Swimming and swimming some more

32 weeks. 8 more weeks to go. The baby in there is growing, growing and I am somehow managing to get bigger each week as well. For those of you who have been there, you know the drill... the feeling of a 3-4 lb hand weight sitting in your pelvis, more difficulty tying your shoes than when you were 5, dreaming of the day you can lay on your back or take a deep, full breath in.

The saving grace for cardiovascular fitness has been mainly three-fold; stair-stepper, walking, and swimming. I suppose I have been on my bike a bit but those days are quickly coming to a close.

I was thinking about this as I was coming home from a Master's swim practice this morning. I have had quite a few people tell me about how good it felt to get in the pool when they were pregnant. I am guessing these people weren't trying to get in 3000 yds in an hour but none-the-less I think about what they've said. I get in the pool in the morning and it really doesn't feel that great initially. It's 5:30 am, dark, the water is cold, and I have a hard set waiting for me and then a full day at work. I can't jump in anymore without pain and discomfort so I slide in slowly and then I start swimming. It takes less than 10 yards for the cold to change to cool and refreshing and then about 300 yards for my stomach muscles to start to complain about attempting contraction at not quite maximal stretch. At about 1000 yards I have a permanent side stitch that goes away when I stand up and comes back as soon as I push off the wall on the next flip turn. Yet, I swim 3-4 times per week with as much speed and gusto as I have got. The part that is the most amazing to me though is when I get out. During that hour of submersion and lessened gravity all the blood and fluid that is normally affected by gravity has dispersed. The moment I haul myself up on the side and climb out (I'm holding out on using the ladder. I feel like that is like giving up my athleticism.) I can feel the pressure and the weight and the blood rush down again. It is amazing how I didn't notice while I was swimming how unweighted I was but when I get out the reminder is immediate. I think at the next practice I will have to try and pay more attention to that cause being unweighted is bliss, even if the getting out part sucks.

Lifestyle change, the first of many

Hmmmmm, where to begin. It has been awhile. I am on a current hiatus from racing as my run has been significantly limited by the ligamentous laxity in my joints. Baby was fine with running. Momma was hurting. I did a pretty hard run at about 20 weeks. I did 4 7:45 miles, which was faster than my pre-pregnancy running pace. I felt ok but then ended up having a really sore S.I. joint. I managed to correct it myself several days later lifting a 140 lb kiddo at work (on accident) and felt so much better. I felt so good, in fact, that I went for a run with Mr KT and the dogs the next afternoon. That did not go so well. Sorry if this is T.M.I. but I had what I can only describe as grinding or shearing in the front of my pelvis where the two halves of the pelvis meet. Oh my gosh. No thanks. Ow. I walked home, in pain. By that night I was almost crawling to the bathroom because it hurt to walk. The next day was unbearable at work and I called a physical therapy clinic that sees pregnant women and begging therapist to therapist to be seen over lunch. She was so awesome and got me right in. She realigned everything and gave me some suggestions to keep the alignment. There was some discussion and some exercises that only pregnant women should ever talk about and I left with an ionto patch and feeling somewhat better. The symptoms improved over the next few days and I actually followed her advice. (I know, shock really.) She also told me that it really would be best if I didn't run until after the baby came. It took me a few weeks of crabby to wrap my head around the fact that if I wanted to continue to run now, I wouldn't hurt the baby but I may do enough damage to my own joints that I wouldn't be able to run later. It is essentially run now or run later but probably not both. I choose run later. I can't wait to start again but it will be a while still.

So, I am walking my running routes, doing stairs, riding my bike as tolerated, swimming like a fishy, and waiting for this baby. 11 weeks and counting.