I can fly off drops, crush downhill’s, and slaughter uphill’s – but my little nuggets almost got me on my knees dreaming of piles of food and afternoon naps.
After a smooth first few weeks things started to get a bit bumpy at the start of week 6. The nausea started to kick in and the fatigue hit. It wasn’t like there was an overwhelming urge to puke or I was incapacitated and tired all the time. The feeling was more of this nagging insatiable hunger that was paired with a delightful consistent queasiness. I couldn’t think about food, and definitely couldn’t think about the good foods I normally salivate over, like Indian or a good burger, without the immediate uncomfortable roll and gurgle of my stomach. At the same time, all I could think about was food. Because I was hungry. Always hungry. I found myself dreaming of plain couscous, apple sauce, pirogues and saltine crackers. All the foods that had barely any more flavor than toasted cardboard. And even with my food thoughts focused on the bland variety, It’s not like these foods would satisfy my hunger cravings at any time, it was very dependent on the day, the time of day and what I wanted in that exact moment! One lunch couscous was the best thing ever found to consume in the world ever, the next day I couldn’t even look at it!
One of my saviors over the course of my pregnancy thus far is the smoothie! I have decided that without a doubt, beyond all other things, the smoothie is one of the most magical parts of my diet. It is easy to drink, oh so nice and cold, a great source of fruits and veggies, and my tummy likes them a lot!
As an athlete I am always aware of my diet, though being a pregnant athlete brought that awareness to a new level. It became even more important to get all the right nutrients, ample calories to not only keep myself and the baby safe but to also fuel the workouts I was doing, and of course there was the added challenge of morning sickness. So how can you possibly get all the the right nutrients when more than half the things you should be eating may you want to hurl!? My answer, eat what you can and when you can, and add in a variety of smoothies to the daily meal plan! Everything is different, but during the journey of bringing a new life into the world you just have to roll with all the changes and figure out what works best for you.
Now let’s talk training. Up until a few days prior to week 6 my training wasn’t really effected at all. But week 6 hit, my food aversions, the immense desire to nap every afternoon around 1-2pm, and my training took on more of a day to day approach. Our goal throughout my entire pregnancy is to maintain fitness as much as possible so we can start of 2021 with a new baby and some killer intervals to get ready for the World Cup calendar. That being said, the most important thing is to focus on my health and the health of our little nugget inside me, and that means listening to my body more than ever before and literally taking it day by day. So that’s exactly what we did. I am lucky to be married to my coach, so he not only gets my daily report of how I’m feeling, he can physically look at me every morning, night and in between, he knows what I’m able to eat, and just understands me so well to know when we can push and when we need to rest. It has been extremely important over these past few weeks as we are able to monitor fatigue, freshness, and overall feeling at a scientific level and we are using everything we have to make the most of each training day all while staying safe. As we progress into my 2nd trimester (from what I have heard, the most enjoyable trimester) I will keep everyone updated on how my training changes and progresses! Until then, a virtual smoothie cheers!
Alaina Casioppo 