Time is Flying!

Week 32

This week we bought a must needed child carrier. My husband and I decided we should purchase the top of the line child carrier - the Chariot Cougar. I did much research and found this model was the best for our needs. I run alot on trails, ride my mountain bike and cross country ski. The Chariot does all three and more -it connects to your bike and it converts into a sled for skiing. (see pictures below)

My mom and I also went baby shopping. I am feeling like time is flying fast and felt the need to buy baby necessities. We headed over to Target to find the supplies. I am planning to use cloth diapers so we went to the cloth diaper store to learn everything I needed to know about using cloth. I decided to use the All in Ones and Prefolds diapers which seem really simple.

Running wise, I still feel good. However, I did have a couple of challenging runs. My calves were burning with every step twice this week. I had to stop numerous times to alleviate the pain. I am not certain why some runs my calves burn and other runs they feel fine. It is possible the pain correlates with weight gain. It seems when I gain 1-2 lbs in a week my calves start to intermittently hurt.

These are my 2 ups and 2 downs
Downs - calves burning and pregnancy insomnia
Ups - running slow but steady and feeling energetic

Running Happy,

Nicole

Feeling Fantastic

Week 31 – I am feeling fantastic. I have an abundance of energy, no aches or pains and I really enjoy being pregnant.

I hit 55 moderate miles this week running including a trifecta race (10k, 5k and mile), 3 hilly trail runs and the remaining runs were on flat surfaces.

The fatigue that I was feeling a few weeks/months ago has subsided. I am not certain how long this energy burst will last but I am relishing every day that I feel good.

I had a midwife appointment this week and found out that the little one turned!! He/she is now head down – thank goodness!! My silly little tricks may have worked.

I also found out that my iron stores were slightly low. I was taking liquid iron 3-4 times per week but since my iron stores dropped dramatically I decided to increase my liquid iron intake to every day.


My friends and family surprised me with a baby shower. My husband was in on the surprise and purposively drove slow home from the trifecta race. I feel really lucky to have such wonderful friends and family.






My husband and I took a childbirth class which was quite helpful. My present plan is to give birth unmedicated in water at a birthing center. Since I wanted to avoid giving birth in a hospital, I am excited that Montana has a birthing center. My ideal place would be in a cabin next to a creek in the woods but I will settle for the birthing center for now : 0)

Photos of Birthing Rooms







The last exciting thing this week was my birthday. I celebrated my 38th birthday with a 1 hour and 40 min trail run, a 7 mile hike and a huge delicious dinner and lots of homemade cake!

Our 7 mile hike at Lewis and Clark Caverns State Park



Birthday Dinner at Bigas Pizza




Thanks for reading my blog.

Running Happy!


Nicole

A Couple of Tricks

Weeks 29 and 30

I am still running about 45 mpw and feeling good. I find that running on the treadmill is enjoyable due to having access to a bathroom every 15 min.

I now have gained 21 lbs but I still feel quite fit. I have been lifting weights throughout the pregnancy and my strength remains the same. I am running about 8:50 pace on the treadmill which feels very easy but anything faster creates too much belly jostling making me uncomfortable. I also am running 4 x 15 min intervals @ 11% grade which is a fantastic workout for me right now.

The baby is still in the breech position. At least once per day his/her head pokes out on my right upper side. I have been laying on our treadmill at 25% grade with an ice pack on the little one's head hoping to get him/her to move in the correct position. I was also told the baby may gravitate back to position when you play classical music on your lower abdomen. I have been trying that trick too. Other than that weirdness all is well.

Running Happy,

Nicole

Flip Flop

Week 28 -This week I had the much-anticipated ultrasound. The best news is the baby is very healthy. The tech said it has a full head of hair!! The little one weighs about 3 lbs. I also learned that the baby is breech, Yikes. My midwife showed me how to locate the head. All along I thought I was experiencing a right side stitch when I was running but it actually was the baby’s head alongside my ribs. I read that I need to do some summersaults in the pool and/or hang upside down to help the baby flip.

I also had to drink the flat orange super sweet concoction to test for gestational diabetes. The drink made me feel light headed. I will find out the results soon.


I am feeling the best ever since I got pregnant. I have so much energy and running is going fantastic. I ran almost 50 miles last week up and over hills and hiked up a mountain.

Some Belly Pictures:


Happy Running!
Nicole

Running Happy Again

Week 27
I bought a maternity belt this weekend and I felt so much better running. I ran 80 min today slow but I enjoyed every second of it. I also walked up to the M again (see March 22nd post) and it only took me 15 min, which was a 5 min improvement. My calves must be getting a little bit stronger since they were not burning with every step up the hill.
1 up - feeling really energetic
1 down - waking every 2 hours to use the bathroom at night

Running happy,
Nicole

Magic Bullet?

Week 26

This week running became too uncomfortable so unfortunately I had to cut way back. I am planning to a buy a support belt soon and hoping that will be the magic bullet allowing me to run more miles again. I did run a few times last week but did not enjoy the experience.

I really had fun cross country skiing with my friend last week. I skied over 2 hours with her and the other non running days I Xted on the stairstepper and elipitical trainer. The weather has been cold and snowy so running outside is not something I really want to do anyway when it is supposed to be spring!

I have learned that pregnancy is unpredictable.
Run Happy
Nicole

Huff N Puff

Week 24 and 25
I am over 6 months pregnant now and feel it. Running is becoming increasingly more difficult. I dropped my mileage from over 60 to mid 40’s in just 2 weeks time. Running longer than 60 min becomes exhausting so I really enjoy the 45 to 60 min runs at a leisurely pace. Running up steep hills is very difficult. I walked up to the M (see photo below) and was breathing like I was running a hard workout. When I was 7 weeks pregnant I ran up to the M in 9 min and to the top of Mt Sentinal in 27 min. Walking up it hard last week took me 20 min!! My calves were burning the entire time and when I got to the top I was beat. Good workout but feeling tortoise -like now.
My 2 downs – round ligament pain which a support belt helps to alleviate and insomnia
My 2 ups – Baby kicks with response to external stimuli (like my husband saying good morning to my belly) and back pain is lessening.

On to my next adventurous week!!
Happy Training,
Nicole