DOMS

Its time for a training week fortnight wrap.

Since the last training update I have managed to get some longer runs under my belt and I am starting to feel ready for this half marathon!

Thanks to the September Miles Madness I have been motivated to tack a few extra Ks on all my sessions and not just my long runs and this has seen me achieve my highest mileage week EVER!

With the exception of some specific 'post baby' soreness (apparently all the kegels in the world don't strengthen you for DISTANCE running) my body has adapted well to the higher mileage.

The Hill sessions on the other hand completely shocked my body and left my hamstrings screaming. I chose very gentle hills, did extra long warm ups and kept the reps low. Even though I felt like I didn't push very hard IN my hill sessions my legs talked about divorcing me for days after. Given how much of a shock the hills have been I am only going to squeeze two more hill workouts in between now and the race. I certainly don't want sore tired legs like that close to the race. Its been a long time since I have experienced DOMS and in some sick and twisted way it sure felt good to know that I pushed my legs in running.

When Sunday rolled around I was planning on heading out for 90 minutes on my own while Big A took care of Little A. But cuddling up with Little A on the bed (in the morning when he is just ALL smiles) was just too much fun... how could I leave this little guy behind???? So I suggested to Big A that I take the stroller and he come along on his bike. We decided to run/ride in to the City and have breakie along the River Torrens and run/ride home. Running home on a "big breakkie" and a belly full of coffee was a bit rough but it certainly was a nice way to mix my running up and squeeze some more time in with my two favourite people!

Tempo and Intervals are going well. I had a great Interval session last week in which I attempted 3 minute 30 second Ks. I failed. My fastest was 3 minutes 35 seconds. How amazing are these Olympic female athletes... they run 42.2km at a pace that I can't even maintain for 1km!!!

This morning my Tempo Run included 30 minutes at 15kmp/h which is another personal best for me... Suddenly a sub 20 minute 5km seems possible and dare I dream of a 40 minute 10km!?!?!

All in all I am mentally and physically in a great place for this half marathon. Now the only problem is making sure I am geographically in the right place for this half marathon... an unexpected trip away might mean I wont be able to race the McLaren Vale Half. Fingers crossed though! Anyone know of any Virtual Half Marathons on the weekend of October 14th? I need a back up plan!

The last HooRah

Little A is just shy of 6 months which means I have been back running for 5 months already. There is nothing like having a baby to make time fly! I have well and truly made my "comeback" and can now shift my focus from regaining strength and fitness to building on and growing it.

Post baby my goal was to regain my fitness as efficiently as possible.
Enter Speed Work!

5 months of running with a program built around Tempos and Intervals has paid off and now I feel ready to crank up the Ks!

And crank up the Ks I will do as I am only seven weeks out from my next goal... The McLaren Vale Half Marathon.

So whats the plan going to look like now?

Well you may remember me saying that I want to become a Stronger Runner?
Enter Hills!

It has been nearly 2 years since I have ran a hill session. I'm not expecting these to be fun but I am looking forward to pushing myself in a new way.

I am also going to keep two "easy" runs but do these with the stroller. I am finding stroller running physically quite challenging but I know it is making me a better runner.

I will also keep one "speed" session each week and will alternate these between tempo and intervals.

Finally of course there is the long run in which I will build up my distance. My longest run since Little A came along has been 80 minutes. In the next 7 weeks I would like to increase that by 30-40minutes. So all up for the next 7 weeks my training plan will look something like this:

Easy
Tempo or Intervals
Easy
Long Run
Hills

With 2 rest days thrown in there too I should be able to comfortably manage this load.

So why the last HooRah?

After this race I'm not going to train for anything. I may or may not race but I wont be following a training program. Runs will be done when and if I feel like them for as long or short as I feel like. There's a few reasons for this change of approach:

1) Little A will be nearly 8 months and summer will be just around the corner. I can't wait for our first summer together... trips to the pools, walks to the playgrounds and runs to the beach. Bring it on! I know we are going to have a blast and I know there will be lots of physical activity in there and lots of Ks put on the pram but I want our activites and days to be dictated by the weather and what WE want to do not my running program.

2) I have never really done much "unstructured" running. Generally I have been training for something and following some program. I want to learn to embrace running without striving for a race or an achievement.

3) The BIG reason for the change - Big A and I have made no secret of our desire to grow our family. The last 6 months have flown by and I know the next 6 months will too. When that time comes around I want to be ready physically and mentally. Breastfeeding, Pregnancy and Running individually are all demanding of the body. For me I am finding the combination of two of them an energy burning fest(!!!) and would dare not attempt all 3 at once (Honestly I don't have time to eat & drink anymore). As I am not ready to wean Little A from feeding just yet I am going to wean the running first. Hopefully I can find my "sweet spot" where my body can manage running and baby growing responsibilites.

4) Finally mastering "unstructured running will be essential if I choose to run through my next pregnancy. Running while pregnant requires you to listen to your body and each run will be taken on a day by day basis (if at all!). I suspect following a plan would be futile.

So here goes my last HooRah before I attempt to master "unstructured running"!

Any unstructured runners out there? Whats the secret?
Did you run through pregnancy?

Adelaide Marathon 10km Race

Pre - Race
Like all races these days I try not to think about them or more specifically get excited about them until its the morning of. Mostly because now I have this little guy who is completely dependant on me and quite frankly "unpredictable", I know that there is always a chance that something may crop up and I will have to forgo a race.

"Go run Mum, I'll look after daddy"


So as I walked to the start line with Big A and Little A, I had a mini-panick attack. I had no race plan, I hadn't even spared this race a thought! Arriving at the start with only 5 minutes to go didn't leave much time to do anything either. I said goodbyes to the boys and made a dash for the loos. Cutting it fine .... I know!

I made it back just in time for the count down. Usually I would join the back of the pack but today I was going for a PB and negotiating traffic can chew up precious seconds so I nestled in to the middle of the eager to start (it was about 9 degrees!) pack of runners.

My race plan was formulated in the first 500m. I was going to run at a pace that I thought I could JUST maintain for 10km and then give anything I had left in the last km. A 10km race pace for me is running at about 7/10 for perceived effort. In the first Ks I glanced at my Garmin and was a little freked to see the number 13 on my speed screen... but I felt comfortable so I went with it.

This turned out to be the perfect plan.

My Time
I crossed the line in 46 minutes and 22 seconds. My race pace must have been smack on as my splits were very even:

4.39
4.41
4.40
4.38
4.39
9.24 (oops missed a km marker! average = 4.42)(2.06km)
4.27 (.95km)
4.36
4.34

The Course
Do you remember me saying that I was scared to run the Adelaide Marathon because of the twisty turning course. Well the 10km still had some loops and turns (but nothing like the marathon). I think the course was inspired by the London Olympic Marathon course with its 111 turns!

Despite the winding nature of the course and nearly colliding with a pole in the middle of the foot path AND nearly being taken out by a runner who didn't see the fountain in the middle of the path, I loved the course. The South East corner weaved through the botanic gardens and was all new running territory for me.

The last 200 meters came off the road, up a path and into an oval. It was awesome to finish a race along a path lined with supporters and friendly faces.

Highlights
Looking back on the race there are so many things that make me smile. Here's just a few:

1. Shaving 13 minutes and 38 seconds of my last 10km time in just 17 weeks! I know this is largely thanks to the massive "returning" to running gains after baby but I still put in all the hard work and clearly my training program (written by me!) wasn't too shabby either!

2. How in tune I have become with my body and pace in all things running. To achieve those (almost) EVEN splits on "feel" I was pretty happy!

3.Seeing hubby and bubby at the 9km marker. Even though I had arranged to meet the boys at the finish line. Big A surprised me a couple times along the course. The 9km sighting was completely unexpected and gave me that final kick I so needed!

4.This was my first race in which I have associated myself with a charity and run for a reason. It added a whole new dimension to the experience and I thank everyone again for their support. It sure feels good to mix my passion with giving back to the community.

Final thoughts
I have to confess I didn't go into the race confident of achieving my goal. In the 2 weeks leading up to the race Little A had been teething and quite unsettled. This meant that a lot of my runs were done with the stroller (at a slower pace). Having not ran much at my desired race pace I was a little psyched out as to whether or not I still could. Turns out the thing that "did my head in" actually makes me a better runner. But I'll tell you all about that in another post dedicated to the wonderful BUT challenging world of "stroller running".

So now that I have achieved my 10km goal whats next? Well this is worthy of another post too so stay tuned to hear about the next training goal and race in 7.5 weeks... my last HooRah!

I'm a mixed breed

I have always enjoyed my tempo and intervals sessions but despite my love of speed sessions I have never considered myself a "short distance" runner. Although I would do shorter distances I always thought I was a half marathon runner who was trying to become a marathon runner.

Then Little A came along and my focus changed from quantity to quality. I knew 2-3 hour long runs wouldn't be on the cards for a while. What I didn't know was how much I would enjoy the shorter distances. Or more importantly that I can achieve more over these distances than I could in the longer.

Problem solved... Become a short distance runner! But its not that easy!!!

Despite absolutely loving my current training I just can't shake this nagging desire for a marathon. I ache for that 42.2km. Adelaide only has one marathon each year which happens to be this weekend. So any desires for another marathon would mean travel. Shorter distance races though are much easier to come by with at least one suitable race each month.

When looooong runs were out of the question it was easy to focus on the shorter distances but now that we have reached a point where training for a marathon is possible I feel torn. Little A and I are now running together in the stroller which gives me a lot more flexibility for length of runs. Intervals and Tempo Runs on the other hand are a bit more a challenge with a stroller (or at least they are for this beginner!).

At the end of the day the problem is I love it all. I loved the 5km, the marathon and everything in between. I wish I was a "pure" short or "long" distance runner but I'm not.

Marathon Runner Vs The Sprinter



For now though my focus is the 10km race this weekend. If I achieve my goal time then it will move to a half marathon in 8 weeks. If I don't achieve my goal time then I will do another 10km in 8 weeks instead of the half.

After that... I don't know.I have 8 weeks to work it out. What I do know is this:

- I want to become a "stronger" runner
- I want to have peak health to grow our family when we choose to
- I want to continue to enjoy running without it ever becoming all consuming
- I want my training to be efficient... if I am going to be away from my family, then damn it I will make it worthwhile.

I'm not sure what distances and styles of training will best suit these goals but I will let you know when I do!

Are you a short or long distance runner?
Do you ever want to do it all?

The ultimate runners network

On my post pregnancy to do list was a trip to my podiatrist to get re-assessed. After having my hips and core plied apart I figured "structurally" I wouldn't be the same. Turns out I was right! The extra weight I carried, the physical changes that happened and all that relaxin that pumped through my body have a bit to answer for. All in all I was happy to discover that all my core work has paid off but I still have some work to do. Let me say though, there is nothing like a knowledgable health professional to help you establish what needs to be stretched, tightened or adjusted. I left my appointment feeling confident that I can get back on top of these few niggles that I have acquired post baby that I just haven't been able to shake.

Today reminded of a post by pavement runner about surrounding yourself with greatness (see here). Its amazing how much we as humans can feed off and be inspired by others. I mean who isn't sitting on their couch at the moment feeling uber-inspired watching our olympians!?!?

At the moment I am training on my own. I am not part of a runners club and I am only doing the odd race here and there. So I am not getting to socialise in person with many other runners much. But I AM SURROUNDED BY GREATNESS and do have an amazing network of people who inspire, motivate and assist me.

Firstly there is the amazing online community of bloggers and tweeters. I love sharing in other peoples journeys and I love being inspired by them. On the occassion when I just lack that motivation there will always be another runner who tweets or blogs something that I swear was written just for me. It doesn't matter if our mileage, goals or paces are different I can always rely on these people to give me a kick in the bum when I need it.

Then there are those allied health professionals who keep us on our feet. Now I have met a few in my times as a PT but there is nothing like working with a fellow runner who "gets it". Yes runners can be "slightly obsessive" by nature and not the most reasonable people to deal with when we are injured. Sometimes rest is the only answer but a fellow runner sure understands how much you just want to get back to running!

Finally there are my amazing supportive friends and family. They are magnificent and are always there to encourage me. This in itself inspires greatness in me. I want to strive to be the best I can just for them!

No, I am not aiming for the Olympics or any elite level for that matter. But that doesn't mean that I don't still benefit from being surrounded by amazing people (athletes or not!). I might be the one to go out there and do the Ks BUT I only got out there because my husband understands and supports me, because I read that inspiring tweet that motivated me, because my podiatrist removed my corns and I am pain-free again!

All over the place

My running these days is all over the place. I can get my sessions done but just not in an "ideal" order. Even though I am following a program I do have to shuffle my sessions around a LOT to fit in with life. This week there was plenty of shuffling and the result was something that would make any running coach cringe. A speed session after a long run. A 5km time trial after my intervals. My two rest days were back to back and not spread out before or after my hard sessions.

There was a time in my life (ohh a distant memory now) when my life could be scheduled around my running. When I could spend time and money on recovery and nutrition. These days its just a bonus if I get to stretch and foam roll after a session! There are no special diets, no weekly massages or walks in the ocean to recover the legs. At most I'll slip my compression pants on but even those take 20 minutes (that I don't have) to put on so that rarely happens.

I know if I could find an extra 20 minutes a day to invest in my running and recovery or re-arrange life to get the right runs out on the right day I could optimise my training.

It occured to me the other day that even though I am not doing high mileage I am shooting for PBs on every front and am striving to get the fastest times out of my legs to date, yet I am spending the least amount of time and effort in my training and recovery. Ordinarily this is the point where I would re-adjust and make more room for all of that. But not this time. . . I love my new casual approach to my running and I love not being completely and utterly consumed by it.

On Friday I woke up with a massive craving for runny eggs. . . not the greatest "just before a run" meal but I wanted it. Did it repeat on me? YES. Could I have performed better on say a piece of toast and a banana? PROBABLY.

I LOVE running. I dream about it. I spend lots of my "spare" time reading about it and I look forward to my sessions (99% of the time!). But running does not define me, it is just an enjoyable and important part of my life.

For that reason I am happy to miss out on all the benefits that could come from an "ideal" schedule and all the bells and whistles that go with training. For this mummy just running and giving 100% when I do run is enough for me. I'll try my best to provide the right training, nutrtition and recovery for my running but not at the expense of something that does define me like being a mummy and wife (and food lover!)

I am PASSIONATE about Health and Fitness
I LOVE Running but
I AM a wife and a mother

A whole lot of good that REST did me!

I was expecting some great runs this week after an "easier" week last week but what I got was just the opposite. Even though I hit all my target speeds I really didn't feel strong in any of my runs this week. I think I must have caught a mild version of Big A's cold as I had the sniffles and was just NOT feeling inspired.

Suprisingly I still managed to do all my 5 planned sessions but today, after a week of feeling less than peak I decided to listen to my body and traded my 90 minute Long Run for a 30 minute Easy Run. I am so pleased I did because as the day has gone on I have started to feel much more myself. Hopefully I have kicked the "lurgy" to the kerb and wont be needing 10+ hours sleep every night anymore.

On top of all the extra sleep I have also needed extra food. Between breast feeding and running I was already an energy burning machine but add in the sudden cool weather and my poor body fighting a bug and I have had to eat like a monster for the last couple of weeks to keep up with what it is demanding. To keep my energy up I have introduced a new meal to the day and it fits in nicely between breakfast and morning tea! Its kind of "breakfast round #2". I've got to stop writing about eating, I am working up an appetite just thinking about it.

After Little A was born I set my sights on a half marathon. I chose the half because getting out the long runs required for a marathon was just not going to fit into my schedule with a newborn. I also decided that as I had such limited training time I would focus on speed and not distance and just have one token long run each week to build up to the half marathon distance. This week aside, I am LOVING the speed work. A 5 minute warm up, 20-30 minutes of flogging myself and a 5 minute cool down fits in perfectly with Little A's routine and these high intensity runs are just firing me up.

And now that I am reaping the benefits of all this speed work I am wondering if all my efforts are a little bit wasted on a half marathon when I am only doing one token long run per week. Should I be focusing on shorter distances in which I will be able to maximise my speed work training and focus on the longer distances when I am focusing my training more on distance?

Do I shoot for the longer distance or do I focus on achieving 5km and 10km PBs? There are pros and cons of both for me at the moment. For example the shorter speed sessions are easier to fit in but the longer slower sessions will be easier to do when I start running with the pram soon. Realistically I could achieve both this year but even then which should I do first? Should I peak my fitness and then build up distance or build up distance and then work on speed? Decisions, decisions!

Well at least I have something to think about on my training runs this week. Hopefully I can make a decision by the end of the week and adjust my program accordingly.

All in all it wasn't my best week of running but its not always going to be sunshine and roses. On that note here's my favourite quote for the week:

"Life isn't about waiting for the storm to pass, it's about learning to dance in the rain"

I Survived

Here's another training week wrap and let me start by saying. . . I survived! And it wasn't the running this week that challenged me. Actually the running kept me sane. Hence why I was on the treadmill on Saturday night (sad, I know but we have a little baby not a wild social life).

It was scheduled to be an easy running week and to ensure that I did just that the powers that be threw a few obstacles my way:

On Tuesday Big A came home early from work. Before Little A and I could jump on him and bombard him with stories of our day he announced he was feeling crap and going straight to bed. Now in case you aren't familiar with the man flu its important to know that it is WAY worse than the normal flu! So I braced myself for a "hellish" week. But looking after a baby and a sick husband wasn't what duanted me the most. I was absolutely petrified of getting sick or worse Little A getting sick. I am the first to admit that I don't cope well being sick. I am a big SOOK. . . Maybe I get the man flu too???? We took Big A to the doctor where I was told to keep my distance from him as I was breast feeding it was more likely that I would get sick (yay!) and ironically because Little A was being breast fed it was less likely he would get it. Talk about putting ourselves on the line!!! Honestly though I was relieved to hear that most likely Little A would avoid this. I couldn't cope watching him suffer getting his immunisations how would I watch him suffer being SICK for days?!??!

Anyway the doctor obviously has no idea how small our house is and the only way to avoid Big A and his germs were if he was to sleep on the verandah! Which given the freezing temperatures was probably not going to help his recovery. All I could do was up my food, skip all High Intensity Training, get heaps of rest and pray that I was spared. I certainly didn't mind eating more and after 6 weeks of training I really enjoyed the lower intensity. But by saturday night I was ready to open my lungs up again and did a Tempo run with 25 minutes at 5 minute pace. (I was pretty happy with that!!)

Yesterday I returned to normal training with an interval session and I am looking forward to some more good speed sessions this week.

As for the home front Big A is feeling much better and Little A is being an absolute delight. With a bit of assistance from me he has also started to have longer (and less) naps during the day. I don't want to get too excited but at nearly 3 months we almost have a predictable routine. . .

Tempo run tonight. . . can't wait to see what these legs have got in them. I know my speed gains will slow and eventually plateau but one good thing about having a break from running is seeing those rapid gains when you return. Honestly I have completely blown my own expectations and my sights are set higher than ever (in regards to times not distances!) . . . Do you run faster after a baby????

Big Gains

This week it has been about intervals, intervals and more intervals. I also managed to squeeze in a tempo run, an easy run and a long run. By Saturday I felt like this. . .

The reason for so many interval sessions being that I started the week doing the interval session that I missed from last week due to Little A being unwell. After a trip to the doc and some medicine the little guy was back to his lively self the next day and so was my training.

This week I have seen some awesome gains in my fitness as I have hit new speeds in all of my sessions. Generally I have felt a lot stronger and a lot more like the pre-baby runner I once knew. Is it because I am finding my groove in my easy runs and getting better quality speed sessions or is it all my speed work paying off? A bit of both I think.

Unfortunately as my running has increased I have let my core training slip a little. I was very consistent and commited to my core training in the early days of my return to running knowing that Post baby this would be the most important step in returning to running. But now I am well and truly back and as I have built up my sessions I have just struggled to find another block in the day for more training.

I thought that by doing lower mileage I could take a more relaxed approach to my pre and post run regime. But with high intensity sessions I am discovering that the actual running is STILL only 1/4 of the picture. Strength training, Recovery and Nutrition still play equally important roles.

I simply can't dedicate the time that I have previously to these areas though. Here are my time effective solutions that I am trying (or about to try) at the moment:

Strength Training
My body has given me a warning this week as I really felt my lower back getting tired in the last few kms of my long run. So starting from this week I am going to try and do 5 minutes each day. This may be a couple of hovers in the lounge room, some pelvic floor exercises before going to bed or some leg raises at the play ground on my walk with Little A. Whatever it is, it will be better than nothing. I just need to pull my finger out before I get side lined with an injury

Recovery
I will start "Foam Rolling" on the floor when Little A has his tummy time. I am usually lying on the mat with him so I might as well be rolling while I am down there. He will also be a good distraction from the pain. . . oh foam rolling I dread you! At night I am turning my electric blanket up to max for the first 5-10 minutes to warm my muscles and trying to use the wheat bags on anything that is tight after a hard session. If I am really sore or tight I will also wear my compression pants under my trackies.

Nutrition
Since all my long runs are sub 2 hours I am not having to worry about Carb loading for my runs. As for post-workout I have been having a Sustagen Sport shake after my run in addition to my normal meals and snacks. This is also to help replace any energy I have burnt on the run so I am not getting too much of an energy deficit while I am breast feeding. Because YES exercising while breast feeding is fine (with adequate energy intake!). . . I'll save this rant for another day but for now, lets just say you wouldn't want to be the next person to ask me if running is a good idea while feeding?!?! And I don't mean literally during a feed!

Hopefully all these little bits and pieces that I CAN fit in to my day will keep me injury free and running strong. . . we will see.

Anyhow back to the washing for me. Amongst the mountain of Little A washing I have some awesome new 2XU pieces that I scored for Mothers Day. Can't wait to break in the new clothes with some more awesome sweaty sessions this week.

May all your miles be Merry!

Training week wrap up

A week of running - YAY! I am anticipating the first 2 weeks to be the hardest so I am celebrating being half way through the real hard stuff now!

First week back saw 4 sensible and "intensity appropriate" build back runs. 2 on the pavement and 2 on the treadmill. 2 of my runs were cut short by Little A but only by a smidge. I will get better at planning my running around his sleeps I am sure (or even better, in a few months we'll be running together!!)

Yesterday I did a 1km warm up and 3 x 1km intervals at 5min pace with 500m recoveries and then a 1km cool down. It was a great session to end my running week on. The first 2 intervals were manageable but the last one was a struggle. I was thinking how tough it is coming back to running after such a long break and then I realised...

Intervals are meant to be tough! If you aren't giving your all in your speed work and pushing your limits then how will you improve? So I stopped feeling sorry for myself and told myself that eventually this pace wouldn't be so hard and when that happens I will up the speed again until it IS hard again.

I love speed work. I am in my element in a speed session but it did take me yesterdays run to get my mental game on again for this higher intensity stuff. . .but I am back baby!

At the moment while I am trying for quality and not quantity I have 4 "hard" sessions and a run dedicated to each of the following:

Aerobic Conditioning (Long runs. . .not that long yet!)
Aerobic Capacity (fartlek)
Anaerobic Conditioning (tempo runs)
Anaerobic Capcity (speed work)

"Junk Miles" will be a luxury that will only happen when I can fit in an extra run. So my long runs will be my switch off time because the other 3 sessions are mentally demanding!

Little "monster" is waking.... must go!

The first few Ks

It happened! The much anticipated first "Post Baby Run". I've thought about it non stop I've dreamt about it and now I have finally done it. You couldn't wipe the cheesy grin off my face all day...

The Gods were kind and gave me perfect running conditions. A beautiful autumn day, 19 degrees with a soft breeze. I started out steady and gradually picked up the pace for the second half. I'm pretty sure you can't talk about "negative splits" when its a 4km run but hey it felt like a marathon to me.

I Finished with an average pace of 6min29 and with that in mind I have set the paces I am hoping to be hitting in 6 weeks:

Long run pace - 6min
Tempo run pace - 5min30
Intervals (100s -400s) - sub 4mins

After that first run I feel that building up the distance is going to be harder than reaching the speeds and since my goal is to focus on quality and not quantity I think these targets will keep me on track. That said, speed or no speed, I am just enjoying being back and will be grateful for each and every run and remember that this is not the year for PBs but just to enjoy running and motherhood (see New Year Resolutions)

Treadmill Time

After a solid 10 hour sleep Little A wakes at 5.30am for a feed before settling back down for another couple of hours. Once he's down I slip on my sneakers and escape out the back door while hubby and bubby snooze. When I return I enjoy a nice hot shower, have breakfast with Big A and pack his lunch. Then a happy and well slept little A stirs from his cot... and so my day begins.

IN MY DREAMS!!!!

As much as I would like to fantasise about such mornings the reality is 90% of my mornings wouldn't resemble anything like this! Firstly newborns don't sleep for 10 hours straight but even if and when he does I doubt his waking and sleep times will magically align with my ideal training and showering times. At the moment I am just grateful for a shower time!

So that coupled with the fact that apparently you aren't meant to leave babies at home unattended while you go for a run means I am going to have to do some treadmill time.

Treadmills are not my favourite way to train by a long shot but a treadie run is better than no run. While Treadmill runs are a bit "boring" and speed workouts just aren't as good on them I am still grateful for treadmills and here's why:

1. I will get to run when I otherwise could not
2. Rain, hail, shine you can always run on a treadmill
3. You can watch trash TV and rest assured you are still being productive!
4. You don't have to wait for your Garmin to charge if you forgot to plug it in the night before
5. You can wear your ultra daggy comfortable training clothes in the privacy of your own home
6. You can lie down on the warm belt post run for your stretch...REALXING!

So even if I don't get many "ideal" mornings in the next few months I can still be clocking up the Ks thanks to the trusty Treadie.

I'm back...

9 days ago we welcomed our little boy to the world. Now we are settled in at home and finding some kind of a routine... well as much routine as you can have with a newborn. In between spending hours just gazing at out little wonder and the rigourous feeding and changing routine I have started my journey back to runner.

Since our return home I have enjoyed daily walks with hubby and bubby. Even thoush I am dying to pound the pavement these walks are quite the workout after more than a month of only "waddling", not to mention the addition of a pram (which is quite the workout up the hills!!)

As far as strengthening the body I have been doing my kegels religiously and have also started some light core exercises (and I mean light!). Hopefully next week I can step it up another notch if all is going well. All in all I feel great to be on the build back and am not going to risk injury by rushing it.

So there wont be a whole lot of running for the next few weeks but there will be a whole lot of mummy stuff so I will use this space for now to share some of my "new mummy" experiences.

Stay tuned....

The Comeback Plan

The other day I enjoyed some last minute baby shopping & lunch with a gorgeous friend and mother who inspires me very much. After lunch she asked me if I had a plan and timeline for returning to training post baby...

OH DO I HAVE A PLAN!!! I have spent every spare minute reading up on and writing a training plan for my running "comeback" post baby. Actually I am on version #3 and I am sure there are more versions to come. Each time I finish another book I have some new ideas and training principles that I want to try and so this plan is constantly evolving and being revised.

However, no matter how good the plan I know some of the hurdles of my return to running can't all be all be addressed with a good training plan. Here are some of the big challenges I am anticipating I will face and need to overcome:

Bits will wobble
For a sginificant period of time the body I return to running with will be very different to what I am use to. Even though I honestly believe it will all strengthen over time and return to its former glory I know that I will have to be patient with it and work with what I've got while I go from incubator to a performance machine.

Back to absolute basics
I have no balance, I am clumsy and my running muslces have been on an extended vacation. You would think after months of carrying around the extra weight I would come out the other end stronger but honestly I feel completey unstable around the hips and pelvis and can't imagine pumping out speed sessions without some serious basic strength training first. I honestly took for granted how "structurally sound" my body was. Now after the the transformation my body has gone through to grow and birth a baby I will have to really focus on building back strength and balance that can handle the intensity and speed of my desired training.

Contending with boobs
To date I have been very fortunate to be able to throw on a sports bra and not have to worry about anything after that in this department. I dare say feeding will bring about some new challenges for running, namely; support, milk supply, lactic acid in the milk and just the overall comfort of the whole thing. Hopefully there are some fantastic maternity and feeding sports bras out there to help me in this area. Keep an eye out in the review section. Also my training is going to have to have the flexibility to fit around my feeding responsbilities. So as much as I will try for routine its not going to be a given and I am just going to have to make the most of the opportunities I get.

Pelvic Floor Muscles
I don't think I need to elaborate on this one. Suffice to say I could write a whole post on Pregnancy and the Pelvis. Thank goodness the muscles can be trained like any other so there is hope! Kegels here we come!

Emotions
On the odd winter morning when my husband has looked so snug in bed I have struggled to tear myself away but otherwise I generally find it easy to slip my sneakers on and escape for my run. I don't doubt for one second that having a gorgeous little new born at home will tug at the heart strings when I am trying to get out the door. But I honestly believe that taking this little bit of time for me and my health (mental and physical) will make me a better mother and I hope that focusing on that can keep me on track. Not to mention its going to be a great time for baby and daddy to have together!

Well, it will be interesting to return to this list of things in a few months and compare it to the actual challenges I have faced. What challenges did I not anticipate and what things will be easier than I thought?

I think a good plan is always a good starting point but for this particular goal I know it is going to take more than that. I will also need determination, patience and tenacity to overcome many new challenges... simple things that I have just taken for granted in the past.

So here starts the joy of being a running mummy! Wish me luck!