Re-entering the World of Running

I've met a lot of new moms over the last four years and have forged many new friendships with them also. Something that had been a commonality amongst us, regardless of previous fitness level, has been losing the dreaded baby weight. In spite of what I was led to believe, giving birth and then nursing is not enough to lose that extra 30 pounds without some form of exercise! But for anyone out there reading this, know that it can be done! Fitting running (or cross-training) into your schedule is possible. Here are a few tips that I've discovered:

* Get back on the road only after being given your doctor's approval. As eager as you may be to run without all the discomforts of pregnancy, wait until your body has healed before you do anything.

*Start back slowly. My original goal after my son was born was to do a marathon when he was 6 months old. That is plenty of time to train for a marathon even with a super low base (I was doing the elliptical machine to cross train until the day I delivered). Unfortunately, I will never know if that would have been sufficient time to train, since I became pregnant again when he was 5 months old!

*Fit your runs in when you can. For me, this involved throwing some running clothes on after feeding my child, running, showering, and then--you guessed it!--feeding my child!

July 2006--Rick feeds the baby after his run and during mine--he's pretty sweaty so he propped the baby on the couch!

*Fit your exercise time in around your new family's new schedule. This is one I'm still working on. I have found that early morning runs (like 5:15 a.m.! Ouch!) are a great way to run and be done before your baby wakes up. When I cross train, my children play in the same room, since we have a large multi-purpose room. But it doesn't have to be large! At my old house, we had a small room that housed a gated elliptical machine, a t.v., toys for the older child, and a pack'n'play for the baby. Now we all do sit ups together when I'm done on the machine!

Running friends that meet at 5 a.m. to run

*If you plan to run, invest in a good baby jogger. Of course, I recommend checking out the selection of BOB strollers at Fleet Feet before you look anywhere else. But used is also great! Dink and Suzanne (owners of Fleet Feet) handed down their old single to us, which we in turn handed down to another friend. We found our double stroller on craigslist for about half the price of the new models. This stroller is your friend, moms! It is your freedom to run at any time--even when your husband is not at home! On "family runs" (Rick and I run together), he gets the pleasure of pushing it! Be prepared for lots of craned necks peering into the stroller as you race by people---they can't seem to refuse a peek and love to say things like, "I wish I could ride like that!"

The babies October 2007 in the new (used) BOB.

Many, many a run has been had with this stroller. I want to eat them up! They are almost the same size now--those were the days!

If you take it slowly, you can get back to the level you were at, as I am slowly finding out. You can do it!

**UPDATES WITH PICTURES 7-26-2010. Another update--my times are finally getting faster--almost three years since my daughter was born. Planning our third baby now, so I'll be back to square one when that happens, but it's all worth it!