I had an ultrasound a few days ago. Unfortunately, the scan showed subchorionic hemorrhage so I was advised to take it easy in order for the hemorrhage to disappear quickly on its own. Although the hemorrhage was a small one and my doctor wasn’t worried, we wanted to take extra precaution with everything in light of my previous miscarriage.

I ended up worrying about my body slowly degrading to its former state of unfitness. Staying home and lying down most of the time will once again condition my muscles to be lazy. So I vowed to continue exercising even while pregnant once the hemorrhage clears.

During my first pregnancy, I didn’t have to take up any regular exercise regimen. I was employed full-time as a teacher and my daily activities were more than enough for an exercise. This time however, I knew it would be tempting to just lie on the bed with Mateo once we get home in the afternoon.

So thinking that this blog is not strictly a running blog but my personal fitness blog, I’ve decided to share some things I’ve researched on exercising during pregnancy.

http://www.medindia.net

Although pregnancy could provide a lot of discomforts and inconveniences, it’s a good idea to stay fit while pregnant. Aside from feeling better and looking better, it will also prepare your body for the birth of your baby. Of course, getting back into shape is so much easier if you continued exercising throughout your pregnancy. It is very important though to ask for your doctor’s approval regarding any exercise regime you might have in mind. Below are some common exercises that are often safe for pregnant women.

• Swimming. This is one of the most popular exercises for pregnant women. Aside from feeling light while in the water, it is also very gentle on your bones and joints. Make sure though that the water you swim in is not very deep. Remember, your body feels different so some movements which you might have found easy before your pregnancy might not be so easy with your protruding belly.
• Walking. Another common exercise for pregnant women. It is very easy to pace oneself by regulating the speed, time, or distance.
• Running. Although some materials say that it is okay to run or jog during pregnancy, there are a few who don’t recommend it. If you’re a runner before becoming pregnant then it might be okay to continue with some modifications and an approval from your doctor. However, running can be dangerous especially since a pregnant woman’s body is constantly changing her sense of balance. It is very easy to make a mistake and have an injury while running as opposed to just walking.
• Yoga and Stretching. Although yoga and stretching are pretty much safe for pregnant women, it is best done under close supervision of a trainer especially with yoga.

Whatever exercise you choose to continue during your pregnancy, the key is to listen to your body closely. Once you feel dizzy or out of breath, stop and rest. Even so if you feel pain. It is generally advisable not to let yourself reach the point of fatigue and exhaustion.

I plan to stick to walking and occasional swimming. Hopefully, I get a clearance from my doctor soon so I can resume with my exercise. I hope to start with just twenty minutes of walking every day. Maybe I would have to regulate it as my tummy grows bigger.

Those two pink lines have temporarily put whatever life I have as a runner on hold. Unfortunately, I haven’t even gotten to run my first race because we found out a few days before the Mighty Run. Ramil and I basically threw away 600 pesos worth of registration.

Yes, we’ve registered a week before the race, before learning that I was pregnant. I was initially set on continuing with the race, trying to fool myself by thinking that I would have run had I tested a few days after. My darling husband, however, took some arm twisting especially because of the miscarriage I just had two months ago.

Still, the stubborn wife prevailed. Hehe! I promised Ramil I’d take it easy and that I just don’t want to waste our registration fees. Not to mention all the running I’ve been doing the past weeks.

However, although my arm twisting worked on Ramil, God will not be deterred. We were left with no babysitter when my sister decided on the last minute to attend her friend’s bridal shower the night before. She ended up sleeping over and we ended up with a still sleeping toddler at 4 am the next day.

With the difficulty of bringing our son and the unexpected news  of our pregnancy, Ramil gently told me that circumstances are preventing us from going on with the race. I took it as God’s sign to let go.

Therefore, we don’t have anything but two ugly yellow singlets and our race packs. I think I won’t be running my first race until next year after all.

I have been a delinquent runner this past week. Let me give you an update based on the running plan I made for this week:

• November 23, 2009, Monday – Cross-training by biking for 30 to 40 minutes, depending on how I fare. The ultimate goal is to do moderate biking for an hour.

What happened: I borrowed Ramil’s bike and tried several rounds around our subdivision. Living in Antipolo can be very daunting for beginner runners or bikers like me. The original plan to ride the bike for 30 to 40 minutes was reduced to a quick 15-minute-ride. I felt like such a loser after realizing that I simply have to settle for those 15 minutes. There’s no street in our subdivision that does not have a significant amount of inclination and a few rounds had my thighs screaming for rest. It made me realize that I like running better than biking.

• November 24, 2009, Tuesday – Run 5k: 1k running, 1k brisk walking, 1k running, 1k brisk walking, 0.5k running, 0.5k brisk walking.

What happened: We had deliberations in school in the afternoon and since the school is just in the next subdivision I decided to just run going to school and back home. Again, the hilly streets of Antipolo proved to be my undoing. I planned to do run the whole way going there but my body could only muster a run-walk-run strategy. I took me around 18 minutes each way which means I had a total of 30-40 minutes of run. Considering that most of it was uphill running/walking, I was satisfied with it.

• November 25, 2009, Wednesday – Rest day

What happened: After my challenging past two days, I savored my rest day!

• November 26, 2009, Thursday – Run 5k: 1k running, 1k brisk walking, 1k running, 1k brisk walking, 0.5k running, 0.5k brisk walking.

What happened: Ramil and I were able to run around our subdivision. We ran 4k in around 17 minutes.

• November 27, 2009, Friday – Another attempt at a tempo run.

What happened: We had to do grocery shopping and we got home pretty late which means I didn’t get to run.

• November 26, 2009, Saturday – Easy run

What happened: I did many chores the whole day and ended up not running at all. I told myself that I was pretty much tired from the household chores anyway.

• November 27, 2009, Sunday – Rest day

What happened: We had plans to go to several places and again, we got home late. Third consecutive rest day

I dragged myself last Monday even if it was just to run inside the house for 20 minutes then I took another rest day last Tuesday. Yesterday, I ran again for 20 minutes inside the house. I plan to run again today for 20 minutes.

The now-cold weather here in Antipolo is making it difficult for me to run outside. I’ve noticed that I’m having more difficulty breathing when I’m running outside. I hope to remedy that in the next few days but for the mean time, I’ll have to be content with running inside our house.

I’ve been more or less consistent with my vow to regularly exercise. I’ve set a running goal for myself by running my first race in a few weeks and here’s how I’ve been doing:

• November 17, 2009, Tuesday – The day I started running again. I ran a total of 3k: 1k running, 1k brisk walking, 0.5k running, 0.5k walking. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to take note of my time.
• November 18, 2009, Wednesday – I ran a total of 4k: 1k running, 1k brisk walking, 1k running, 1k walking. Total time is around 20 minutes. I  must remember to be more accurate in taking note of my time. Aside from the usual stretching before and after a run, I did 30 crunches which just goes to show how flabby my middle is
• November 19, 2009, Thursday – Rest day imposed by Ramil
• November 20, 2009, Friday – I was set on trying a tempo run but it was a date night for my sister so Ramil and I ended up bringing along Mateo. It ruined my mood even while we were just getting dressed to run. To make me feel better, Ramil offered to be the one to run with Mateo so I can go through with my plan. It turned out that our little boy had it in him because he excitedly ran with so much fervor, I couldn’t help but slow down a little and make it a family affair. The three of us were able to cover 2k while mostly running. Needless to say, I was pretty amazed with my two-year-old that I decided to just think of that day as my easy run.

• November 21, 2009, Saturday – We had to attend a birthday party, got home late and pretty much tired to run. We did a lot of walking that day though so I still had some light exercise.
• November 22, 2009, Sunday – Again, my sister had plans which means no one could look after Mateo. Even though I would have loved to bring Mateo along, Ramil was tired already. Instead of running by myself outside, I settled for running inside the house for 20 minutes. I was able to work up quite a sweat because I was doing sprints every 4 minutes. Again, aside from the usual stretching before and after, I was able to finish my exercise off with 50 crunches.

So there, I think I’m doing pretty okay. However, I hope to run my first 5k race in three weeks’ time so I need to train myself harder if I want to make decent time. Although I’m not looking at placing, I don’t want to be among the last ones in the 5k race. To hype up my running routine, these are my plans for the week:

• November 23, 2009, Monday – Cross-training by biking for 30 to 40 minutes, depending on how I fare. The ultimate goal is to do moderate biking for an hour.
• November 24, 2009, Tuesday – Run 5k: 1k running, 1k brisk walking, 1k running, 1k brisk walking, 0.5k running, 0.5k brisk walking.
• November 25, 2009, Wednesday – Rest day
• November 26, 2009, Thursday – Run 5k: 1k running, 1k brisk walking, 1k running, 1k brisk walking, 0.5k running, 0.5k brisk walking.
• November 27, 2009, Friday – Another attempt at a tempo run.
• November 26, 2009, Saturday – Easy run
• November 27, 2009, Sunday – Rest day

Please take note that the schedule  I’ve set above is not a schedule taken from any program. It’s just my own running recipe based on how I’ve been doing so far. Please also take note that I’m not a PE teacher or a graduate of any course related to sports so if there’s anything I’m doing incorrectly, I would appreciate some feedback.

Whew, I feel tired just looking back on what I’ve been doing and giving a rundown of what I plan to do. I’m just hoping I’d be able to write a good post about my running progress  in the next few days.

I’ve got more than my share of post-pregnancy fat which have now transformed into flabby love handles. Despite the slightly loose skin around my middle, I’m not as out of shape as I think I am. To challenge myself, I’ve decided to run my first 5k race just four weeks after I’ve started training myself.

What better race to try than a race for charity?

Ramil has grudgingly agreed to join the race with me, hehe! Since it will benefit the Bantay Bata Foundation, shelling out 300 pesos for registration fee won’t be that bad even if I’m one of the last ones across the finish line. Unfortunately, I get an ugly first race singlet.

I would have loved a singlet that I would like to reuse. Instead, I get to run looking like a billboard for Mighty Bond. I guess there’s just some things that has to give especially since it’s a race for charity.

I’m pretty excited for it and I’m wondering how my first race will be. How about you, how was your first race?

Last August, me and my husband found out we were pregnant so whatever irregular jogging/running schedule I had needed to be put on hold. My doctor advised me to take it easy and to limit myself to brisk walks. I had a miscarriage last October which also revealed that I had placenta accreta. I was again told by my doctor to rest and not do anything that would strain myself.

I haven’t been bleeding for more than a week already and have therefore been given the permission to exercise but to take it slowly. So I excitedly planned to go back to running since last week. Unfortunately, my two-month pregnant lifestyle has taken its roots on me. My mind and I guess my body as well refused to get into the groove. However, I couldn’t use pregnancy anymore as an excuse for my bulging tummy and I relented to starting my running routine once again.

So yesterday, after finishing our nightly chores and having dinner, my husband and I asked my sister to look after our son. We stepped into our running shoes and headed outside. We worked up to a run and continued running. After a kilometer, we slowed down to a brisk walk for another kilometer. Our last kilometer consisted of running for half a kilometer and brisk walking the rest of the way. All in all, we covered only a total of three kilometers which I think is good enough for a first run.

I was pleasantly surprised that I wasn’t as out of shape as I thought I was. The short run was not a struggle for me. I was able to keep a good rhythm even while straining during the uphill portions of the road.

I originally intended to run around our subdivision thrice a week to start it off but with how my run went yesterday, I can’t wait to do it again later today.

As a child, I fancied myself as a fast runner. I loved feeling the wind on my face and hair. I loved that the ground seemed to disappear as I run faster and faster. For the young me, it was the closest thing I could get to flying.

As the years passed, the mindless, carefree running also became less frequent despite the fact that there are more reasons for me to run and to keep running. As an adult, I would sometimes feel the urge to run to release some tension, to fight my frustrations, or to pretend that I could escape the usual worries in an adult’s life.

I hope to make running (or walking at times) a more permanent part of my life. It will not serve as an escape anymore but an essential part of my messed up weekly routine. I’m pretty sure there would be days when I would be very happy and content to just lie down on our soft, comfortable bed instead of pounding my feet on the brutal cement. On those days, I would need to remind myself of the reasons why I need to get off my ass.

• My post-pregnancy tummy. I feel very grateful to have a husband who says he will love me whether I get heavier than him or my tummy starts looking like several bread rolls squished together. However, I still have my own satisfaction to think of. I want to still be able to wear a two-piece swimsuit even when I’m 50.
• My health. Although I feel great now, I know that age is a cruel thing. It will sneak up on me and slowly lower my body’s efficiency. Running will be a futile attempt to ward it off but it will buy me more time.
• My moods. I can have the worst moods, ask my husband. Simple things can tick me off simply because I’m having an ‘icky mood’. Many times, I’d turn to cleaning some part of our house to de-stress myself – I have been known to clean the bathroom at 11 pm. Although there are perks like a cleaner bathroom, I would love a saner way to relieve stress or get out of that down feeling. The natural high that every runner feels is an added bonus.
• My outdoor side. Despite the fact that I spend more time indoors, I also love being outdoors. One of the reasons why I love living in Antipolo is the fact that there are more trees and the air is cleaner.
• My pockets. It’s definitely cheaper to go running outside than to enroll myself in an expensive gym.

What better way to maintain a hobby than to share it with others? So as I try to ingrain running into myself, I will share varied information on running that I find useful and you can read all about my successes and missteps.

Here’s to praying I don’t trip and fall.