Exercise at 9 Months Pregnant

Any woman who runs marathons, or hell, who even runs AT ALL at 9 months pregnant, has my complete and total respect. No, make that AWE. Complete AND total AWE. Because seriously, at 39 weeks pregnant, ANY exercise, let alone RUNNING, let alone RUNNING A MARATHON has got to take not only a strength of will I can't fathom, but a body that is the most KICKASS body of all time. I don't know how some women do it, I really really don't.

Because since throwing in the towel on running at 33 weeks, and since moving on to weeks 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, and now THIRTY-NINE, the exercise just AIN'T what it used to be. YES, I'm still walking, and YES, I'm still doing weights, and YES, I'm still swimming too (!), but no, it is NOT to the level it was. Hell, I don't think [each week] is even to the level it was the previous week - meaning I get a little more feeble every week. And fine, it's feeble on MY scale, cuz really, I'm still kicking ass for the fact that when I'm not sick, I'm even GOING to the gym, but it definitely is NOT the workout it was.

Like walking for instance, is now more about STARTING OFF super strong, going at a fast pace, and using a steep incline (AssWatch 2009 is still in effect), but quickly switching (usually around the 15-20 minute mark) to a GOOD pace (rather than a fast one), and to only a 1.0 incline - because things start to hurt. And by things I mean, the SIDES of my legs... which is weird... but the lower sides, like between the ankle and the knee, but on the side, not the front or back. And by things, I ALSO mean the Braxton Hicks. They go from periodic and annoying to pretty freaking INTENSE and MUST REMEMBER TO BREATHE. But both the contractions and the leg pain go away when I slow down, so meh, it's just about getting past the initial discomfort, and getting back into a slower stride so I can finish at least 30 minutes.

As for the weights and core exercises, well they're still pretty good in that I'm still LIFTING the same weights, and I'm still DOING the same number of reps, but I'm pretty sure I'm doing them all a LOT slower, and some of them I've had to adjust HOW I do them (cuz the belly gets in the way). Which all in all means I'm probably doing QUITE a bit less in each workout. Because no matter how much I TRY to keep my head in it to do everything I used to, I get tired faster, and I still only want to be at the gym as long as I used to, so doing everything I used to just ain't gonna happen.

The only thing I think hasn't changed much is the aqua classes - because it's one of the few places I don't feel the WEIGHT of my belly. I know I definitely don't put the same ENERGY into it that I did when I first started - uh, because I just don't HAVE that energy to give - but I'm still able to do everything the class asks. And even MORE helpful is that when you're in a class, there's no leaving early (at least in my mind), which helps a lot, because when that mint chocolate chip ice cream is BEGGING me to come home to it instead - telling me how it'll be SO MUCH more comforting than that pool - well, it's very VERY tempting to use the last of my energy to sprint home to my beloved ice cream. But with all those other girls NOT sprinting out for ice cream, it's kinda hard to admit you're not bailing because you're in labor, but because you just can't live another second without ice cream...