Sanity is a reason in and of itself to exercise, right?

You know those women who don't even look pregnant until they are 6 months along and even then it's just a teeny little bump, like they might have just had one serving of too much pasta?

I'm not one of those women.

I am, and have been for several months, very very "knocked up" looking, with a giant, distended belly, heaving bosom and waddling walk. Despite exercising 3-5 days a week, I have gained a lot of weight, perhaps not enough to trouble my OB, but enough to make me a little bit annoyed at this body of mine--which apparently likes to pack on the same (substantial) number of pounds during pregnancy whether I don't exercise (pregnancy #1), exercise moderately with step aerobics and walks (pregnancy #2), or run, spin and elliptical myself into a tizzy (this third pregnancy.)

Anyway, I never ran to lose weight, precisely. You can lose weight by eating a lot of salad and broccoli and grapefruit sections--you don't need to rack up the miles for that. I ran to clear my brain, enjoy the outdoors and my 'tunes...and yes, to get away with more pizza than someone my age and metabolism should be able to eat. But honestly, if the number on the scale were all that had concerned me, I would have found a method that didn't involve oozing blisters, shin splints, the consumption of gross sports drinks, a gimpy knee, "runner's trot," expensive races, pace anxiety and all that jazz.

So I guess I shouldn't be that upset by the fact that running (and now lower-friction versions of cardio like walking on inclines and the elliptical) hasn't given me a Hollywood-esque maternity silhouette.

Because cardio has allowed me to maintain my sanity.

That in and of itself is a reason to keep at it, right?

Plus, I keep reading this statistic that babies of moms who exercised during pregnancy have higher IQs and leaner muscle mass than babies of couch potato mamas. So hopefully one day my clever, sinewy son will kiss his mama with gratitude and say, "Thanks for all those miles you clocked for me back when I was a fetus. I know I wouldn't have made the honor roll without you..."