Transition Into Running After Baby.

OR babies… just in case you had two..

When I first found out I was pregnant with the twins at 10 weeks, I stopped running for the first few weeks. I was considered “high risk” and had to take my exercise level down a notch…. or 10.

I was also nauseous and tired at the time, I worked a full-time job in a pediatric dental office so I came home pretty exhausted most days. At about 13 weeks I started running again. Slow and steady. I was still teaching pump and attack throughout my pregnancy. Once I hit 25 weeks I stopped teaching attack and I stopped running all together and just continued with pump and started swimming!

Swimming became my favorite thing in the world! It took all the pressure of my back and joints and the babies loved it! I could feel them kicking and moving as soon as we got in the water.

I look like poop in that pic. but hey, I was 37 weeks pregnant with the twins.

Fast forward to delivery.

{Day I went into labor}

I had a c-section and was instructed to not workout for 6-12 weeks.

We all know how well I am at following directions.

Four weeks later, Brent and I went for a walk with the twins. I decided that I felt pretty good and I was going to just try running. It felt SOOOOO good to actually run someplace other then a restroom post partum. I took it slow but I just remember feeling things jiggle that never did before and out of breathe just like I have never ran before in my life. I had to stop and walk over 4 times in that mile stretch. I got a side ache a half mile in and I just thought to myself I would never run again. It was SO hard and didn’t feel natural anymore.

We went home and I kind of sulked and figured that this is going to to take some work. I WILL get my running mojo back! Each day I swaddled up the kids in the stroller and took them for a walk/run.

Each week I could tell a major improvement! I got back to teaching pump, and attack and kept up with swimming.

Each week I got better, and faster. The twins were born in July and their isn’t great race opportunities after September, so I took the time to build up my endurance before doing a race.

I ran my first race 8 months post partum.

Finished just under 2 hours! I was so happy to have friends to push me to the end and meet my goal. I felt great and haven’t looked back since.

Getting back into running was NO easy task!! It took time, dedication, perseverance and PATIENCE! Running is important to me but I don’t let it define who I am. It is something I love and I’m so grateful that I didn’t give up on myself after that first brutal mile.

Tips to getting back to running post partum

*Take it SLOW. Walk and Run when you first start and take distance one mile at a time.

*Everyone is different and it will take time. It can take up to a year to get your pace back and feel comfortable. We are not all like this chick who pulled off a 1:30 half 6 weeks post-partum!

*Listen to your body and learn to understand the difference between just being uncomfortable and pain.

*Don’t give up! Make time for yourself too! Having a new babe can cause a lot of stress and mommies need to get some time to themselves every so often.

*Be patient!!! You won’t be as strong as you were before! BUT you will be stronger in the long run!

Any other tips out there for momma to be’s?

Even if you haven’t had kids, what got you running in the first place?

Runners Ultimate Gift Guide

 

Do you need ideas for that runner or worker outer (?) in your life? Maybe, just a few ideas for your stocking? All you need to do is forward this to your husband/loved one/ and your mom..

BIC BANDS

I wear BIC bands every. single. day. for every. single. workout. They keep my hair out of my face during my workout and show off my regrowth too. Seriously though, these are amazing in the gym. They are stylish, come in different colors, and styles. The mini bands are my favorite in the sparkle! BIC bands gives back to! So every purchase you make they donate part of it to a charity! So it is now you will look hot in your BIC band and give back at the same time. Double score. 

RUNNING SHOES

Running Shoes! I love new shoes. I hoard shoes. Just ask my husband. I can justify buying new shoes every 3 months.. (even though I don’t) Brookes Pure Cadence are one of my favorite types of running shoes, along with Mizunos for long distance. I find that both are comfortable and help with my pronation and stride.

Wunder Under Crops

Every woman needs a pair of of black wunder under crops! I have the inspire crops and love them! Black bottoms are the most popular among us chicks, and these crops don’t make you choose between a muffin top or a camel toe every morning before the gym. They suck you in and prevent the jiggle from happening. Freal. If you have not ever had a pair of these. INVEST. You would of never felt so comfortable in spandex in your life.

Impact Fitness has amazing tops! As soon as I saw this top I needed it, so I ordered it! (I’m super good at shopping for myself during X-mas)The Gather Seamless top is available in 4 different colors. It is supportive and the straps in the back are super cute, not to mention the length on it is perfect for tall blondes like me.

Impact Fitness also has this awesome ruching remix  jacket, that I am totally lusting after right now.. I love the ruching and the detail AND the thumb holes. It is available in 6 colors, my fave is this teal!

JEWELERY

Every woman loves jewelry, even if you a hot mess most days and live in your gym clothes all day long. Just me? Okay….

Flashletics has some great gifts for your friend, man in your life or yourself.

I love this bronze kettle bell necklace!

RUNNING SOCKS

Now, you may think socks would be a super lame gift, but I assure you every runner loves them,but hates to buy them. You know, kind of like toilet paper.. I absolutely am a running sock snob. I didn’t realize it until I ran in actual running socks. Now I need them when I run. I have had less blisters since I started wearing them, and not to mention I never have to dig my sock out from under my heel anymore mid-run. I love these mesh DryMax Running socks. They are awesome!

If you are feeling extra generous get your loved one compression running socks! I wear my CEP compression socks/calf sleeves during/after long runs or races. I believe they help me with recovery and once I started wearing them for races it made it a little easier to walk down stairs the next day.

THE STICK

This stick is A freaking Mazing..I love to hate it during marathon season. It helps with recovery and mobility, by providing deep tissue stimulation. Every runner needs one of these, besides- it fits perfectly in your stocking. I found the best price on Amazon. But, recently discovered one at Target for $15! They don’t have a picture online for me to show you but it has two spikey balls on it. I’m sure it is fantastic. AND its purple. – uhhh.. Purple spikey balls….. fantastic.

There you go! Everything any runner/worker outer would ever need.

Question of the day?

What is on your wish list for Santa?

Labor Day Tri

Happy Labor Day!

I hope you all had a great LONG weekend! I was suppose to do this race this weekend but the place we were planning on staying at fell through and we weren’t able to find a hotel close by due to the holiday weekend so I ended up not running the race. I was super bummed about it because I have been wanting to do a trail race for a while. After talking to my sister Heather she informed me of the labor day tri in our hometown. My Step-mom Aly, and my sisters were all doing it in a relay and she said I should do it with them.

Sign me up!




The fact that I haven’t even swam since June, or biked since… never (actually a year..). Didn’t stop me. I couldn’t even find my goggles and had to go buy a pair the night before. Won’t lie though.. It kicked my booty. Although, endurance wise I felt great the whole race! The whole transition bike to run was a little tough.. hello, Jell-o legs! (Pics to come! My sisters took a bunch!)
My bike chain fell off at about mile 7 of that portion or the race and some guy stopped to help me with it. My tires were a little flat also but overall I had a great race and felt good about it even with my lack of training. NEXT TIME: I will probably swim a little more.. and tighten my goggles- All efficiency went out the window the last 100 meters or so. I was glad to take a breath at the end of each stretch. I will make sure my bike is all tuned and ready to go too.
The best part was seeing my little fam along the way.



Here we are at the finish! Brent was such a great support the entire race, he cheered me on AND pushed two strollers while keeping the Tanner and Baylee entertained. That my friends takes talent.
The swim portion of the race was indoors. They had everyone line up according to your predicted swim finish time. We wrapped along the pool and one at a time jumped in the pool 10 seconds after the person in front of us. We snaked the pool, which was actually nice for me because the swim got a little rough towards the end. I anticipated it to be the hardest portion because there is a lot that goes into training for a swim. I finished the swim in 8:50. I climbed out of the pool quickly and ran to T1.
The bike was 12.21 miles. There was great volunteer support, the race crew was at every turn, crosswalk, and stoplight. I knew exactly which way I was supposed to go the whole race, no second guessing if I was making the right turn or not.







Here I am with my good friend Suz, just climbing off our bikes in transition for the run.
The run was around the neighborhood and it was probably the roughest transition. Biking straight to running is a little tricky, it took me a good mile or so to pick up my pace and shake the jell-o legs. It was also pretty hot outside and I felt a little more dehydrated at this point. They had two water stations, one right at the beginning and one at mile 1.5.




We all hung out for my sister to run through! I loved doing this race with my family. It was the first race we were all part of and it was motivating and fun to see them along the way. They all did great as well!


All DONE!




Here is my overall times:

Swim: 8:50
T1: 1:52
Bike: 44:55
T2: 1:14
Run:30:28
Total: 1:27
They posted this shortly after I finished and I was surprised to see that I took 4th in my age group! There was a total of 18 people in my age group. It was a great race and I loved that it was close to home and smaller then most. They had great support and was well organized. The only thing they could of improved on would be start time. The race was scheduled to start at 8 am but didn’t get going till about quarter after. But lets face it, I’m hardly on time for anything and I enjoyed a little extra time to chat and get settled. I am for sure going to do this race again. I was surprised how relaxed and fun it was! No pre-race jitters or anything. There is something about going into a race with no expectations. I loved it!

Race Weight

Okay, Late night blogging will not become a regular thing.. it just seems like it the past couple days. Better late then never right? We had a early start today and have been go go ALL day!

This morning the twinners did their first photo shoot for J.J. Cole. They did such a good job! I'll post the pics asap.
When it comes down to any picture time with them, I totally build up a good sweat trying to get their attention and smile and laugh and look like they are perfect children all the time. Its tough stuff. How many rounds of peek a boo and tickle fest can you do for time?

They were pooped by the end! Baylee was literally trying to lay down on the dirty sidewalk she was more then ready for nap time!

We made it right on time for a workout at GPP. Tuesdays are strength days, we take our time to complete the work out. Each exercise was a heavy, challenging weight or skill --> ring dips anyone? 

We ran to the grocery store for a few ingredients I need for a surprise tomorrow... 

I came home to whip up a special thank you for my neighbor for just being amazing..(we really have the best neighbors ever, no contest) They only deserve the best.

Mama Peas PB dough balls were created, Lots of dough was consumed.... I'm in a cookie coma.. Always a good thing right before teaching a body pump class right?.. Because of the cookie overload, I decided it would be fun to add 5 air squats before and after each track.. The class did not stop moving and it ended up being a ROUGH workout, in a good way of course :) 

please note: (I made the air squats completely optional, you know for those who consumed an equal amount of cookie dough.)

Post-workout I had a chocolate recovery shake. These will never get old. Sorry.

Then I got a head start on a project for tomorrow! ;)--> stay posted! 

Now discussion for the night--

Race Weight

source

Lets chat about weight shall we? First off, I want you to know I'm not a fan of the scale,because your weight fluctuates every day, morning, & night. Muscle > Fat.. etc. I focus more on how my clothes fit and how I feel then a silly number.   A few days before this triathlon I weighed myself to see how my body would react after the triathlon. 

What do you think happened? 

You just ran a marathon, a triathlon or just a long training session. You just burned 3,000 plus calories. 

You are sure you sweat buckets which you assume would lead to at least a 3 pound weight loss.. right?! 

WRONG! 

Maybe it's different for everyone but this is the second time I have done this with the same results. I GAIN 3+ pounds. And after researching it via internet it is totally a common and a normal trend post race.  

source

Here is why-

When you exhort so much energy your body uses its glycogen stores to get to that finish line. When your done your body wants to replace that glycogen ASAP, just in case you decide to ever go out and do that again. Therefore, retaining water like a madhouse. Because your muscles have tiny tears in the fiber and will retain fluid to repair themselves. .No worries though, your weight will return back to normal, or less! Sometimes it takes a couple days, sometimes it takes up to a week. 

Again, totally normal! 

Q. Have you ever noticed weight gain after a big race?