I’m down to running about every other day with the “off” days of running being a strength session, a long walk, or a “rest” day (which is never truly a rest day since I am too much of a busy-body). I am content that this is where I’m at with my running at the end of the 3rd trimester because I know many women who had to stop much sooner.
At this point in time, I am just doing what I can and enjoying the time to get outside, get a little bit of that runner’s high, and stay in the habit of doing it.
I felt about the same these last two weeks as I have during the last two months of pregnancy. Nothing in particular hurts, but I do feel the extra weight in my abdomen now. I am still continuing my run/walk intervals during all of my runs, which make it seem more doable and less overwhelming.
Week 33 of pregnancy – September 2 – 8
Monday – 2 miles run/walk| easy stroller run | 10:21 average pace
Craig had the day off for Labor Day, so I suggested doing a family run to the coffee shop and then back home. The coffee shop is only one mile away, so we ran a mile there and then a mile back. I am good with 2-4 miles most days and am not worrying about hitting a certain mileage each day. My motto these days is that something is better than nothing.
Tuesday – walk with Cullen and Sadie
Wednesday – 4 mile run/walk
Usually I have no set time run/walk intervals, but for whatever reason, I chose to structure my run/walk breaks this day and did a 3 minute run followed by a 1 minute walk during these 4 miles. Towards the end I had to forego the structure and do what felt best for my body, which sometimes meant I took more frequent walk breaks while sometimes I was able to run longer.
Thursday – 45 minutes of weights at the gym
Just like running, weight lifting is definitely not the same during pregnancy. There are lifts that I cannot do (core, push-ups, hip sled), and I can’t lift as much as I once could. But at the same time, I am enjoying my lifting days because I still get a great workout, and I don’t have to deal with the impact of running.
Friday – 6 mile run | 4 x 5 minutes @ tempo-effort | 9:04 average pace
I ended up running a full 6 miles during this workout. I still took walk breaks, but I would stop my watch when I walked. I wanted to do 6 miles for 6 weeks left of this pregnancy, and I thought it would be mentally easier if I broke it up with a “tempo” workout. The tempo sections were all based on effort, and I was right around an 8 minute pace during those sections. Things got pretty tough towards the end, and the rest of the day my body felt a little wrecked, but even easy runs were hard on my body during Cullen’s pregnancy, so I think I’m better off this time around.
Saturday – off
Sunday – 2.5 miles | 30 minute easy run/walk |12:00 average pace
I am finding that running every other day is enough for me mentally and enough for me not to tax my body too much.
Total: 14.5 miles
Up until this week, I had been pretty good about doing one harder workout during the week. But to be honest, I mostly forgot about writing it in my schedule for this week. Plus, I might not do any faster workouts these last four weeks of pregnancy. We’ll see, maybe I’ll get motivated, but I’m also not going to stress if I don’t end up completing any.
Week 34 of pregnancy – September 9 – 15
Monday – 75 minutes prenatal yoga
I went to a couple of prenatal classes while pregnant with Cullen. I had one punch on my punch card at Anchorage Yoga, so I used it on a prenatal class. It was a very restorative class, so very relaxing and gentle. It was fun to change things up, but I can’t say it was any sort of workout.
Tuesday – off
Both Cullen and I were under the weather, so we hung out at home all day.
Wednesday – 3 mile run/walk | 10:56 average pace
The mornings are now dark and fall temps are in the air. It was actually a very beautiful morning watching the sun rise, and I got to run with a friend, which was a nice distraction.
Thursday – 2 mile run/walk | 11:48 average pace + 30 minutes of weights
Like I said before, something is better than nothing. I didn’t have a lot of time before my meeting at work, but I squeezed in a quick run/walk, and then went to the gym for some stretching, foam rolling, and weights while Cullen was at preschool.
Friday – lots of walking
Cullen and I took the train down to Seward, which left early in the morning, so I didn’t have time for working out in the morning, but once we got there, we walked around the town for about 3 hours.
Saturday – 3 mile run/walk | 10:25 average pace
I ran along Resurrection Bay in Seward, which was very pretty with the ocean waters and mountains. The path goes along several campgrounds, so I had a lot of people eyeing me. (Can’t imagine why?!) While I think most people know people run during pregnancy these days, they probably don’t see it that often–especially at nearly 8 months pregnant. Ha!
Sunday – off
“Rest” day. I had athlete plans to work on during the morning, then I worked all day at the store, and when I came home, it is my routine to clean the house Sunday night because nothing makes me feel better about starting the week than having a clean house.
Total: 8 miles
This last week was a very low mileage week for me, but I have been finding other forms of exercise to supplement in. I’m working out 5-6 days a week, which I know is better than most Americans, so I’m happy with it. If I can stay on track, I should be able to run 1000 miles during this pregnancy, which will be more than what I ran during Cullen’s pregnancy (by a little).
Cheers to you for a great day!
