Content warning: discusses pregnancy
A couple of weeks ago, I went out for a run and it felt great. I did my usual 6k loop in the same amount of time I’d managed to keep up throughout the second trimester of my pregnancy. A few days later, I had to cut the same run short after 5k because I was getting uncomfortable. And then, last Sunday, I got as far as the bottom of the hill from my house before having to stop. The muscles and ligaments in my belly were uncomfortably tight and I was in more pain than I was willing to push through. As I was walking home, the pain went away, but I realised that perhaps running was over for me. I’d made it to what was officially the first day of my third trimester.
I was a bit bummed and sad, I’ll be honest. Given that just a week and a half earlier, I’d been able to run just fine, I was surprised at how quickly things had changed. There was a sense of loss that I hadn’t been quite prepared for. I consider myself a runner, but running isn’t my main sport, so I was astonished how much the thought of not being able to run any more bothered me.
The thing is: in times of Corona and pregnancy, with both swimming and bouldering out of the question and cycling to be approached with some care and trepidation, running had become my main sport. It was now the thing I turned to for clearing my head and getting peace of mind, and now it’s gone for the time being. I may still give walking with running intervals a try just to see how it goes, but I’m fully prepared to have to stick to walking.
Photo by Jonathan Chng on Unsplash
But it’s not all bad news! The same day, I learned that pools in my area were going to open back up. Next week, 17 June, is opening day for the first public open air swimming pool in our town! And then the next day, I learned that my lifeguarding club was getting back into action this coming Tuesday! We have a mind-boggling set of hygiene and distancing rules to follow, but I’ll happily obey them. Most (though not quite all) of them make sense. And it actually feels safe. We’re lucky enough to have so few cases of Covid-19 where I live now that I think it’ll be ok. Who knows, I may yet end up eating my own words, but for now things are looking up.
I’ve missed swimming so much, I’m beyond excited. I. CANNOT. WAIT. to get back into the pool!
I haven’t swum since mid-March, which was when everything around here closed down. That was early in the second trimester for me. I had only barely begun to show. The last training session before the lockdown was when I told all my teammates I was pregnant. So things will certainly be different when I get back in the water. But I’m so excited! Considering that a few weeks ago there was a real possibility I wouldn’t be able to swim at all before I’m due, this is an immense improvement. And it’ll give me an outlet and a way of being active instead of running, hopefully right up until the end. I’ll report on how it went next week!
