New Fitness Goals

Last week while I was off work, I forced myself to go for a run. I have completely fallen off the running horse so far in this pregnancy because I have been so tired. The run felt great, even though it was significantly slower than my usual running pace. Before I even finished the first km, I wanted to quit. I have gained a significant amount of weight in the last little while, so in addition to the pregnancy nausea and exhaustion I am hauling around a whole lot of extra weight.  

 As the run progressed, it got easier and I felt better. I decided that I needed to set out a more specific pregnancy fitness goal than “do not gain too much weight.” So, how about plan for a race after the baby is born?

I remEmber fondly the half-marathon I ran in the mountains last May. I certainly will not be in any shape to run a half marathon anytime soon post-partum. But, how about aiming to run/walk a 10K?  The same half marathon also hosts a 10k run/walk in the mountains. The only problem is that This baby’s due date is mid-May.  Last pregnancy I had cholestasis of pregnancy, which requires me to be induced 3 weeks early. This has a 60-70% recurrence rate.  So odds are, I will have to be induced early with this one as well. If that’s the case and this baby comes end of April, I think it might be reasonable to plan for this run at the end of May… reasonable enough to keep me motivated to stay somewhat fit through the pregnancy. I’ll have to have some hard and beast guidelines though, so I don’t force myself to do something my body is not ready to do: perhaps a minimum of 4 weeks post partum, at the least.

If that run doesn’t work, there is also another mountain 10K in September. There really should be no excuse for not being able to run that one! (Except maybe for my pelvic floor.. But that just reason and motivation in itself).

Wish me luck in my runnin goal planning!