Running at 26 weeks

So you know how I said I was going to stop running for the rest of pregnancy?  Well, that lasted almost two whole weeks.  The spot that had been bothering me before felt like it was 100% better, and I just couldn't stand the idea of "giving up" on running so early into pregnancy.  I guess two weeks away from the third trimester isn't super early, but I still (probably) have 3.5 months of pregnancy left + recovery time after delivery, and a 4.5 month break is a really long break, even if I'm doing other exercise*.

Anyway, yesterday I got on the treadmill at the gym and decided to test things out to see if I could still make the magic happen.  And it did, sort of.  I jogged for 10 minutes and then did 4 minutes of jogging followed by 1 minute of walking until I finished 3 miles.  3 miles in 33 minutes has to be an all-time record for slowness for me, but this run also earned a place in the annals of most uncomfortable runs.  If I could dedicate a song to this run it would be:

I don't know why this surprises me, but it really felt like I was running with a cantaloupe in a bag suspended from the front of me except that bag was my skin and every time the cantaloupe would bounce it would land on my bladder.  So yeah... there was a lot of pressure pushing down on things.  BUT, I didn't feel any actual "I think something might be wrong" pain, so I'm hoping to be able to stick with jog/walking for at least a few more weeks.

One thing that *should* help is some new maternity wear additions.  A very sweet friend who just had a beautiful baby girl loaned me some of her maternity wear including two belly support bands.  Please please please ignore the giant mess in the back of the photos.  We are still in the process of figuring out where things should go in our new apartment.

This one is an interesting Santa suspenders get up.  It's a little too big right now, but I can see it working in the future (yes, you wear it under your clothes).

The other one was more like a weightlifting belt.

I think this is the one I'm going to try running with first.  It's fully adjustable so it fits now and it (along with the other one) can go in the washing machine so I don't to worry about getting them sweaty.

The shirt is also a new purchase from Road Runner Sports.  I'd been wearing medium tank tops to work out in since the first trimester, but they were quickly becoming waaaayyyy too short.  This is a large, and it's so much more comfortable.  And I figure it won't hurt to have one or two baggy workout shirts after I'm done giving birth.  

So yeah, while I'm certainly not going to be running the Chicago Marathon this fall, I am glad that it looks like my running life is going to be extended a little longer into pregnancy.


*Which I'm not really... some elliptical, some walking, some yoga, some monkeying around with weight machines... but I get winded just walking up stairs so the intensity level is very low.