine:
21 minutes (1 minute easy/hard intervals); average 85 watts; 4300 metres (or maybe 4600?)

Weigh-in: 134 lbs (phewf - I really was unusually bloated last week!)

Sunny Sunday run

Slow, pleasant jog on a gorgeous sunny day: 36 minutes, about 5 km.

Yes, it's slow going, but it's as fast as I can go. At this speed, my heartrate, legs, lungs all feel pretty much the same as if I was running a 26 minute 5K a month ago... I'm frankly quite amazed at how my abilities have changed. But I'm okay with it. It still feels good, and I'm just going to focus on putting in the time, rather than the kilometers.

Keeping runs under 40 minutes feels about right. I've been alternating running with rowing, and the pelvic discomfort has decreased discernibly. Yay!

Would've rather stayed in bed

I spent yesterday afternoon shopping for non-maternity-yet-belly-friendly clothes. Success! But was pretty pooped afterward... I laid on the couch after dinner of leftovers, and it took an hour of laying there before I gathered the energy to pick up my knitting. I was also feeling a little bloated - the water retention kind of thing that is not unusual after a day of malling it up (on your feet without enough water).

Through the night, I felt the swollen feeling get worse - it seemed I could feel it in my face and hands. When it persisted in the morning (it was more a feeling than something actually visible), I was a little worried, but some quick research reassured me that I was still within the normal range, and had no other crazy symptoms that might point to PIH. Kind of too early for that anyway... (My first pregnancy "freak-out" and it only lasted ten minutes and I didn't need to call in a midwife for advice. Yet. Not too bad, huh?)

Nonetheless, I was still feeling really pooped, and kind of grody and like going back to bed would be the best thing ever. But it was gym day, and if I didn't go in the morning, I wouldn't get there for another few days, and then wouldn't get in my minimum 3 workouts for the week. So I dragged my ass over there and managed to blearily pump out the following:

treadmill (while I waited for the erg): 6 minutes at 5/5.5 mph
erg: 19 min - 1 minute intervals averaging 65 watts (easy), and 120 watts (hard); (rest and stretch at 10 minute mark)
weights:
deadlifts - 75 lb x 10, 10, 10
calf presses - 230 x 8, 8, 8
inclined bench press - 45 x 8, 8, 8
lat pulls - 70 x 8, 7, 6; 55 x 15

So tired during the cardio - I really wanted to just curl up on the treadmill and sleep. Really thought I'd quit after 5 minutes on the erg, but pushed through one interval at a time. Argh.

Weigh-in bore out my water retention theory - 137 lb!

Afterward, I had to do some errands, but managed a good lay down and nap (in a chair! as usual...) and felt pretty good after that. I've also been drinking water like a mf today, so hopefully this swollen feeling will dissipate.

Gym day

Treadmill:
Intervals - 1 min alternating 6 mph and 8 mph, 7.5, 7, 7.5, 6 on a 5% grade, respectively. 18 min; 1.8 miles (Lower ab discomfort crept in a this point, so I walked and stopped.)

4 rounds of:
hang clean & press - 40 lb x 10 (last 5 reps of sets 3 and 4 were push presses)
squats - 45 lb x 15

3 rounds of:
bench dips (10, 8, 8)
v-sit crunches (15, 10, 10)

35 minutes altogether.

Weight tracking - 135 lbs (4 pm)

The running became uncomfortable with either more speed (8 mph) or more time - not sure which. More testing needed. It seems obvious that playing frisbee is out of the question now, if I want to avoid exacerbating the irritation.

Scaling back is a work in progress

Tried the gym again today. I tried to a) avoid running, and b) take it easier than last time. I also discovered the wonder of the rowing machine.

Ergometer:
25 minutes, 4600 m (2 minute break halfway through)
1st half: alternated 1 min easy (400-500 cal/hr), 1 min hard (700-800 cal/hr)
2nd half: 1 min easy, 1.5 hard

It was a great workout! Totally aerobic, and great upper body workout. I could very much feel both my post/anterior core working, not to mention my arms/shoulders! I don't think I could've done more - my grip was giving out!

Weights:

Chest press - 45 x 10, 55 x 10, 65 x 6
Squats* - 65 x 10, 10, 8
Romanian deadlift (RDL) - 75 x 12, 12, 12
Calf press - @ 230 x 8, 8, 8
Upright row - 35 x 10, 8, 8 alternating with
Bent-over row - 20 x 10, 8 (each arm)

* I didn't intend to do squats because I suspect they may not be good for my, uh, pelvic complaint... But I was using the bar on the squat rack for the RDLs, and once I was there, I simply couldn't resist. I LOVE squats. And they didn't hurt a bit.

Perceived exertion:
On the erg - somewhat hard to hard in the 1st half, hard to very hard in the 2nd
Weights - Mainly just "hard". (Upright rows became very hard with the supersets)

Total workout was under and hour, and now I'm going to take pre-emptive action and lay down to read (code word for "nap", which is what inevitably happens...)

Recovery run

Having spent yesterday laying down, recovering from the Big Gym Day, I was feeling much better today and attempted an easy run. Also, it was a lovely day outside. It's October in Quebec, so these days must be taken advantage of while they last!

I took a 7.5 km route and ran it at a very moderate pace to finish in 49 minutes. This is 5 minutes slower than last time I did this route, almost exactly a month ago. Legs and lungs felt fine; I took minute breaks every 10 min for breath and water.

However, felt an ongoing twinge of discomfort in my lower ab/adductor/hip flexor area. It was constant while running, and disappeared when I walked. Slowed me down a little.

Google-based research on anatomy of pelvic-related muscles has led me to suspect that I've strained something related to the muscles that attached to the pubic crest. Ick. I read about pelvic girdle pain (PGP), and Symphysis Pubis Dysfunction (SPD) , I'm nervous about tweaking something that will cause big problems (ie: pain!) in the months to come. So, I'm resting for a few days (including not playing my scheduled frisbee game on Sunday), while I plan my strategy for future "safe" workouts.

Overdoing it, or First Lesson Learned

I haven't had a gym to go to for a month. In the meantime, my 3-4 workouts a week have consisted of twice-weekly frisbee games, 5K runs, and vigorous 25 minute circuits.


This week, I joined a gym. I've been eager to get back to weight-training for a few reasons.


1) I didn't want to lose too much ground in terms of muscle mass and strength, especially assuming that I'll have to scale back as my pregnancy progresses.

2) I find it to be one of the best types of exercise for maintaining a steady weight, or losing weight. I don't want to lose weight, but until I figure out how on earth to eat as a preggo (a topic for another post), I want to be careful not to balloon more than I need to.

3) I'm already into my 2nd trimester, and I wanted to get some baseline for recording on this blog.


Here's what I did:


treadmill - 10 minute mile (ranging from walking to 8 mph)
squats - 45 x 12; 65 x 10; 85 x 10, 8, 8

calf press - 300 x 7; 260 x 8, 8

cleans - 65 x 10, 8, 8

press - 45 x 7, 5, 3 + 3

push press (with super-slow eccentrics)

RDL - 75 x 10, 10, 10

bench dip - 10, 10, 10

v-sit crunches - 20, 15, 15

lat pull - 70 x 7; pull-up grip - 85 x 4; chin-up grip - 100 x 4


Perceived exertion - the heaviest sets were what I'd call very hard - the rep numbers where the max I could push out. This was the same as any typical weight workout, even though I was pushing weights lighter than pre-pregnancy (or pre-month-off-from-the-gym).


It took about an hour and a half; I wasn't rushing as I was still finding my way around the new gym. It felt good. Really good. I left the gym, ate an apple and picked up some groceries on the way home; then ate some lunch, painted the dining room, picked up the kids from school...


Then I crashed. Total fatigue. I had to sit. I tried to read and fell asleep, leaving Ken to cook supper. I was groggy (in that post-nap kind of way) all evening. This morning, it felt like I hadn't slept. (Not to mention killer DOMS.) I napped -- sitting in a chair -- all morning, and finally felt better, though still tired. I bailed on my frisbee game tonight.


So THAT'S what they mean by "over-doing it".


Take-aways:

Keep workouts to an hour or less. High-intensity stuff like circuits should be under 30.

Rest after an intense workout. Sit down, nap, relax.