Hello September! We’re finally here – after nearly 9 months of planning, the month of Siena’s birth has arrived (unless of course she’s more than 5 days late, in which case she’ll be an October baby).
The planning and goal setting is one of my favorite parts of training for marathons and triathlons so it has been good for my sanity to set monthly goals throughout pregnancy despite not having any race to train for (besides the birth, which Mike keeps referring to as the day I’ll do an Ironman without notice).
In August, I had pretty simple goals:
- Yoga 2-3x/week.
- Squat Challenge + 50 extra/day (4,445 squats a day)
- Relaxation practice at a minimum 4x/week
- Continue to do something active almost every day
I’m happy to say that I was able to get a A LOT of yoga in during August. And I like to think that yoga can double for relaxation practice because I definitely did NOT do 4 relaxation practices a week. I really want to focus on this in September, but I just kept making excuses in August!
As for squats – I suffered from squat burnout (are you surprised!?). I pushed off the challenge for a few days and then found myself skipping days…and then just gave up completely. Allison wasn’t doing it with me this month and I think that having a buddy to keep me accountable really helped in June and July. Since squatting is definitely one of the positions I plan to use during pushing in labor, I need to get back on this one! So I started the challenge over on September 1, sticking with the original challenge which starts with 50 squats and ends with 250. We’ll see how far I get before baby comes (or if she waits til October to make her grand entrance, I hope to complete it!).
And running…my old friend and I said goodbye this month. I ran 3.1 miles on trails near my house the morning of my shower on august 8th and then never again. It was so hot this month and honestly running just isn’t fun anymore so I never planned a run and it never happened. After a few weeks had gone by without a run, I figured it was time to wave the white flag. The funny part is, I really thought I’d miss it more! Although I have pangs of sadness over not being able to run, overall I’m really happy with yoga, barre and spin classes and enjoying long walks with friends (I made it to Torrey Pines with Brooke a few times this month!) or Mike. I spent so much of last year focused on running that this break may have come at a good time.To get my cardio fix, I attended a few spin classes at Rhythm and Power this month and in general, my heart rate is up during Xtend Barre classes. My hikes, walks and any time I climb stairs (my house has stairs and my office is on the 2nd floor), I get my heart rate up. So I’m not too worried about that!
August Totals:
- 13 hours of walking
- 3.1 miles of running
- 10 yoga classes
- 8 barre classes
- 3 spin classes
I have repeatedly been warned during pregnancy that the “last month is the worst” which is part of the reason why I’m convinced our baby girl is coming late since I still feel really good. I have energy (although I am more sleepy generally and am really enjoying weekend naps), I don’t have any lower back pain and I’m still able to mostly keep up in yoga and barre classes. My due date is September 25th which means that my doctor will let me go until October 9th before inducing. Ideally I’d love for her to come in the month of September but clearly I have no control over that (although I do plan to start natural induction techniques as soon as I stop working on September 18th).
Goals for September are all about BIRTH!
- Relaxation practice (including yoga) a minimum of 5 times a week
- Complete Squat Challenge (or keep going until baby arrives)
- At least 90 sec of holding a deep squat per day (this is an option for a pushing position and the average contraction in pushing phase is 45-90 seconds so it’s good to practice holding it for that long!)
- Keep up with yoga up until delivery
- Do something active (minimum being a walk) every day
Let’s do this!
What are your goals for September?
You look great! The last month of pregnancy has not been bad for me – at all. I was very surprised.
I was also surprised at how little I missed running after I quit. I think since I’ve kept up with walking 3-4x a week instead I’m still getting my dose of fresh air and Vit D so my body is just as happy as before.
I’ve been trying to do more squats but I only do 50 a day maybe 2-3x a week. I also researched natural induction techniques, and talked to my Doc, and the only ones with evidence they actually work are walking and sex!
Love your updates. I hope you continue them after your baby girl arrives. Do not listen to all the negative stories about how hard things can get. Many differences I see in stories about healthy pregnancies of healthy people, I believe are based on their attitudes and expectations, and you can control both. You know that from your running. So enjoy the last few weeks of your pregnancy!
You are looking so great. Glad to hear you’re feeling great too! I could only imagine how uncomfortable running would become in the late months of pregnancy so giving it up totally makes sense.
You’re in your final legs and looking great!
Good luck on your September goals. I tried to do the squat challenge and was good for about 10 days. It’s tough to keep with it without a buddy.
Thanks! Join me and Allison this month! You would only need to catch up 2 days!
You look great and it’s so reassuring you’re feeling so great! I’m 33 1/2 weeks so I’m right behind you!