Chasing My Joy

My journey to becoming an Ultra Runner and Ironman

Bumpdate – 31 Weeks

Baby is now the size of:

Baby girl is getting big! I was a little late getting in to the OB for my 30 week so I went this week and everything is good so far, knock wood! I have gained 22 pounds so far, if I can keep it around 30 pounds total I will be happy. I gained 42 pounds total with Cannon and it did NOT “melt off with breast feeding” I really had trouble losing the baby weight until I stoped breast feeding then the weight came off.

Sleep: Sleep has been a struggle. It’s hard to get comfortable most nights and being sick hasn’t helped much. Also one night I had severe cramping in one of my calf muscles around 2:30 AM. It took a long time to release and then I was in so much pain I couldn’t fall back asleep. The cramp was so bad I am still sore days later. I could nap during Cannon’s nap time but I use that time to work so I am just trying to muddle through.

Bumps and Bulldogs

Maternity clothes / preferred attire: As usual mostly maternity. I am really looking forward to warmer weather so I can wear more of the maternity clothes I bought when I was pregnant with Cannon. I have lots of maxi dresses and linen pants that just don’t work in February. I am glad that I invested in a maternity coat (50% of at GAP!) this time. Last time I just wore my normal coats with a scarf without buttoning them. This time I am much further along during the cold months and tend to spend more time outside with Cannon.

Highlight of the day….finally getting a maternity jacket I made it through my last pregnancy without one but sine I am 2 Months further along this winter I was freezing. Pretty dang excited

Symptoms: Shortness of breath, leg cramps (the worst), congestion due to being sick…..still, fatigue.

Cravings, aversions and favorite foods: not too many cravings or aversions, I just tend to get full easily so I can only eat small meals and not too much sugar or I will feel sick.

Exercise: Exercise was hit or miss last week while fighting a cold and now a sore leg but I am still trying to move at least a little everyday.

I can still see my feet ( when I lean forward)

Mood: My mood is up and down. Today is exactly 2 months until my EDD, that seems so far away and SOOOO close at the same time! I feel nervous about all there is to get done including getting our house organized, preparing for birth, finishing the nursery and getting my classes in order in case someone else will be teaching the last couple of weeks.

Countdown is on!!!

Missing: A glass of wine and putting on shoes without suffocating.

Best moments: Feeling this little one move so much, much more than Cannon ever did.

Worst moments:  Having to take Cannon to the doctor twice because his cough was so bad. I was worried he had Croup but he was diagnosed with Bronchitis. He has terrible coughing fits every time he moves around too much. It’s not easy to keep a toddler from running around and he gets so sad and upset when he has a coughing fit. It’s heartbreaking to see your little one not feeling well.

When you have to make an emergency visit to the doctor at least you get to visit the pretty a cold turned into what we feared was Croup but turns out is bronchitis poor kiddo

Buying: Bought my first pack of newborn diapers this week.

Dreaming About: Running outside during summer sunrises

Missing early morning sunrises from the trail. Hurry up summer!!!

First Trimester Favorites

The first trimester is usually not a pregnant ladies favorite. For me the first trimester is not fun because I feel stressed about the higher chance of miscarriage, keeping the pregnancy private and feeling like I am hungover most of the time. Now that I am in my third trimester I though I would list a few things that helped me get through the first trimester.

  1. Starbucks Tumbler – While pregnant you need to drink more water than normal. For some reason I find it so much easier to drink more water from a bottle that has a straw. While I had mild morning sickness during the first trimester I found that ice water would often make me feel better. I tried to always have my tumbler with me.
  2. Hi-Rise Wunder Unders – While you don’t really start showing during the first trimester, the bloat due to hormones makes me feel like I am. I love my Lululemon high wasted wunder unders because the gave me support and kept everything in place while working out or just running errands. I happily wore them until about 29 weeks when they started to roll down because of my big bump.
  3. Nature Made Vitamins – Getting in a pre-natal vitamin with DHA is really important, especially during the first trimester while the baby is developing all of their important systems and organs. Vitamins can sometimes make me nauseous, something that I don’t need extra of at this time in pregnancy. Nature Made vitamins have never made me ill so they are a great choice.
  4. GAP Lace Bralette – One of the first things to start to change when I get pregnant is my boobs. Underwires are almost instantly out. I really love these GAP Bralettes are soft and comfortable while still offering coverage.
  5. Peppermint Altoids – Many women like ginger candies to help settle their stomachs but they just seemed to make me feel worse. Peppermint Altoids actually helped settle down nausea for me, with the bonus of fresh breath.
  6. Garmin Fenix 5 – I actually have the Fenix 3 watch but the Fenix 5 is the current model. I have tried my best to stay active this pregnancy while also keeping an eye on my heart rate. I raced a pretty difficult trail 10k during my first trimester. I was concerned about my heart rate being too high for too long, so I used my Fenix with the Garmin Run heart rate monitor to watch my effort. There is some debate about what really is safe and maybe it is ok to workout at higher efforts but my doctor said to keep my heart rate below about 140-150 BPM. For me a race or workout is not worth risking any damage to my tiny little baby.

Bumpdate – 30 Weeks

30 WEEKS! Starting to feel like we are in the final stretch. It feels so close and also so far away.

Baby is now the size of:

I don’t know about you but 15.7 inches and almost 3 lbs seems really big for a zucchini. I guess you can let them really get over grown in a garden sometimes but the ones I get in the store are more like 6-8 inches. That’s one big zucchini!

Sleep: Ugh, this week the pregnancy insomnia has settled in now. My acid reflux has settled down with some diet and behavior modifications but a couple nights I just can’t sleep. One night I woke up at 2 am and couldn’t fall back asleep. I was miserable just laying in bed so I got up, turned on the Olympics and started shopping online for things we “need” for the nursery.

Maternity clothes / preferred attire: 80/20 maternity vs non-maternity. Every week there are less and less regular clothing pieces that fit. I pulled a couple button down shirts out of the laundry that I had been able to wear two weeks ago, now they won’t button over the belly. It made me laugh. I am still wearing some normal athletic clothing but that is getting too tight as well. I think I will just have to start doing laundry more often for the few pieces that do work.

Symptoms: Still fighting heartburn but it seems mostly manageable. I am really starting to feel the third trimester fatigue. Physically things are difficult. Walking up the stairs leaves me gasping for air and carrying Cannon around makes me so tired. Getting up off the ground or rolling over in bed feel like ridiculous tasks.  Also baby’s movements have started to become a little uncomfortable and can be sometimes painful. Little one is getting strong.

Cravings, aversions and favorite foods:  Food has been a weird puzzle to figure out. I can’t eat too much at one time (not surprising at this point) and I am hungry and not interested in food at the same time.

Exercise: Exercise is still feeling pretty good, weekly rundown found here. I didn’t get in as much as I would have liked because of sickness running through our house. But I am still trying to fit in cardio and strength training. Everything I am doing is pretty mellow and just trying to keep moving and some strength to help with delivery.

Mood: Mood was pretty low the last week. I came down with a nasty cold and dealing with the symptoms with very little time to rest was pretty draining. It’s nothing life shattering I just need to get more rest so I can get over this stupid cold and feel as close to normal as possible.

Having a cold is always the pits but having a cold while pregnant and trying to keep up with a toddler is rough.

Missing: Exercising outside! All of my cardio has been done at the gym lately because it’s been so cold and/or icy outside. Since I almost always have Cannon with me when it’s light out and I am not working, it has to be safe conditions for him and I don’t want to risk slipping at this point either. There is great child care at the gym but you have to stay inside to gym while kids are being watched.

helping to clear the snow

Best moments: Celebrating Valentine’s Day with Cannon

Worst moments: Nothing too terrible, just not being able to sleep because I was so congested.

Buying: Making it to 30 weeks has me feeling like to we really need to get the nursery completed. We are going for a bohemian/wild flowers theme. Inspiration board found here. On one of my sleepless nights I bought a few things for the nursery.

Dreaming About: Getting to see Cannon as a big brother.

Weekly Rundown – A House Full of Sick

Overall this last week was just so-so for workouts. At the end of last week Cannon started to come down with a cold and shared it with me. We also spent a few sleepless nights up with a sick Bulldog.

Spent the morning at an emergency vet visit when things just haven’t seemed right with Humphry for the last couple days. The vet thinks he has a back injury (luckily his spine looks okay). After a very large bill we were sent home with meds and instructions to rest. Not how we wanted to spend Valentine’s Day but we sure love this little pup.

Luckily Humphry seems to be making a full recovery but losing sleep to a sick pup and time spent at the vet meant that I missed all but one of my strength trainings this week. I am still trying to recover from this nasty cold and just doing the best I can.

———–

Monday: Cannon had a Valentine’s Day party to attend in the morning so I finally made it to the gym in the afternoon for an hour of intervals on the elliptical.

Add this to the list of things I haven’t done since the 4th grade….spent the morning addressing valentines for Cannon’s little friends.

Tuesday: Missed my morning workout again but got to the gym for 45 minutes of hills on the treadmill.

Wednesday:I did manage to get up for an early morning full body strength workout.  After a morning spent with the vet and assurances that Humphry would likely be fine we didn’t feel like trying to get to the gym. So we celebrates Valentines day with lots of cuddles and play.

Thursday: Missed my morning session again, just shows how easy it is to get out of a habit. I did get to the gym for 45 minutes on the elliptical.

Friday: Friday was the morning that I really started to feel sick so I stayed in bed, rested and let Cory take Cannon to gymnastics without me. I hated missing it but knew I would be a better mom/person if I got some rest. In the afternoon I decided I might feel better with some movement so we headed to the gym and I got 50 minutes of hills on the treadmill.

Saturday & Sunday: Nothing! This cold is nasty and it’s difficult to sleep and breathe and just function in general. The weather was beautiful over the weekend so we spent time outside playing between getting errands done.

I have really missed being outside and I am really looking forward to spring weather and getting out on more walks with Cannon. And really looking forward to early morning runs in June.

Happy Running Everyone!

Friday Favorites #5

Happy Friday everyone! I have a serious case of TGIF this week. Both Cannon and I have come down with colds and I am looking forward to resting and mellow family fun. Cannon also turns 20 months old this weekend too, I can’t believe how fast he is growing up.

Here are some of my favorites from this week

 

Birkenstock Arizona Sandals 

Cory got this pair of Birkenstock Arizona sandals for me for Valentine’s Day and I love them! It may be a couple moths before I can wear them outside since the weather is still so cold here in Colorado but I can’t wait to use them. They are so comfortable and cute, plus they are easy to throw on which will really be helpful when I have a giant belly and putting on shoes is difficult.

Crystal Light Pure

I have been SO thirsty lately and have been getting sick of just having plain water all the time. Carbonated drinks have not been sitting well so I grabbed this Crystal Light Pure Iced Tea and it’s such a nice change up from just water.

The Brave Athlete Calm the F*ck Down and Rise to the Occasion 

I just started reading The Brave Athlete  and already I LOVE it. Even though I can’t work on being an athlete physically very much right now, it seems like a good chance to work on my mental toughness. It may even be helpful for labor and giving birth.

Our local Rec Centers pool

Sunday Funday

It’s really important to me to get Cannon into the water as much as possible. I want him to love swimming, feel comfortable in the water and learn water safety skills. The pool at our local rec center has a great beach entry area with lots of fun areas for kids to play. Cannon also loves the lazy river and water slides. It’s been so worth the price of our membership for the use of the pool, indoor playground, gym equipment, fitness classes, child care and classes.

 

Happy weekend everyone! Anyone know any cold remedies that are safe for preggers laddies to take?

Bumpdate – 29 Weeks

Baby is now the size of:

2.5 pounds of baby….feels more like 20 pounds. Come to think of it I have gained almost that much so far.

Sleep: Sleep is getting worse, I have had a couple nights of terrible acid reflux that keeps me up. I have to prop myself up on many pillows and try to rest for a couple hours until it calms down. It’s not fun and makes for a very tired mama the next day.

Maternity clothes / preferred attire: About the same as the last couple weeks. Mostly maternity clothes with some normal clothes mixed in but I think it’s short lived. My belly seems huge to me. My doctor reassures me that I am measuring right on track. I try to remind myself that this is temporary and getting bigger is better than not and having my sweet girl not growing enough.

Symptoms:  Lots of heartburn, some headaches, my feet hurt when I stand or walk for more than a couple hours. On days I teach my feet have started to swell a little. Also I am getting tired and my back aches after carrying Cannon around.

Lots of time spent playing inside at the Rec Center

Cravings, aversions and favorite foods:  Not too many cravings but I have to be really careful now what I eat in the evening. I can’t eat too much, or anything sugary or I will pay for it later. I also think that hot liquids don’t sit well so I won’t be able to have tea in the evenings anymore.

Exercise: I do my best to get in what I can. Everything I am doing is pretty tame right now. Walking on the treadmill and the elliptical have become my cardio staples. I have also been trying to do strength training and prenatal yoga. I am avoiding any plyometrics or exercises that have any fast movements as they do not feel good to my body.

Mood: This last week I have been pretty tired and get overwhelmed easily. I do feel good about each week that ticks by but that doesn’t make juggling work, parenting, managing our house and taking care of this pregnant body any easier. I have been doing a pretty good job of keeping all of our clothes clean, but we have been pulling clean clothes out of laundry baskets for weeks now, they never seem to get put away.

Missing: Feeling good, running and energy

Best moments: Getting to hear baby’s heart beat at my OB appointment.

Worst moments: Being up sick most of the night and trying to to function the next day.

Buying: I don’t think I bought anything for this baby/pregnancy last week. I really need to get on top of completing the nursery.

Dreaming About: Getting to meet our little girl, will it be warm or cold when we bring her home.

Weekly Rundown – Working With a Plan

I am feeling so much better now that I am getting exercise in on a more consistent basis. Something that really helped me was writing out an actual plan. The plan is pretty losoe, flexible and not terribly ambitious but that is what I am comfortable with for my third trimester. Without having a plan actually written out I was hit or miss getting workouts in so I loaded a plan into training peaks and I get a lot of satisfaction turning those little squares green. It’s still not perfect execution. Sometimes I don’t feel well enough to workout, sometimes Cannon isn’t in a good place to go to day care and sometimes life gets in the way. 

*The treadmill running is often on the elliptical, that is why the milage is off.

———–

Monday:  I got up early to get some free-weight work done at 4:45 AM.

Cannon didn’t seem to be feeling well so we skipped going to the gym. In the afternoon it looked beautiful so we headed outside for a quick run/walk

Love being able to get out with my little man

It was really cold and windy so we didn’t get far, but it’s always good to get out in the sunshine. Running is not feeling good anymore and I am not enjoying it all. I fear that running might be done for me until after baby is here.

Tuesday: I was able to get up early and do some strength based prenatal yoga I found on YouTube. I liked it a lot but also need to include more stretchy yoga as well!

 

Cannon seemed to be feeling better so we went to the gym for some hill work on the treadmill for me and play time for Cannon.

Wednesday: Early morning strength training.

After breakfast Cannon and I went back to the gym where I was excited to get back on the bike

I haven’t been to spin class in so long! I finally found a class that worked with my schedule. It was great to be back on a bike but man it kicked my butt.

Thursday: I got up early for another round of yoga before Cannon got up at 5:30 then hiked some hills on the treadmill at the gym. Nothing too exciting.

 

Friday: Friday was an unintentional rest day. I got very little sleep overnight so I skipped my early morning session. Then we had gymnastics with Cannon before an OB appointment. I thought I might go to the gym in the afternoon but then a friend closed her finger in her car door (yikes) so we spent the afternoon/evening at Urgent Care. Some things are just more important so I am fine with missing some workouts.

Saturday: On Saturday I still wasn’t feeling great so we played in the snow and rested.

Sunday: In the morning we went swimming in the morning, I love to see how much Cannon enjoys being in the water.

Sunday Funday

I used nap time to fit in some strength training and hills on the treadmill.

I will miss running and I can’t believe it will be 16ish weeks until I am running again but I think it’s what’s best for me now and I know that I can take much longer than that off ( I basically didn’t run during my pregnancy with Cannon so that was closer to 46 weeks off) and I was able to come back.

Happy Running Everyone!

Friday Favorites #4

Happy Friday everyone, this week seemed to fly by! I am off to a doctors appointment this morning, wish me luck that everything with this little one is on track #feelinghuge

I LOVED reading this article  by Katie Grossman on the Trail Sisters website. She talks openly about what it’s like to decide to try to have children as a professional runner. And while I don’t face the same challenges as a professional athlete (I can still do my job 7 months pregnant and can return a few weeks after birth without my performance being derailed too much, not the same situation for athletes) so much of what she talked about resinated with me. It’s well worth the time to read.

Vital Proteins Collagen I was really unsure about hoping on the collagen bandwagon but I checked with my doctor and got the approval to have it while pregnant and have been adding it to my coffee for the last month. I can’t say for sure if it’s impacting my hair and nails since those are already altered by pregnancy. But it really is tasteless and I can’t tell at all when I add it to my coffee.

Billy Yang’s The Why video so well done, I just loved seeing so much of the Leadville 100 course, I watched it while walking hills on a treadmill….start where you are, right?

Cannon’s gymnastics classes at our local rec center. It’s so fun to see him throw himself into the foam pit with no fear, it’s his favorite part.

Happy Weekend everyone!

 

 

Bumpdate – 28 Weeks

Third trimester baby! One of the best things about making it this far is that there is a good chance of this little one surviving if she had to be born now, it’s scary to think about her coming so early but everyday she is getting bigger and stronger.

Baby is now the size of:

The size of an Eggplant and over 2 pounds now. One of the best things about making

Sleep: Sleep is getting worse, I have trouble being comfortable and rolling over is getting harder.

Maternity clothes / preferred attire: I have been pulling out some of my old sweatshirts to wear over my athletic clothes lately, it’s a little comical, especially when I wear my “Marathoner” sweatshirt. Clearly no marathons are happening in the near future.

Mostly I am just looking for comfort and starting to worry about what will fit through the end of this pregnancy.

Symptoms: So much shortness of breath! Walking up the stairs, especially when carrying Cannon is seriously difficult. I even became short of breath when trying to talk too much while teaching, my poor students probably wonder  what the heck is going on.

Cravings, aversions and favorite foods: Eating has been weird and difficult this last week. My heartburn is worst in the late afternoon and evening. There are many nights that I don’t eat dinner because I am not feeling well enough ( I am getting plenty to eat earlier in the day). When I do feel well enough to eat I have been craving a lot of salads, so much better than the chocolate ice cream I couldn’t get enough of a couple weeks ago.

I told Cory I was craving a “ chef salad “ so he whipped this up for me ❤ Cannon liked it too! I am just sad that I could only eat half, baby girl is taking up all the room my stomach used to

Exercise: Feeling pretty good about getting into a better routine fitting in cardio and strength training. Workouts have been feeling pretty good and I hope to stay as active as I can safely until giving birth.

Mood: Pretty good. I get tired by the end of the day but I am relishing all the baby kicks, flips and jabs. She is so much more active than Cannon ever was! I am also trying to relish all the time I can with Cannon as an only child. His world is about to get rocked, and while he will point to my belly and say “baby” (so cute), he has no idea what is coming. I get emotional thinking about having to split my attention from Cannon but I remind myself that he is pretty independent and that he will be gaining a sister to love and a friend for life.

Missing: Wine, running on the trails, my normal clothes and breathing.

Best moments: Going to the pool with Cannon.

Worst moments: Having to take Cannon to the doctor Friday night for weird symptoms. Turns out everything is fine but it’s so easy to worry.

Buying: Finally caved and bought a pregnancy pillow after hearing how great they are.

Dreaming About: What those first few days will be like.

Weekly Rundown – Getting on Track

It took a couple weeks into the semester but I think I have finally figured out a schedule that works for me. Consistency is so important for exercise but when I am the primary caregiver of Cannon flexibility is key. For example today the plan was to go to the gym at 8am. Our gym has great child care that Cannon goes to a lot. But over the weekend Cannon came down with a virus so he won’t be going and I am trying to find other ways to get my cardio in. Regardless it feels good to have a plan even if I can’t always stick to it 100%

———–

Monday:  Cannon and I went to the gym nice and early, there is a great indoor playground where Cannon likes to play before heading to child care.

After playtime, I jumped on the elliptical for 45 minutes. I really like to do the programmed hill workouts. The elliptical is not my favorite but I can’t handle running everyday right now and it is a great time to catch up on reading magazines and watching YouTube videos.

Tuesday: I finally set my alarm (Cannon usually get us up by 5:30) and got up early so I could get some strength training in. I had been doing some strength training programs like Body Pump and 21 Day Fix but I was getting more and more annoyed having to modify the workouts. I decided to do some research on safe exercises and come up with my own set to do. So far so good.

After strength training, it was time for Cannon to get up, breakfast and getting ready for the day Cannon and I headed to the gym for 52 minutes of walk/running on the treadmill.

Wednesday: Another day at the gym, 55 minutes on the elliptical.

Thursday: Early morning to get strength training in, trying to work on full body strength. I am also trying to work on squats a lot as I have read that they can be really help with labor and birth.

This is what 4:45 AM looks like

Later it was 45 minutes on the elliptical.

Friday: I decided to get up early again to get a third strength training session for the week. My legs were sore from Thursday so I decided to focus and upper body and what core work I still can do. Later we headed to the gym for some hill work on the treadmill for 40 minutes before taking Cannon to gymnastics.

Saturday: On the weekend I like to focus on family time so I decided not to schedule anything too specific. The weather wasn’t great but we eventually got out for a family walk and playtime at the park.

Sunday: Sunday was playtime at the pool before the big game. And while it is not a monster swim set, we have so much fun.

Happy Running Everyone!