It had to end sometime...

Alfie

Monday marked 34 weeks.  We had an appointment today with the midwife, and things are going well.  Baby Alfie was very uncooperative with the ultrasound tech- we did not get a single good picture of her face.  She weighs around 5 pounds now, and we could even see her practicing her breathing.

Like the title of this post suggests, as of this week I am done with running.  It still feels good while I'm going, but the contractions afterwards are just not worth it.  I will walk and do yoga up until her arrival, but that's it.  I hope to maintain base fitness.  With the bambino, I quit running at 30 weeks and was able to come back to it quickly, so I hope that happens this time, too.

Race Weekend

Last weekend, my dad ran his first solo half-marathon; prior to Rock n' Roll DC, we had run several together, but this was his first chance running alone for 13.1 miles.  Even for a hot day, a crowded course (28,000 runners!!!), and some hills, he did awesome.  We hopped on the Metro to see him around mile 10, making friends with another group of fans on the train who told us what stop to use, etc.  I had forgotten the map at home, and it's pretty darn difficult to pull up a map on an iphone when you're underground.  Thankfully, this group had large posters, so it was a safe bet to ask them for help.  They even helped get my dad's attention when we finally saw him.  We all yelled "Pop-Pop!" (the bambino's name for his grandfather) until he saw us.

In the huge crowd, it was a bit like playing Where's Waldo to find your runner.  He was wearing a white hat, yellow shirt, and shorts, so as people came out from the underpass we'd look from the top down.

• "White hat... shirt's too dark"
• "White hat... no wait- it's a visor"
• "White hat...bright yellow shirt... oh, it's a woman"
• "White hat...bright yellow shirt...blue shorts- no, Dad isn't African-American"

Looking for our runner near Gallaudet University

And then finally we saw him coming and Jenn got a lot of photographs. This whole time, the bambino did great- he had his snack and happily watched all of the runners.  Since it was Saint Patrick's Day, there were some spectacular outfits.  I love fun running clothes, but the women running in plastic wigs on a warm spring day made me feel vicariously overheated.  Yikes!

White hat, bright yellow shirt, blue shorts- that's him!

After the Dad-sighting at mile 10, we hustled to the finish, arriving almost 30 minutes late.  The Metro was packed, and there was construction, so there was no hope.  We reconnected with our runner and quickly decided it was a far, far better idea to walk a few miles in the beautiful spring weather to food than to squish ourselves like sardines into the Metro.

After lunch we went to see the cherry blossoms at the Tidal Basin.  The unseasonably warm weather had brought out the blooms a little early.

Isn't he cute?

with Mémé

Dad and I hung out under a tree while the rest of the family traipsed around looking at flowers and trees.  Dad had just run a race and had some good Salvadoran food; I am very pregnant and had likewise just eaten a lovely meal, so we were very happy to rest in the shade.

I Dream of Training

First, a disclaimer: I love being pregnant.  I love how my body has changed, and I love the purpose.  I already adore the tiny little girl growing in my (also growing) belly.  I cherish every head-butt, hiccup, and other movement that reminds me she's there.

I love being pregnant, but I fantasize about training and really running again: running more than three miles, getting progressively faster instead of slower, having different kinds of runs within a week.  Right now, the variety is indoor v. outdoor, music v. stroller.  I look forward to long runs, long race-pace runs, hill repeats (remind me that I'm looking forward to them, because when they happen, I will whine), speed work, tempo runs, stroller runs, and plain old runs.  It will be so nice to look at a month of training and see variety and progress toward a goal.

Perhaps this is the difference between runners and joggers: runners like goals and progress, whereas joggers just want a fitness routine.  Being pregnant has made my focus shift from goals to fitness, from progress to maintenance, and I'm itching to get back to normal.

30 Weeks!

This week, baby Alfie is 30 weeks along; 10 more weeks (or less!) until she makes her appearance.  We are, of course, very excited.  We also have a lot to do.  The nursery has most of its furniture, but there's no bed.  There are coverings on the windows, but we'd like to make curtains and reupholster the glider chair in the same fabric. We have plenty of cloth diapers, and we've begun to pick up some little girl clothes.  She will most certainly wear big brother's onesies and shirts around the house, no matter how blue they are, but it's hard to resist tiny dresses with bloomers.  Bloomers!  We have her car seats, one for each car, and we'll put them in the cars at some point in March, I guess.

The biggest thing we haven't done is figure out a name.  We have a few months left, but it feels funny to not even have it narrowed down.  We found out we were having a girl on November 28, and we then we moved.  Then it was Christmas, then New Year's, then school started back and the bambino transitioned to a new classroom, and now all of the sudden it's the second half of February and Alfie has no real name.

In running news, I'm still at it!  I ran Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, plus an extra walk Saturday with the bambino.  Last week's mileage was 12 miles (13 with the walk), and I am very proud of that.  30 weeks is when I stopped running with my son, and I don't feel like stopping at all.

Here's what I wrote at this point last time around:

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 25, 2008

No More Running

So, it finally happened. At nearly thirty weeks, with 70 days left to go, it is no longer fun to run, and that's a word I use VERY loosely at this point. I went out for a nice, slow jog and discovered that twenty extra pounds make your legs feel awful. Also, my belly is large enough that there's definitely a little bounce. I now know what it's like to try to run with a spare tire. The plan now is to walk and maybe hike a little, both of which do not cause nearly as much trouble.

In fact,  I ran tonight after our church's Shrove Tuesday Pancake Dinner.  I did 3 miles in 33:45 and then walked to 40:00.  Sure, it's not fast, but it's a good workout at this point, and I was smiling almost the whole time.  And not just because I was watching the first half of the Downton Abbey finale.  What a great way to work off the pancakes!

Speaking of pancakes, my diet seems to be doing a great job of managing the gestational diabetes.  I have the nutrition class tomorrow after school, but just monitoring my blood sugar has made me feel a lot better.  Exercising at night seems to control my blood sugar first thing in the morning, which is important.

That's what it's like around here right now!  I've gotten used to GD, I'm still running, and we need to pick a name for baby Alfie.  I've also been thinking a lot about this summer and getting back into running running, as well as Fall and Spring racing plans.  More about that later...

I do not like to fail tests...

... but I failed a big one last week.

The one-hour gestational diabetes test.

For those of you who don't know, it's standard practice to test women between 24-28 weeks pregnant for gestational diabetes, a particular kind of diabetes found in pregnant women.  There's a one-hour test that requires drinking a very sugary drink, waiting an hour, and having a blood draw.  There are also two- and three-hour tests for if you fail the one-hour test.  These longer tests determine if you've really got gestational diabetes.

That is, unless you fail the one-hour test so badly that they won't give you the longer ones.  The normal range, according to my midwife, is 65-130.  I scored a 212.

I was shocked.  I worry about plenty of things, but this wasn't on my radar because I am active, I eat well, and before pregnancy I wasn't 20% overweight. (I wasn't overweight at all, actually).  Women suffering from gestational diabetes often gain weight quickly, and they often have high blood pressure.  Me?  I've gained 15 pounds in 28 weeks, and my blood pressure at my check-up on Thursday was 100/58.

Even though some women have a greater likelihood of having gestational diabetes, and some women show symptoms of it before the test, other women (like me) simply do not fit the profile.  Some women (like me) do not show symptoms.

I will learn more at the nutritionist's office next week, but here's what I know so far:

• I will probably have to check my blood sugar levels many times a day (in the morning and two hours after meals) with a glucose meter.
• During pregnancy, the placenta produces hormones.  Sometimes, these hormones interfere with the body's ability to process glucose.  This interference increases as the pregnancy advances, and it can result in gestational diabetes.
• The most likely reason that I haven't had any symptoms is because I've been controlling this with my normal diet and my normal exercise routine.  Aside from occasional (okay, more than occasional, but still not frequent) sweets, I eat pretty well.  We eat lots of vegetables, only whole wheat bread and pasta, and I do not drink sugary drinks.  Diet and exercise are often enough to control gestational diabetes, and that may well be what I've been doing.
• If gestational diabetes goes untreated, you can end up with a really big baby.  I do not want a really big baby, since I'm one of those natural-childbirth-no-drugs-please-granola mamas.  

I found this out on Thursday.  Worrier that I am, I was very strict this weekend with my diet, probably stricter than I should be.  I haven't skimped on calories, but I didn't allow myself any refined sugar and had relatively few carbs.  Next week, the diabetic nutritionist should give me guidelines and a meal plan.  I tried to look this up online, but most were based on the idea that the mom-to-be was gaining too much weight, which I'm not.  I couldn't fit in the appointment this week, and the next one isn't until next Wednesday, giving me lots of time to freak out, so I bought a blood glucose meter yesterday to start checking myself.  Lo and behold, two hours after dinner last night my blood sugar was too low.  Today I'm trying to eat the way I did before I found out and simply check my levels.  We'll see how that goes.

So, there it is.  I have gestational diabetes, and it will affect the next 3.5 months.  But I'm also pregnant, and that will change my life permanently.  I want Alfie to get the best start possible, and if that means that I prick my finger multiple times a day and only get a teeny tiny slice of carrot cake for Jenn's birthday, so be it.  3 months just doesn't sound like much in the face of the rest of my life.

Pregnant and Streaking

Oops! I meant to publish this yesterday, but I fell asleep at 7:00.  So, here you go.

Saturday, January 28
First, let me say that pregnancy is not the time to up your mileage or begin training for a big goal.  I know this.  I follow this.  While it is extremely important to maintain fitness while pregnant, you've also got to be aware of the limitations and changes.

Why do I preface this post with that statement?  Well, because I've been increasing the frequency of my runs gradually since our move to the new house in December.  Since December 15, my normal week has been 4 or 5 days of running and 2 or 3 days of yoga, sometimes with a walk thrown in as well.  Am I crazy? Nope, I don't think so.  Am I harming baby Alfie?  Absolutely not; she's kicking and growing, and I'm gaining about a pound a week at this point.

When we moved in December, and I got both a neighborhood, trails, and a treadmill (I know- I am so lucky!), I knew I wanted to become the runner I've always been inside, in spite of the excuses born of a long commute and living on a country highway.  Since college, I've run three times a week, maybe four.  We've always lived on non-runnable streets, and I've always lived at least 15 minutes from work and a 10-minute drive from a park.  Before The Bambino, I fit in runs anyway.  After his arrival, my three or four runs turned into two or three.  To supplement, I used the elliptical.  As for strength, I've always enjoyed yoga, pilates, lunges and squats, and basic weights.  Briefly, I've kept in shape.  I've worked out 5 days a week or more, in some form or fashion.

When we moved in, however, the opportunities were literally on my doorstep.  I suddenly had nearly an hour more day in my day from moving close to school.  I could run from my house safely.  Then we got our treadmill for the garage, complete with a television and DVR so that I could watch Downton Abbey after The Bambino goes to sleep.  With all of these chances, how could I not run more often?  I'm a runner!  A distance runner, at that.  I like to run!   My fitness is high, my resting heart rate is low, and I'm an efficient runner.  I don't look at what I'm doing as upping mileage.  To me, I am simply converting more of my exercise time to running and less to cross-training like the elliptical.

Even with this gradual increase in my runs, this week was something new.  This week, I ran five days in a row.  I've never done that, that I can remember.  I didn't run far every day, and i certainly didn't run fast, but I ran.  By day 5, my legs were a little tired at first, but they rallied.  I didn't feel sore, or tired, or grumpy (well, more grumpy than your average 26-week pregnant mother of a toddler who also teaches high school).  I was more hungry than usual, but there's a simple and easy remedy for that: I ate more.

• Sunday- 3 miles on the treadmill
• Monday- ran 2 miles on the treadmill and then walked a little
• Tuesday- ran 1 mile with my dog, who behaved admirably.  I will run with him more.
• Wednesday- 3 miles on the treadmill.  My right foot hurt a little, but I think it was the shoes.  Mizuno is a great company, but the Creation is not for me!  Also did about 20 minutes of yoga.
• Thursday- 2 miles in the neighborhood.  My legs were tired at the beginning, but they perked up.

So, the total running mileage is only 11.  I've run that much in five days before, maybe even pregnant, but in the past I've clumped the miles together differently, running at least 2.5 miles at a time and resting more often.  I've just rearranged the miles, that's all. 

What I learned this week is that I want to run often and that my body can take it.  I hope that, if I continue to run more days of the week, that this will translate into a nice post-baby base.  If I'm comfortable running easy 5 days in a row now, then I should be able to run 5 or 6 days a week this summer and fall and get back to my "normal" pace pretty quickly.  

Yesterday was a rest day because I didn't feel like running.  I was tired and it was the last day of the week.  Since I'm not trying to push myself beyond reason or reach some specific mileage goal every week, I simply run when I want to and not when I don't.  It's that easy.

This morning, after shopping for a dining room table, we went for a walk in the woods to take pictures.  As you can see, the results were at times touching, at times hilarious.

 Here's Baby Alfie and I.  She's certainly growing!

 The Bambino trying to get Alfie to kick him in the face...

It's the Guilford College Woods.  What better place to hug trees?

25 Weeks!

Monday I will be 25 weeks pregnant.  I'm well over halfway, especially if the babe comes early like the midwife thinks.

I took Tuesday as a rest day, and I think it was well-deserved.  Being active is so important, but so is rest.  This is even more true when your body is busy growing another human being.  Wednesday I ran a quick two miles on the treadmill after school, ate an early dinner, and then went to my first prenatal yoga class in three years.

When you picture yoga, do you picture gentle stretching?  relaxation? meditation?

Yeah, there was a little of that, but there was a lot more standing poses, planks, and goodness gracious we did about a hundred slow squats!  Two days later I still couldn't quite walk.  I ran a mile Thursday to loosen up the quads, and I ran 2.5 yesterday while finishing last week's Downton Abbey.  I even played with pace, as much as someone in my condition can.  Well, as much as I can.  I'm guessing Kara Goucher ran a little bit faster during her pregnancy.  Just sayin'.  With a base pace of 5.5 mph, I added in 2-minute intervals between 5.7 and 6.0 with one-minute rests at base.  It was more entertaining than my recent treadmill runs, so that was good.

Today was jsut a yoga day.  My legs are still sore!

Tomorrow's plan is to run outside, possibly with a dog, during the Bambino's nap tomorrow.  If he chooses not to take a nap (which has been happening more and more lately), I'll work something out.

9-Day Streak!

Up until yesterday, I exercised every day of 2012.  For a pregnant lady, I'd say that's not too shabby.  Honestly, to day I planned on running a few miles, but sleep did not go well last night.  I was up twice because our otherwise wonderful cat was purring like a diesel engine in my ear (and knows how to open doors- that's the second one) and twice with the bambino: once for a lost blanky-bear and once because the darn cat opened his door and curled up on his bed.  All this plus normal second-trimester tossing and turning equals very little sleep.

So, here's a recap of my streak:
January 1- Resolution un-Run with Dad.  3.1 miles
January 2- 4-mile walk to and from a playdate, plus 1 mile run on the treadmill.
January 3- Treadmill while watching Biggest Loser.
January 4- 30 minutes of yoga
January 5- 2-mile neighborhood run
January 6- 2.6-mile loop from the house
January 7- 30-minute yoga
January 8- 30-minute yoga
January 9- 3-mile treadmill run

How do I feel?  A little run-down, but I don't think it's from exercise.  I am fighting off a cold right now.  Judging by the number of students who have been absent this week already, it's probably a losing battle.

And for tomorrow?  I want to streak again!  My legs did not feel overly tired, and the yoga helps me sleep.  I feel like building up my frequency of workouts now, while the intensity and speed are down, is a good way to maintain a real base when it comes to training.