Little Brother is due to arrive any day now, and while I have loved most moments of pregnancy this time around, I’m VERY ready to have this baby in my arms instead of my belly, and to reclaim my body as my own at least a little bit.
The only exercise I’ve been able to do for the past nine months has been walking, and even that has fallen by the wayside as I went into preterm labor at 32 weeks and all my energy went into keeping baby in for a few weeks longer. But now I see the light at the end of the tunnel and I’m starting to look at my jogging stroller with stars in my eyes, because soon I’ll be able to hit the pavement.
Pre-pregnancy, my goal was to run a marathon in January of 2019. I gave myself a full two years to train, but one of those years has been handed over to pregnancy. Since I’ll be starting over from scratch after the holidays, I’m trying to decide if I want to keep that goal of the 2019 marathon.
My husband thinks I’m a little crazy to be considering training for such a long distance with a new baby and while breastfeeding. My fitness level when I had JC seven years ago was…well, nonexistent. I didn’t work out at all, and he was two before I discovered running. I also did not nurse him, so the whole breastfeeding thing will be new to me. When I think about all those hurdles, I wonder if maybe my husband is right, and if giving myself more time would make the experience more pleasant all around. Maybe I should make a 2019 early spring half my goal? Or focus only on shorter distances during the next 12 months? All I know is I NEED a goal, or there will be a lot of sitting around making excuses.
So am I crazy to try and train for a marathon at this point in my life? Should I find a new fitness activity altogether for awhile, like a dance class, or a barre class, or something totally different? I want to honor my body as it heals from this round of childbirth, and I want to provide it with the energy it needs to feed baby and be healthy overall. Of course, losing the baby weight will be good–but even more so, I just want to be moving again.
Did you run while you were pregnant, or did you switch your fitness routine drastically when you were having and raising young kids–or for another reason? Did you nurse while you were running? I’d love to hear your tips.