Body Love and a Guest Post

After I put my sweet child to bed last night I was ready to get down to business with one of my favorite magazines.  Womens Running is one of the best magazines.  I love that it focuses on us ladies and a lot of the articles take into account the busy lives we lead and the many hats we wear.  I am a Mom, Wife, ICU Nurse, and a Runner.  All of those require time, effort, will power, thoughtfulness, and to make them all coincide requires some discipline.  This magazine hits on that.

When I opened it up I read the Editors note and it was about loving your body.  Now I don't know about you, but I have always had a love/hate relationship with mine.  In college it was more hate and my self esteem was so low.  It didn't help that I didn't honor my body either and fed it garbage.  After I picked up running I discovered how much better I ran and functioned overall if I ate healthy along with running.

Right now as I gain weight and change shape throughout this pregnancy I have had good and bad days.  I am proud that my body can adapt to the requirements that this new life I'm growing requires.  I would be lying though if I didn't feel bad about myself at times as I watch that needle creep up on the scale, or give into one of my many pregnancy cravings.  It is amazing and bizarre how our bodies change and grow.  I look at myself in the mirror sometimes and am just amazed at what I looked like prior to pregnancy and how I look now.  I know I will get back to something like what I was, but it is true that your body is never the same after growing and carrying a child.  That's ok.  I read this article and Jessie the Editor in Chief talks about being grateful for the body you are given.  Thank it for what it allows you to do.

So today I am being thankful.  I walked yesterday for half an hour and today for 20 minutes.  I also cleaned my house, did laundry, chased a hooligan of a toddler around to name a few things.  Last week I worked 70 hours.  None of this is easy with or without a watermelon strapped to your belly, but my body allows me to do it.  I am not saying I don't have aches and pains, and being me I definitely push a little past the limit at times but that is who I am.  My body has adapted to that, or it screams back at me that I am doing to much.  If I listen I do so much better.  How cool is it that I am growing a human and doing all these things.  I am also grateful this body allowed me to run up until 32 weeks.  That is an accomplishment. 

I want to make it more of a habit that I be grateful to my body rather than bash it for what it isn't or cant be/do.  I want to work on and grow this body love.  It's the only body I get so I better quit picking and comparing and starting loving and respecting.

Do any of you have body image issues?  Want to work on some Body love?

To completely change the subject my dear twitter friend Karen over at karenlovestorun.com was nice enough to let me do a guest post on her blog about the town I grew up in and run in today.  Check it out here!

35 weeks Almost There!!

It's funny that some parts of this pregnancy flew by and now that I'm at the end it feels like its dragging! I'm so ready to be done.  Discomfort aside I'm dying to run and I have hit the point where its just not possible anymore.  I promised myself I'd 100% listen to my body and my body says "this doesn't feel good" when I even attempt to run.  It makes me sad, but you can't fight what feels like a watermelon strapped to my stomach and how awful it is when said watermelon bounces on your pelvis and bladder.  

I've switched to walking and the elliptical.  It'll have to be enough to get me through these last few weeks.  

Work had become a bit of a comedy show as trying to bend over to get my patients catheters or reposition them in bed has developed into an acrobatic event.  Being on my feet for 70 hours a week is also taking its toll.  Procompression socks have always been high on my list, but I rely on them constantly now to get me through my long shifts.

I have hit the crazy nesting mode also.  I've been washing baby clothes, organizing supplies, cleaning like a crazy person.  My husband thinks I'm a little nuts :-) what can ya do.

I'm grateful for twitter and others blogs because I'm living my running dreams through all of you!! Thank you!  

Only a few more weeks and I get to start the journey of being a mom of 2 and getting back into fit shape.  

Until then ill keep walking this beautiful road.

Walking with extras

Happy Friday to those with 5 day weeks!! I've got a few more days left to my work week, but I'm always happy to see Friday.  

Em and I felt like a nice walk when we got up this morning.  It's a been a little cooler out which makes it was more enjoyable.  I felt like doing some extras on this walk so I added in some squats, walking lunges, and hip extensions throughout the walk.  By the end my butt was screaming, I was sweating, and Em was laughing at me.  Overall a great success.

Feet up post walk. :-) 

At almost 35 weeks I'm almost done yet so far away.  I know the lil lady needs to cook a little longer, but I'm ready to be done.  

Hope you all have a great Friday and if your racing this weekend good luck!!! 

Week 8 of best body boot camp and becoming a Kind Runner

Bump pic while I was rocking best body boot camp weights routine.

33 almost 34 weeks and counting! Getting near to the end and I'm ready to get my body back even though it'll be at the cost of no longer sleeping through the night. I've been sticking with the Best Body Bootcamp and this week is the last week! I'm so pumped I made it through the whole thing and by doing that am almost through my fit pregnancy.

It's been a pretty nice week.  I love weather in the 70's and I love getting packages that contain running shoes in the mail.

I've been feeling a strong desire to give back and I've really been trying to figure out the right thing for me to get involved with to start.  I discovered http://www.kindrunner.com/ through a blog friend Emma at amomrunsthistown.com. Check out her blog if you get the chance she's amazing.  Kindrunner is an organization that you can donate your old running shoes to and they give them to those who need them.  I got these babies on there website and when they arrive you get a box and return slip for your old sneakers.  Pretty cool and I feel good about bringing running into someone's life, or making it easier for someone to run.

I've also been experimenting with new recipes.  This panini is chiabatta bread, spinach, Roma tomatoes, mozzarella, and pesto.  It was delicious!!

The flowers I had to include because they make me happy.

Five for Friday

1. I ran yesterday! For like 5 minutes :-) but I still count it and it makes me happy. It was also great because I did it at 33 weeks and it was a stroller run/walk.  So my sweet baby was with and that always makes me happy.

2. Gilmore Girls is truly an awesome show.  I own all the seasons and have watched them a million times.  They don't get old.  

3.  I LOVE Best Body Bootcamp.  If you want a weight/cardio 8 week course that will push you and feel great then try it out.  @tinareale is who runs it and she is such a great motivator.  I can't wait to do it when I'm not pregnant.

4. I've been doing a rummage sale for the last few days tomorrow is the last day.  I'm so glad that it is.  Sitting there all day isn't that fun when it's smoking hot and I have a watermelon strapped to my belly.

5. I love my procompression socks.  They have helped my sore slightly swollen achey feet and calves through this pregnancy.  Invest if you haven't. I mean look how cute these are!

Have a great weekend everyone!

3 things

I haven't posted this week because it started out pretty rough and I feel that I really don't want to make this blog sad or emotional.  I want to be inspiring, happy, fit-minded.  As I've thought about it all week I was reminded of other bad times in my life and how I responded.  By working out and running.

This week I finally reached the stop point of running. I'm 33 weeks and it officially hurts.  I can't argue with my body it will always win even if I try to power through it.  So to keep my emotions positive and to stay strong every day this week I've walked with my son in the BOB.  I'm also still doing best body boot camp week 7!! It has helped a little to ease to pain.

Long and short I had to find a new home for my dog who I've had for 9 years.  She  is family, but my son comes first and they weren't compatible.  Instead of waiting for something very bad to happen I found her a great home.  Its probably the hardest thing I've ever done.  I love that dog like she was my child, but I'd never forgive myself if I didn't act when I saw a possibility for serious injury.  

I wish I could go for a run to heal, but I walked.  It is what it is.

My 3 things:

1. Working out always helps my mood even if its just a walk.

2. I can't wait to be posting workouts on here involving 10 mi+ runs.

3. I hope all of you are having a great weekend and running and racing!!

What a Fit Pregnancy means to Me

I have read a lot of posts on women working out while pregnant, and what each is doing.  I also have read posts on what it means to these women to continue to workout while carrying a little person around inside them.  I am inspired by all of them.  Every one of them gives me motivation to continue on in my quest for the fit pregnancy.

Now I am almost cooked.  32 weeks this coming Monday.  Almost there yet so far away.  My workouts have scaled back the further I get into the third trimester.  I am still plugging away at Best Body Bootcamp, Beginner option.  I am digging it.  Tina Reale knows her shit.  I do the weight/cardio workouts twice a week and try to get some sort of cardio in several other days per week.  So far success.  My running is down to 1-2 days a week and its more walk than run.  Little lady is head down and ready to go and occasionally I literally feel like she might try to fall out.  EEK!  So walking and the elliptical have become my cardio of choice.

For a while I was a little bummed at how little I am running.  Especially because running is such a sanity saver, soothing element in my life.  I am still running, but it isn't the sweat out the emotion, run myself dry kind of running anymore.  It is now the running of a mom preparing to be a mom again, body aware, thoughtful, slow, and it continues to be soothing.  There is nothing like having your little one come with you everywhere.  A kick mid-run to remind you"hey mom I'm still here."  It's pretty amazing and I am trying to embrace it in these final weeks.  I don't have much of a choice so might as well go with it. 

A fit pregnancy is maintaining a workout regime that is thoughtful and works for your body.  It isn't pushing yourself, attempting to lose weight, PR, reach new training goals.  It's about maintaining what you had before you were pregnant, and feeling good about yourself and your ability to grow a little person while still being yourself.  Running and working out is who I am.  As my body changes and becomes something that doesn't seem like my own I workout to remind myself I am still here I am just growing mentally and physically. 

Workouts so far this week

Monday rest
Tuesday 2 mile run/walk
Wednesday 40 min walk
Thursday BBB weight routine with 3 hours of pushing my little one at the County Fair (pics in next post)
Friday 1 hour walk at County Fair

I am counting the walking at County Fair because wow is that ever a workout especially pushing a stroller.  :) I have made it almost 32 weeks in this Fit Pregnancy Journey.  Every day is a new accomplishment.