33 weeks, 3 days to 35 weeks, 1 day

Well, I'm the most pregnant I've ever been :-) We made it past Zoey's birthdate (34 weeks, 3 days) and are into unknown territory. Thankfully, it's more of the same. I'm still exercising, although my intensity has dropped and I'm more consistently doing closer to 30-45 minutes than 45-60 minutes. But, some of that has to do with the semester starting and life getting busier. I've run a few times, mainly on days when I need to be done before 6 am so Brad can leave for work. Other times, I've been on the elliptical. I don't really feel any clunkier than usual. I get tired quickly, but that's about it.

32 weeks, 1 day to 33 weeks, 2 days

More of the same :-) I've been hitting the elliptical for about 40-60 minutes a day. The only difference is that I've dropped the intensity so my HR is closer to 120 than 140. It feels like I'm doing nothing, but I think the routine is invaluable for me. I throw on an episode of Friday Night Lights and chill out with a bit of movement. Super easy.

31 weeks, 1 day to 32 weeks

Blogging about exercising while pregnant is so boring right now... largely because I think about how readers will experience my posts. Essentially, there is just more of the same... 45 minutes to an hour on the elliptical, followed by weights sometimes. Running is uncomfortable, so that's out the window for the foreseeable future. Perhaps, once the temperature drops a bit, I'll get back outside for some early morning runs, but I'm just sweaty and uncomfortable trying to run during the summer these days. So, there's not much to write. Every once in awhile, I think, "I'll post a belly pic," and then something happens in the day to interfere and I go to bed and the next day begins. So, perhaps I'll just do weekly updates unless there is something noteworthy. In the spirit of the blog's origin (to tell one preggo athlete's story on exercising), the take away message is: This athlete continues to work out. Running is uncomfortable in the heat with an additional 30lbs. I love my gym. Let's get this baby outta here so I can go back to training. 

31 weeks

We have a sick baby. It's a bummer given that she rarely gets sick so she doesn't really know how to handle it. So, I squeezed in a 45 minute gig on the elliptical between viewings of Springtime with Roo and The Blustery Day. Until early this morning, I had an appreciation for Winnie the Pooh. Now, I hate everything about it.

Elliptical: 45 minutes

*Packed our hospital bag and Zoey's overnight bag today... just in case :-)

30 weeks, 6 days

We had an active day today - lots of walking around at the farm and around our neighborhood. I brought Zoey to the gym with me today so Brad could do some home improvement projects.  I'm still having regular contractions, but they're painless and don't interfere with life, so I'm just moving onward.

Elliptical: 1 hour, 20 minutes

30 weeks, 5 days

I just love the gym. Today, I did another 60 minutes on the elliptical with my fantastic support system over at our local gym. Really, the women there are strong, fit, and accepting, while the men haven't said one word about my working out at 31 weeks pregnant. No judgment. No weird looks. Nothing. It's great. I had one thumbs up from a woman once, but she didn't interrupt my workout, didn't ask any details, and just kept walking. It was wonderful.

Elliptical: 60 minutes

30 weeks, 4 days

An easy hour on the elliptical today while watching FNL - my all time favorite FAVORITE favorite show! We're back in the swing of Concord life after our Michigan vacation, with some friend time yesterday and lots of family time as a little unit of 3. I'm having pretty regular contractions, but they don't exceed 4/hr so I'm free to go about my business still.

Elliptical: 1 hour

Massive Update

Well, I enjoyed some vacation time in Michigan, which means I also enjoyed some much needed screen vacation time from my computer, hence, the blogging void. At this point, my exercising goes one of two ways each day:

1. One great hour on the elliptical, followed by a lifting session
2. One hilarious and sad attempt to run for 3 miles

In Michigan, I ran. Zoey could be with family. Running takes less time. The dirt roads are nice. Etc. But, we arrived back in town 2 nights ago and I'm thrilled to be back to the elliptical. I can work out harder, smarter, and with more enjoyment, actually.

I've had a few Dr. appointments since I last blogged. All is well. Baby measured yesterday at 4 lbs, 1 oz, which is the 81st percentile at this stage. So, we're looking good. The Dr. said he'd be pleased for me to keep this baby in for another 2 weeks, so that's what we're aiming for at a minimum. I'm not sure exactly HOW to do this, but I send her nice little messages every day to stay put for awhile. Perhaps that'll do it.

27 weeks, 4 days

Yesterday's day off served me well. I feel great today! After a bit of cardio, I did some upper body lifting. I've become a superhuman version of myself in the weight room. It must be from lifting Zoey all the time. It is awesome - I'm lifting more than I've ever lifted before and it doesn't feel like I'm taxing myself at all. I'm interested to see what happens when baby #2 emerges and I have more time to focus on fitness. I'm slowly becoming awful at cardio as I become more pregnant, but my lifting is really taking off! It's exciting. I got the results of some blood work taken yesterday. Unlike the last pregnancy, I'm not anemic, which is great. But, I have low sugar levels this time. Also, I was strongly advised to eat more protein. YAY! Steak for dinner tonight! Brad's grilling :-)

Elliptical: 30 minutes
Bike: 10 minutes
Lift: Upper

27 weeks, 3 days

Day off.

We had a Dr appointment and then plans with brother Luke in the city. All went well at the Dr's office. Baby is measuring large, just like Zoey did. The amount of contractions I'm having is totally normal for a second pregnancy. At this point, I'm having 1-2 per hour. I have nothing to worry about until we get to above 4 per hour. So, all is fine.

27 weeks, 2 days

I cut today's gym session short because I was having a couple of contractions during my workout and they were getting annoying. So, 45 minutes on the elliptical, followed by a day of rest. Stretched my legs in the afternoon when we went veggie picking, but that's about it. Was planning to lift today but will try to get it in on Thursday instead. Tomorrow, we have an early start to the day, so I won't have time to get in much of anything!

Elliptical: 45 minutes

27 weeks, 1 day

A hard 1 hour on the elliptical. Felt great exercising, but having lots of BH contractions these days, so am going to see if there is any correlation between exercising and contractions, which I doubt.

Elliptical: 60 minutes

26 weeks, 6 days and 27 weeks

26 weeks, 6 days
Easy 50 minutes at the gym on the elliptical while daycare Wendy taught Zoey how to string toys on a shoelace.

Elliptical: 50 minutes


27 weeks

Well, today was a bit of a bust. To say this pregnancy changes day-by-day is totally an understatement. Some days, I'm so eager to exercise and my body responds. Other days, I want to exercise and my body isn't having it. Today was the latter. So, after 15 minutes of uninspired cycling, I called it a day. Exercise bust. On the flip side, however, we're making ground in every other aspect of life today. Brad is almost done with the plaster repair in one of the girl's rooms. I scheduled our housekeeper for the next few months. We lined up some babysitting gigs so we can plan on a few date nights. I finished a report for work. Brad finished his grad school readings for the week. Blah blah blah. Still, it's nice to feel productive in some parts of life. We're having a visit with some friends later this afternoon, so I'm going to maybe go for a little walk before they come over. Besides that, we'll enjoy a relaxing Sunday afternoon.

Day off

26 weeks, 5 days

Weirdly, I feel most normal each day when I'm exercising. Perhaps that's why I love doing it so much. Or, perhaps it's because it is my 1-2 hrs each day when I can be alone (sort of). I had to cut my exercising short today, as Zoey had a little incident in the gym's daycare so I had to go pick her up :-) Regardless, it was still nice to sweat, feel physical, and zone out for a bit.

Elliptical: 40 minutes
Lift: Upper (hard)

26 weeks, 4 days

We had an u/s yesterday that showed us that the baby is measuring a little over 2 lbs, is totally healthy, and is doing everything she's supposed to be doing. That was great feedback, given that our doctors have been worried about me delivering pre-term again. We're taking measures to hopefully prevent another preemie, but we just don't know enough to be able to ensure that I'll carry to full term. Having said that, no doctors have told me to stop exercising or pushing myself - they all just advise me to listen to my body, stay hydrated, try not to overheat, etc. So far, so good.

Elliptical: 60 minutes hard
Lift: Legs

26 weeks, 3 days

I had a great session today. After a bout of cardio, I lifted hard. And it felt goooooooood. I'd been steering clear of lifting too much, given everything I've read about only lifting moderate amounts when pregnant, but I think I can do more than what I was doing without compromising the pregnancy, so I'm giving it a whirl. It felt great to burn.

Elliptical: 30 minutes
Bike: 15 minutes
Lift: Upper

26 weeks, 2 days

My upper abdomen is still bothering me, so I'm not running at all, but I seem to be okay at the gym. That's pretty good news, actually, as that's where I'd prefer to be right now.

Elliptical: 30 minutes
Bike: 15 minutes
Lift: Upper

26 weeks, 1 day

I planned to do an hour of elliptical-ing and lift, but Zoey pooped in daycare and that interrupted my workout. As soon as I go into the gym's daycare, there's no leaving without Zoey in tow. So, just a short workout today.

Elliptical: 45 minutes

26 weeks

My upper abdomen is annoying me again, so I took it easy at the gym. I've talked to the doctor, and it's a pretty typical occurrence in pregnancy, but it doesn't make it any less annoying to deal with.

Elliptical: 45 minutes

25 weeks, 6 days

Easy 60 minute elliptical at the gym. We hosted a graduation party today so I didn't really focus too much on exercising.

Elliptical: 60 minutes