A Week By the Numbers

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Last week, I hit the six week post-partum mark. Normally, that would mean a trip to the doctor to get the all clear, but vacation with Steve's family this past week interfered with scheduling that appointment, so I'm going tomorrow. It will be nice to get into the water again. Not being able to swim is something I forgot about when I was excited to have a summer baby. Though I'm not excited to squeeze into my swim suit (currently I resemble something similar to an overstuffed sausage when I try), I am excited to actually take advantage of all of that hot weather we've been having. Pool parties and trips to the lake really aren't as fun when you've not allowed to swim. That's not to say that I'm excited to be able to swim laps again; I haven't been in the pool since I was 16 weeks pregnant. I'm afraid it's going to be a laughable event when I hop in the pool at the Y, but I've been able to at least look at my bike in the last week and am wondering if I can squeeze in a short tri before the season is over.

Running is going better. I had been run/walk alternating a few weeks ago, and I'm feeling less and less like my insides are going to fall out. I went on my first run sans stroller two weeks ago at the 5 week mark. It was crazy hot here, but I was so happy to get out that I didn't even care. My 3.5 miles were slow, but most of me felt good. I think my lower abs/upper groin atrophied quite a bit. I got in another 3.8 miler a week and a half ago. Last Sunday, at my 6 week mark, I managed to make it 5.2 miles. It felt like the last few miles of a half Ironman run. I'm a little surprised that even though I'm 25 pounds lighter than my delivery weight, my times aren't that much better. I'm still doing around 12 minute miles. I know I need to be careful how I come back. postpartum women are at increased risk for stress fractures, especially in the pelvis. I've been wearing my SI belt on my runs to help stabilize my pelvis. Hanging over my head is the fact that I signed up for the marathon again this year. I told myself when I signed up that there was no pressure to actually do it, but if I was feeling up to it, I'd love to keep the streak alive. This year would make 12 Twin Cities Marathons in a row. Well, I'm not very good about not putting pressure on myself, and I think I'm going to at least try ramping up my miles and see how I feel. The marathon is 9 weeks away. The rest of my family is signed up for the 10 mile, so it'll be a really fun weekend. Right now, my plan is to run 3 days per week dn build my endurance through lots of cross training - elliptical machine, biking, rollarblading, and swimming - anything low impact. I did get ina long rollarblading session when Steve and I were on vacation earlier this week. My in-laws volunteered to watch Henry for a couple of hours, and while Steve biked, I strapped on my blades. I covered just over 19 miles in around 1:50 and felt great.

On the Henry front, things are going...okay. He's a pretty high-maintenance baby. He's generally fussy and requires nearly constant holding or rocking or bouncing. For some reason, he LOVES to bounce. My biceps may be the first muscles I get back. A lady at LTF triathlon told me her grandbaby loved the balance ball, and that was an amazing tip. Though he doesn't technically fit the colic definition, he's close. He's crabby to the point that his auntie Steph bough him socks with crabs on them. He still loves his stroller, being outside, baths, and being naked (he is Steve's son after all). He's started smiling and talking more the past couple of weeks, which makes the crabbiness so much more bearable. Once in a while, I get a huge smile...

Update: I just finished up a 7 miler a couple of hours ago. It was rough, but it didn't feel much worse than my 5 miler last week. When I got home, I saw that our heat index is 102. Hopefully that had something to do with feeling so sluggish and slow...

Race Week!

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Don't get any ideas that I've gone totally bonkers. It's not a race week for me, although I have been feeling a bit left out sitting on the sidelines the past couple of months. My 5K at the beginning of June helped take the edge off, but it wasn't a "real" race. I haven't had a real race since Sept of last year at Rev3 half. All of my races since then have been just for fun at a pretty easy effort. If I can ever look at my bike again, I may still try to squeeze something in yet this year. Who knows...

In the meantime, I am SUPER excited to welcome my Evotri teammates to town tomorrow to race the Minneapolis Triathlon on Saturday. I am excited for a couple of reasons. First of all, I haven't seen my Evotri peeps since last September. This year was the first year I missed WIBA. I have been there every year since it started in 2006. I was SO sad that weekend and really missed being out there, meeting new faces, and seeing old faces again. I am excited to introduce my team to Henry, and I'm excited to show off Minneapolis and St. Paul. I am very proud of the amazing multisport community we have here. I am also excited to be able to share this triathlon with them. This was my first tri ever back in 2004, and it's the only race I've ever done where the excitement and energy around it even comes close to what you can feel at an Ironman. Steve is signed up for the sprint, so Henry and I will have a lot of cheering to do!

Thanks again, everybody for your support on my last post. I know I'll feel better eventually. A lot of people ask how I'm feeling lately. My answer is always, "Oh, well, OK, I guess... considering..." How I'm really feeling? Tired, sore, and chunky. I think when those first 20+ pounds basically fell off, I was a little optimistic on how soon the rest of the weight would come off, especially since, as my mom lovingly puts it, I could basically be the wet nurse for the whole block. I know it will take work to see the rest of it come off, and I know that I need to be patient with myself. I'm still not even a month postpartum! At least the sore part is getting better. I'm still a little sore, but it's getting more bearable, and when I attempted to run a little this week, I felt a lot less like my insides were going to fall out.

On the workout front, Henry and I have gotten in a walk every day this week. It makes me feel SO much better, and he loves to sleep in his car seat. On Monday, we walked 4.5 miles (to Herberger's and back) to make a quick return. I ran the last 1/2 mile home just to see if I could, and it went OK.

Henry slept through the whole thing, as usual

On Tuesday, we met up with my (formerly) fellow preggo running partner. It was fun to meet her beautiful daughter, Zanna. Our conversation has shifted from being anxious to meet our babies to how we're dealing with being new parents. I just LOVE hanging out with her - time flies when we start talking! Here's a photo of Henry and Zanna "meeting" for the first time:

They've been running together since before they were born!

Yesterday, I suggested to Steve that he could get in an OWS and I could walk around lake Nokomis with Mr. Henry, so that's what we did. I walked just under 3 miles. I didn't get adventurous enough to try running again. I was feeling a little sore.

Post walk, rocking the BOB, a smile, and a baby pooch

Today, Henry and I walked to the bank and back - around 5 miles round trip. After the first mile, I decided to try walk/run intervals. I ran 2 minutes then walked 5. By the end of the trip, I was running 3 and walking 4. I actually felt pretty good on the run intervals, and I had to force myself to stop for the walk breaks to keep it pretty easy. Henry slept the whole time. He loves his carseat, and I love the BOB.
In total, I probably got in 25-30 minutes of running. I'll consider that a success. I can tell I'm using muscles that haven't been used in a while, especially in my lower abs and groin. By the end of my preggo running, I was barely lifting my legs when I ran - my belly was in the way. It'll take a while to get used to running with normal form again.

I'll have to post photos of our race weekend festivities. I'm sure I'll end up taking a lot. Happy weekend, everybody!