Tag Archives: running

Re-evaluating.

20 Nov

As much as I’d really like to do a half marathon in January or February, I have decided against it. Training for a half is challenging. Add in a baby and it’s even more so. Then add in Thanksgiving, Christmas, house projects and moving to a different state. In short, I’m choosing to not kill myself in order to run a half.

But I do want to race. I like racing. So I came up with a loose Plan B. There’s the Chilly Cheeks Duathlon in January here in Denver. It’s not your typical duathlon either – you run 1.5 miles, bike 3.5, run 2.5, bike 7, then run 50 meters. So total 4 miles of running and 10 miles of biking. I think I could do that with a few runs and bike rides a week (aka no formal training plan). So I’m keeping that in the back of my mind.

Then there’s the Hot Chocolate 15K in Minneapolis on April 19. If all goes according to plan, we’ll be living in Minnesota by then. And a 15K seems a lot more doable than a half marathon. (Why? I don’t know.) I think I could work up to running 9.4 miles by then.

So that’s my plan. I’d like to workout more than I am now (1-2 times a week), but I have a few other things going on at the moment. So I’m cutting myself a break and being realistic.

Besides, running isn’t going anywhere.

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Race Recap: Oktoberfest Sprint Triathlon Relay

16 Oct

Due to the flooding in Colorado at the end of September, the Oktoberfest Sprint Triathlon that I had signed up to do with my friends Jess and Charlotte got rescheduled to Saturday, October 5. Luckily, it still was a day we could all make it!

The Thursday before the race, we all met in Boulder (with kids in tow) for packet pickup. After we got our race gear, we went out for dinner at Old Chicago on Pearl Street. All 3 of us were going to a wedding Saturday afternoon after the race, so this was our ‘team building’ dinner. It was fun!

The morning of the race, it was only 35 degrees! Travis, Emma and I left the house later than I had wanted to and then we encountered a road that was closed from the flooding, so I was worried that we were going to get to the race too late. But we made it with plenty of time – the race ended up being only about 200 athletes instead of 600 due to the date change, but that meant more room in transition!

The weather had been cool the week before the race so the water was a chilly 58 degrees. Brrrr. Charlotte was a trooper, though, and swam anyway. I felt bad standing around in my many layers, gloves and ear warmers while she was getting into icy water but she totally rocked the 800 meter swim!

1383614_10153338850290271_1687547636_nMe, Jess and Charlotte before the swim

SWIM: 14:58

We were waiting for Charlotte at the swim out, but somehow missed her get out of the water. We saw her as she was walking past us so Jess ran with her into transition and I ran along outside, since I didn’t want to get in anyone’s way.

T1: 1:15

Then Jess was off on the bike, wearing long pants, a sweatshirt, winter parka, winter gloves and face mask under her helmet. She said she was cold for the first loop, but then she warmed up and wanted to remove layers but couldn’t! Jess also did really well and crushed the 12.4 mile bike leg.

BIKE: 45:52

About 10 minutes before Jess was expected back, I ran around the parking lot a bit and then I went and stood in the transition area to wait for Jess.

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20131005_090257The Cheering Squad

Jess arrived, I grabbed the chip from her, strapped it around my ankle and was off on my 5K run!

T2: 0:56

Right away, my throat and lungs felt hoarse from the cold air. My legs felt great, but my breathing was just really labored. Even though there were people passing me consistently (that’s the reality of a triathlon when everyone starts in different waves), I tried to settle into a pace that was challenging but sustainable. I could tell, though, that I wasn’t feeling as strong as the Community Christian 5K I had done a few weeks earlier.

About the time I started running, the sun decided to make its appearance. So all of my layers made me very overdressed! By Mile 1, I had my gloves off. And by Mile 2, I had my ear warmer and jacket off.

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I definitely pushed myself more for our relay team than I would have had I just been racing for myself. There was one main hill on the course leading up to Mile 1. On the way back, I used that hill to my advantage. My splits were (roughly, recalling from memory):

Mile 1 – 11:07

Mile 2- 10:39

Mile 3 – 10:30

Mile .1 – 1:03

RUN TIME – 33:19

TOTAL TIME – 1:36:18

Just for fun, here are my splits from when I did the Oktoberfest Sprint Tri back in 2009 as an age group athlete (times listed in italics show the difference from our relay time):

Swim – 19:57 (+4:59)

T1 – 2:14 (+0:59)

Bike – 46:34 (+0:42)

T2 – 1:09 (+0:13)

Run – 34:07 (+0:48)

Overall Time – 1:43:59 (+7:41)

I hadn’t spectated at a triathlon in a very long time so it was a nice change of pace to watch other athletes (especially the speedy ones)! We checked our time after I finished and noticed that we got 2nd place in the All-Female Relay division. So Jess and I stayed for the award ceremony (Charlotte left after the swim because it was a busy day for her).

1383624_635629303134062_286529633_nDoing a triathlon relay was a lot of fun! I was glad that I wasn’t swimming that day, but it does make me miss the triathlon atmosphere. Maybe I’ll do a full race next year?

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6 Months Postpartum

10 Oct

I feel like 6 months postpartum deserves an update. So here’s how things are going:

Physical Recovery

Taking into account the fact that I am a lot less active now than I was pre-pregnancy, I feel like I can say that I am more or less back to normal. Update on a few weird side effects of pregnancy that I haven’t talked about before (because I forgot to!):

  • My arms used to go numb really easily, but that has gone away.
  • My knees used to really hurt whenever I squatted/sat down, but I realized this was from squatting/lunging weird while holding a baby upright. I’m trying to lunge/squat properly now.
  • I couldn’t lay on my left side without my stomach hurting. This has gotten better, though it hasn’t completely disappeared.
  • I still have the linea negra, but it’s fading slowly.

My face acne has gotten a lot better, and I’m guessing that the difference now from pre-pregnancy is that I’m no longer on a birth control pill that contains estrogen. Boo on acne at age 30!

I’ve been sleeping enough hours at night for long enough now that I feel like a normal human being almost always, so that has been nice. I still LOVE when it’s time for bed though! If it weren’t for my current obsession with How I Met Your Mother on Netflix, I would go to bed at the same time Emma does.

Body Weight / Image

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I got on the scale yesterday morning and surprisingly, it read only about 1.5 lbs above my pre-pregnancy weight. But when I got pregnant, I was in marathon shape. I was muscular. So it’s not really comparing apples and apples to say I’m back to that weight. But it’s something! And I can fit into more and more of my pre-pregnancy clothes as the months go by. I have realized, though, that a lot of my shirts from then were short-ish and tight, so I’m not sure if I’ll ever wear them again. Some shirts and dresses still don’t fit over the milk-makers. I now buy shirts in size Large. It doesn’t bother me, but it just wasn’t something I expected. I did expect my feet to grow, but they didn’t. I’m still the same size there (which I appreciate because I hate shoe shopping!).

In my 12 Weeks Postpartum post, I talked about wanting to eat better. Hmm… that has gotten slightly better, though it still definitely needs improvement. Before I got pregnant, I was good about balance. If I wanted a glass of wine, I’d skip the chocolate. If we were eating out for dinner, I’d have a healthy lunch. But ever since pregnancy gave me (almost) free rein, I let myself have wine, chocolate AND a big dinner. It’s so hard to say no! (And yes, breastfeeding does give me a LITTLE more leeway than normal but not that much!)

I haven’t gotten back into exercise as much as I had been hoping to, but now that Emma can go to the gym childcare, I’m excited to start going to classes and stuff again! I miss feeling active and fit. The whole moving to Minnesota thing has kind of thrown my plans for a half marathon up into the air, but I’m going to start training in November anyway. I need a goal. I think I’ll try to do a 10K in December too.

But overall, in regards to body weight and image, I really feel very comfortable with where I’m at right now. I mean, as long as I don’t have to wear a bikini ever again anytime soon.

Emotional

I’ll admit that it took me a LONG time to adjust to being a mom. I had a hard time giving up my freedom and rest – not being able to run errands when I wanted, train for races, veg on the couch at night, go on trips we’ve always talked about, cook dinner, read a book, spend time with hubby alone or sleep a full 8 hours. Slowly, I have found ways to still include these things in my life. I can plan meals during her nap. I do laundry while she bounces in her jumperoo. We run errands together when Emma is awake. (Again I say, things have gotten so much easier as Emma has gotten older! I couldn’t put her down for the first 2 months of her life due to her feeding issues.)

But still, some days, Emma demands it all. I don’t have either the time or energy to get everything done. So I’ve learned PRIORITIES. I choose 2-3 things that need to get done and stick to those. This past Monday, it was 1) Take Emma to her 6-month appointment 2) Take Emma’s 6-month pictures and 3) Bring dinner to our friends who just had a baby. I was able to get all of that done on Monday, but some days, even that doesn’t happen. My post about learning to let things go has been a great reminder to me about trusting God with my to-do list. He’s got it under control, so I don’t have to.

I loved Emma since the moment she was born, but having a new baby was so challenging that I didn’t feel love for her a lot of the time. In the past month or so, though, God has graciously made my heart overflow with love for Emma. It’s now a treat when I can rock her to sleep, and just stare at her little face. I love hugging her, kissing her face, and listening to her coo and shriek in her own little way. I look forward to picking her up after being at work all day. (Though nights without Travis home still intimidate me.)

Our trip to Minnesota a couple weeks ago reminded me of how hard those first 2 months were. No wonder I felt so overwhelmed and discouraged! Having a baby who cries a lot and refuses to be put down is HARD. It’s hard to enjoy your baby and new role as a mom in the midst of that. And that’s where I was until Emma was about 5 months.

I’m finally at a place where I enjoy being a mom (most days). I’m still looking forward to being able to do more things with Emma, like go to the playground, museum, library, movies, etc. but she’s learning and engaging with new things everyday, which is fun. I have also really enjoyed being back at work part-time. It does make life a little bit crazier, but it helps me really enjoy the days I am at home with Emma.

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Community Christian 5K Recap

15 Sep

Yesterday, I ran my first race since June 2012, when I ran my first (and only) full marathon. I can’t run nearly as far now as then, but I’m faster!

The night before the race, Emma had her worst night of sleep in months. She woke up every 2-4 hours, which is very abnormal for her. The only nice part about it was that she was in a good mood whenever she woke up – instead of crying, she’d just lay in her crib and talk (aka. ‘squawk’) to herself. My longest stretch of sleep was 4 hours. After being up with her 4 times, I asked Travis to get up the last time so that I could stay in bed for another 40 minutes.

Anyway, not quite the way you want to prepare for a race but oh well. I had a cup of coffee and cinnamon raisin bagel with peanut butter before the race, dropped Emma off at my friend’s house, and made it up to the race site about 20 minutes before the race started.

It was a very small race so it only took me about 5 minutes to get my packet and go to the bathroom. I found my friend Cathy and her husband James just a little before they asked the runners to move into the street where the start line was. Then they said the start was still 15 minutes away so Cathy and I did a slow jog around the block to warmup.

My goal for the race was to at least run faster than an 11:00/mile pace, and if I beat my previous 5K time of 33:43, that’d be great too. Cathy wanted to see if she could beat her husband so we agreed to not run together.

I thought about taking my phone so that I could keep track of my pace and the mileage, but in the end, I decided to just enjoy the race and push myself by feel.

Finally, the race started and we were off. I settled into a nice, strong pace and kept Cathy and James in my sights for about the first .5 mile. Then they were gone. I kept running strong. I was pushing myself, but not too much. It was downhill, which was nice, but I knew that meant an uphill later so I couldn’t go too crazy.

I had no idea how far we had gone, but I figured it had to be close to a mile at least. I ran past the aid station (stopping for water would have just thrown off my pace) and then saw a sign that said Mile 2. ‘Holy cow!’ I thought. ‘That’s the quickest 2 miles I’ve ever run!’ It didn’t quite seem right, but if it was, I was going to kick this 5K’s butt!

Around a corner, there was another mile sign. It also said Mile 2, with an arrow to the right. Um, what? I took a right and found the uphill. I walked a bit at the top of the hill and was told by a flagger that first time through, we had to do another loop. Second time, go straight.

On my second loop, I saw the Mile 1 sign, which I had missed before. So I was just now coming up on Mile 2. That made more sense.

We passed the aid station again and were directed by another flagger to turn right for Mile 3, making a smaller loop than the first time, but not too small to miss the hills! I walked a bit again at the top, so I could catch my breath.

Even though it was only 65 at the start, the sun and (rare) humidity made it really hot. I was getting tired, and couldn’t accurately judge how long we had left. But I kept pushing it, reminding myself that I wanted to beat my old 5K time, and that I hadn’t been pushing it for 2 miles only to give up at the end.

We passed a different school and I thought we were getting close, but I saw runners far ahead of me… climbing another hill. Bummer.

I muscled up the last hill long enough to see one of Community Christian’s buses, so I knew where we were – and that the end was close! I crossed the finish line strong and grabbed a water, banana, and half a bagel from the volunteers.

I felt confident that I had made my goal of running faster than an 11:00 pace but had no idea of my time. I found Cathy and James, and we stood around talking until they posted the times. James had beaten Cathy, but she wasn’t too upset. Men…

Finally, the times were up. I finished in 31:52! That’s a pace of 10:17/mile, I later figured out, for a new 5K PR! YAY! I was very happy with that. Cathy finished in 29:50 and James in 26:19.

This was my first time doing a really small race (there were about 130 runners), which I’ve always wanted to do because I figured I’d at least have a shot at placing in my age group (which is now 30-39! I feel so old.) But when I looked on their website, it said they would award ‘the fastest in each age group’, which I took to mean only THE fastest (one person). I was mistaken though, and I got 3rd place in my age group. So I actually got a medal! YAY again! (Cathy got 2nd place in our age group. The 30-39 Female winner finished in 25:12.)

So my first race back was a success AND fun. I’m glad that I didn’t take my phone. The mile signs kept me guessing, and I ran on feel not on time, so I didn’t get discouraged.

About the race itself – it was the inaugural race, and a small one organized by parents instead of race professionals, but I was very impressed. They had a decent website, with all the pertinent information included. They sent out a pre-event email with lots of details. There were a ton of volunteers and even though the course could have been a little confusing, their flaggers were very helpful and it wasn’t confusing at all. The course was also USATF-certified and they posted a course map online (though I didn’t realize that before the race). We were instructed to park in the Target parking lot, and they had a shuttle taking people to the school (even though it was only like 2 blocks away). And the race proceeds benefit the school, which is where Cathy and James’ kids go. I would definitely do this race again!

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Me and Cathy

I’m unfortunately not going to be able to do the triathlon relay this coming weekend (long story) but I’m already looking forward to doing another race. I’M BACK BABY!

And quick sidenote, this is my 700th post!

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Running with a Stroller

6 Sep

Even though I said I was going to start running more than once a week, I haven’t. But at least I’m still running that one time a week. And I can finally see my frequency going up because….

I’ve started running with the stroller.

This is a milestone in 2 ways:

1) Emma used to only last 10 minutes in the stroller (in her carseat) before having a meltdown. Now, she can hold toys and enjoys looking around, so she’s content for up to 30 minutes.

2) Pushing a stroller while running is a crapton more work. Especially when I lock the front wheel to stay straight (like you’re supposed to). The stroller wants to veer to the right slightly, so I’m continually pushing on it to stay in a straight line.

The first run I did with the stroller was around our block a couple of times. MapMyRun on my phone said that it was a mile, but Travis doesn’t believe that. Based on my pace though, I believe it! (If it’s not right, I’m REALLY slow!)

strollerrun1The second run I did was around a small lake (pond?) near our house. One lap around it is roughly .5 mile so I did 4 laps.

strollerrun2One side of the lake is slightly hilly (or at least it feels like it with a stroller!) so I was very pleased about my pace. Maybe I can have a ‘fast’ 5K yet.

Speaking of which, I officially signed up for the Community Christian 5K on September 14! The race raises money for the school, and my good friend’s kids go there. She’s running the race too.

RACELOGO1

Another one of my friends is going to watch Emma (since Travis will be in Wyoming hunting antelope). I’m very excited. Races are so fun.

Do/have you run with a stroller? Any tips?

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3 Miles Straight

19 Aug

There was a week when Emma woke up at 6 am every day. Travis and I got into a routine of him watching her from 6:30 until around 8:30 so that I could have some time to myself to go on a run, get into the Word, etc. Travis went on runs and ran errands at night. But then Emma stopped being predictable and we got out of the routine.

So for the past 6 weeks, I’ve only been running once a week. Which also means I’ve only been working out once a week. But now I have a reason to get my butt in gear: I signed up to do a triathlon relay with two of my friends. It’s the Oktoberfest Sprint Triathlon on September 22 in Longmont. I’m doing the running leg. I also might do a 5K fundraiser run with one of my other friends on September 14 but that depends on whether or not I can find someone to watch Emma.

I’m happy to report that I have finally worked my way up to running 3 miles straight, with no walking. I’m still slow, but when haven’t I been? 😉

My mile splits on my run today:

1 – 11:49

2 – 12:05

3 – 12:07

.08 – 11:08

Average pace – 12:02 (3.08 miles in 37:03)

81913paceMy goal is to run at least twice a week. Ideally, I’d run 3 times a week but with Travis traveling so much right now and Emma not being old enough for daycare, it’s hard – partly because I want to hang out with my husband when he is home! Maybe one of these days we’ll try taking Emma on a jog with the two of us…

Anyway, I plan to do a speed workout (intervals, repeats, tempo, etc) for one run and a easy run focused on distance for the other. My fastest run so far was on August 9. I ran 2.57 miles at a 10:42 pace.

How does that compare to my previous running times? My 5K PR is 32:52, a 10:34/mile pace. My PR for the running leg of a triathlon, is 30:50, a 9:55/mile pace. So it’s possible that I could get better than 32:52. We’ll see how the rest of ‘training’ goes.

I felt great after my run this morning though! It reminds me of why I love running, and endurance sports. It just makes you feel good!

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My Next Half-Marathon Plan

16 Jul

When Travis asked me what I wanted for my birthday, my answer was “To run a half marathon.” But with Travis traveling so much this summer, and Emma being too young for gym childcare, I can’t commit to training quite yet.

I have a plan though. Our gym has childcare starting at 6 months. If I could run 3-4 miles by then (beginning of October), I could start a 12-week training plan and run a half in January or February.

Travis is thinking about running the half with me, and we’ve talked about doing a destination race – ideas so far are St. George, UT; San Francisco, or somewhere in Arizona or New Mexico. We’d obviously need someone to watch Emma while we ran so my parents might join us too. I’m so excited!

Since I’ll be working 3 days a week and those days will be too busy to fit in a workout, I’ll have 4 days for training. I plan to run 3 days (1 long run, 1 speed workout, and 1 short to mid-distance run) and do 1 day of cross-training (yoga, biking, or swimming).

Now to research some races!

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Running!

17 Jun

Slowly but surely, my body is getting used to running again. Here are my recent runs:

Grand Rapids – 5/31

grrunI did easy run/walk intervals on a trail near Gunn Park. The running portions were between a 10:30 and 12:30 pace. It was a beautiful day and I saw Minnesota through fresh eyes, since it’s sooo different from Colorado.

20130531_121634 (Large)Dandelions!

20130531_123101 (Large)Lakes!

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Rochester #1 – 6/5

timberidgeThis was another easy-paced run, interspersed with walking breaks whenever I felt like I needed them, on a couple of cul-de-sacs near my parents’ house. My running portions were around a 12:30-13:00 pace.

I couldn’t get over how lush and green everything is. The lawns look like they’re a golf course!

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Rochester #2 – 6/7

deerwoodI didn’t have a ton of time for this run, so I decided to make the most of it and do some speedwork. I still did run/walk intervals but the running portions of this run were between 8:50 – 9:50. The Map My Run app says I got up to a 7:45 pace but I’m not sure I believe that.

First Run with Jogging Stroller! – 6/13

stroller

Emma’s pediatrician okayed me running with her in the jogging stroller since our carseat snaps in. But Emma is still not a huge fan of being in her carseat for anything, so I’m just starting small by taking her for a jaunt around the block. This was a very easy-paced run, but I pushed the stroller with my right hand and shook a rattle with my left to keep Emma from crying. She started to crack after just .3 mile.

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Anderson Park – 6/13

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This was actually in the evening of the day I took Emma out in the jogging stroller and was my best run since pre-pregnancy. I treated it like a tempo run with walking breaks – the running portions were done at paces between 8:30 and 9:30. Granted, they were only for about .1 mile each but still. It was fun to run fast again!

I still haven’t committed to any races but I’m thinking about doing a sprint tri relay with some friends at the end of July (I’d do the running) and I’d love to do a 10K or half marathon in the fall. But Travis will be traveling a lot for work this summer so I’m not sure how much running I’ll be able to do. For now, I’m just thankful for any time I can get back out there!

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6 Weeks Postpartum

22 May

This past Monday, I had my 6-week postpartum checkup. Everything looks good and I’ve been officially cleared for exercise. Yay!

At 6 weeks postpartum, here’s how things are going…

Physical Recovery

The weird tightness in my upper abdominal muscles is now officially gone. My abs are still fairly weak, though all the bouncing on the exercise ball that I’ve been doing to calm Emma down has helped to regain some of my core strength. I could notice a difference during the 2 runs I went on this week.

Yep, I went on 2 runs this week! Emma has been sleeping better at night (more on that in Emma’s 7 week update) so that has allowed me to go running in the morning instead of catching up on sleep. I thought about doing the Couch to 5K program but it seemed to be a little bit more conservative than I’d like. So I’m just doing my own thing. I covered 1.5 miles in 20 minutes on Monday and 2 miles in 30 minutes today, doing run/walk intervals. I mostly ran because I’ve missed it so much, but I know I need to listen to my body and walk when my legs feel tired or tight. Don’t want any injuries!

This week is the first that I’ve really been back at it with exercise. After that initial run at 12 days postpartum, Emma started getting really fussy and workouts fell very low on the priority list. I tried to get out on walks as much as Emma and my energy levels would allow, but that wasn’t very often. I’m glad that things are turning around now!

Body Weight / Image

I have about 7-8 pounds to go before hitting my pre-pregnancy weight. I’m trying to transition out of wearing maternity clothes but it has been hard. My boobs have grown so much from breastfeeding and my stomach is still ’round’ enough that I’d say about 75% of my pre-pregnancy shirts don’t fit – they’re either too short or too tight. About 90% of my pre-pregnancy pants, shorts and skirts don’t fit, also due to the stomach. I have been able to fit into a few things again (though not without causing major muffin top action) and I bought a few new things from the thrift store that fit me better. But overall, this is still an extremely frustrating part of being postpartum.

postpartum_comparison_2Maternity jeans on the left, pre-pregnancy jeans on the right

As a person who loves fitness and feeling in shape, it’s hard to be comfortable in my own skin when I feel so flabby and blah. I know that my body will never be exactly the same again but I’m looking forward to the day when I get to a place where I like how I feel and look again. I know that having clothes that fit will help me feel better, so I’m hoping to go shopping again in the next couple of weeks.

I also know that I need to be better about my eating habits. When we had family out here visiting after Emma was born, we ate pretty well-balanced, healthy meals. But when it’s just me and Travis, convenience is king – which means a lot more processed foods like frozen waffles, deli meat, cereal, etc. Being dairy and soy free really limits what I can eat (and drives up our grocery bill!) and I’ve found myself eating a lot of carb-heavy snacks/meals, like Rudi’s whole wheat toast with Earth Balance spread and raspberry preserves. Not horrible, but that kind of thing shouldn’t be the mainstay of my diet. Instead of relying on processed, expensive convenience foods, I need to be more intentional about eating whole foods – fruits, vegetables, legumes, meat and nuts. They’re cheaper and healthier.

Emotional

My emotions are still a rollercoaster, but a bit more intense than when I posted my postpartum update at 2.5 weeks. They vary from day to day, morning to night, hour to hour. Not surprisingly, they are heavily influenced by how much Emma is crying and sleeping. When Emma is minimally fussy, easily comforted, and sleeping for 3-5 hours at a stretch, it’s a lot easier for me to feel hopeful and enjoy this season than when she is crying inconsolably, refuses to sleep and wakes up after 20 minutes. Then I feel a ball of despair wedge itself in my throat and my minds fills with lots of untrue, very unhelpful thoughts, and I wonder how anyone has ever enjoyed being a parent.

It is because of God’s sustaining grace that I haven’t given up. He provides grace in little ways each day: Emma finally going to sleep when I thought I couldn’t possibly shush or bounce anymore. Emma staying asleep when I thought for sure she had woken up as I put her down and left the room in a huff (which happened last night). Travis and I working as a team to figure out how to do the things we enjoy doing while taking care of a colicky baby. Emma sleeping so well in the baby carrier that we can still do stuff – like clean, grocery shop, go on walks – even when she demands to be held.

I’ve called to mind these evidences of grace whenever I’ve been tempted to dive back into self-pity and discouragement. God does see, and He is actively providing for us. He may not be taking the situation away completely, but He is being faithful in the midst of it. And that has to be enough for me – because joy comes from accepting what He allows, not from demanding what I want. (So easy to say, but so very hard to do!)

Anyway, things are slowly getting better – if anything, Travis and I are learning to deal with the situation better, even if Emma is still quite fussy. That’s something!

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Exercise Post-Baby

26 Apr

Like I mentioned yesterday, my post-baby ab muscles are a joke. I discovered this very quickly when I attempted to do the postnatal ab workout included on my Prenatal Pilates DVD. I lasted about 2 minutes and turned it off – plank exercises will not be happening for quite some time. The Prenatal Pilates workouts themselves are more of my speed and ability right now.

My main form of exercise so far has been walking – because I had that tightness under my rib cage, I started out just walking to the end of the street and back. When I started feeling better, I walked my normal dog loop of 1.15 miles, which takes me about 20-25 minutes. And then one day, it was sunny and I was so antsy to get out and jog that I went for it. That was 12 days postpartum.

Stupid? Too soon? Perhaps. But in my defense, my doctor said I could do any exercise that I felt up to, as long as I used common sense. And my bleeding had already stopped, I didn’t have any cramps or pain before or after, and I took it really slow, and walked a lot – so much so that my average pace for my 2 mile walk/jog was 15:58/mile. My jogging intervals were around a 12:30-12:40 pace.

And it was wonderful being out there. It felt like I picked up right where I had left off in pregnancy (at the same slow shuffle), and it got me even more pumped up to get back into running. But I could definitely notice my lack of core strength, and I do realize that my body has gone through a lot and I don’t want to jump into anything too intense too soon. So for now, I’m going to limit my jogs to one a week, and really listen to my body. For the rest of my workouts, I’ll be doing Prenatal Pilates, sit-ups and push-ups to build up my core strength, walking, and hopefully some swimming (now that I can go in the middle of the day, when it’s not busy!).

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I’m planning to find a race in late summer/early fall to train for, since I love having a goal, but for now, I’m just going to enjoy getting out there.

(Side note: On my jog, I didn’t take Emma, only the pooches. Just in case you were concerned about her being in a jogging stroller so young.)

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