Wednesday, July 23, 2008

From Bedreast to a 5K

Pregnant with Triplets - June '08
It is my turn to document my journey to get back in shape. For those of you that know me, I went from training for a half marathon in November '07 to cutting out all exercise after learning I was pregnant with triplets in December. My pregnancy was considered high risk and physical activity, besides taking the dog on a walk, was discouraged. I was also encouraged to gain as much weight as possible, 60-70 pounds. At the end of April '08, I ended up on bedrest until I delivered at the end of June. I was on complete bedrest, staying on my side the majority of the time for 2.5 months, 1 month of which I spent in the hospital. I gained a total of 65 pounds throughout the pregnancy. For a former personal trainer, the lack of activity was torture. However, I delivered 3 healthy beautiful babies on June 29th, 2008. They are a true blessing and worth every sacrifice I made. To see my blog of our journey from conception to choas visit: babygx3.blogspot.com.

Months of bedrest has taken a toll on my body. Today, I took my dog on a 1/4 mile walk around the neighborhood and found myself gasping for breath. The other day I did the same workout with Marcus in his stroller and had to lean into his stroller for support the whole way up the hill (aka: holding the rails on a treadmill...gasp :)) My knees hurt when I go down the stairs and my lower back aches every time I get out of bed in the morning. I am....hold your breath...completely out of shape!

I am a personal trainer...I run 10K's for fun, the pool is for swimming laps, A relaxing day is a 30 mile bike ride , and pilates and yoga are for meditation and keeping my mind clear, working out and encouraging others is my passion. Now I can honestly say to my future clients, "I have been there, I know how awful it feels to have your belly jiggle while you gasp for air walking up a hill".

I cannot wait to get back to personal training but I have to get myself back in shape first! I have decided to share my journey to rediscover my inner athlete. Within 1 week of delivery, I had lost about 40 pounds of baby and water. Since then, my weight hasn't changed much, I still have an additional 15 pounds of fat to lose and about 10 pounds of muscle to gain. More important, I need to rebuild my cardiovascular endurance and muscular strength. I have three more weeks to recover from my c-section till I can start hard workouts but even walking around the block is a challenge for me now.

The fun begins! Now it is my turn to tell myself, "stay moving!"