I've seen it asked a few times: which is harder, running a marathon or childbirth? Well, I've now run a marathon and I've definitely tried my hand at childbirth (5 times, no pain relief). So...which is harder? There are some things that are similar: ~ it hurts ~ it goes on for ages ~ it really, really hurts ~ the pain is bad And then the differences: ~ baby vs medal ~ where the pain is ~ choice/opting out 5 Rewards of LabourIn terms of the pain, when I ran the marathon I was in fiery, burning agony from my hips downwards for about 3 hours. Luckily for me, I had fairly speedy labours every time (a couple of them a bit too speedy, but that's another story). So 3 hours of agony is pretty comparable. For me. For many women, labour lasts multiples of this time. Also, in labour (despite what people may think) the pain can be fairly constant, it just has waves of being far worse with periods of less bad pain. There were times in both when I felt like giving up. The main difference here is, obviously, that you can quit a marathon, having a baby happens however much you want to abandon the effort! It did take a massive amount of mental strength to keep going when I was in that much pain. That said, although you can't "give up" in childbirth, you can make it easier on yourself with a positive mental attitude. Then, of course, there's the "finish line" - when you cross one, you get a new human being. The other, well - maybe you become a new human being, but realistically it's a medal and a protein bar plus another bottle of water. The verdict? Well given the fact that I would never willingly do either again, but I've got 5 kids, that would point to childbirth being easier, but I don't think it is. Boringly, I'd put them pretty much level. What do you think? "After" Photos (one very candid!)
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I think I (accidentally) picked a very good time to have an "easy" week - we are now in the middle of a mini-heatwave, with temperatures peaking at around 31 degrees today (and still around that even now it's evening!). This morning I went for my little mile-and-a-bit run around the local housing estate (slightly better than it sounds) and was extremely glad not to be going any further. Most of the rest of the day was spent at a local country park with Pickle, who had a whale of a time in their splash pad and sandpit, including making friends with lots of little people! In fact there was one little boy (around 18 months) who took a real shine to him and followed him around for about 2 hours, taking his hand and leading him where he "needed" to go. The little boy's mum was so impressed with Pickle's kindness and patience that she treated him to an ice-cream. Yesterday I did my yoga in the garden and I'm now off to do the same again.
Namaste. I have decided to try a running "streak" - maybe for a month to start with. This means that I will be running at least 1 mile every day. I started on 25th May, so my initial aim is to keep it going until 25th June.
I noticed a distinct lack of streak support groups on Facebook, so decided to create one if anybody is interested in joining me! We turned ParkRun into a bit of a family affair this week. After Pickle's first attempt last week, his eldest 2 brothers decided to give it a go. Eldest bro Will decided to set off on his own, whereas Jamie started with me and Pickle. After about 1km, Jamie decided to head off alone as well. The conditions weren't ideal this week. Although the day had started with rain and thunder, the clouds cleared for 9am leaving it hot and humid. It was really too much for Pickle who struggled to even walk the course this week. The result was a 44:59 finish time and a sad Pickle. Will and Jamie fared much better - Will's time was 30:08 and Jamie's was 36:06. Once we had collected cake, Will said to me "No offence, but I think you're insane - I'm never doing that again!". Insane. I think I'll take that as a compliment :) |
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May 2018
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