Spandex City

4/21/17 I was able to add in freestyle strokes to my swim the other day and while I was not blazing fast (keep your surprise to yourself, please), I completed my mile in 54 minutes, instead of 58. I'll take the improvement!  It felt good to move like that again. Yesterday I woke up exhausted and instead of biking/swimming, I went for a long walk at lunch time and did some yoga. In the evening I was loading the dishwasher and had an uncomfortable sensation in my low abdomen and lower back. Not necessarily pain, but dull and achy. This happened on and off until the time I went to sleep. I texted the midwife about it and she encouraged me to drink more water and said we would test for a UTI, just in case. Slept great through the night, but started having the same crampy pains after being awake for an hour or so. I had planned on going swimming but the midwife encouraged me to take it easy until our appointment later today, just to make sure everything was 'normal'. N...

4/19/17 Baby Update: Cletus is 16 weeks now and the size of an avocado! I am starting to really pudge out and only late at night does it feel like a bump! Workout Updates: I have been swimming a few times and was amazed at how good it felt. I've been able to swim a mile in around 58 minutes each time. This is about what my old time was so it definitely feels good. I have more or less given up on doing freestyle and am just sticking with the breast stroke for now. It's slower, but breathing has it's pro's too! Thanks to increasing *growth* I've been using my Buband when I swim to help keep things under control. I love that thing and it's seriously been my pregnancy saving grace! Yesterday morning I did 10 miles on the bike trainer- holy heck, when did that get so hard!? It felt like my thighs were on fire after 1 mile! Clearly, I'm going to have to up the work on that! I now only have 46 more miles until my 'Virtual 70.3' is complete! Hah, wh...

4/17/17 TailWind Nutrition is what I use during long runs or cycles. I was drawn to the brand because it promises to get you enough calories for an hour of exercise, in liquid form with "no gut bombs". This is beyond important to me because I have a notoriously wimpy tummy. I have had more GI DISTRESS on a single long run, than most people have in an entire year. I started out by ordering their Sample Bundle , which has 7 different flavors for about $17! That's insanely cheap compared to other brands.  My favorites are Raspberry Buzz and Berry. I like how strong the flavor is and true to form- no tummy aches and I've had good energy. Several months ago I applied to be a Tailwind Nutrition ambassador, which would more or less mean I could endorse the brand, get discounts and be counted among a handful of incredible athletes. (Yeah I knooooow. It was a long shot, but I'm not one to let "no" stop me). There's a guy named Cory that I follow on F...

4-10-17 Y'all may faintly remember that I did the Texas Ragnar; running from Batrop to Luckenbach with 11 other women in a single van. Van trip down We stayed the night in a roach-coach in Bastrop and while I slept like a log, 2 of the girls in our group did not sleep a second. Something about me having to kill roaches in the room really freaks some people out. That 4am wake up call came early. Our start time was at 5:45am, but naturally we had to be there an hour before hand to get "prepped" and to hear the safety stuff. I was runner #2 *heh*, so I received the slap bracelet (baton) around 6:30am and took off on my first leg.  Leg 1: 4.20 miles Actual distance/time: 4.5 miles in 48 minutes (10:38 pace) It was beautiful and now I wish I'd taken a few photos. I ran as the sun was coming up and through fields of wild flowers. There was mist covering the pastures and scenic bridges and cattle abounding.   I was fine with this because I star...

4/10/17 Baby update: we are 14 weeks and 6 days today. Starting to feel/look thicker around my middle and jeans are feeling tighter. Workout update: I've been walking a lot but still haven't ran since the Ragnar *keep your eyes open for that update!* Yesterday I decided to do a weights workout and used the " Diary of a Fit Mommy: Belly Only Workout " pregnancy workouts. I did Standing Side Crunches 3 x20 Barbell Side Bends 3 x10 Dumbbell Elbows to Knees Side Crunch 3x10 Air Squats *ass to grass* 3x10 Modified Wood Choppers 3x10 Tricep Kickbacks 3x10 Bicep Curls 3x 20 Air Squats *ass to grass* 3 x10 Barbell Shoulder Presses 3 x10 Weighted Internal/External Rotation 3 x15 Barbell Skull Crushers 3 x10 Air squats *ass to grass* 4 x10 And let me tell you... I. AM. FEEEEELIN' IT. My whooooole body is sore. I hadn't realized how weak I'd allowed my back/obliques to get. I will definitely be repeating this!!