Living Room Half Marathon Training

I’m trying to keep up with my Thanksgiving Day tradition, I took Elliott on his first overnight trip to my sisters. He was excited! 

This was sadly after getting his first round of vaccinations. I can’t believe he’s two months already! Poor thing slept most of the day. He came out like a champ though! 

He did rather well on his first night away from home, but that may have been the shots too. 

Thanksgiving day I got up early, fed the kid, handed him to my sisters, had pumpkin pie for breakfast(!) and took off to the annual Turkey Trot! 

I set out to run two minutes and walk two for the entire 5K. I completed that goal! Small steps. Not my slowest but very far from my fastest. 

Somewhere to start and build on I suppose.

It was freaking cold! Thank goodness for hand warmers! Also, I post these two pictures, but I don’t like either one of them. My face has gotten so puffy. Also something to work on. 

The last three days I haven’t counted calories, but that will start back up tomorrow for sure! And today I had to be a bit creative when it came to getting my workout in. 

Little guy was fussy, so I took him for my run/walk around the living room while mixing in some lunges, squats, and stretches. Hey at least I got some movement in! 

Tomorrow I hope to get a regular workout in. Then we have a second Thanksgiving meal to go to with the in-laws. But I’ll try not to over indulge at this one and keep track of what I eat.

Spirit

Today was one of those days. A day that starts off decent enough, tired of course, but nothing out of the ordinary. Then “It” hits. “It” being an over pouring of emotions, the blues, maybe slight depression. It comes every once in a while, even before the baby. Today the feelings came hard when I had decided to get off my butt and get a walk/run in. Then the boy decided he was fussy. Then hungry. And there went my plans. I just felt like I couldn’t do anything anymore. 

Of course, I was being dramatic. After feeding him I took Mattie out and went outside. It was cloudy and extremely windy, but not cold. It felt so good. 

I’m taking it slow and easy of course (no other option really, ha). I did a 5 minute warm up, then ran one minute and walked two for 20 minutes, then a 5 minute cool down. 

I was in much better spirits when I got home! Exercise does the body and, more importantly, the mind good. 

And I was able to enjoy cuddles from this cutie when I got back. (Even if he was still cranky!). 

I didn’t eat that well today, over ate mostly, but I’ve been keeping steady in at least tracking my food on SparkPeople. I’ll get better at getting my calories down. Just taking one step at a time right now! 

My New Life

I see it has been a year, almost exactly, since I last posted. So much has changed within that year. I went to write probably a hundred times within this year, but I felt like I didn't have much to say.

I was not as active this past year, I gained a bunch of weight, I didn't feel well, and there were lots of tears. However, it was one of the best years of my life! I now have a son!

Now I wish I had kept a record of my pregnancy. The morning sickness in the beginning, to the extreme fatigue that hit in the first and second trimester, and even how very big I got! haha. I don't even have a decent picture of me pregnant towards the end. My husband and I kept putting off taking pictures and then the next thing we knew we were driving to the hospital! Other than my feet swelling and back pain that I went to physical therapy for I absolutely cannot complain about my pregnancy. I didn't have any medical issues and the baby was healthy. My labor was even quick (maybe not painless, but quick). The hospital I chose was an hour away. I woke up with contractions at 2:45 in the morning, we were at the hospital by 4:30am and my little bundle was born at 8:11am. He was two weeks early, but already weighed 8pounds 9ounces and was 20.75 long.

The past two months have been a whirlwind of emotions and lack of sleep! Some moments have been hard for me. To have a little being so dependent on me. Always having to worry about his next feeding, diaper change, sleep, etc. I decided to breastfeed at the last moment and I'm glad I did since it is so much healthier for the baby, but damn, it sure is a lot of work! Between pumping and feeding him every 2.5 to three hours, it's a full time commitment that no one else can take over. Now that I've gotten in more of a routine it's slightly less exhausting. He's so precious though. I'm so thankful that he came into my life and is healthy. I'll take all the hard work and sleepless nights for him!

I would like to try to journal more, but I know I've said that before. I have a long way to get back to where I was physically before the pregnancy and then back to my lowest weight. I'd like to chronicle my journey back and my new life as a mom. (Eep! I'm a mom!!).

I've started back to tracking calories on Sparkpeople. And I'm trying to get activity in, but that's been harder than I thought. I'm so tired in the evenings, but worse than that, my back gets very aggravated. I actually have an appointment on Monday with a Chiropractor. This is the one thing that I have not tried yet to fix my bulging disc in my lower back. I also have a touch of arthritis and scoliosis. I truly hope the chiropractor can help me get back to running. I still do the exercises from physical therapy, but it just gets me to the point I can walk. I would like to be pain free and able to run without having to stop due the pain!

So here are my current stats:

Highest weight ever and during pregnancy: 240

Lowest weight:160

Weight before pregnancy: 180-185

Weight at about 6 weeks post partum:212

Current weight:211

I've got another long road ahead, but I did it once and I'll do it again!