Small Victories

Today I ran 4 miles in 39:50... that's under 10 min/mile! Yes, my marathon pace used to be 8:30... before all of this baby business. However, between third trimester running and postpartum recovery, I haven't had any run break 10 min/mile since July. I'm on my way back!  On another happy note, I hit my training plan for the week spot on. It was only 16 total miles and 4 days running... but I didn't miss one. It's the little victories that count now =)

Base Building & Turkey Trot

The least favorite phase of running, for me, has always been base building. Slowly increasing run frequency, building mileage and finally working on pace (carefully obeying the 10% rule) requires more patience then I can typically muster. One thing I hate more then improving slowly, however, is being injured. So, as I complete my pregnancy 'comeback' I'm going to try and take base building seriously.

I have never been great about following training plans. But, since I like the focus they give me and the sense of accomplishment when I meet them, I almost always have one in place. For my base building phase, I plan to 'loosely' follow this plan from marathontraining.com (link):

My Plan

I tweaked their plan a bit. Since none of the 'long' runs are really all that long, I moved them to Tuesdays (from Sundays). I have a much lower chance of skipping a long run if it's not at the end of the week (silly, arbitrary mental block on my part because, after all, what does the calendar day really matter?). I almost always miss at least one planned run. However, I try to make it one of the shorter runs, at least. My cross training will be minor, likely consisting of little more then yoga and walking the dogs =)

Right now, I'm at week 3. I'm going to try and carefully adhere to the 10% rule at least - never increase your weekly mileage or your long run mileage by more then 10% at a time. With 'long' runs starting out so short, the second part of the rule won't really take effect until the end of the base period.

The final challenge for me is observing the step-back weeks, where mileage is decreased to allow for rest and recovery. I'm good at following these during a marathon training cycle, when I really feel worn down, but will likely be skipping these during the build-up. Eh, what can I say? I know I'm impatient =)


Finally, the Turkey Trot portion of today's post:
Run, Walk, Bike, or Trot a 5k while benefiting St. Jude Children's Research Hospital (they will receive 100% of the donations!! Visit the website here http://www.dailymile.com/turkey_trot. Then, Tweet, Facebook, or blog that you are participating (easy buttons on the site!) and pick a donation amount. $1, $5, or $10. Everything helps! (donations made securely with paypal)

Cat Calls

Cat calls - the kind that come from men driving by in over sized 4x4s, are not my favorite part of running. In fact, most days they down right piss me off. I'm not much of a looker, but with sunglasses, a running skirt and a long, blond pony tail I usually get my fair share of these while out on the road.

It has always puzzled me - what response, exactly, do men expect when they whistle at you from a speeding vehicle? None, I imagine, since even if I would offer my #, they're not slowing down to ask for it. What, then, is the objective? Is it an involuntary response, thanks to watching the movie "10" to noticing a running female? The mystery remains.

The first cat call I received post-delivery actually made me smile. Yes, I look good enough to whistle at again! However, today something very unexpected happened... someone whistled at me while I was out with the jogging stroller?!? Something just feels very wrong at a man degrading a new mama like that. Really, where are the limits?

Review: BOB Ironman

Ready for a run!

Freedom to run - that is what the BOB Ironman* stroller means to me. Newborn baby schedules are tricky... in that they don't exist. The last few weeks, since I started running again, I've had no idea when I could run on any given day. Having the BOB means I can just go whenever the opportunity presents itself. It has been a sanity/life saver!

Now, for the stroller itself. I spent a lot of time researching (online and in person) running strollers and settled on the BOB brand pretty quickly. I've seen many of these strollers on the road and after learning about their many runner-friendly features, it seemed like a perfect fit for me. I had a harder time deciding between three different BOB strollers: Ironman, Sport Utility Stroller, and Revolution.

After going back and forth a great deal, especially between the Ironman and the SUS, I finally decided on the Ironman. I'm very glad I did... here are my favorite features:

- Fixed front wheel: Unlike the Rev, the Ironman and SUS have fixed (non-rotating) front wheels. Ideal for running... not ideal if you plan to use this as an everyday, around town stroller as well. Since I don't encourage my sporting equipment to be multi-taskers, a hard core running stroller was for me.
- 'Road Bike-like' tires: These make for an incredibly smooth ride on pavement. Since I don't intend to off-road much with this stroller, the 'Mountain-Bike-like' tires of the SUS would have been overkill for me, and would have slowed the ride down some.
- Hand brake: This is another benefit of the fixed front wheel... a bike-style hand brake on the handlebar. Pasadena is a hilly town and I would hate to waste my good down-hill running momentum to prevent a run-away stroller (something which would easily happen, as this thing rides soooo smooth).
- Sturdy Infant Car Seat Holder: This got me out on the road months earlier then if I had to wait for baby girl to have proper head support to ride in the main stroller seat. BOB recommends that you don't jog with the infant seat carrier... I believe this to be a CYOA recommendation, as the car seat adapter is superbly sturdy. It would take the impact of an actual car to knock that car seat loose... no bump in the road could manage it!

Running with the stroller isn't effort free, but it isn't nearly as taxing as I would have imagined. On a downhill, this stroller takes care of itself and on level ground it barely needs a nudge to keep rolling at a good clip. The tracking is superb as well. On uphills I definitely notice the effort of pushing the stroller. It is heavy with the car seat in addition to my little one. However, it still doesn't slow me down too much and I don't mind the extra resistance workout =) Hopefully, baby girl and I will continue to make it out frequently.

*Note: I have not been asked by BOB to review this product... nor received any incentive for this review.

Postnatal Running: First Impressions

This is going to be rough. I have come back from time off before, but this time I feel out of shape in an entirely new way. While I did run until 38 weeks pregnant, the last few weeks amounted to little more than a few fast walks. Then, I took a solid 4 weeks off - the 2 before delivery and the 2 after.

My first run was 1.5 miles 2 weeks after delivery. I deliberately kept it easy and short. The first thing I noticed, stepping out the door, was how light I felt. Having lost almost 20 lbs since the last time I ran, I felt awkwardly light on my feet. That sensation only lasted about a half mile, but it was quite interesting!

Since then I've done a handful of 3-4 mile runs. I plan to try and bump that up a bit this weekend, when I'll be 6 weeks postpartum. Part of me wanted to wait until my 6-week checkup before increasing the pace or distance.

My last four runs have been with the baby girl in our new BOB Ironman stroller. I'll do a detailed review soon, but suffice it to say that I love this thing. It's best feature is the freedom it brings. I don't have to try and run early in the morning before my husband leaves for work or in the late afternoon, during the baby's fussy period. It's a sanity saver!

Pregnant Running: Recap

Now, four weeks after delivering my daughter, I'm ready to really start running again. As I stretch my (out of shape) running legs (another post to come on that!) I am reflecting a bit on my pregnant running experience.

First, I am so glad that I was able to run relatively comfortably throughout my pregnancy and that I didn't have any complications or risk factors that prevented me from running. This is not always the case!

Summary of my running during pregnancy:
First trimester: I kept my distance the same (about 12-15 mile long runs) but reduced my pace and removed any speed work (which I rarely did anyway). My husband and I ran a half marathon when I was 13 weeks pregnant.
Second trimester: My weekly distance and long runs started to come down (7-8 mile long runs). Month 5 was pretty much a wash with vacations, etc, but months 4 and 6 were still consistent. While I was doing much shorter runs, I actually ran more frequently.
Third trimester: Weekly long runs came down to 5 miles and, in month 8, I started to only run 2 or 3 times a week. Distances continued to come down until I was just doing 2 and 3 mile runs. I finally stopped enjoying running, and decided to break until after the birth, in week 38. During this trimester, I introduced more cross training, including swimming and yoga.

Things I loved about running while pregnant:
- Funny looks and/or words of encouragement from other runners/walkers I came across. I heard everything from "Good for you!" to "Look at that pregnant chick!". The vast majority of comments I received or overheard from strangers were very supportive.
- New running gear - from larger shirts, to pregnancy running skirts, to support belts, I had a brand new excuse to get more running gear!
- I was able to maintain "some" level of fitness. My post pregnancy runs, so far, have been difficult but not nearly as bad as I imagined they could be.
- I avoided many of the common pregnancy discomforts. This may or may not be related to running, of course. By the steady, not too fast weight gain helped me to avoid stretch marks. I also had very little swelling, little back ache and moderate total weight gain.
- My stress levels were kept under control, helping me to stay relaxed and prepare for the baby.
- While fitness and ease of labor aren't necessarily correlated (even Kara Goucher had a difficult labor! Link) I am convinced that I was able to make it through my long back labor (58 hours) and pushing time (2.5 hours) thanks to the endurance that comes from running. With a posterior position and compound presentation (one arm was across the baby's body, with a hand up by her face) avoiding a c-section was a minor miracle.
- I learned a lot about myself as a runner, and why running is important to me. Unable to focus on improving my speed or mileage during the pregnancy, I found that I enjoyed running just the same. Keeping up with running friends, getting my endorphin fix, and getting some quiet thinking time to myself were wonderful running benefits I enjoyed no matter how fast I went.

There isn't much I would do differently, looking back on my exercise routine during pregnancy. Next time I think I'll introduce more cross training earlier and try to maintain mileage a little longer. Overall, I had a very positive experience running during my pregnancy and would recommend it to anyone who is cleared by their Dr. to do so!

Finding my inner OM

Life with a newborn is wonderful, fascinating and stressful. Life with out exercise is just stressful. I made it 11 days.

I know, I need the rest. I also, however, need at least a little exercise. A mom going through endorphin withdrawal is not a happy mom.

So on Wednesday, the newborn safely deposited with the grandparents, I made my way to the post-natal yoga class. Let me just say, pure bliss. It was exactly what I needed to work out some lingering stiffness. The instructor was very attentive to me, knowing I was only ~2 weeks post delivery, and helped me modify a few of the poses to make them easier. An hour and a half away from my adorable yet extremely dependent baby didn't hurt either. I returned a much happier, healthier mommy =)