So, exercising while pregnant is a whole different ball game. I used to try to eat less, exercise more, push myself harder with each workout, and ultimately try to loose weight. Now, when I exercise I need to make up those calories, I have to find a balance between pushing myself a little and not pushing too hard, and each day is completely different. Some days I can barely finish an easy workout. Others, I forget I'm even pregnant. I have to say that as my nausea is getting better, and as I get further along, exercising gets a lot easier.
When I was finally recovered from the half marathon, I started exercising again. My heart rate rose ridiculously fast, I had to run at a 13-14 minute mile pace for short distances, and could barely finish a mile at a time before walking. It was like over night, everything changed. And it was really frustrating. I just ran a stinkin' half marathon! How can I barely finish a mile, and not even 3 miles total. It was a rough few weeks, and it was really hard to find the motivation to go. I had to keep thinking about how I need to keep it up now, if I want to continue later in my pregnancy. I didn't want a lapse.
Thankfully, every week has gotten easier. I can run 3 miles back at a 12 minute mile pace, and possibly faster, if I'd push myself a little. I can finish a hard spin class feeling strong. I find I have to take it easier on certain moves, or just sit and ride for a moment, but I am able to be proud of the work I do in those workouts. And honestly, I think it really has helped my overall feeling. My nausea, while right before and after workouts may not be great, has eased up quite quickly compared to my last pregnancy. I have a lot more energy than my last first trimester, and I feel really good. With Simeon, I think I gained quite a few pounds those first few months. I've actually lost a few pounds. I know, I know. I'm trying to eat more now to make sure I don't loose weight. But it's nice to have not gained.
My thoughts on pregnant exercising so far? Exercising before and during pregnancy has been wonderful, not only in how I feel, but it's really nice to exercise for the joy and health of it, rather than have the stress of big weight, time, and race goals. Two thumbs up!
Friday, May 28, 2010
Thursday, May 6, 2010
Starting out . . .
So, I've been wanting to write this post for a while and figure, I better just do it. There are many people around me who are starting to run for the first time, and I thought I'd share lessons I learned and read that helped in learning to enjoy running.
These aren't really going to be in any order other than how they come to my little brain . . .
-Get good shoes. And go get fitted for them, at a running store that watches your stride and lets you try shoes out on the treadmill. Most places will only let you return "unworn" shoes, so if you do take home shoes, run on a treadmill rather than the street until you decide you really like them. It's a little more expensive to buy shoes from a place like this, but it saves in frustration. And once you have a shoe you really like, you can just reorder them for cheaper online next time.
-Shoes' support wears out after a few hundred miles, so even if they look fine on the outside, they may still not be supporting you feet like they used to. Although, then we could get into the Zen/barefoot running debate in which case, shoes don't really matter. Personally, I think good shoes are important when you are first starting and developing your stride. After that, I think it's taste and depends on how you run and if you can use an efficient stride with minimal impact.
-Get comfortable, wicking clothes. Never exercise in jeans. And probably not in those cut off sweats, either.You're going to get hot and uncomfortable. I got most of my bottoms at Goodwill and then cut them off to the length I like. Walmart also has some decent cheap workout clothes. Look for clothes with polyester, and super lightweight. Of course, there's the more expensive running clothes that have mesh panels under the arms, etc that really let you breath, but really, you don't have to spend a lot of money. The more comfortable, cool, and dry you are, the less likely you will give up early on your workout.
-Buy a supportive sports bra. This is one I am finally doing. I have just been using those really thin cotton ones, and they're awful. I feel self conscious in them, and they really don't do anything. And of course, the bigger you are, the more important the support becomes. Again, you can still get these for cheap.Just find one that works for you and is comfortable.
-Personally, I believe in the power of cute clothes. For me, exercise is an activity that often tries my self confidence, especially at the gym or where people can see me. If I feel frumpy, it's that much harder. So, for me, I like to have at least one or two workout outfits that I feel confident in. I wear them on the days I'm struggling more, and I really think they help.
-Enough with clothes. Make a schedule you can stick to, and then stick to it. What worked for me is to run every other day, and the off days were just "do something" days. These days I would go for a brisk walk, lift some weights, etc. When you're first starting out, you need to give yourself the day after a hard run to recover, both your muscles and your heart. Schedule in your runs, and treat it like another appointment, so they happen. And make back up plans. :)
-Running feels awkward at first. Try to take smaller steps, so that your feet are landing under your body, rather than landing on your heals way out front. This will help you avoid injury and help your body properly absorb the shock of landing. Also, I like to think of my body as floating, and my feet are just happening to be moving landing below me. Even though this isn't really how it feels, I notice my form starts to fix itself, and I feel stronger.
-While everyone will have off days, overall running WILL get easier. But it's definitely one of those "you get out of it what you put in." SO keep plugging away, and realize every time you go out, it's taking you one step closer to your goal.
-If running suddenly starts coming easier, avoiding pushing yourself to hard too quickly. They say the best is to increase by 10% of your total miles a week. I think that's where I went wrong and got shin splints. Meaning, if you run 2 miles 3X and then a 4 mile long run, you run a total of 10 miles for the week. The next week should only be 11 miles total, whether you split that up between the days or just tack it on to one day.
-Warm up before you run. Take a brisk walk, or if you're to longer runs, take an easy pace for about 5 minutes. You can kick your butt, swing your arms, etc. to "stretch" your muscles, but most research now ways to wait until after exercise to do static stretches (holding a stretch). Of course, listen to your body - if you're feeling tight, a little stretching may help, or it might not.
-Stretch after your run. Cruz would disagree, as he's had less problems since he's stopped stretching. But I have less problems when I do stretch after my runs and often the next morning, too.
-Listen to your body, most of the time. If things hurt or feel off, see if you can tell how to fix it, or back off of your pace, or walk for a little bit and try again. If it's feeling like an injury, stop and try again in a day or two.
-Learn how to tell your body to shut up. While you should listen to your body to avoid injuries, we often don't push ourselves hard enough because we are too busy "listening to our bodies." I had to learn that when I felt like I was totally spent, I could actually go quite further. Sometimes, with a quick little break. That's when a plan and goals help. I would decide "Today's long run will be 7 miles." I would pick goal that was doable but a push. By mile 5, I'd think "Yeah, right!" But then I'd just keep going, and finish 2 more miles. You can do the same thing with pace.
-Mix it up. Once you get to the point where you can run without stopping, schedule in different kinds of runs. You can pick up the pace for a minute and then back off for two and repeat, you can sprint for 30 sec then recover and repeat, you can add in hills, and if your goal is longer distances, do a long run at least every other week, increasing the distance each time. You can also pick different places to run. Treadmill or outside? Park, street, canyon . . . Mixing it up keeps it fresh, meaning it'll be easier to stay with it.
-Have a goal race. At least for me, it helped to have an ultimate date that I needed to get to a certain distance. Now that I don't have that, it's harder to keep up on my running. It helped me get off the couch. :)
-Realize that as with any exercise or weight loss progress, running may bring up emotional hurdles. Keep running, and work through them. It will be work every step!
-Read about running. When people are religious, they read scriptures and other literature to keep their commitments fresh in their mind. Exercise is the same way. Reading about it and talking to other people who are working on the same goals keeps it fresh and exciting. For me, I love Runner's World. Reading about people who run multiple marathons a year makes my smaller goals more realistic. And there are always new ideas and tips that I learn.
That's all I can think of right now. Also, here are two great links that briefly covers many topics when first starting to run. It also has a run-walk schedule to get you running 20 minutes straight in 10 weeks. I know my sister and brother-in-law are using the couch-to-5K plan, which is similar.
http://www.runnersworld.com/article/1,7124,s6-238-520--13479-0,00.html
http://www.runnersworld.com/article/0,7120,s6-380-381--2201-3-2X3X6-4,00.html
As for me, my new challenge is learning how to stay on top of my running while not pushing it too hard since I am pregnant. It's weird how just over night things become harder to do. I'm also doing spin classes twice a week, which is less impact. We'll see how long I can make it last. :)
Happy running, everyone! And please hare your stories! I get motivated by hearing about everyone else's adventures, too!
These aren't really going to be in any order other than how they come to my little brain . . .
-Get good shoes. And go get fitted for them, at a running store that watches your stride and lets you try shoes out on the treadmill. Most places will only let you return "unworn" shoes, so if you do take home shoes, run on a treadmill rather than the street until you decide you really like them. It's a little more expensive to buy shoes from a place like this, but it saves in frustration. And once you have a shoe you really like, you can just reorder them for cheaper online next time.
-Shoes' support wears out after a few hundred miles, so even if they look fine on the outside, they may still not be supporting you feet like they used to. Although, then we could get into the Zen/barefoot running debate in which case, shoes don't really matter. Personally, I think good shoes are important when you are first starting and developing your stride. After that, I think it's taste and depends on how you run and if you can use an efficient stride with minimal impact.
-Get comfortable, wicking clothes. Never exercise in jeans. And probably not in those cut off sweats, either.You're going to get hot and uncomfortable. I got most of my bottoms at Goodwill and then cut them off to the length I like. Walmart also has some decent cheap workout clothes. Look for clothes with polyester, and super lightweight. Of course, there's the more expensive running clothes that have mesh panels under the arms, etc that really let you breath, but really, you don't have to spend a lot of money. The more comfortable, cool, and dry you are, the less likely you will give up early on your workout.
-Buy a supportive sports bra. This is one I am finally doing. I have just been using those really thin cotton ones, and they're awful. I feel self conscious in them, and they really don't do anything. And of course, the bigger you are, the more important the support becomes. Again, you can still get these for cheap.Just find one that works for you and is comfortable.
-Personally, I believe in the power of cute clothes. For me, exercise is an activity that often tries my self confidence, especially at the gym or where people can see me. If I feel frumpy, it's that much harder. So, for me, I like to have at least one or two workout outfits that I feel confident in. I wear them on the days I'm struggling more, and I really think they help.
-Enough with clothes. Make a schedule you can stick to, and then stick to it. What worked for me is to run every other day, and the off days were just "do something" days. These days I would go for a brisk walk, lift some weights, etc. When you're first starting out, you need to give yourself the day after a hard run to recover, both your muscles and your heart. Schedule in your runs, and treat it like another appointment, so they happen. And make back up plans. :)
-Running feels awkward at first. Try to take smaller steps, so that your feet are landing under your body, rather than landing on your heals way out front. This will help you avoid injury and help your body properly absorb the shock of landing. Also, I like to think of my body as floating, and my feet are just happening to be moving landing below me. Even though this isn't really how it feels, I notice my form starts to fix itself, and I feel stronger.
-While everyone will have off days, overall running WILL get easier. But it's definitely one of those "you get out of it what you put in." SO keep plugging away, and realize every time you go out, it's taking you one step closer to your goal.
-If running suddenly starts coming easier, avoiding pushing yourself to hard too quickly. They say the best is to increase by 10% of your total miles a week. I think that's where I went wrong and got shin splints. Meaning, if you run 2 miles 3X and then a 4 mile long run, you run a total of 10 miles for the week. The next week should only be 11 miles total, whether you split that up between the days or just tack it on to one day.
-Warm up before you run. Take a brisk walk, or if you're to longer runs, take an easy pace for about 5 minutes. You can kick your butt, swing your arms, etc. to "stretch" your muscles, but most research now ways to wait until after exercise to do static stretches (holding a stretch). Of course, listen to your body - if you're feeling tight, a little stretching may help, or it might not.
-Stretch after your run. Cruz would disagree, as he's had less problems since he's stopped stretching. But I have less problems when I do stretch after my runs and often the next morning, too.
-Listen to your body, most of the time. If things hurt or feel off, see if you can tell how to fix it, or back off of your pace, or walk for a little bit and try again. If it's feeling like an injury, stop and try again in a day or two.
-Learn how to tell your body to shut up. While you should listen to your body to avoid injuries, we often don't push ourselves hard enough because we are too busy "listening to our bodies." I had to learn that when I felt like I was totally spent, I could actually go quite further. Sometimes, with a quick little break. That's when a plan and goals help. I would decide "Today's long run will be 7 miles." I would pick goal that was doable but a push. By mile 5, I'd think "Yeah, right!" But then I'd just keep going, and finish 2 more miles. You can do the same thing with pace.
-Mix it up. Once you get to the point where you can run without stopping, schedule in different kinds of runs. You can pick up the pace for a minute and then back off for two and repeat, you can sprint for 30 sec then recover and repeat, you can add in hills, and if your goal is longer distances, do a long run at least every other week, increasing the distance each time. You can also pick different places to run. Treadmill or outside? Park, street, canyon . . . Mixing it up keeps it fresh, meaning it'll be easier to stay with it.
-Have a goal race. At least for me, it helped to have an ultimate date that I needed to get to a certain distance. Now that I don't have that, it's harder to keep up on my running. It helped me get off the couch. :)
-Realize that as with any exercise or weight loss progress, running may bring up emotional hurdles. Keep running, and work through them. It will be work every step!
-Read about running. When people are religious, they read scriptures and other literature to keep their commitments fresh in their mind. Exercise is the same way. Reading about it and talking to other people who are working on the same goals keeps it fresh and exciting. For me, I love Runner's World. Reading about people who run multiple marathons a year makes my smaller goals more realistic. And there are always new ideas and tips that I learn.
That's all I can think of right now. Also, here are two great links that briefly covers many topics when first starting to run. It also has a run-walk schedule to get you running 20 minutes straight in 10 weeks. I know my sister and brother-in-law are using the couch-to-5K plan, which is similar.
http://www.runnersworld.com/article/1,7124,s6-238-520--13479-0,00.html
http://www.runnersworld.com/article/0,7120,s6-380-381--2201-3-2X3X6-4,00.html
As for me, my new challenge is learning how to stay on top of my running while not pushing it too hard since I am pregnant. It's weird how just over night things become harder to do. I'm also doing spin classes twice a week, which is less impact. We'll see how long I can make it last. :)
Happy running, everyone! And please hare your stories! I get motivated by hearing about everyone else's adventures, too!
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