Well and truly Pregnant!

Hello everyone.

All my awesome intentions to keep you all up to date with what it’s like to go from full time athlete to spectator and soon-to-be Mum, have fallen by the way-side…

I’ve done as much traveling over the last 6 months as I did last year as an athlete- but harder work! Trigger Point Performance Therapy Australia (my husband and my business) has really taken off. It’s been perfect timing with my lack of training and racing commitments. But alas I have neglected this blog…

For those who subscribed to my newsletter “Charlie Talks” I’m sorry to say it died a very quick death. It took too much time, that I just didn’t have. I encourage you to instead sign up to the TriSpecific newsletter which I also write for. My husband Kristian Manietta is TriSpecific’s Head Coach and founder. It is everything triathlon, and an absolutely fantastic source of “not your typical” information! You can sign up here… www.trispecific.com .

So with all that out of the way…

I am days away from becoming a Mum. I’m very excited! It’s a wierd situation- I’m prepping for an event with a shifting start date! My “kit” bag is packed- just like race morning, and I’m just waiting for the signal to start! Hopefully I’ll be able to post some good news soon…

What have I been doing exercise- wise? It’s been in fits and starts with all the traveling. When I’ve been in the one spot I’ve managed to get into a good routine. I’ve thought of doing something every day, even if just for 30 mins, but after the 5th day I’ve fallen in a heap and needed the day off. So I honestly haven’t.

Swimming has felt fantastic the whole way through my pregnancy. Even in the first trimester when I was totally exhausted and nauseous- swimming made me feel much much better. I feel the most “normal” when I swim. I’ve probably swum up to 2kms at a time, and I could have done this more regularly. What stopped me was the traveling and the inconsistency.

Before I was pregnant I had a chest infection that was quite nasty and was doing a lot of travelling. So when I found out I was pregnant I’d already skipped a month of riding. So I just never got back on the bike- literally. Riding solo or on the CompuTrainer lost it’s appeal without a goal… So I’ve had 10 months of no riding whatsoever. Oh hang on! I did ride Kristian’s mountain bike to support him on a couple of his runs!!

Running…I ran up until I was about 6 and a half months pregnant. What stopped me again was travel and then it seemed too hard to start up again. After that I kept walking- 30 mins to a max of an hour and a half. Up to 6.5 months the belly was very solid and running felt comfortable. In the last 2 months it seemed like an awful lot of pressure to be putting on my knees! Plus the biomechanics were totally thrown out and I didn’t feel like I was doing myself any good. Walking seemed “easier” on the body. Once you get really big, it does take quite some effort to walk on some days, and I think this is plenty. Just to keep moving seems like an achievement!

I did think I was going to be “super- woman” whilst pregnant and that I’d be doing a lot lot more than I actually did. But you know priorities changed. I’m no longer so driven by my own goals, and really started thinking maternally. When that switch flicked I’m not sure?

Take care and thanks as always for reading.

Charlotte