Comparables

Since my reference levels of "normal" and "fit" have been somewhat distorted lately, I have made up my own definitions. And by my standards, I've been feeling pretty good fitness-wise. I do realize I'm only three quarters of the way into this pregnancy.

Side note: It occurred to me that I only started getting a real belly at 20ish weeks, which was 10 weeks ago, and have expanded rapidly since then. With 10 more weeks to go, I'm expecting at least that much more expansion. I'm religiously applying the Burt's Bees honey flavored scented belly balm, even if there is no evidence for it. It makes me crave baklava.

So back to feeling good about myself. I was chatting with a guy who told me about his friend's wife who got third in a major metropolis's marathon 3 DAYS after giving birth. Yeah yeah, so you say she is an elite runner and was running 10 miles a day through pregnancy, but THREE DAYS? Did you get "days" confused with "weeks" or even "months"? Still impressive, but really, does she not have a sane and caring husband that prohibited her from this? No doubt she went against any reasonable medical advice. I guess that pregnancy brain + postpartum hormonal thing really did her in.

Then of course there was the woman who ran/walked a marathon then gave birth that night, at 38 weeks. she says she ran about half, walked the other half, and finished in around 6:30. I obviously have no issues about running while pregnant. I just can't imagine doing something that boring. I've spent over 6 hours on a marathon course (at least Coeur d'Alene is beautiful), and I wonder why you'd want to do it on purpose? I don't need to prove that I can do 26 miles during these 9 months; I'm pretty sure I could if I wanted to. But why?

I read of women back in the '70s from the Eastern Bloc countries who competed in the Olympics in their first trimesters. I couldn't find any good proof of this. All I can think is, that combined with the drugs they were supposedly forcing on these athletes makes me scared for those poor babies. Recently, though, there was another better documented pregnant Olympian. A Canadian curler was 5 1/2 months pregnant when she was to be an alternate on the team. I don't claim to know much about curling, but it doesn't appear to be affected by extra weight, a larger waistband, or fatigue that could alter the speed, endurance, or balance of other types of athletes. The article says she is the third known competitor at the Games, preceded by a figure skater 90 years ago, and a skeleton rider(?) sledder(?) a few years ago. The latter must've been early in pregnancy, lying on her stomach on a hard surface while speeding headfirst through icy chutes.

Despite stories like these, I'm still feeling fit with my 25 miles a week of running with some spinning a swimming and maybe a little weight lifting thrown in. While my abdominals are getting nice and loose and stretchy, my leg muscles may even be seeing some strength gains from just running under these extra pounds. I'm using my weight and the extra drag all to my benefit. I'll be lighter, stronger, and faster by summer. It's almost guaranteed.

My pool buoy. The lifeguard told me that I don't need the one between my knees anymore. My rear end floats just fine.