breaking a sweat

When it comes to working out, getting back in shape, and the necessity to get some sort of exercise every day, I have come to the following conclusion: it has to be fun.

Fun.

I have so little free time.  When I do find an extra 45 minutes in my day (or early morning) I don't want punishment.  I don't want a treadmill that leads to nowhere. I just want to do something fun. For me.

Step class, aerobics, indoor spinning, weight training in the gym...no thank you. Blech.

All I really need to do is work up a sweat. So I am trying to approach the idea of exercise as something that is just that simple.

 

(If you nurse a baby or carry one around on your hip all day...this is the stretch for you! Feels so good!)

What I am loving most of all: Yoga.  I find it to be a great workout and a great form of relaxation all in one. I started practicing about 4 months ago and it was like a total body awakening. After having being pregnant, giving birth, and all of the time I spend nursing-- I really did feel like some of my muscles had become dormant.  It felt/feels so wonderful to rouse them again.

I can't leave my kids everyday to go take a class so I have to rely mostly on dvds.  I love trying new ones from the library or ordering them up on my netflix queue before purchasing them. 

Because I am a retired ballerina, technique was important to me.  I wanted to be doing it "right".  This video was a great place to start. I like Sheva's other video too.

I also like Baron Baptiste.  This video is good (and inspiring, lots of really athletic bods!).

With respect to those who approach yoga from a different perspective, I will say that yoga is not a spiritual experience for me.  Maybe some would argue that you cannot separate the two.  But once I get the sequence down, I pretty much tune out the instructor and do my own thing mentally.  I'm pretty focused on maintaing form and keeping my breath going. I do not practice meditation, nor to I feel "connected to the earth". I just like the way my muscles are engaged and working hard...and yet relaxed.

Fun. It has to be fun.  What are you doing to stay active?

Belly Talk

I'm literally gaining weight by the minute. Hmmm, perhaps it has something to do with the aforementioned cinnamon rolls and donuts?  Just a thought.  I am only 14 weeks along, and already I have quite a pooch going on here.  I guess 4th babies just come faster. I am hoping that is also true in labor :)

I gained 50+ pounds with my other 3 pregnancies.  Yikes, it was hard to look at the scale towards the end.  You might remember how hard I worked over the summer training for my triathlon.  It has been difficult to see some of those pounds show up again.

Now that the 1st trimester fog is behind me, I have decided to get serious about staying reasonably fit during this pregnancy. I don't love the gym.  It is okay when I am feeling tip top...but with my belly and less-than-cute fitness wear these days, I'd rather do what I can at home. Not to mention the cost savings.

This book rocks!  It has specific circut-training workouts for each trimester and a great section on post-partum fitness and diet.  It is totally doable at home and I found it to be a realistic program. I highly recommend it.

I checked this video out from the library last week.  I love it. There is a great 40 minute conditioning workout with modifications for all three trimesters AND a 20 minute partner workout.  The partner doesn't really workout per say, he just supports you.  The instructor wears a tank top and boxer shorts and the "studio" is a living room.  Love that.

Finally, with my ballet background I always love a good yoga session.  This prenatal yoga was great.  Not too strenuous, I use it for a slow-paced workout on the weekends.

I've kept up with my swimming a couple times a week. It feels great to be weightless in the water.  There are all shapes an sizes at the YMCA on the mornings when I am there.  Me and the grannies kick it during the 6am lap swim. I really enjoy it.

So, here's to a growing belly...but not a growing booty.
 

Triathlon

 Well, I did it. I competed in my first sprint triathlon. I finished, I am still alive and feeling good. 

The morning started early, which was okay.  I was ready to get it over with.  The triathlon was 1 hour a way from where I live so Carl and I left the house at 5:45am. I was a nervous wreck.  The only thing I had for breakfast was some Pepto Bismol.  Once there, we set up our gear in the transition area.

 

And then, we put on our wetsuits.

 

(that is my friend Holly who trained with me)

Next stop was the table with the black marker.

 

I felt like a "real" athlete with my number on my arm...not so sure about having my age on my leg however.

At 8:45am all the other green caps and I dove in at the sound of the gun.

 

 

The swim leg was a ridiculous.  There were so many people just sort of paddling along clogging up the course.  After a few minutes of being rather polite, I decided to just push my way through.  I couldn't really swim with my head in the water because it was too hard to navigate around people that way.  I just did my best to motor through all the floundering peeps. 

 

When I got back to transition I had to laugh about the chaos that I just escaped. My swim time was 7:46.

 

Then it was time to peel off the wetsuit and throw on a shirt, socks and shoes.  (I wore my sports bra and shorts under the suit). I struggled with the wetsuit a bit.  I forgot to unzip the ankles and my left leg got caught up on my timing bracelet.  Real triathletes don't bother with socks, and their shoes are already clipped into their bike pedals.  Clearly, I have some improving to do because my transition time was a little over 3 minutes!!

The bike ride was nice.  It was at this point I decided to just relax and have fun.  I still had the run ahead of me (my weakest and most challenging leg) so I knew I had to preserve myself somewhat. The bike ride which was 13 miles took me 50 minutes.

 

Back at transition again I had to really gear myself up to run.  I didn't want to.  There was some inner pep talking happening in this picture. This was a quick stop, just long enough to ditch my bike and helmet and grab my visor.

 

Then, like it or not, I was out for the run.  My legs felt tired. It took me a while to switch gears.  I ended up walking part of the run.  At one point I even ducked into the port-a-potty to pee. Nothing like trying to jog with a full bladder.

 

I was pretty happy to have the finish in sight. The running was my weakest leg by far. This is where I will focus my training for next year. Yes, I do believe that I will do it again.  Having an event to train for really helped me stay on track.  There were mornings that I wouldn't have gotten out of bed to exercise had I not had a race to prepare for.

 

Besides, I'd like to relive this moment again. It was so good to overcome something that felt like was a real challenge. I was glad to have my husband cheering me along the way.  He cut some of his travel plans short to be there for me.

 

And, had it not been for my training partner Holly (who finished 2nd overall in our division with a time of 1 hour and 21 minutes!!) I would have given up a long time ago.  She made me keep at it.  Three times a week she faithfully met me at the pool at 6am to swim.  We did it Holly!  We are triathletes.  Here's hoping that number doesn't wash off anytime soon!