This week I get to start counting down in single figures until my expected due date!  It also means that I am finding everyday tasks hard, especially with the current heat. I’ve given quite a lot of thought to the training plan I will need to follow over the next year for when I return to running.  I also realise I can’t start this until the new year but it is good to have something to think about whist I am far from my normal active self.  It is important not to take on too much too soon and it will involve a very slow build-up of mileage.  It is recommended that when you start your training plan, you are not to increase mileage by more than 10% a week to help avoid overuse injuries.  It is also important to develop the speed element of running before stamina.  This means that from the beginning of my training plan I must include interval training sessions as well as strength sessions before I can contemplate increasing millage to any distance that will help with marathon running.

This week I’ve tried to walk most days but I can really feel myself slowing down.  Even working has started to become tiring.  Tiredness effects us all eventually at different times, I can’t remember being this tired with my daughter, but I am assured I was.  I am also assured that I am trying to do much more this time around!  Many ladies suffer from pubic symphysis disorder (SPD) during their pregnancies.  I’ve been lucky so far with both of mine not to have suffered with this (touch wood).  It is a painful condition affecting the pelvic area which can be at the front of the pelvis or the rear, or both if you are really unlucky!  As the pregnancy progresses, hormones that help with the birthing process relax of the smooth muscle and ligamentous tissue in the body, allowing the pelvic girdle to widen to allow the baby to pass through at birth.  However this can cause a great deal of discomfort in the lead up to the birth, and in the worst cases it can leave the mother immobile and in a lot of pain, making it hard to carry out the simplest of tasks such as walking.  There are many different techniques we as therapists can do to help with these issues.  Mobilisations to the back and sacrum can help. Simple stretching can also help take the strain out of the adductors to reduce the pain at the front of the pubic bone.  We can also apply various tapping techniques with k-tape or rock tape to help lift the bump, which are much more comfortable that the belts provided by the NHS.  We can also provide you with the correct and gentile exercises to help with this terrible condition. I’ve got my staff on standby but hopefully I won’t need them for this!

This week I was devastated to find out that my daily two mile walk was actually only 1.75 miles. And as it takes me 45 minutes at the moment, I am starting to think it’s almost better for the dogs to run around in the garden as they would get more exercise! That aside, it’s better than sitting on the sofa.  Plus it’s helping with my restless leg syndrome that many pregnant women get.

I also encountered the “strangers walking up to you and touching the bump syndrome”! For those of you who have been there, you know what I am talking about. For those of you who haven’t, let me explain. It’s when a total stranger walks up to you, touches your bump and then comments of your size. This isn’t always welcome, and as most pregnant women know, you feel insecure, highly emotional, and probably slightly neurotic! So total strangers walking up to you, touching you, then commenting on how big you are, isn’t the best feeling. I’m hoping the grumpy phase passes soon…….

This week I’ve still managed my two mile walk on most days. I’m starting to feel the need to slow down as I enter the third trimester and find myself growing larger. A back, neck and shoulder massage helped greatly from Kate  at the Chester branch, but I’m still feeling quite a few aches and pains as most pregnant people do.

This week I’ve given a lot of thought to running the marathon next year. There is also a lot of mental preparation that goes into running as well as the physical exertion – 26 miles is a long way! There is no kidding the body that it’s just a short trip around the block, the mind must be prepared for the long and mental battle that a marathon brings. The last two long races I did back in 2007 I approached very differently. The 20 miles I ran in 2hours 15minutes, I broke down into two mile segments, which mentally worked wonders for me.  With the marathon however, I was already plagued with injury and didn’t approach it in such a positive way, which left me struggling towards the end. The mind wanders a lot when running, and focusing it really helps!  There are many different mental techniques all of which we can help you with here at Anatomy, and working out what went wrong in your last race is one of them!

This week, I’m starting to feel like the size of house. That said, I still managed my 2 mile walk each day and swimming on Tuesday.  I’ve managed to eat healthily all week, making sure I have at least 5 portions of fruit and vegetables a day.  I’m starting to find it difficult to eat big meals so by making them smaller and adding in healthy snacks I’m making sure me and the baby get the right nutritional intake.  My mid morning snack has become mixed berries and yogurt giving me at least two portions of fruit added into my diet, as well as it being a good source of antioxidants.

I’ve also been experiencing bad headaches again this week.  This is something I normally suffer with but with the hormones and the heat they have been out of control again!  As medication is limited, I saw Tina the acupuncturist in our Manchester branch.  With a few needles in my face, arms and feet she managed to clear the constant banging feeling in my head after 20 minutes. It doesn’t work this quickly for most people, a few sessions is always needed, but it is an amazing alternative to western medicine with some brilliant non-contraindicated results in pregnancy.

Well, I’m guessing I started this blog at a silly time, right after my holiday. The first holiday for 3 years that is.  Apart from eating half a stone of pancakes (they were for the baby honest) I still managed to walk most days trying to get my 30 minutes of exercise in – the amount they recommend during pregnancy.  I’ve been suffering with very painful thighs and some sciatic back pain.  After a couple of sessions of gentle mobilisation and soft tissue massage from the girls at Anatomy I was able to sleep much better.  Its recommended that you don’t sleep on your back but on your side, but so far the extra two stone I’ve put on doesn’t quite agree to sleeping on my side for very long, but the massages definitely helped.

Since returning from holiday I’ve been walking two miles a day at a steady pace.  It’s a mixture of trying to keep fit, balanced with not over doing it, especially in this heat.  All contact sport and impact sport is out so trying to find something gentle, fun and that leaves you slightly out of breath is quite hard (I’m not a yoga type of person).  Swimming is a great exercise, I tried it on Tuesday however I found it quite hard to stretch out and I ended up sinking!  They do many Aqua-natal aerobic classes around my area, next week I intend to try this.  As for my marathon choice, I’m looking to you for ideas?  I’m thinking Berlin in 2015.  What would you suggest?