I decided to wait a little bit longer this week to post an update because it was a pretty uneventful week (worked full time and didn't have any appointments), and I knew that I'd actually have stuff to talk about if I waited till Sunday.
Monday was wonderful; filled with family, food, and games. Just the kind of rest we needed. And yet despite having a shortened work week, this week felt really, really long. The work was great (got to make music with some really talented kids!), I'm just getting more and more tired. But I'm happy to report fewer nightmares this week, so that is definitely a win.
What really kept me busy this week was catching up on my miles. For about 3 years now I've been doing fitness challenges through a company based in California called Tone It Up. I talked about them a few posts back, but basically their fall fitness challenge has a charity focus. We each get to choose a charity that means something to us and during the challenge we are encouraged to raise money for our cause. Weekly workout check-in winners receive a $200USD donation to their charity! In addition there is #100forcharity challenge where over the 8 weeks of the challenge we are encouraged to run, bike, climb stairs, or dance your way to 100 miles. Of course, being the over-achiever that I am, I opted for the 150 mile challenge. Needless to say, I was a few miles behind where I needed to be in order to complete this in time. We're 4 weeks in now which means I needed to have at least 75 miles under my belt. So all week I've been coming home from work, taking a 30 minute nap, and then heading to the gym to get in my miles. And I'm happy to report that as of today I am all caught up!
Monday was wonderful; filled with family, food, and games. Just the kind of rest we needed. And yet despite having a shortened work week, this week felt really, really long. The work was great (got to make music with some really talented kids!), I'm just getting more and more tired. But I'm happy to report fewer nightmares this week, so that is definitely a win.
What really kept me busy this week was catching up on my miles. For about 3 years now I've been doing fitness challenges through a company based in California called Tone It Up. I talked about them a few posts back, but basically their fall fitness challenge has a charity focus. We each get to choose a charity that means something to us and during the challenge we are encouraged to raise money for our cause. Weekly workout check-in winners receive a $200USD donation to their charity! In addition there is #100forcharity challenge where over the 8 weeks of the challenge we are encouraged to run, bike, climb stairs, or dance your way to 100 miles. Of course, being the over-achiever that I am, I opted for the 150 mile challenge. Needless to say, I was a few miles behind where I needed to be in order to complete this in time. We're 4 weeks in now which means I needed to have at least 75 miles under my belt. So all week I've been coming home from work, taking a 30 minute nap, and then heading to the gym to get in my miles. And I'm happy to report that as of today I am all caught up!
The charity I have chosen to support for this challenge is the Western Canadian Children's Heart Network. It's a mouthful, I know. Because of baby's heart defect I knew I wanted to choose a charity that would support neonatal heart care, but I didn't know where to go. Heart and Stroke Foundation is great, but it's such a wide umbrella I knew the money wasn't going to go specifically to neonatal heart research. Likewise, Variety of Hearts does great work but a lot of money goes into family care. Don't get me wrong, it is absolutely valuable work and touches so many lives! But I wanted the money I raised to go into research specifically. It's because of current research that my baby has the chance to live a normal life after operation. Consider the fact that when these procedures were first being done 25 years ago, there was only about 20% survival rate and complications to watch for throughout the rest of their lives. Now, there is a 95% success rate with few to no complications later in life. So I started with the research and worked backwards to find out who it was and where they receive funding. That's when I found the WCCHN.
Looking back through all the papers I got when baby was first diagnosed I did get a brochure on the organization, but we were so overwhelmed at that point that it didn't really stick with me at the time. So for a little bit of background on who the WCCHN are and what they do here's a quick introduction I took from there website.
Looking back through all the papers I got when baby was first diagnosed I did get a brochure on the organization, but we were so overwhelmed at that point that it didn't really stick with me at the time. So for a little bit of background on who the WCCHN are and what they do here's a quick introduction I took from there website.
The Western Canadian Children’s Heart Network was established to link expertise between the five Pediatric Cardiac Centres and improve inter-provincial cooperation and partnership. The WCCHN spans more than 4-million square kilometers and serves a population of over 11 million. Pediatric Cardiac Surgical services are regionalized at two of the Network’s five centres, BC Children’s Hospital in Vancouver and Stollery Children’s Hospital in Edmonton.
The core function of the Network is to coordinate and integrate care for Pediatric Cardiac Patients across the Western Canadian provinces. The Network encourages cooperation in education and clinical practice, supports research efforts, and advocates for the continual improvement of pediatric cardiac care services across the four western provinces. Collaboration among the WCCHN partners ensures that pediatric cardiac patients in Western Canada have access to the highest standard of pediatric cardiac care.
The core function of the Network is to coordinate and integrate care for Pediatric Cardiac Patients across the Western Canadian provinces. The Network encourages cooperation in education and clinical practice, supports research efforts, and advocates for the continual improvement of pediatric cardiac care services across the four western provinces. Collaboration among the WCCHN partners ensures that pediatric cardiac patients in Western Canada have access to the highest standard of pediatric cardiac care.
If you're interested in making a donation to the WCCHN you can do so by clicking the link to the Stollery Children's Hospital Foundation. Click the link to donate on the top right corner of the page: under "DESIGNATION" select "OTHER" and type in "WCCHN".
And if you'd like to follow my fitness journey you can find me on instagram @melissahart8 or click the instagram logo at the top of this page.
And if you'd like to follow my fitness journey you can find me on instagram @melissahart8 or click the instagram logo at the top of this page.
BUMP-DATE
Today was definitely the crowning moment of my week. Today I ran my last half marathon of this pregnancy, and what a journey it has been. I'm 31 weeks tomorrow but you better believe I'm counting it today! haha! I've learned so much about myself and what I am capable of by running throughout my pregnancy. I ran the Full Marathon in Fargo, ND with my mom (her first full marathon - GO MOM!) at 7 weeks pregnant, the Manitoba Half Marathon at 14 weeks pregnant, the Dinosaur Half in Drumheller at 26 weeks pregnant, and finally the WFPS Half Marathon today at "31". During the full in the spring I helped my mom and ran her pace, encouraging her every step of the way. Today, it was me who needed her. I hurt everywhere. Between the injury, exhaustion, and Braxton Hicks contractions that made my belly feel like I was carrying an overblown basket ball under my shirt, this was hands down the hardest race I've ever run in my life. I was done at mile 7. But my mom stayed with me and kept me going mentally and physically. I gave it everything I had. And when I wasn't enough on my own, my mom helped to pick me up and kept me going. They had a PR bell at the end of the race which you could ring if you set a PR. I was no where near my PR, but my mom insisted I ring the bell because I finished it, and, quite frankly, it was the slowest half marathon I've ever run. PR on the opposite end of the spectrum (2:40.18), but also a personal record for running this far along in pregnancy. And I'm not done yet! I'll still maintain my running on my own and I have one last 5k race coming up in December. Lesson to take away from today, when you get overwhelmed by how far you still have to go, slow it down and just run the mile you're in. One mile at a time, you will get there.
PS - I nicknamed my K-taped stomach "Bionic Belly". I don't think Baby Burns was a fan of it though. He pushed against the tape as soon as I put it on! lol. But it was a life saver during the run so I don't regret it for a moment.
Today was definitely the crowning moment of my week. Today I ran my last half marathon of this pregnancy, and what a journey it has been. I'm 31 weeks tomorrow but you better believe I'm counting it today! haha! I've learned so much about myself and what I am capable of by running throughout my pregnancy. I ran the Full Marathon in Fargo, ND with my mom (her first full marathon - GO MOM!) at 7 weeks pregnant, the Manitoba Half Marathon at 14 weeks pregnant, the Dinosaur Half in Drumheller at 26 weeks pregnant, and finally the WFPS Half Marathon today at "31". During the full in the spring I helped my mom and ran her pace, encouraging her every step of the way. Today, it was me who needed her. I hurt everywhere. Between the injury, exhaustion, and Braxton Hicks contractions that made my belly feel like I was carrying an overblown basket ball under my shirt, this was hands down the hardest race I've ever run in my life. I was done at mile 7. But my mom stayed with me and kept me going mentally and physically. I gave it everything I had. And when I wasn't enough on my own, my mom helped to pick me up and kept me going. They had a PR bell at the end of the race which you could ring if you set a PR. I was no where near my PR, but my mom insisted I ring the bell because I finished it, and, quite frankly, it was the slowest half marathon I've ever run. PR on the opposite end of the spectrum (2:40.18), but also a personal record for running this far along in pregnancy. And I'm not done yet! I'll still maintain my running on my own and I have one last 5k race coming up in December. Lesson to take away from today, when you get overwhelmed by how far you still have to go, slow it down and just run the mile you're in. One mile at a time, you will get there.
PS - I nicknamed my K-taped stomach "Bionic Belly". I don't think Baby Burns was a fan of it though. He pushed against the tape as soon as I put it on! lol. But it was a life saver during the run so I don't regret it for a moment.