Three and a Half Months In….
- Aug, 14 2017
- By Sarah Haskins
- Uncategorized
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Time for writing a blog has become very scarce these days; however, this afternoon Connor happens to be taking a longer nap and Caroline went to the waterpark with her cousins. Being a family of four adds so much joy. It’s fun having a baby again in the house and it’s a wonderful gift for Caroline to have a sibling (although it may have taken her a couple of months to adjust to being a big sister).
What has my training schedule looked like the past couple of months?
Connor is now old enough to be in the infant room at the gym for two hours, so that allows some additional flexibility in getting in training at the gym and a possible swim workout with Nate. Training solo most of the time is tough, so it is nice to have that time to train with him.
I am finally starting to feel like my body is returning back to it’s normal self (with the exception of making milk). After my second pregnancy, it felt like my uterus took longer to shrink back to normal. As I mentioned in the previous blog when I started back up with running at five weeks, I felt terrible. My core felt very loose and I felt disconnected. Over the next few weeks, I started to feel better. However, at the beginning of July, I twisted my back funny and had to take three weeks off running. The course of getting back in shape has been slightly bumpy, but I am always navigating uncharted territory and learning along the way. This time around when I resumed running a few of weeks ago, my core and hip strength felt much better than when I started five weeks postpartum. I am slowly easing back into mileage; however, I do have a race in less than three weeks! With that thought in the back of my head; I have to have a different mindset for my first race back and I look at it as more of a stepping stone. I know that I won’t be back to 100% race fitness until the end of the year (or whenever that time arrives?!) I have been able to consistently swim and cycle now for about two months and I feel that my fitness is improving well in all three disciplines. I have not had as much time yet in the running discipline (I have only been running for about two of the last six months), but it is great to see progress each week.
So what does a typical training day look like?
Connor has been sleeping great the past month and both him and his sister go to bed around 9PM. I try to go to sleep shortly after the kids as I am exhausted by the end of the day! Connor sometimes wakes up around 5:30-5:45AM, but some mornings he sleeps until 7 or 7:30AM! It helps that he is 18 pounds and can handle more milk at once. Once the kids are up, fed and dressed; we usually head to the gym around 8:30AM. I usually get in a swim/strength session from 9-11AM and then we have lunch and play at the pool for a few hours. After we get home and unwind for a bit, Dad (Nate) or Grandma (my Mom) help to watch Caroline and Connor for an hour or two in the afternoon while I do a ride or a run. After that it’s playing at the park or swimming at the neighborhood pool until dinner, bath, watching part of a Disney movie, bed time snack, book reading in bed, and nursing the baby….and then time for me to shower and sleep!
Twice a week, my Mom watches the kids so that I can ride outside for my quality rides. The past few months have really been a balancing and juggling act trying to fit it all in, but the reality is that it can be done. Flexibility helps in navigating workouts and I often create my workouts minutes before doing them depending on how I feel at that moment and how much time I have to get in my training before my baby will be hungry. As Connor gets older, I will have a little more structure in my training.
How am I progressing my running with a race in a few weeks?
After Caroline, I focused on core strength. I began doing a Pilates class 2x a week. I found this has really helped me after both pregnancies and has helped me get back to running with more of a solid foundation. I am again focusing on treating Pilates class with as much importance as a swim, bike or run workout.
In addition, all my easy runs are uphill on the treadmill. I have found that running hard on the treadmill has been too much risk for injury as my joints and ligaments are not ready and it’s too much risk to be pushed too soon. While running outside, I typically try to run at a moderate pace, focusing on good mechanics, with 1k-2 mile stretches with 1-2 min walks between. I feel like I get much more out of this style of running verses running long and slow. When I run slow, I feel like my mechanics and form are worse, so I am trying to keep workouts as efficient and effective as possible. I am saving my slow, easy runs for the treadmill (usually 3-7% grade at 6.5-7mph). The uphill running on the treadmill, also forces me to activate my glutes.
Why am I racing four months after giving birth?
I always wanted to have another baby after Caroline. I knew that I wanted more than one child, but I also wanted to try to not take a full year off of work and instead have two partial years of work. Last year, I worked (raced) until July and this year I will be able to work (race) for the last quarter of the year. With that being said, I love racing and knowing that I have an upcoming race approaching excites me and motives me in my training. As I mentioned earlier, I am not expecting to be at 100% fitness, but I am using each race as a great way to gain fitness and race before the winter off- season approaches.
