Category Archives: Post-baby running

8 Weeks! Hills!

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Wells is 8 weeks old today!

Love that little smirk!

We are headed back to Rochester for the weekend and I’m excited to do a few runs on flat paths and trails! I’m also looking forward to a long run with Laura and spectating Jeff’s cross country race with Victoria. The rest of my time will be spent hanging out with non-running friends. :)

I did my longest postpartum run, 9 miles, last Sunday. I did the whole run on hilly trails and I was pretty sore the next day. I also did a mini-workout of 6 x strides (working up to 95% effort) on Tuesday. The strides didn’t feel bad at all during the workout or later that night, but my hamstrings were crazy sore the next day. I think it’s because I did all the strides on hilly streets, going both uphill and downhill. My body is still adjusting to this hilly neighborhood! (I realize I overuse the word hill, but I grew up in pancake flat land, and have almost always trained in flat places so this is really new and difficult for me!)

The final item to note about my comeback is that I’m starting more strength exercises. I’m doing something strength related every day. This may be as simple as a set of planks. Or a few sets of pushups. Or it might include 6 different hip/butt/leg exercises. (Not up to the Dirty Dozen yet!) All of my strength work so far is either body weight or baby weight (holding Wells who is somewhere around 13lbs).

I have to be honest, I’m VERY weak right now. I’m usually a pushup queen and I had to start with 2 sets of 10. (Ok, I actually started with 20 wall pushups, then the next time moved on to the regular kind.) When I asked Currie how many pushups she thought I could do, she said “3!” Glad I beat her estimate! My balance and stabilizing muscles are really off as well. I tried standing on one foot and reaching for an object on the ground and I was wobbling all over the place. Also, I could only hold side plank (lifted, not on elbows) for 5 seconds per side without toppling over the first time. As I said in my last post, it will all come back, step by step.

So with that, here are the 8 week postpartum pics!

8 weeks!

Questions for you:

Do you run more on hills or flat? Do you prefer one over the other?

Are you racing this weekend? Spectating? Relaxing?

7 Weeks and Step by Step

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Wells is 7 weeks old today!

My little ones snuggling in bed this morning!

I did 2 mini-workouts since my last post. Both were small steps in the right direction toward my goals. Oh, and look what I got on Monday!

My Oiselle Pro Kit! (Front of top, back of briefs).

I have 2 things to say about it. First – talk about motivation to get strong and speedy again (thanks Oiselle!) Second – I still have to remember getting in shape is a process and I need to take it day by day (or really step by step)!

When I was pregnant with my first child, I had big dreams about what I might do with my running, but because I was going to be a first time mom, I had NO CLUE what to expect out of running after giving birth. Would I ever race again? Even though I ran throughout the whole pregnancy, I wondered what childbirth would do to me. I wondered if I could be fast. Could I even be faster than ever? (It turns out I could be and birthing a child didn’t have negative effects on my running.) The process took awhile though. I didn’t do my first workout until 4 months after Currie was born.

When I was pregnant with Wells, I believe it was Laura, the mastermind behind Salty Running, who told me I’d bounce back quicker with the second. She was right. I feel like my body and running are bouncing back quicker (the running is mostly coming back quicker because I realize it can and I’m not scared to do some workouts this time around). But, let me be clear, I have a LONG way to go.

Workouts HURT. They are hard. This is always true, but especially after the trauma of childbirth. My times are nothing like usual. I thoroughly enjoy, and yet am humbled on every run. My mile time trial last week was exactly what I dreamed it would be and of course I was over the moon happy. BUT… there are moments when I allow myself to really think about it and I realize it was slower than every mile I run when I race a half marathon. Of course I don’t expect to be there right now, but I get a good reality check – I still have a long, long way to go.

I did a light progression run/tempo on Sunday. It was mixed in with my longest run yet, 7.5 miles. The goal was just to pick up the pace, faster than my every day runs, each mile a bit faster. I was hoping a few of those miles would be in the low 7:xx range. (I live and do all my running in Squirrel Hill, and if you don’t know the area, let me just say it’s super hilly. With no hills, I honestly probably would have wished for some high 6:xx in there.) Turns out, no mile was faster than 7:37. I complained a bit to my husband. He made some remark like “yeah, you’ve been running a whole 3 weeks after having a child, you should really be faster”. Obviously sarcastic, thanks for the reminder, Jeff!

I did some speed yesterday (Thursday) as well. It was the same workout I used as my first workout after having my first child. (6 x min hard/min easy) It was challenging. I have no idea what my pace was, as I wasn’t wearing a GPS watch, I just know it was enjoyable in a difficult-run-type-of-way.

Before every workout, I’m reminding myself to take my running step by step. After every workout, I think of things day by day. Sure, I have long-term plans and goals and I think about them, but my running is living in the moment. I push out every little old-self comparison thought. I will take things slowly, step by step, because that’s the smart way, and the only way I will get to where I want to be.

So, here are the 7 weeks pics! I will switch over to pics of my pro kit when I get the courage to show you all my bare belly! I’m not as brave as Lauren Fleshman… yet!

7 weeks! My pics are never “high quality”, but today they were taken by an especially wild 3 year old so they are both fuzzy and lopsided. :)

Question for you:

Do you get caught up in comparing your out of shape self to your in shape self? 

 

6 Weeks & A WORKOUT!!

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Wells is 6 weeks old today!

My exciting news of the week is: I did a workout!! 

Actually, I’ve done 2 “workouts” now. The first was just a short, impromptu hill sprint workout. A few hours before my run that day, I thought it would be fun to push the pace on some hills. I ended up doing 4 x 40 seconds hard uphill. I jogged for 40 seconds between the hard parts. It was hard, but not too bad – a good intro to pushing the pace.

Then, my pace twinsie, Jason, challenged me… nudged me… not sure what the right words are, but he said he was doing a hard mile on the track on Wednesday of this week and asked if I was going to do one too. (We don’t live in the same state so we weren’t going to do the workout together physically, just updating each other virtually!) I said “maybe” but I knew right away I was going to do it.

Carnegie Mellon University track

Wednesday rolled around, and I was nervous. I walked Currie to school and told her what I would do while she was at school. I did this more for myself as some “get pumped for the workout talk” than for her. “I’m going to run to the track at Daddy’s work and do 4 laps as fast as I can. Then I’ll run back home, shower and come get you.” She thought that sounded fun and wanted to skip school to join me. I told her we could run together another day!

So, the workout: I got to the track and did another 3 laps to make about a 1.5 mile warmup. I did some high knee walks, some butt kicks and 4 x 50 meter strides. I was going through all the motions slowly, nervously. I was stalling. Finally, I had nothing else to do, so I was off. Laps were as follows:

  • 88
  • 90
  • 90
  • 90

5:58.02! I finished the workout with a 2.5ish mile cooldown to make 5 miles for the day (5 mile Turkey Trot coming up!) I was very pleased with this. It wasn’t a puke-inducing workout, but it also wasn’t easy by any means. My secret goal was to go sub 6:00. I know I can always do a 90 second lap, but was unsure of doing 4 in a row. I told myself to be happy with anything between 6:00-7:00. So yes, I’m very happy!

I was sore the next day in my hips, inner thigh, butt, and stomach – the places where I had the biggest body transformation during pregnancy. Also where I am holding the last 10lbs of baby weight. (Not saying this as a complaint at all. I realize I look good for 6 weeks postpartum, even for someone who hasn’t had a baby. Just noting that I’m 10lbs over racing weight and sore in these places.)

So far so good with the running. I’m just taking it day by day. Here are the 6 weeks pics:

6 weeks!

Questions for you:

Do you stall when you’re nervous for workouts or just jump right into them?

Do you talk to yourself/family/friends about workouts that frighten you to get in the right frame of mind?

 

A Race Planned!

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I’ve made a list of races I want to run in 2014. I’m so pumped to start racing again! Right now, there are far too many on the list and I’m going to have to make some cuts – lots of cuts! For now, I can tell you I decided on my first race post-Wells: Columbus Turkey Trot (a 5-Mile race)!

Columbus Turkey Trot

Pic from last year at the Columbus Turkey Trot. I was first female, 20th overall in 28:19 (5:40 pace). Construction background! I’m not the best at setting the scene for my pictures.

I’m terrified to run it – which is exactly why I’m doing it. It’s going to be 5 miles of STRUGGLE BUS. I will probably get at least four different 5+ mile training runs done before the big day, and will probably have a few 25-35 mile weeks under my belt by then. Wells will be 2 months+1 day old on the day of the race. I probably won’t be racing in buns. Or maybe I will… details, details…

I decided to race because:

  • I miss racing
  • It will be a good starting point and introduction into racing again
  • I’m looking for a good burn and that will definitely happen
  • I’m scared to death to race already (having no idea what kind of shape I’m in, knowing the pain of first race in awhile, knowing I’ll be a lot slower than last time I raced, this list could go on and on…)
  • I should run into a lot of people I know – motivation!
  • I took a twitter poll and every single person said some variation of “YES DO THE TROT!”
That’s the plan for now! I’m going to be starting up mini-workouts and am excited and a little nervous about it. :) Here we go!
Questions for you:
-Are you running a Turkey Trot?
-How do you know when you are ready to race?
-After a period of rest do you prefer to throw yourself back into racing or do you like to wait until you are in better shape?

 

Five Weeks & Getting Passed on Runs

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Wells is 5 weeks old! Check out the Halloween adorableness from last night!

Wells' first Halloween!

And here is a picture from this morning!

5 weeks old today!

Running is going well! I’m feeling good. The initial soreness from starting back up running is gone. I’m doing 2.5-4.5 miles per day (I think I will have about 25 miles this week). One day off a week. Actually, this isn’t even my second full week of running yet, but that’s the plan. I’ve been doing all of my runs on hilly trails near my house. There is nothing flat in my neighborhood. I figure my legs are going to be killer strong and sexy after a few months of this training!

Fall weather, trails, cute & cozy run layers… what more could I ask for?!

On Wednesday night, I mentioned on Twitter that I got passed on a run for the first time since moving to Pittsburgh. I was running uphill and a guy, who seemed to be running his normal pace, passed by me and went along on his way. Then a few minutes later, another guy, who was panting harder than I breathe when doing track work, passed me. After dude #2 passed, he slowed down and I could have passed him back but I didn’t. I was only a block from my house at that point and he obviously wanted to be ahead of me. In the last block, he looked over his shoulder at least 5 times.

I’m not passing judgement on people who can’t stand to be running BEHIND someone, even guys who can’t stand to be behind a girl. I used to, but now I’m realizing that I don’t “love” being passed by anyone, male or female, and I definitely pick up the pace when I feel someone behind me. It’s just a little competitive nature at work. If someone has a faster or better run because they were able to pass me, more power to them!

Here are the 5 weeks post baby pics! They look similar to the past few weeks. Currie took the pics again this week since Jeff had to leave for work early.

5 weeks!

Questions for you!

How was your Halloween?

Do you try to compete with people who pass you on a run?

Do you try to pass others on your daily easy runs?

 

Four Weeks Post Baby

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Wells is 4 weeks old! (He turned 4 weeks on Friday, which is when I started this post!)

My little cutie after bath time!

My most exciting news is: I STARTED RUNNING! The first thing I thought was, “wow! I feel 20lbs lighter than the last time I ran!” Of course I immediately realized that’s because I AM 20lbs lighter than the last time I ran! :) I’m just doing easy runs right now, and my pace is nothing to brag about, but my-oh-my does it feel good to be back at it! I was actually sore (mostly calves and some hamstring) after my first 2 runs! Feeling good now.

First run, 3.5 weeks after having Wells.

The first run was a 3 mile run, 3.5 weeks after giving birth to Wells. I waited exactly 4 weeks with Currie. I had a mental checklist of things that needed to happen before I started running:

  • Have desire to run: The first week, I really didn’t think about running. Then Twin Cities Marathon happened and so many buddies ran awesome times that weekend and I started itching to run. Check!
  • Get rid of stomach pains: After giving birth, you have stomach pains and cramping as your uterus shrinks back down to normal size. They were more intense this time than with my first. I also had soreness when pushing on my stomach. I wanted to wait until all pain in my body was gone before adding the stress of running. Check!
  • Get some sleep: I’m definitely an exhausted mama, but got some decent sleep the night before my first run. When Currie was a baby, I really did sleep when she slept. I wasn’t a tired new mom (until she stopped sleeping around 16-18 months). This time, I’m feeling the pain but am determined to start figuring out my sleep situation so I can train at the level I need to reach my goals! So sort of… check!
  • Start working on Diastasis Recti: With both pregnancies, I had a separation of my abdominal muscles. Two weeks after having Wells, when my stomach was feeling more normal, I checked the status of my abs and noticed I had a good 3.5 finger widths separation between them. I started doing 2 really basic exercises to bring them back together. First one, simply contracting abs, pulling towards spine. Second one, pelvic tilts, not even bringing bottom off the ground, just a slight tilt and flattening the arch in my back while pulling abs toward spine again. I feel like I’m making progress. Check!
  • Good weather day: Ok, this is silly, but I wanted my first run to be on a sunny, cool day-my favorite running weather. (My second run was on a rainy, cold day and I enjoyed it just as much!) Check!

Run #2, the next day. Super excited to get out there, even in the first cold rain of the season.

AND NOW FOR THE TMI PARTS OF MY CHECKLIST. Feel free to scroll down and not read the next few points, but these were things no one told me about before my first child and they came as a big surprise to me so here they are:
  • Wait for bleeding to stop: After you have a baby, you bleed for 2-6 weeks! It starts super heavy after birth, then becomes period-like, and gradually tapers down to nothing. I bled for exactly 4 weeks with Currie and started running the second it was over. I felt like that was a good indication my body was ready for activity. Check!
  • Boob pain-Get the milk supply under control: About 3 days after giving birth, your milk supply comes in, and assuming you don’t have any problems, it comes in full force. Then it slows down when your body realizes how much your child needs. I’m lucky to be a super milk producer, I always have a lot, but it causes a lot of breast tenderness and leaking. I feel like it stabilized around 2 weeks postpartum with Currie (where I wasn’t in as much pain). This time, it took 3.5 weeks. In fact, many days, I only have about an hour after each feeding before I’m full, tender, and leaking again. This doesn’t make for the most comfortable run. I’ve spaced my runs during that sweet spot, sometime within an hour after feeding Wells. Check!
I’ll wrap things up with my 4 weeks racing kit pic:

4 weeks!

 Questions for you:

Anything on your “checklist” before starting to run again either after baby or injury?

What’s your favorite running weather?

 

Three Weeks Post Baby

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Wells is 3 weeks old!

Anytime Wells is sitting in or wearing something pink, I turn the pic to black and white since so many people have said things like “SHE’S so cute”. I think real men wear pink! Or maybe I’m just reusing some stuff from Currie.

Zoning…

Sibling love! Currie is loving her little bro!

Some great news: I’ll be running soon! I plan to start running sometime within the next 10 days! I’m so excited! I wake up every morning with a strong urge to run and my body is feeling pretty darn normal, other than the “squishy belly” and sheer exhaustion of having a newborn. In the meantime, still walking a few miles a day and starting to fit in my looser fitting regular clothing, including one of my favorite tops this time of year, my Oiselle stripey! Not pictured, some really out-of-style jeans… but they are jeans! NON-MATERNITY JEANS! Sacrificing style to feel a little bit normal.

Child in BOB, child in Moby + one of my Oiselle Stripey tops. I love thumbhole season!

I’m breastfeeding and fairly certain our little guy has a sensitivity to dairy (like when I have dairy, he doesn’t respond well). His sister had the same problem that started at the same age. I ended up having to give up all dairy plus onions, garlic and tomatoes with her so I’m prepared to start another elimination diet if needed. For now, I’m going to cut dairy out of my diet completely. I don’t ever drink cow’s milk because I’m lactose intolerant, but I do eat yogurt and cheese (especially CHEESE!) quite often. It’s going to be really hard to give up, but I’ve done it before (temporarily) and I hope to kick it for good this time. I don’t believe I need dairy in my diet and I already have problems with intense training and my cheese consumption (hello, multiple bathroom breaks on a long run!) so this could be good for both my baby and me. It will also be torture for awhile!

Here are the Three Week pics (taken by Currie instead of Jeff this week!):

3 weeks!

I’ve been so inspired by all the amazing performances by my running buds so far this Fall and can’t wait to see even more this weekend as I head to spectate the Columbus Marathon! This is one of my favorite events and it will be a little sad not racing, but super exciting to be on the other side! I’m ready to cheer my lungs out! Good luck to all those racing this weekend!

Two Weeks Post Baby

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Wells is now 2 weeks old! He spends most of his time sleeping, eating, and GROWING!

My 3.5 year old and 2 week old!

Look what came out with the laundry!

TMI paragraph of how I spend my days: I’m spending most of my time adjusting to 2 kids (has been pretty seamless SO FAR, especially compared to what I expected), feeding Wells and myself (nursing mother’s hunger can even beat out marathon training hunger many days!), changing diapers (SO MANY DIAPERS!), trying to get enough sleep, still trying to get my house in order (mom was a huge help with this last week – THANKS MOM! but still lots of do!), and convincing myself not to run in this perfect fall weather!

Running: I think about it a lot. Like I said, it’s been perfect weather around here. 40s-60s the past few days. My body is feeling awesome, but I still have a little uneasy feeling/slight pain in my lower stomach when I push on it so I’m holding off. (Did you know it takes 4-6 weeks for a woman’s uterus to shrink back down to pre-pregnancy size?) Also, my knees feel a little unstable and I really don’t want to go down the knee injury path! I’m still walking somewhere between 1-5 miles a day. This walking is broken down into mini walks as I take Currie and Wells to activities. We live in a walkable neighborhood so this has been the perfect transition back to activity for me. Sometimes Currie walks, sometimes she rides in the BOB and Wells hangs out in the Moby Wrap.

Fuzzy, low quality iPhone pic of Wells wrapped in the Moby!

I’m starting a very loose list of races for 2014 and getting excited! The list will change based on when I start running, when I start speed workouts and how my body feels.

Remember how I’m racing in buns when I make my “comeback”? Here are the Week Two pics!

2 weeks after baby runner body

Week 2!

Good luck to everyone racing this weekend! I’m living through you until I can run (and race!) again!