Run Like The Wind

... I wish I could run like the wind, but I'm actually a pretty slow jogger. I don't really enjoy running, but I do it because I know it's a great form of exercise and I like the challenge. Long before I got pregnant I talked to a couple girls who had run right up until their due date. I thought it was so awesome that they could do that, but never thought that I would be that person. (I wasn't that person, by the way, but just hear me out.) Then, my friend Cathryn recommended the book Exercising Through Your Pregnancy and I resolved that I would exercise throughout my entire pregnancy. The book recommends regular, high intensity workouts and I got a lot of flack for doing it, but studies show that it really is beneficial for both mom and baby. Being that I don't really enjoy running, my workouts usually consist of the elliptical or step aerobics, and I throw in one run a week, but I got it in my head that I would run up until Parker was born, and I was even training for a half marathon when I got pregnant and then continued with the training until about week 10 when it got to be too exhausting. After that, I dropped my runs to once a week, and because I was running so infrequently and my center of gravity was changing so rapidly, I don't think my muscles were able to get the conditioning that they needed in order for me to keep it up. My shins burned through every run and by week 36 I just couldn't take it anymore. Even though I badly wanted to have that bragging right, I thought, "Why am I torturing myself??" So, the running stopped, but I continued with the other exercise.

After my c-section I couldn't exercise for six weeks and even after that when I would jog very short distances, like to make it across the street before the light turned red, my incision area felt like it was going to fall right out of my body. I stuck to the elliptical until last Saturday - my first run in four months! It was so much easier than it had been at 36 weeks. My body was sore afterward, but it was one of those hurt-so-good type of things. Anyway, Parker had a doctor's appointment this week and he cleared him for the jogging stroller, so off we went! I LOVE our jogging stroller!!! It's a B.O.B. that we got from Paul's parents for Christmas. I think Parker enjoyed our outing. Let's see what he thinks...