Monte Sano 5K and 12 Weeks Postpartum

It's still going well here.  At 12 weeks postpartum, I am back to exercising 6 days a week.  This seemed so impossible to me around 6 weeks ago.  I felt so tired!  So I took things easy.  I took days off until I felt like exercising again.  The baby's nighttime sleep is so crucial to your ability to exercise at the beginning.  Once my baby started sleeping through the night (around 8 weeks), I felt more energetic and could plan my morning runs.  Unfortunately when nursing this usually means feeding or pumping before a morning run.

Now I am doing weekly runs of 2-5 miles and a weekly "long run" of around 10 miles.  I never thought at 32 weeks pregnant that it would take me 5 months to get back to 10 mile runs!  It is so hard to find the time in between the feedings and everything else!  For me, I have the most time on Saturdays, but some of those are filled with races or soccer games.  And it's been so hot that I could not really run in the afternoons.  Luckily last weekend we had a perfect day so I ran after soccer.  It was a 1 hour 50 minute run that I'm guessing was 11 miles or so.  I ran with music for the first time in months.  It was so nice!

I am also running with the jogging stroller (taking it very easy with the baby though and keeping the runs short!).  I run alongside my 2 older kids (8 and 7 years old) as they ride their bikes.  I parked the stroller near a stream and ran back and forth nearby while the big kids played in the stream and the baby slept in the stroller.  Getting creative has been the key to my return to running!  I am so thankful that my baby sleeps until after 7 a.m. now, but I am still too tired to get up at 5 a.m. like I used to for a run.  I hope to get there soon, but I know that taking care of myself is the most important thing right now.  And keeping up my milk supply for her!  

My family volunteered at the water station of the Monte Sano 10K race on Saturday, August 30.  Pictures by Gregg Gelmis.

Then I ran the 5K.  I started too fast and ended up finishing 5th woman with a time near 23:30.  For the tough course and my training, it was a good time.  It felt incredibly hard!!  My weekly runs are still near 10 minute miles, when I bother to time them.  I am not working on speed right now, just trying to get back to shape.  It will come slowly.

I'm in the pink shirt to the right in these pictures.

I'm happy to be racing again!  

After this, my team captain gave me a medium racing team singlet, so now I can represent the team again properly!