Day 5 of being grateful: That place I go to sweat

Today I am grateful for:

The Gym

Not being able to run has been quite a challenge for me mentally. Not only is it my passion and an innate part of who I am, but pregnancy is a time when your body is not your own- a tiny little baby owns your every function! It is the most beautiful and miraculous thing I have ever been through and I am beyond loving it!  Feeling the kicks (that are now like hard jabs!) and seeing my stomach move is so surreal! 

However, I will be completely honest with you.  It is still hard to see the scale creep higher and higher! Actually that's a lie because I don't ever look at the scale. I step on the scale backwards at the doctors because I don't want my pregnancy to be about that number. I want it to be about how I feel and about making sure baby is healthy. He's growing on track and that's what is important! If I'm hungry, I eat. If I crave ice cream, I eat it - in moderation.  And if I crave pickles, I usually eat 5. :) Someone asked me the other day how many pounds I've gained. I laughed. That's not what growing a life is about and I hope no pregnant woman out there believes it is! There is so much pressure to keep the weight gain low but what is most important is to provide a good foundation for little bambino!  (That doesn't mean I don't have to remind myself that the body is resilient and bounces right back after being pregnant!) :)

So that is why today I am grateful for the gym. The elliptical, bike, pool, and weights help me feel strong and also help me know I'm keeping baby healthy!

Gym Culture

Oh Mr. Elliptical... how I haven't missed you. Since my running has been (mostly) feeling better the last two months, I've been on an elliptical strike because... well... it's probably the most boring workout ever. It's been a few weeks since I last did the elliptical and I wish I could say that today's workout was super fun, but it turns out its still as boring as I remember!

I decided to take today off from running because I'm going to try a longish run tomorrow to see how my hamstring feels. This little race called the Boston Marathon is in just 9 days and I'm starting to get a little nervous about this lingering pain. We'll see how tomorrow goes!

While on the elliptical, the only thing that kept me going was thinking of Banana Cream Pie. This gym tortures you by playing Food Network's "The Best Thing I Ever Ate" while attempting to get in a solid workout. The "best cream pie Bobby Flay ever ate" was a pie with 3 decadent layers of banana/creamy custard in a graham cracker crust. Pretty sure I'll be making that in the near future. Paula Deen came on after that and thanks to her I'll be dreaming about butter-soaked everything all day :)

It's hard to hold your hand still on the elliptical and take a picture without looking creepy.
That's supposed to be a delicious cream pie.

After drooling and sweating for an hour on the elliptical, I decided to try something new.  Thanks to Janae at Hungry Runner Girl, I was inspired to give the Rowing Machine a shot.  One word: OW.  Holy burning muscles.  My glutes, traps, biceps, hands, and even my eyeballs were screaming at me.  (The eyeballs mainly because I was dripping sweat into them.)  I am officially hooked on rowing and will be incorporating it as my cross training at least once a week.  If you are an injured runner and want to get a workout "high" like you get from running, you must try rowing.  I promise you'll love it.

Love.

While rowing my heart out, I had the perfect people-watching spot.  And you know what?  The gym is a funny place.

Here are some of my favorite parts of gym culture:

1.) I have decided gyms hold an international conference and must sign an agreement that they will not turn on AC. Ever. Oh it's 80 degrees and there are no fans? You wanted to sweat while standing still, right?

2.) The matchy-matchy outfits. I wish I had that much coordination. My workout clothes are usually picked out in the dark and I end up look like a rainbow threw up on me.

3.) The infamous grunters. Need I say more?

4.) Those that drink coffee or eat snacks while working out. That's one tough stomach.

5.) Those that are wearing so many layers they look like they're about to embark on an Antarctic expedition. Please reference number 1. I'm no doctor... but I don't think you actually burn more calories by wearing your down coat. You will lose weight, but it's all in sweat.

6.) The milk jugs used as a water bottle.  How many hours are you planning on working out?

7.) Mirrors everywhere.  There's nothing like seeing yourself dripping sweat, red-faced, and out-of-breath to increase self-confidence and body-image.

8.) That curly haired girl from Alaska in mismatching clothes that always brings in stacks of paper and notecards to study. Does she not have a life? (No, the answer is no.... but soon she will after the PANCE!)

:) It's a funny place.  But you know what?  Regardless of outfit, workout technique, or surroundings, it was pretty awesome to see everyone working out at the gym bright and early on a Saturday morning! Definitely a great way to start the weekend!

Do any of you have favorite a favorite part of being a gym-goer?

And now back to my entertainment for the rest of the day....

At least I have Ashley to keep me company!