Chris and I are more than half way in Couch-to-5K! Will we make it?!
Will we jog at the Be Not Afraid 5K in October?
 |
| Note: In Week 5, we ran 20 minutes straight! Weeks 6, 7, 8, and 9 to go! |
Pregnancy really takes a toll on Mama's body, especially when Mama hasn't been athletic in about a decade. And now it's harder than ever to find time to exercise while caring for four little ones, without having reached the fabulous stage when the oldest is old enough to truly babysit the younger ones. So, in order to strengthen these old heart and lungs of mine while I'm not pregnant, I must be creative:
- Jog three times weekly at particular times and days when Chris has blocked his calendar to watch the children. Spontaneity = not doing any exercise.
- Try to do T-Tapp videos in the wee hours of the morning on non-jogging days: any children who have woken get to hang out with me in the den while I exercise. (T-Tapp seems to be very popular among mothers of many--see the forums--including my midwife, who is mother to eight children, I think.)
- Try to "do the stairs" after meals, any meals would be better than doing it never. My midwife recommends pregnant ladies--any ladies!--walk up and down stairs immediately after all meals to aid with blood sugar control. (Sugar/carb consumption = spike in blood sugars = insulin dump = creation of fat.) Start with any number of stairs you can do. When pregnant I can do two or three ups-and-downs before I'm gasping for air. Right now I can do ten ups-and-downs, but it's hard.
 |
| Yes, Mary really did ride along for a good portion of the jog. Apparently I could fit even a fourth tiny person on this fancy stroller! |
- Goal: borrow a double jogging stroller so I can take brisk neighborhood walks with the two littlest ones, leaving the two olders doing a little coloring project (or something) adjacent to Daddy's office where he is working from home.
 |
| I think I can, I think I can, I think I can . . . |
Good job!!!! That 20 minute run tripped me up for a week or so. I think I ended up doing that week over again before moving on.
ReplyDeleteIt's SO hard to fit in time to exercise. It wasn't so bad when Jason was working from home, but now that he's working out of state, and I'm operating solo during the week (trying to sell the house, mind you), I haven't gone for a run in 2 weeks!!! Ack...I'm actually going a little bonkers over that. :(
I read this post the other night and then went on to have my favorite dream: the one where I can run and run and run without tiring (which in reality I cannot do at all). Your post was inspiring, and the subsequent dream left me to awaken feeling empowered. It was a must-needed jolt to my system, and had me up and moving all day yesterday. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the tip of climbing the stairs after eating to aid in lowering blood sugar. I am currently pregnant with baby #5 and I had gestational diabetes last time. So far, I have passed the early test at 9 weeks, but I'm hoping to be able to control it better this time if I do end up with it again... although my only problem numbers were fasting and despite not gaining any weight my last 10 weeks, my daughter weighed 9lb8oz (my previous ones were 7lb10oz, 8lb 3oz, and 8lb 4oz-between 8 days early and 5 days past due)!
ReplyDeleteCongrats on commencing an exercise routine :)
Bridget: You must have worked so hard in your last pregnancy if you didn't gain weight in your final 10 weeks!
ReplyDeleteFYI, "hoe downs" are another move that is shown to reduce blood sugar and is excellent to do after meals. Go slowly, though, so as not to lose your balance with your pregnant body!
http://www.t-tapp.com/articles/hoedowns/
http://brightbodyfitness.com/t-tapp-hoe-downs-powerful-slim-abs-without-crunches/
Thank you for the website recommendations! I will definitely look into them :). And, it was hard getting used to the gestational diabetes diet, but I can say that it is basically portion control. I actually felt really good at the end of my pregnancy and I think it is because of the diet and not gaining my last 10 weeks!
ReplyDelete