I'm still running...

Last Friday I tried to run but it just didn't feel quite right.  I felt a bit of pinching and pain in my right upper glute area.  So I did a few walk/run intervals and then spent the rest of my time on the elliptical.  

At over 21 weeks pregnant, I suppose it's bound to happen.  Days where I need to adjust my plan, pull back and take it easier.  

You might think that since I can be kind of hard core about exercise, that this would be hard for me.  But it's really not.  I'm thoroughly enjoying this stage of exercise.  My priority is this beautiful little miracle growing inside me.  It's a relief and a privilege for me to exercise without added pressures of a race or a fitness goal. I actually feel like for me, pregnancy is a time to build up reserves of fitness intensity, so that when the time is right, I'll have these reserves to call upon.   

After seeing my chiropractor and massage therapist I felt a lot better on the treadmill today and ran for 30 minutes.  Then I did 20 minutes elliptical and some upper body strength training.  One thing I have lots of these days is TIME, with both my kids in school all day.  I usually spend my mornings at the gym, taking my time doing cardio, strength training, spin class, yoga or whatever else I feel like that day.  It's as much a social and emotional need that is filled, as it is a physical.  The gym has become my place to visit with other women and be around people.  It's a fun environment for me to spend some of that time.

I'm also still teaching boot camps and doing some personal training.  I love my boot camp girls (yep, that's you if you're reading this) and I enjoy sharing some of my love of fitness.  I know lots of people exercise because they feel like they should or because they want to lose weight but I love seeing a shift in people where they also exercise because they start to LOVE IT.  Not just as a chore but as something they might even call FUN.  I feel like the same shift can happen with eating.  Where you start to eat healthy because you love how that food tastes and you love nourishing your body.  When these shifts happen, healthy living is no longer a burden but a joy and a privilege.  Truly, these bodies of ours are amazing miracles and caring for them is one of the greatest challenges but also the greatest opportunities of LIFE.