Running After Baby // Week 14

It's been a while since I've written specifically about exercise. I'm doing a lot of it, despite what the number on the scale might tell you. (But that's another post for another day!)

(Old photo alert!)

Accomplishments:

I don't think I shared my 5K time from last month's race. Obviously I wasn't in any sort of racing shape. Still, I crossed the finish in 25:15. Not too shabby for two months postpartum. That's basically 8:08/mile. My ultimate goal with the 5K is to get under 22 minutes. My PR is something like 22:03, but I know it will take a while (and lots of track workouts) to get there.

Another huge win for me was running an 8-miler two weekends ago with my running buddy Ariana. This past weekend, Stephen and I ended up getting into a fencing project at home, so I actually only ran like 3 miles on Sunday. Next weekend, though, I'd like to tackle between 9-10 miles with my friend. It felt really great to run long again.

Really great.

Goals:

In my last running after baby post, I wrote about how I planned to run a 10-mile race in November. Unfortunately, I didn't realize at the time that the date of that race conflicts with one of Stephen's cross country races. A paid gig trumps paying to run in my book. So, I don't have a race on the calendar right now.

Regardless, I'm still following Hal Higdon's Half Marathon Novice plan. I'm currently in the middle of week 5, though my long run is a bit farther than is on the plan. I'll probably just aim to increase the distance of my longest run until I reach around 13 miles, hopefully by November. I like being in half marathon shape, whether or not I plan to run for speed, because I find that distance is pretty manageable to knock out on a weekend without cutting too much into family time.

For cross-training, I do kettlebells 3x/week for about a half hour. I do Barre3 online 2x/week for about half an hour as well. I also take some walks to round things out. I do yoga to decompress at least once a week, but I'd love to find time for daily practice, even if that means just 10 minutes.

Other goals include getting a bit speedier with my general training pace. I run between 8:30-9:30 for most of my training runs. I'd love that to be more between 8-9.

Big Shift:

The biggest difference in my running these days is that I do most of it before the sun comes up. Stephen leaves for work relatively early. So, unless I set my alarm and nurse Eloise, I'm out of luck. Our treadmill is acting funky, too, so we need to get that looked at. I can usually fit in 3-5 miles in the morning, which is all I really need to do during the week.

I may even dare to say I'm enjoying being a morning runner. It's basically the only time that belongs to me during the day. It's the only time I find that I have quiet, which is important to me. So, yeah. I'm digging it. I know my body feels more sluggish in the morning. That's something I need to work on -- warming up.

Right now, I'm most excited for fall running. The leaves are already starting to change. I may drive out to the country and do some runs when the colors are wild and pretty. I love listening to the wind go through the trees and re-fueling with cider and donuts.

What are you most excited about in your fitness routine?

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Running After Baby // Week 9

Here's a topic I've wanted to write more about on the blog for a long time: Running! It seems like years since I've engaged in any sort of formal training. Or since I've had any real running goals. I am beyond ready to dive in and get my legs back.

This run was a promising start.

A photo posted by A S H L E Y // neverhomemaker (@neverhomemaker) on Aug 15, 2016 at 5:24am PDT

Two of the five miles (miles 3 and 4) were run under 8-minute pace (7:55, 7:53). Boy did I feel it today! As the mornings get slightly cooler, I can see my paces getting faster. I really don't like running in the summer sun and humidity, so I am looking forward to more runs like this one once the fall weather sets in.

Goals:

I am currently following the Hal Higdon novice 1 half marathon plan with hopes of running a 10-miler in mid-November. I don't have a pace goal at this point. I'm just looking to start my journey by getting my endurance back.

A photo posted by A S H L E Y // neverhomemaker (@neverhomemaker) on Aug 1, 2016 at 5:35am PDT

If you've followed me a long while, you know that running full marathons isn't my thing. I have trained and gotten injured too many times to want to attempt that distance anytime soon (or ever) again. So, my ultimate training goal -- long term -- is to finish a half marathon in under 1:40. I tried a few years after Ada was born and go close with something in the 1:42 range.

But that's a long way off. Right now? I'm getting ready to lace up at the start of a 5K tomorrow night. I'd love to just run under 8:30s the whole time, but I am worried I may have spent my speedy legs too soon this week. We shall see what happens. I'm more interested in getting back into the running culture in our area. I used to do Sunday long runs every week with a great group of women, and I miss that time!

Other stuff:

I'm experimenting with becoming a morning runner. I much prefer running in the evening, but Stephen's cross country schedule will end up conflicting with that. I am finding if I wake up whenever Eloise eats around 5-6 AM, that I love getting out and starting the day by sweating. I usually have to pump a bit, but it's been nice to build a little breast milk stash that way.

I have set a goal this month to start doing core exercises. I have been totally cleared and all that jazz. I do some already through Barre, but I might ask Stephen to "train" me by encouraging me to do what he has this athletes do. I'll report back progress. I'd also like to get into the groove with doing push-ups again. It's been a really long time. I can do like 10 without whining, and I used to do 50 with no problem!

Last, we live a mile from a track, so I'm hoping -- like I did after I had Ada -- to do a timed mile soon. From there, I like to track my progress and see how that mile time gets faster as the months go on. I will probably do that starting next week and go from there. My fastest mile two months postpartum last time around was 7:45.

What's on your race calendar or goals list lately? 

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Body After Baby // Week 6

You guys! I am on the highest of highs right now. I just finished my first fast workout in what seems like forever. I had given up on hard running when I was experiencing recurrent pregnancy loss. So, I'd say that was a year and a half ago? I thought somehow running with much effort had something to do with all that. I mean, I was always looking for something to blame (and my doctor assures me the running had nothing to do with it).

EXERCISE

Fast forward to now -- 6 weeks postpartum -- and I woke up feeling great. But I didn't feel like doing my usual 3-mile slog through the neighborhood. It's hot, sunny, and I'm kind of bored with it and need to get back to my old routes. Today's solution: You might remember that we bought a treadmill this year. I looked up some interval workouts and found this one on PopSugar.

I feel like it's the perfect mix of gentle and challenging to get back into the swing of things. (Somehow I didn't follow it exactly and did a lot more of the 7-8 MPH -- oops!)

FOOD

Going dairy free has had an interesting side effect. I'm only a couple days in, but the food choices I've been making overall have been much healthier. I've been consuming a lot more protein and less carbs. I've been choosing more fruits and veggies and shunning more desserts.

I will probably break from the dairy free just briefly this weekend when we visit my parents in Wellsboro. It's my birthday, and I would like to indulge in some cake and home treats I only get on occasion. (There this food truck that has THE BEST grilled cheese!)


I do wonder, though, for those of you nursing mamas who went without dairy: Did you notice a change in your supply? I feel like I've had slightly less milk the last few days. But I realize it might also have to do with reaching 6 weeks, which is when things regulate a bit, right? I'm trying to add more fats to my diet regardless. An avocado a day . . . :)

CONFIDENCE

My body hasn't changed much in the last several weeks, but I don't really mind it much. It took a long time to get pregnant, a long time to cook baby, and it'll take a long time to reach "normal" again. And I know from having Ada that "normal" will be different anyway. I actually felt like I got fitter in some ways after I had her despite not having my body look like it did when I was younger.


Exercising and eating well is making me feel so great. We've been sleeping better, too. Eloise had been doing some 5-6 hour sleeping stretches while on vacation. Since we've returned it's been more like 4 -- but it's all good.

So, that's week 6 in my postpartum fitness and body journey. I'll be back tomorrow with reflections from vacation (as well as some essentials for taking a newborn to the beach).

Happy Wednesday!

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Body After Baby // Week 3

You guys said you wanted to hear more about the postpartum period, both with adjusting to life with two kids and with regard to recovery. So, today I'm going to write about my recovery so far (Eloise is 3 weeks old as of yesterday), as well as some of the differences from the first time around.

You always hear that all pregnancies are different. And I've learned that this statement totally applies to recoveries as well. When I had Ada, I felt so much pain after birth. My tailbone hurt. My tear stung. I had issues with urine leakage. I generally felt blah and spent a great deal of time on the couch. I did start running (too) soon after giving birth (within a couple weeks), and I know I shouldn't have because I was still bleeding (which increased and turned bright red with activity), having a lot of pelvic pain and, yeah, leaking. Still, the exercise gave me something normal to grasp onto, so I kept it up.

This time around, I don't feel like I just have a baby. I feel, well, surprisingly normal despite carrying a little extra weight. I am thanking my lucky stars for it, too. I think two pushes versus two plus hours of pushing may be to credit for some of it. I did have tearing just as significant as I did with Ada, but it didn't/doesn't hurt and is healing well. I also stopped bleeding during week two. Instead of wanting to spend days on the couch, I've been itching to get out and about thanks to the summer weather. Movement feels good and even therapeutic.

As far as stats go, I gained a total of 24 pounds in my pregnancy, topping off at 162. Here are a couple photos from two weeks postpartum.

I lost 16 in the week or so after giving birth. I have only lost another one since. I am at 145 pounds right now. My goal is to eventually get back to 135 pounds, which is where I seem to stick after kids. Before kids I was more like 125, but I find this weight takes a ton of diet and exercise, more than I'm willing to do at this stage of life. I know it could take a while to get back to a goal weight, especially since nursing isn't some magic weight loss cure for me. I held on to 8 pounds while nursing Ada for 17 months.

I don't have any diet plans right now. I am loosely tracking what I eat, mostly to keep a log of how much protein I'm getting in each day. (I'm trying to consume at least 65 grams per day.) I struggle getting enough, so I write down what I ate and -- next to it -- I write the grams of protein. I am also trying to keep an eye on my sugar intake. I'm not limiting myself, but I have a sweet tooth that can go easily out of control. Eloise also tends to nurse right during my meals, which makes me want to grab a quick cookie instead of waiting to make a good lunch with eggs, greens, and whole grains.

I am also back exercising with no pain or incontinence issues. I know it's like TMI to keep writing that -- yes -- I leaked after Ada's birth. But it's just a reality of the postpartum period that few people talk about. This time around I haven't had any urine mishaps. My bleeding has stopped and hasn't increased with activity. And I don't have any pelvic pain. It's kind of incredible.

I know very well that my body is still healing, though, so here's a rundown of what I've been doing.

• I am sticking to slow two to three mile jogs about every other day. After Ada, despite all the issues I was having, I pushed myself to go farther and farther and didn't rest between sessions. I also wanted to get back to my paces ASAP. This time around, I don't even take a watch, but I estimate I'm running 10 minute miles. I go slow and walk whenever I feel like I just don't want to push. I also make sure to do a little walking before/after the jogging to warm up and cool down.
• I have done some Barre workouts. These feel amazing to stretch and strengthen my body. Again, I don't do anything that's over 30 minutes, and I don't do more than one type of workout per day. 
• I am also thinking of starting a yoga challenge (on YouTube) and trying to get in at least 10 minutes of stretching and relaxation each day.
• Other days, like today, I just do gentle walking. I have no races on the calendar or other reason to be in any kind of mode where I NEED to do exercise all the time.
• If at any point, I do get pain or other signs I need to step back, I will. But my midwife said to go ahead and do what feels good as it feels good.

That's how recovery is going. At least at week three. I won't be updating every single week like I did the last time around. So, maybe look for another one of these posts around week 6. I would like to run a 5K in late August. Not for time, obviously, but it's a Women's Distance Festival that I try to participate in every year. I suppose that's my current fitness goal. I look forward to updating you on how it's going!

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