2nd 5 miler: Bringing It Down

Same 5 mile course two weeks later... what has changed?

- Isla is sleeping more in the night, and I got 4 hours last night.  Jen said I would feel like a rockstar when I hit the magic number 4, and she was right!

- I managed to brush my teeth and put on deodorant.  Win for everyone!

- I also managed to actually eat breakfast today.  One hand was feeding me, and the other hand was helping Isla.

- Only mothers will appreciate this, but I pumped 3 oz of milk before I walked out of the door.  Breastfeeding has been successful, but pumping not so much.  (Isla has not yet had a bottle, but just in case...).  I was so excited to empty those suckers and see some production!

-I wore a nursing bra under my sports bra and it felt way better.

- I didn't hesitate to get Dave to help me, even though he was in a coma.  I finally realized I do so much 24/7 and rarely get relief, and it is okay to ask for help with no guilt.  It was time for mama to get a break, and I just politely told him he had to get up because I had a run to go do. 

I normally would never post such an unflattering picture, but I decided I have to keep it real for you guys post pregnancy.  We can't all have a baby and look cute and fast right away.  Gotta keep at it!

I haven't lost any weight at all,  but I did manage to run 4 times the past 2 weeks for:  2 miles, 4 miles, 3 miles, and 2 miles.  I am slowly getting some time on my feet to help my joints and muscles adapt.  It is still too hot to take Isla out in the stroller, so I can only run if we are able to juggle it when Dave gets home at night.  But, soon it will cool down and I will be golden with Isla and the BOB. 

My 5 miler today was 46:01/ 9:08 pace from Garmin:  (9:39, 9:12, 9:02, 8:51, 8:59).  So, about 1 minute per mile faster than last week.  That is some good progress!

But, I don't feel solid yet, and as weird as this sounds, I just am not ready to go faster.  Running 9 minute miles right now feels harder than any 6 or 7 minute mile has ever felt to me in a race.  My stride is really short, I have zero power and can barely run up hills, and I don't have protection from my core.  My right hip (think groin) doesn't feel right.  It is time for me to go see a PT friend and try to shore everything up in my pelvis and core and make sure I am protecting my body.

So believe me, those paces are all I can do.  At the end of a race, I ALWAYS have one more gear whether it be a 5k or Ironman.  But now, I don't care who passes me.  I am not sprinting for those extra seconds.  I don't even think I have a sprint.  I just have a one speed shuffle.  

I am realizing that training after pregnancy and c-section (and I am sure a vaginal delivery as well!) is not just about getting fit, it is about really taking care of your body and the structures that are out of alignment, torn, stretched, and weak.  I am 7 weeks out, and when I think about it, that is really not much time at all!  It is just barely time for tissue healing to occur. 

But all in all, I feel great.  I am LOVING getting out there to "race."  It is my only time every two weeks where I am not on-call for the baby, and I cherish it.

I really do love coming home to this, though.

 Isla loves her England onesie from Aunty ADC

Play time in the afternoon.  

And PS:  Thank you Bri for the tip on Old Navy.  I got some "in-between" clothes and jeans for a good price.  :)

In The Family

Look who ran a 5k this weekend!!!  Dave ran cross country/track in middle and high school, but hasn't really run a step for enjoyment since then.  I have always encouraged him to run because he is good at it.  His dad held some high school mile record in his area, so the genetics are there.  But, he didn't enjoy it and only wanted to play soccer.

Somewhere in the past year, I stopped running, and he rediscovered how nice it could be to just get out of the house for 2-3 miles easy.  I guess when you hit mid-30s, some things change.  He is realizing he can't play really good soccer forever as his body just won't hold up. He is going to have to find some new outlets for sport. 

So, I casually mentioned the Bardog 5k with beer at the end, and voila!  A registration was complete! 

I can't say that he had a lot of fun out there....ha ha!  (who does at a 5k?  They are HARD!).  He certainly hadn't done any speed work, so going into a 5k cold hurt!  But, that beer at the end (and his cheering wife and daughter) were all worth it, I think.  He didn't immediately sign up for another one.  But let's see if he bumps up his running and adds in some speed :)

I got to enjoy seeing some of my friends that I have not seen in months.  Little Spreaglet made an appearance but stayed asleep, rolled up in a little ball in the sling.  I was worried we would melt down, but we seemed to time it all just right, and she slept through the chaos.

It is too soon to tell, but maybe I acquired 2 new running partners during my pregnancy?

Running On- the 5 Miler

After an attempt to write several posts over the past 2 weeks, I am starting to think that posting will be a little irregular for a little while.  Trying to type with one hand with nursing/sleeping baby is not as productive as I would like as evidenced below.

Today's 5 miler was both better...yet just as insane as the 5k.  I upped my sleep last night from 2 hours to 3.  I still didn't have time to brush my teeth, but I did get deodorant on this time.  It was a little more hectic trying to feed, pump, and get out of the door by 6:15, but I did it.  (by 6:23 and skipping a few things :)  The benefit to not racing is no warm-up required, so you just have to get there before the gun goes off at 7am.

The main difference, though, was my purchase this week of a new running outfit...that fits!  I refused to wear men's clothes today, so my sweet friend and mommy runner, Meghan at Breakaway, helped me find some post-preggers clothes.  I got longer shorts and a baggy tank for today...very different from my normal wear!  But, I felt much better with a fun outfit, and I am going to send my post preggers running clothes to any new mom that needs them when I am done (size medium for both).  Just send me a message!  Having some "in-between" clothes is important!

My training plan was....run only two full miles since the last 5k.  Yikes!  But seriously I cannot get out of the house.  It was way too hot to go running with an infant this week.  So, another 2 weeks of hardly any exercise.  But, I just view it as two more weeks to recover from surgery.

But still, that didn't help my confidence as I lined up at the start.  From 0 to 3.1 to 0 to 5?  What kind of plan is that?  But I reminded myself that all problems in racing and life can usually be solved by slowing down.  So, if it got too hard, I could just slow down!

Since I am not warming up, my first 2 miles are my warm-up.  I started in the back, made sure to talk to friends, and worked on trying to incorporate good running form, even though I was shuffling.  After the 2nd mile I just tried to find a pace I could hold that didn't stress anything beyond its limits.  I noticed this race I was moving up through the field more so than I did the last race, so even though I have not done anything to gain fitness the past two weeks, I think my body is healing and improving on its own.

Mile 1- 10:57, mile 2-10:22, mile 3-9:40, mile 4-9:42, mile 5- 9:48 Total time=51:06...garmin has 10:05 min/mile pace

Like the 5k, this 5 miler was super hard for me.  I am 15-20 pounds overweight, and it is hard to run with the extra weight and loss of muscle.  I calculated in my head that with no extra fitness, I would probably be almost 1 minute per mile faster if I did not have the extra weight.  And I had this huge realization... it is a blessing that I have extra weight on me.  If I was actually faster right now, I think I would try to race.  I know I would.  I would push my body beyond what it needs to do right now.  The extra weight is life's way of slowing me down so I build slowly...as well as helping me take care of my baby!  Nature knows what it is doing.

 Enjoying the rest of my day with little Spreaglet

I was super duper tired after the race.  I am most cautious about the abdominal area, as it just doesn't feel fully healed yet and is still just a little sore after these endeavors.  So, another few weeks of taking it easy...and definitely no increase in distance at the "race" until I can't feel a thing.  In the meantime, it is TAs and planks for some core strengthening! 

The middle of this upcoming week will mark 6 weeks with Isla.  I can't believe I have to return to work soon.  (pout and cry).  I think I am going to really see time fly these next years.