New Routine

I probably came back to running too quickly after the baby.

I had a difficult pregnancy - I didn't gain a whole lot of weight but I was huge and the baby was huge. I couldn't control my heart rate so running during the pregnancy didn't work out. Each week I would get more and more upset as I could feel my fitness slipping away.

It was made even more challenging because I use running to control my anxiety and depression. I didn't realize how much I depended on running until I couldn't do it anymore. As my due date got closer I began to plot my come back.

Five weeks after a c-section, not EXACTLY with my doctor's approval, I got back on a program. Now my stitches were healed and I still had a couple of years worth of miles on my legs. I also took it very slow. I won't lie, for the first few weeks every single run hurt. I felt great during the run but for hours (and sometimes for a day or two after) my abs would spasm and hurt and even sitting up was torture. I guess having my abs cut again meant starting over and I didn't have the best core strength to begin with.

Now that I am back to work I am settling into a routine: treadmill runs twice a week before work (sign, back to getting up at four am) focusing on getting my foot speed turnover up and then a long run on Saturday (long runs are still in the 6-7 mile range) and another road run Sunday. It isn't ideal - I still loathe the treadmill - but as dark as it is here running outside in the evenings won't work and it isn't safe so early.

This week the baby has been getting up early in the morning for his bottle and I've ended up at the gym twice before 4. Just me and the steroid lifters. It is brutal to be so exhausted but I am proud that I have been doing progression runs. I turn on Sports Center (I love the 49ers and they are playing in the NFC championship this weekend so it is great to just inhale football coverage) and increase the speed with each segment. I slow down to a more natural pace during commercials and then crank it up again when the show comes back on. This prevents boredom (sort of, at least when I am trying not to die) and helps with speed.

I won't lie, I would rather the baby slept through. As much as this schedule works it is a real challenge to train on such little sleep. But I am pushing through and shooting for a half marathon in April. That feels manageable but tough. I am definitely not planning to PR but just to feel strong at the finish. Or maybe just not die. Once I can do that again I will feel like I am really back after baby.