A Case of the Runs

Now that pregnancy seems infinitely long ago and I can't remember what it felt like to lug around 30 extra pounds, I thought I'd share some of the "things" that made the experience just a little bit easier. I should preface this by adding, you don't really need any of this, just as you don't really need most of the stuff I review here for running and fitness.  But stuff is fun to talk about, right? 1) Burt's Bees Mama Bee Belly Butter There is no real defense against stretch marks, of course, but it did make me feel better to put something on my sensitive stretched skin that seemed natural. Plus, it kind of became a ritual.  After I had the baby, I felt a little nostalgic as I would rub on the last bits of my third jar on my post-partum belly. Did it work?  Well, I used it from 9 weeks on and didn't get any stretch marks until the last few weeks, and those are the kind that I think I wouldn't scrutinize over too much because they kind of...

Although splurging on gadgets during my maternity leave is not the greatest idea, I had a trigger finger and a gift card that led me to be a proud new owner of a FitBit Charge HR . I debated this purchase, for sure. I already don't run long enough to wear my Garmin . I have accomplished my goal of running 5k without stopping, albeit slowly and painfully, so my phone is my new tracker there. I ended up selling my heart rate monitor , since I was tired of the batteries dying and dealing with a chest strap. With my little guy hitting three months, my maternity leave is ending, and so exercising is even harder to make time for because I'm making up for lost time together when I'm not at work. I restarted the T-25 program, and after a week of it took me two weeks to finish, I realized that structured exercise isn't easy. Still, I'm having trouble with my work clothes fitting, and thus, daily activities are probably going to be main exercise for a while...

A while back, I was tagged in a post by Cindy , and as behind as I am on posting my version of it, I still wanted to fill it out. Luckily, you'll be spared of links because I still haven't moved forward from blogging from my phone yet (soon, I hope!). 1) What is my current health related goal? I'd like to be able to run a 5k straight without stopping. Pathetically, this is tough for me, though I've only tried twice postpartum. I'm pooping out at around the 2-point-something mile point. Oh, how the mighty have fallen.  Along with everything else, my lungs took a hit after Baby Tuesday's birth. I didn't follow instructions and do the lung exercises I was told to do in the hospital because I was nauseated and frankly forgot. In the weeks after we came home, I was told I snored, which is not normal for me. One night, I woke up mid-snore and realized it was fluid in my lungs. Luckily, it cleared on its own eventually. Of course, months of lower impa...