As I am preparing for my first postpartum race I couldn’t help but think back to my very first race. Back in July 2011 after finishing the C25K program Neil and I ran our first 5k ever. It was the Shipyard Old Port Half Marathon & 5k in Portland Maine and it was a beautiful day and a great race. I hope one day that we are able to go back and do the race again but this time the half marathon.
What was your first race? Are you training for a race right now?
I did it. I registered for my first postpartum race and I am so excited.
Back last late April I participated in a Fitfluential twitter chat with Hood to Coast Race Series and I won a free race entry to the 2014 Hippie Chick Quarter and Half Marathon. Since at the time I was about 7 months pregnant I wasn’t up for running or walking that far so I asked if I could defer my race entry to 2015 and they kindly agreed. Since then I have been waiting for the 2015 race registration to open and it finally did last week. As soon as I received the e-mail I signed myself up for the quarter run and Edith up for the kids fun run.
Now you might be wondering why not the half and I really debated doing the half but as some of you might remember I participated in the 2013 Hippie Chick Quarter and I went right from basically not running to four runs per week training from late January through May and I just burnt myself out. I didn’t want to do that again so I am starting earlier and getting myself back into it. I really didn’t want to over commit and besides I have been roped into (just kidding I want to) registering for the Portland Half Marathon next Fall.
Also fun side note unless I find a 5k I want to do before the Hippie Chick it will also be my first postpartum race with Alder just like it was with Edith!
I’m really looking forward to the race and am curious to see how things are run this time around. The race has since changed organizers since I did it last and I know that Hood To Coast Race Series puts on some great races so it should be a fun time. I know Edith is thrilled to run the kids race too.
So I must ask –> Would you like to read weekly or bi-weekly training updates? Do you have any questions?
What was your first race or first postpartum race? How did you prepare?
I still can’t believe that I am a mom of two and that at 15 days postpartum I am feeling pretty good, especially compared to how I felt at 15 days postpartum with Edith. We have had a busy two weeks and I have shared our first week over on Naturally Family. This week has been just as busy especially now that I am finally feeling up to doing a little bit more moving around, oh yeah and we are moving tomorrow. Don’t worry though I won’t be doing any of the actually moving we have a wonderful group of friends who are going to help us move out and into our new place which is luckily not too far away.
One thing I have learned over the past two weeks is that starting my morning off with a nutritious breakfast is essential. Having two kids is no joke a huge life change and I need to have steady energy in the morning to make it through the day. I know it’s going to be even more important when I am finally cleared to get back to working out and running.
Edith and I have been enjoying coconut, soy or almond milk yogurt with belVita Breakfast Biscuits most mornings and Neil has been enjoying the biscuits as a midmorning snack. These are seriously tasty! The big claim with belVita Breakfast Biscuits is that they provide nutritious steady energy all morning long and you know what I am here to say it’s true! I was skeptical at first but paired with a non-dairy yogurt (or dairy if that’s your thing) and a piece of fruit they are perfect for long lasting energy. As any mom will tell you energy is a must to make it through until lunch and/or naptime – seriously how do toddlers have so much energy?
A few other tidbits about belVita Breakfast Biscuits:
─ 18-20g of delicious whole grain per serving
─ Good source of fiber (3g per serving)
─ Part of a balanced breakfast with fruit and low-fat dairy
─ Crunchy belVita Breakfast Biscuits are available in five flavors including my favorites Blueberry and Golden Oat.
Having (lots) of steady energy throughout the morning and day is going to be essential for me to make sure that I fit my workouts in while taking care of two kids and a house. I want to be a healthy, active and inspiring mom though so I know making time for me is important. My own happiness and my kids inspire me to achieve my goals for the day especially my goals to be active and healthy.
Are you an Oregon local? Hood to Coast (a race on my bucket list) is coming up August 22-23rd and belVita is the breakfast sponsor! belVita will be providing samples of the crunchy biscuits to runners and spectators so head on out and cheer on the amazing runners and pick up your own sample of belVita.
Visit belVita on their social networks and website: Twitter: @belVita | Facebook: facebook.com/belVita | Website: belvitabreakfast.com
Disclaimer: I was provided with the same giveaway package from belVita in exchange for this post. As always all opinions are my own.
I was reminded yesterday that it has been just over three years since I officially started my running journey.
Thank you timehop
For years and years I had wanted to start running but just never fully committed. I picked up running for a short time when I was in college but never fully committed and was over it after a few weeks. It wasn’t until the Spring of 2011 that I bought myself some real running shoes and committed to the Couch to 5k (C25k) program.
Soon after starting the C25k program Neil (who also started it) and I signed up for our very first 5k. We chose to pick a more picturesque 5k in Portland Maine for our first 5k experience. We both signed up for the Old Port 5k (there is also a half marathon) and we recruited my parents to come cheer us on.
While I was by no means the fastest runner (or the slowest) I completed the race and felt such a rush at the end that I wanted to sign up for all the races. After this initial race I kept up with my running until I got pregnant with Edith in the Winter of 2011. I actually figured out I was pregnant after having the worst run of my entire life. I felt terrible, was super slow and just felt off so I went home and took a pregnancy test and at 4 weeks along I found out I was pregnant.
After that extreme morning sickness hit and combine that with frigidly cold, windy and snow conditions l ended up choosing the couch over my running shoes. While I started to feel better around 18 weeks along I just wasn’t prepared to start back running after taking 13 weeks off and instead chose yoga, walks and strength training over running. In the end I did no running at all during my pregnancy (besides the very early weeks).
Once Edith arrived I was thrilled to know that getting back to running was just around the corner…or so I thought. I was convinced that since I had been active during my pregnancy, had no issues during my pregnancy and had an amazing birth experience that I would heal quickly and be back to running at the 6 week postpartum mark. Well the healing process took far longer than I had initial thought, probably closer to 10 weeks before I started to feel “normal”. I started back running and was pretty consistently until Neil got a job in Portland Oregon and we found out we had three weeks to pack up and move.
apparently this is my lucky race top
However when I found out we were moving I immediately looked into races in the area and found a quarter marathon in May to sign up for. As soon as we arrived to PDX in January 2013 I started my training schedule and was fully committed to running. That May or rather last May I ran my first postpartum race and it was exhilarating and then I seemed to just crash. I had gone from little to no running to running four days per week and after the race I felt burned out.
The entire summer I ran around 1-2 times per week and it wasn’t until the Fall that I started up running around 2-3x per week. I needed a break, time to recharge and have that desire to run again. Once that desire to run started again I was ready to sign up for another race until oops I found myself pregnant again. I ran during the early weeks of this pregnancy as well but just like with Edith I experienced intense morning sickness, I’d say even worse this time around and I decided once again to stop running. Just like my pregnancy with Edith I ended up not returning to running after taking 10 weeks off.
Here we are now at 39w1d pregnant and I know that running is in my near future again. This time around I know that healing may take longer and that I need to let myself heal and not rush back into running until my body feels good. My small goal is to start back running in late September/early October. Once of the benefits of living in the PNW is that we have mild winters and I don’t mind running in the rain so I will be able to keep up with running through the winter.
I actually won a race entry via a twitter chat to the same race I ran in May of 2013 and was able to defer the entry to next years race and plan to possibly train for the half this time around (I’ll decide once I see how running goes). I am thrilled to get back to running and knowing that there will be no more pregnancies after this one so I can really get back to making running a big part of my life.
In preparation for running yesterday my husband treated me to two new running tops and some gloves for this winter. It feels so good to know that I have some cute, comfortable and new running gear to get me back into the groove.
Share your running story in the comments!
For that mamas out there what was your experience with running before, during and after pregnancy?
While I’m not out hitting the pavement right now I will be in a few short months (yeah this baby is coming soon!) I am thrilled to celebrate National Running Day on the sidelines and cheer all of my fellow wannabe runners (myself included) and runners on. Next weekend I’ll be out with Edith cheering Neil on at his first 5k of the year- so excited!
Why do you run? I run to reach my goals, to keep myself active, because it feels good and for beer (obviously).
Celebrate #runningday with @RunRockNRoll – sign up today for an RNR race and get $20 off registration! www.RunRockNRoll.com*
*this is in no way sponsored just me sharing the love!
So I did something a little crazy Wednesday. I signed up for a 5k on November 16th. It’s 15 days away. Oh and I just got back to running after 3 months off. Crazy.
So despite being a little nutty I decided to sign up for this race. I have 2 more weeks to train and which will be a total of 3 weeks (I started back up this week). Anyways I’m not running this race for speed or to PR but rather to get out and have fun because it’s The Ugly Sweater Run!
I figured it would be a good way to kick off the holiday season plus it was only $17.70 on Living Social with a discount promo code. I mean really how could I not sign up? Plus I recruited Neil to run it with me since strollers are allowed. Bonus: you also get an Ugly Sweater Run knit hat, stick-on mustache and Two Sam Adams beers (Winter or Boston Lager, or Angry Orchard Hard Cider) <– I am a fan of any race with beer at the end.
So now I need to find ugly sweaters for the three of us, lace my shoes up and get serious about running and get ready for a fun time!
Who else is running holiday races? I am thinking about running another Holiday 5k (sans stroller and sweater) in December but haven’t committed to one yet. I also wish I could run the first night 5k but staying up to midnight on New Years Eve hasn’t happened in many years.
I also feel like I have lost my running mojo. I was doing an amazing job running 3-5x per week and I even trained and ran my first quarter marathon back in May. Now May has come and gone and it’s nearly August and I can count on two hands how many runs I have been on. I honestly have been feeling burnt out. I kind of dipped my toe into postpartum running back in November but didn’t really take the plunge until January and then I was in full force. Rookie mistake? I’d say so.
I had grand plans of running a number of races this summer and early fall and honestly I don’t see it happening. I haven’t been running or training and I am surely not ready to run a race in two or three weeks. I do have one in late September that I am planning on getting myself together and actual train for. I had planned to run the 10k but am thinking of dropping down to the 5k to avoid another burn out.
I love running but I am having a hard time making time for training. We move to a new home in a new area in October and I am hoping this will be a place we stay for awhile. It will be closer to Neil’s work so I will actually have the ability and time to run before or after he goes to/gets out of work. We will also be in an area where I can join a gym and make time to go during the week so this winter on days when I don’t want to go outside and run I can make time to run on the dreadmill and keep it up. I am hoping that next year will be my year to run my first half.
So until October comes I’m going to work on training for my 5k in September and I am going to do my own RWT Healthy Challenge which is to run one mile per day in August. I need to get back into things but don’t want to over do it. I want to crave running rather than dread it. Has anyone else gone through this? What are your tips? How did you get your running mojo back?
