Runners are generally fit, healthy people, who take care of their bodies, set goals, some are intense and want to win, and others do it more leisurely. I am more of a competitor who just enjoys running for fun, who isn't out there to win. I have never been a runner in my life up until the last 8 years. I want to beat old PR's, and yes, I like passing people on the home stretch, sometimes I even count how many people I pass at the end of a marathon, its fun, and it keeps me going.
You don't hear of too many serious runners who have chronic hypertension. I was diagnosed with it in 2005, have tried over 8 different kinds of meds, and many different diets to help control this medical condition. When I had a phone intake with my cardiologist, she asked me all the common questions, "what is your diet like, do you exercise, how much sodium do you take in, etc" When I walked into her office, her jaw dropped and she said, "wow, you aren't what I expected. Many people who have chronic hypertension are obese, don't take care of their bodies, and eat like shit" B/c all the meds are made up for overweight, old people who arent' active, finding a medication was merely impossible for me. We finally found one at the lowest dose that finally worked, controlled my heartrate, didnt' knock me to the ground, and still allows me to exercise. Shortly after being diagnosed with this, I was running a 10K race in Stillwater, and stopped mid-race thinking I was having a heart attack. I went to my cardiologist the next day, and she had me go through a battery of tests at Abbott and the Mayo. The tests showed that I had too much muscle mass on my heart, and when I trained hard for a marathon, this muscle mass grew, which caused my heart to expand outside of the heart cavity, mimicking a heart attack. At that point, I was limited to only training and running one marathon a year. Not cool.
So obviously exercising with chronic hypertension is already high risk, you add being pregnant and having hypertension and you are at even higher risk. My blood pressure stayed stable up until weeks 28 and 30 respectively during my two pregnancies. The best thing you can do during pregnancy while having high blood pressure is exercise. This gives you and your baby more oxygen and increases blood flow which in the end of way healthier. I was cut off from exercise at some point during each pregnancy due to my blood pressure not being under control. Its hard when you are trying to do something so healthy for you and your baby but you are limited due to something that is out of your control. I was on a high protein, low sodium/salt diet which helped me get as far along in the pregnancies as I did without my numbers getting too high.
Both pregnancies I had pre-eclampsia, and I knew this would probably be the case. I am just thankful that I was able to make it as far as I did in both, seeing that many cases people have their babies much much earlier than I did (38 weeks and 36 weeks).
I am so glad I was able to exercise the majority of each pregnancies and I see how healthy both my babies came out, that I knew I must have been doing something right!
Count your blessings.... as I write this post, two explosives just went off at the finish line of the Boston Marathon. Praying for all the runners and spectators, and praying that this was not an act of violence. What a horrible thing for the most respected race ever.
Monday, April 15, 2013
Sunday, April 14, 2013
Exercise and Motherhood
Hello followers.
Sorry for the two year lack of writing, we have been busy making and having babies. Our life is full with two boys, Logan just turned two, and Owen was born March 6th. So I guess you could say I have had my hands busy.
But I'm back at it, thinking and blogging lots on life in general, so I hope you are prepared for lots of insight! My brain hasn't stopped being funny just b/c I have become a mother, its become insanely more awesome. Enjoy!
As I type this blog, I am sitting here with a 5 lb. infant looking up at me in my lap, and my toddler kicking away in his crib protesting a nap. You think, "how does she ever get anything done with two under two?" Well, its simple. You use every minute of every day, and you do stuff. You dont' have time to be lazy (although some of those sleepless nights sure make you want to be lazy, and stay in your sweats all day). You still live your life to its fullest, and don't complain about how busy and tired you are. That is how you get things done.
Here is an example of one day with my two boys. Wake up around 630am, feed Owen. Change a poopy diaper. Hear Logan calling "mama" in his room next to ours, go get him. Change his diaper, get him dressed, brush his teeth. Family breakfast downstairs. Dad stays home with the two boys while mom gets her run on. Turn on Thomas the Train for Logan, Owen naps, mom showers and gets ready. Then its time to get out of the house. if its nice, we do something outdoors, if its crappy, we do playdates, jungle gyms, trampoline parks, toddle open gyms, etc. My toddler has more energy and I must expend it in order for him to nap for me. We get home around 11am, feed Owen, change his poopy diaper, feed Logan lunch, might feed myself lunch, put logan down for his awesome 3 hour nap, one-on-one time with my Owen. Then he naps, I clear the house, pick up toys, do laundry, wash out bottles, pumping stuff, and prep stuff for dinner. Logan wakes up around 3pm, we have cuddles, get him a snack, change another poopy diaper, go outside and run wild (good thing we live in a kid-friendly culda-sac so we can kick a ball around and he won't get hit by a car). Then after two hours of playtime, we have dinner made up, daddy comes home around 530pm, then its family dinner, bath time for both boys, play time with daddy, settle down time with books, both boys sleeping by 730pm. Owen wakes up for his feeding at 9pm, and then we have lights out. ANd then we wake up and do it all over again the next day. Its awesome. I absolutely LOVE my life. I wouldnt' want it any other way. Life will change when I go back to work, but right now, I am enjoying maternity leave A LOT.
That is a "simple day" in our world. Then you add in a few more factors: we have a 5 week old, who came 4 weeks early, spent the first week of his young life in the special care nursery, then we were home for not even a week, and we were admitted to Childrens' for dehydration and vomiting and were there for three days, then came home for less than a week, and he had surgery on his bum kidney and spent another three days in the hospital. Yes, he is only 5 weeks old. That is stress, but how I handle the stress is how I am defined. Most people in that given circumstance, would lay in bed every free minute they have, and feel bad for themselves, wishing that someone would come to their house and clean it for them. That's not how one should live.
The way I get through my stress is through exercise. Running is my zen. Its my one outlet that truly helps me get through some thick stuff. I wouldnt' be able to get through my most stressful days without running. I pushed my second baby out in three pushes, turned to the doctor and asked her if she could clear me to run a race that I had signed up for the following weekend (not knowing we would be pregnant at the time). She looked at me and laughed. I then went on and asked her if she was sure there was only one baby inside of me b/c I still had so much energy and adrenaline going through me that I was ready to push out a few more babies. people probably hate me for how easy my second was, but if they knew how hard my first delivery was, they would understand that I completely deserve Owen.
Oh yeah, back to running. If you haven't read the book "Run like a Mother", go buy it, and read it. Its amazing, and its the best book that will help you get off your lazy butt after having a baby, and exercise (besides reading my awesome motivating blogs). I have found that I am a better mom b/c of the "me time" I set aside and have (usually consists of running). When I get back from a run, I am clear-minded and ready to be a refreshed mom! I love my boys to DEATH, but we all need a break from our kids at times. On todays' 2.5 mile run (give me a break, I got cleared to run 3 weeks earlier than normal people do- and I need to start out slow, don't worry, I have plenty of time to train for the 1/2 marathon in June), all I could think about were my boys. I know its supposed to be "me time" but I would start laughing out loud mid stride, by some of the things Logan says. His world is so awesome, I would love to be inside his brain for a day, and Owen is such a joy, minus the sleepless night we had the night before last). My world is my boys.
But I also got to thinking about how crabby I am when I couldnt' run the first three weeks after having Owen. My husband probably took the brunt of it. But he understands my obsession. I had a 1-week follow up with my doctor due to some complications we had post-deliver, and tried to get cleared to run that day. She again, laughed at me, and said, lets compromise and say 3 weeks. I agreed. I never was a runner, EVER. I hated running. Running meant punishment in my world. I was a two sport athlete in college, soccer and basketball, and we hATED running. haha. But now I have grown to run marathons, and I LOVE running. I am not fast by any means, and I don't ever place, but its so refreshing and I do it for the challenge and sense of accomplishment.
Well, I now have a screaming baby in my lap (he said I was writing too much) and its time for my toddler to wake up since he took so long to fall asleep. I promise I will write a much more organized blog with no chaos next time.
See you soon!
Steph
Sorry for the two year lack of writing, we have been busy making and having babies. Our life is full with two boys, Logan just turned two, and Owen was born March 6th. So I guess you could say I have had my hands busy.
But I'm back at it, thinking and blogging lots on life in general, so I hope you are prepared for lots of insight! My brain hasn't stopped being funny just b/c I have become a mother, its become insanely more awesome. Enjoy!
As I type this blog, I am sitting here with a 5 lb. infant looking up at me in my lap, and my toddler kicking away in his crib protesting a nap. You think, "how does she ever get anything done with two under two?" Well, its simple. You use every minute of every day, and you do stuff. You dont' have time to be lazy (although some of those sleepless nights sure make you want to be lazy, and stay in your sweats all day). You still live your life to its fullest, and don't complain about how busy and tired you are. That is how you get things done.
Here is an example of one day with my two boys. Wake up around 630am, feed Owen. Change a poopy diaper. Hear Logan calling "mama" in his room next to ours, go get him. Change his diaper, get him dressed, brush his teeth. Family breakfast downstairs. Dad stays home with the two boys while mom gets her run on. Turn on Thomas the Train for Logan, Owen naps, mom showers and gets ready. Then its time to get out of the house. if its nice, we do something outdoors, if its crappy, we do playdates, jungle gyms, trampoline parks, toddle open gyms, etc. My toddler has more energy and I must expend it in order for him to nap for me. We get home around 11am, feed Owen, change his poopy diaper, feed Logan lunch, might feed myself lunch, put logan down for his awesome 3 hour nap, one-on-one time with my Owen. Then he naps, I clear the house, pick up toys, do laundry, wash out bottles, pumping stuff, and prep stuff for dinner. Logan wakes up around 3pm, we have cuddles, get him a snack, change another poopy diaper, go outside and run wild (good thing we live in a kid-friendly culda-sac so we can kick a ball around and he won't get hit by a car). Then after two hours of playtime, we have dinner made up, daddy comes home around 530pm, then its family dinner, bath time for both boys, play time with daddy, settle down time with books, both boys sleeping by 730pm. Owen wakes up for his feeding at 9pm, and then we have lights out. ANd then we wake up and do it all over again the next day. Its awesome. I absolutely LOVE my life. I wouldnt' want it any other way. Life will change when I go back to work, but right now, I am enjoying maternity leave A LOT.
That is a "simple day" in our world. Then you add in a few more factors: we have a 5 week old, who came 4 weeks early, spent the first week of his young life in the special care nursery, then we were home for not even a week, and we were admitted to Childrens' for dehydration and vomiting and were there for three days, then came home for less than a week, and he had surgery on his bum kidney and spent another three days in the hospital. Yes, he is only 5 weeks old. That is stress, but how I handle the stress is how I am defined. Most people in that given circumstance, would lay in bed every free minute they have, and feel bad for themselves, wishing that someone would come to their house and clean it for them. That's not how one should live.
The way I get through my stress is through exercise. Running is my zen. Its my one outlet that truly helps me get through some thick stuff. I wouldnt' be able to get through my most stressful days without running. I pushed my second baby out in three pushes, turned to the doctor and asked her if she could clear me to run a race that I had signed up for the following weekend (not knowing we would be pregnant at the time). She looked at me and laughed. I then went on and asked her if she was sure there was only one baby inside of me b/c I still had so much energy and adrenaline going through me that I was ready to push out a few more babies. people probably hate me for how easy my second was, but if they knew how hard my first delivery was, they would understand that I completely deserve Owen.
Oh yeah, back to running. If you haven't read the book "Run like a Mother", go buy it, and read it. Its amazing, and its the best book that will help you get off your lazy butt after having a baby, and exercise (besides reading my awesome motivating blogs). I have found that I am a better mom b/c of the "me time" I set aside and have (usually consists of running). When I get back from a run, I am clear-minded and ready to be a refreshed mom! I love my boys to DEATH, but we all need a break from our kids at times. On todays' 2.5 mile run (give me a break, I got cleared to run 3 weeks earlier than normal people do- and I need to start out slow, don't worry, I have plenty of time to train for the 1/2 marathon in June), all I could think about were my boys. I know its supposed to be "me time" but I would start laughing out loud mid stride, by some of the things Logan says. His world is so awesome, I would love to be inside his brain for a day, and Owen is such a joy, minus the sleepless night we had the night before last). My world is my boys.
But I also got to thinking about how crabby I am when I couldnt' run the first three weeks after having Owen. My husband probably took the brunt of it. But he understands my obsession. I had a 1-week follow up with my doctor due to some complications we had post-deliver, and tried to get cleared to run that day. She again, laughed at me, and said, lets compromise and say 3 weeks. I agreed. I never was a runner, EVER. I hated running. Running meant punishment in my world. I was a two sport athlete in college, soccer and basketball, and we hATED running. haha. But now I have grown to run marathons, and I LOVE running. I am not fast by any means, and I don't ever place, but its so refreshing and I do it for the challenge and sense of accomplishment.
Well, I now have a screaming baby in my lap (he said I was writing too much) and its time for my toddler to wake up since he took so long to fall asleep. I promise I will write a much more organized blog with no chaos next time.
See you soon!
Steph
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