An unexpected break...

I am still here, in blog land!! And in real life!

It is that time of year where everyone and everything is getting cray cray busy, it's getting sunnier and hotter and we all just want to be at the beach! With my last marathon only 1 month ago, and a half almost 3 weeks ago, I have been taking an unplanned break. A break from running and blogging. I am sorry if you feel deprived of my witty and exciting stories that I post on here, but there will hopefully be plenty more where that came from in the coming months.

I have been enjoying taking walks and the odd run with the buggy, which I had forgotten just how hard that was! Yeesh! Time to stop feeding the baby!! (That was a joke, please don't report me!). I have done a couple of pump classes which pretty much put me out of action for the better part of the week after but have loved it! We've also been dabbling in a bit of social summer soccer (football). Too much fun!

It has been great to let my body have a good, relaxed recovery and now I am looking ahead to some races I want to do in the new year... Exciting!

So what have I been up to, you don't ask? Well, here are some pictures to show you...

Those beautiful eyes!

An early family Christmas present - Stand up (or sit down with the baby) paddle board

This guy keeps getting cuter and so much fun!

bird feeding

Happy hikers

A spot of golf with the wee chap

Yip, it's fun times in our household at the moment. Fletch is more and more becoming so much fun. He loves the water and the outdoors (just like his Mama) and he is very sociable. Apparently it's not cool to just hang with your Mum all day long?!

We're looking forward to our first Christmas as a family of 3 and to what the new year has in store for us. I am also beginning to plan some races for next year and I am already excited about those!

What have you been up to lately? 

Do you ever take breaks from running/sports/exercising?

What are you looking forward to the most over the holidays? 

How to get through the summer months with a baby on board

Workouts so far this week: Monday - 7.5km walk - 1hr
Tuesday: 3km walk - 25mins
Wednesday: You'll love this one... "The bikini Workout" strength training workout from Woman's Health... I am sooo bikini ready now!! 3 x 8 mins with 2 mins rest in between each circuit.

Whenever I tell people my due date: 27th Feb, they all seem to say things along the lines of 'Oh no, poor you, it'll be so hot for you', and 'You're going to find it so hard in the heat' and sooo many similar things like that. It was just starting to get so ridiculous that even Tim started pointing out how everyone was down on being pregnant through the summer... Yikes!

Yes, the heat has been a little overwhelming at times, but I decided after getting all those comments that I wasn't going to just nod and agree but actually try and enjoy it - after all, there's no way around that one so may as well!

34 weeks pregnant and ready to work out! (P.S. that's our newly finished room behind me - a post to come on this soon!) 

 

Man, I am just so good at taking photos I can even do it with my eyes closed!

One of the things I love the most about being pregnant through the hot summer months is that it is really motivating me to keep active. Summer is my most favourite time to get out and active and especially being pregnant. I think if I was pregnant through the winter I would have turned into a couch potato and watched movies and soaps all day drinking hot chocolates and eating cookies and chocolate... Not a good combo!

So far I have been achieving my goal with trying to keep really active and I feel great! And there is a little thanks in there to this glorious, motivating weather too.

My belly now leads the way - I actually had to lean forward to be able to get my feet in this shot.

But what this post is actually about is how to cope, and get through the hot summer months being pregnant... For any of you that are pregnant during summer, are planning to be, or just want to read about how I do it, here you go...

1. Exercise during the cooler parts of the day - mornings and evenings are the best

   

   From my rural walk on Monday - going down a nice big hill means you have to go back up one on the other side!

2. Live on popsicles and cold drinks from the fridge

   

   Yip, I've eaten so many that I finally got a free one - Best. Day. Ever!

3. Where possible, wear the minimal amount of clothes, but when you must wear more, wear a dress. A bit awkward when the JWs come knocking and you are cruising around the house in an Ah Bra and your husband's comfiest shorts... Oops!

   

   Comfiest dress thanks to my lovely SIL - sorry about the terrible photo though!

   
   

   P.S. Wasn't going to put a photo of the first mentioned outfit in there for all of you who were asking.
   
4. Invest in a paddling pool or become best friends with either the beach, or someone who owns a swimming pool - thanks so much to my cousin who has been letting me swim in her pool - saved me!
   
5. Get a fan - it'll become your night time companion (and often day time one too)

   

   Me and my biggest fan!

6. Instead of doing a big weekly or fortnightly grocery shop, take a small trip there every day and shop as slowly as you can - supermarkets are sooo deliciously cool and enjoyable. Normally I hate grocery shopping but I love going in there now. It can even take me 20 mins just to purchase milk!
   
7. Do a lot of shopping (if the baby has left you any money) or internal window shopping (if, like in our case, it hasn't) in air conditioned shops
   
8. See movies during the day instead of at night. Yesterday I enjoyed 2 hours of Air conditioned bliss whilst watching Les Mis with my friend... Not sure which was better: the company, the AC or the movie
   
9. Go for long drives in your air conditioned car if you don't have AC at home - enjoy some scenery while you're at it
   
10. If you work (but I am not sure why you would want to) make sure your work place has excellent AC and you get a really comfy chair - if it doesn't, for crying out loud what are you doing there?!?
    
11. Get a tonne of good books or magazines and find a cool, breezy place to enjoy reading them

 

How do you get through the hot summer months - pregnant or not? Any good tips? 

What's your favourite thing about summer?