I haven't exactly been running for a long time. Instead, I have been growing a tiny human inside of me.
Falling pregnant didn't just happen for me and eventually I was told to to cut back my exercise regime a lot to even fall pregnant. That part alone was almost 6months of low mileage. That part was difficult. Nobody gave me a rule of what was too much, so I just had to try and figure out what I considered to be stress on my body and what I didn't. It was also hard to give up one of the things I love most, for something that I wasn't even sure would happen. There was no guarantee that if I halved my mileage and cut out my long runs, my body would suddenly start doing all the things it needed to. I stuck with it though, and every month that I didn't fall pregnant, I cut back my mileage a little bit more.
Finally I fell pregnant. Cutting back my exercise for that was actually a lot easier. There was a 9 month time limit and the baby was real. It was easy to give up the thing I love for something I already loved more. I just did what made me feel comfortable. Probably a lot less than what some pregnant women do, and probably a lot more than what other pregnant women do. All I know and care about is that it was right for me. I felt comfortable both physically and mentally. Could me and my bub have handled more mileage or higher intensity? Probably, but I don't mind that I didn't try it.
Now I am getting pretty close to the end of pregnancy and I am starting to freak out. Really freak out. I have two issues. The first is, when will I be fit again? When will my body even be ready to start exercising again, and how will I fit it in around feeding and raising a little baby. I would love to run GOW 100k in October, which is around 6-7months after bub arrives. Is that realistic? My second issue is my weight. I accept that you have to put on weight when pregnant. My weight gain has been spot on in the middle of all the pregnancy weight gain charts that I have seen BUT, it has also been all over my body, not just my tummy. Even my arms are chubba. Plus, I wasn't exactly petite to begin with. How hard will it be to lose that weight? I have never been one to exercise for the purpose of weight loss, but this time, it is going to go hand in hand with getting fit. Losing weight will help me regain my fitness. I don't think I will be able to exercise without considering how many calories I am burning. What if that takes away the joy?
I am hoping that once bub arrives, these worries won't bother me anymore. Just as when I fell pregnant and didn't mind exercising less, will I find that I am not worried about these things anymore and I can just let them take care of themselves. If I am not fit enough for GOW, will I just sign up for a race a bit later and not be phased? I hope so. I want running to be about running and adventure. I don't want it to be about feeling down on myself for not achieving arbitrary goals.
I am keen to know what other women experienced post pregnancy with both weight loss and getting fit. Did it take a long time? Did it matter?
