Paddling through
PREGNANCY
( and back again !)
Words : Alexandra Tyrer Pics : Marcus Ginns , Adrian Lomas , Ilostawavein79 & Vern Hill We all have our personal stories of 2020 ; for me , it was about giving SUP racing my best shot . The year got off to an unexpectedly good start - in January , I finished eighth lady in the bucket list SUP event , the ‘ GlaGla ’ on Lake Annecy , France . I returned home ready for more race action , but the year quickly got turned on its head as the Covid pandemic hit ; however , the other thing I hadn ’ t accounted for was getting pregnant .
Over the following pages , I ’ ll share my experience and insight of my pre and post-natal journeys and how I paddled through pregnancy and back again , not once but twice !
Paddling & purpose
We ’ d been trying to get pregnant for a few years , but with no success , we ’ d resigned ourselves to the fact that it just wasn ’ t going to happen , and we were cool with that . So when I took a pregnancy test in early May 2020 , I was gobsmacked to read ‘ pregnant ’ - being a single-minded character , one of my first thoughts was , “ But what about my training and racing plans ?”
I had concerns that being a parent would change who I was ; I was concerned that it would limit what I could do and dilute my identity . On reflection , this is so far from the truth , and if anything , it strengthened my identity and reinforced my purpose to paddle and generally live an active life .
Pre-baby prep
As we lapsed in and out of lockdowns during 2020 , with varying degrees of restrictions , I seized the opportunity to get out on the water when permitted . I found paddling granted me freedom as the movement pattern of SUP allowed me to work around bump .
I also used our home gym to follow a self-prescribed strength and conditioning programme that I did a couple of times each week to help maintain functional strength and flexibility . With a set of weights , a medicine ball , resistance bands and a broomstick , I could do a comprehensive all-body workout that I adapted as I progressed through my trimesters .
Pregnant or not , I had to adapt and modify my training due to the lockdown . This is an excellent lesson as it ’ s too easy to stick to the old routine , which stifles progress . I mixed things up , which physically helped me to maintain my general fitness but mentally kept me hungry and focused on my return postpartum .
I paddled on the lake consistently once or twice a week until I was around eight months pregnant . I progressively became slower as Bump became more prominent , plus there were other things that required my attention , like a major home renovation ( extreme nesting ) project ! The final month of pregnancy was about keeping moving and doing what I could ; after all , my body was working hard , carrying around an extra 10kg , so walking and continuing my home routine with bodyweight-only exercises was the order of the day .
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