DON’T PUSH
This is the next most vital point that I picked up along the way. Function within your limits and don’t try any new sport or activity for the first time. This is of paramount importance! Pregnancy is not the time to push yourself. Do not do it. One of the best pieces of advice I came across online was from a professional triathlete. She said one day in her first trimester she was so exhausted with that bone-deep fatigue that only an expectant mother knows that she couldn’t get out of bed. She was due to train that afternoon and she had this inner turmoil, do I push through the tiredness and train or do I succumb to it. And the answer is always, SUCCUMB to it!! It seems counter intuitive to an athlete to not force themselves to train to levels of exhaustion and beyond. Coaches, when you’re not pregnant, will tell you to break through the pain and the tiredness, to train on, and that becomes ingrained into your sub consciousness. But absolutely do NOT apply that mentality to exercise when you’re pregnant. You are tired for a reason, you are building a human. Give yourself a break and accept that the energy you would have expended in your training session is now being applied to forming the architecture of a human being. That is in itself a pretty
hard-core workout!
IT’S COMPLICATED
It obviously goes without saying that for many woman pregnancies are complicated. I myself had hyperemesis gravidarum (basically non-stop puking for 7 weeks) at the beginning and had to be hospitalised. Other woman experience bleeding, high blood pressure, diabetes etc. and these conditions need to be taken seriously and of course in those circumstances you need to strictly tailor your activities based on what your medical professional advises. Again these are certainly not circumstances to be pushing yourself or trying something new for the first time. But for the most part, what I have learned is to listen to your body, take every day as it comes, enjoy the changes and challenges and try to normalise the situation as best you can. You are still you at the end of the day!
WATER TIME
So what did I do about my precious water time? Well I ruled out high wind windsurfing from the very beginning. That was a personal choice. Having a tight “harness” around my waist and putting myself in a position where I was moving at up to 30 km/hr. with the propensity to fall hard and crash onto my equipment was a risk I didn’t want to take. Albeit a very personal one and I’m sure many woman have windsurfed pregnant before. Surfing a regular short board and longboard in the prone position was something I felt comfortable to do up until about 14 weeks. When prone surfing became too uncomfortable, I could rely on my favourite watercraft – my trusty SUPs. Again, because it was an exercise my body was well honed and tuned to performing it never felt like I was putting any strain on my physique. Gliding on the water and getting in for a swim is what kept me sane for 9 months. Catching small waves and that feeling of weightlessness must be akin to what my little baby felt as she cruised the amniotic seas of my womb. It just felt so natural. I made a point to never get overheated or too cold, both of which put undue strain on the foetus and also to never get my heart rate up to the point where I was overly breathless. All very salient points of advice I picked up from medical professionals along the way. I continued to grow and by the time my little lady was one week overdue I was thankfully still able to take to the water and cruise along on a serene stretch of Donegal water thanks to the extra girth of my husband’s wetsuit and his awesome 9’8” Starboard SUP (my wetsuit had long been tossed into the “way too small pile” along with my neat 7’4” Starboard pro SUP!).
MUM TIME
I am now facing the next stage of this life challenge, being a Mum! My idealistic plan to get back on the water within hours of delivery was side-lined to a few slow weeks of recovery from an emergency caesarean section but I applied my mantra of listening to my body and let the healing take its course. I may have windsurfed and surfed in some of the world’s most demanding environments but already I know that being a Mum is going to be the most testing yet rewarding wave of my life.
“ Pregnancy is not an illness. You are not infirm. You do not need to go into confinement. ”