The great thing about being a woman in distance running today is that the stigma is gone. Not only are we allowed to participated in events of all distances, it’s becoming more and more acceptable to do so during that magical time called pregnancy. Thanks in part to a number of elite runners who ran while gestating, experts espousing the benefits of continuing to run during pregnancy and sites like more » Read more
Licorice’s Training Log – 4.13.14
This week, I accidentally ran my first post-baby race. By “accidentally,” I mean that I registered for it thinking that it was at the end of the month until I got an email about packet pickup on Thursday. Apparently it was this weekend, and the date I thought it was on (April 27) was absolutely nowhere to be found on the web site. Oops. While I wasn’t quite as ready more » Read more
Licorice’s Training Log – 4.6.14
This week was one step forward, one step back. The good news? My revised schedule worked out much better, and the first half of the week got off to a great start. The bad news? The second half of the week totally tanked when I came down with bronchitis, of all things. I haven’t had bronchitis in almost 20 years… until this weekend. The one positive was that while my more » Read more
Licorice’s Training Log – 3.30.14
This week, I finally realized that running on Wednesdays is just not going to work for the time being, so I rearranged my plan to just make it a rest day. Now it’s one less thing to worry about getting in on an already busy day and life is a wee bit easier. My new plan looks something like this: Monday: Stroller Strides Tuesday: Run Wednesday: Rest Thursday: Run Friday: more » Read more
Licorice’s Training Log – 3.23.14
Y’all, the fact that Ellie doesn’t seem to want to sleep for more than 3-4 hours at a stretch is starting to get to me. However, just as I was about to totally lose it this week, she gave me a break and slept for 6 hours straight Saturday night. It happened to be on the same day I felt like I was coming down with a cold, so I more » Read more
Licorice’s Training Log – 3.16.14
This week started off well, but fizzled out on me. I didn’t get out and run on Wednesday as planned because it was a super busy day (and I did not actually go run instead of going back to bed after Ellie’s 5:30 am feeding) and Friday I got trapped under a baby taking an epic 4-hour nap, of all things. I was hoping to get out baby-free over the more » Read more
Licorice’s Training Log – 3.9.14
Yup, we’re back to just regular old training logs. At this point, I feel like I’m down to just rebuilding fitness, much like I would be after any layoff. What am I training for? So far the only thing on my calendar is Ragnar Northwest Passage in July. I think that my legs only total about 12-15 miles, so it should be manageable despite the fact that I’m well behind more » Read more
Licorice’s Post-Partum Log – Week 14
Last weekend, we had our first round of Sick Baby. Poor Ellie picked up a stomach virus somewhere (the down side of taking your teeny tiny child all over the place) and it hit her hard on Saturday and Sunday. Monday was an off day as we were making sure she really was done with it and Tuesday I was recovering from it. My husband somehow escaped it, and we more » Read more
Licorice’s Post-Partum Log – Week 13
Ellie hit her three-month “birthday” this week and I am finally, actually, on the road to resuming running again. If you had told me before I gave birth that it would take this long? I would have told you that you were crazy. Surely I’d be back to running by three months! Why wouldn’t I be? Having lived through it, though, has been incredibly educational. Am I a bit frustrated more » Read more
Can You Keep Running While Pregnant? The Quick and Dirty Answer
Running and pregnancy. There is so much confusing information out there. Is it ok for you to keep running when you have a bun in the oven? Let’s consult the experts. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, in their 2002 report on exercise during and after pregnancy (which was reaffirmed in 2009), states that most women with uncomplicated pregnancies can adopt ASCM recommendation of 30 minutes of moderate exercise more » Read more
Licorice’s Post-Partum Log – Week 12
This week started off somewhat discouragingly, with no real change in the pelvic floor strength department. I was OK with that until my PT appointment on Wednesday, when she looked miffed that things weren’t doing better. Ugh. If the professional is disappointed, then we are in the realm of “slower than expected” progress. She changed up my exercise program a bit and I started working on more functional strength (i.e., more » Read more
Licorice’s Post-Partum Log – Week 11
This week saw both good developments and less good developments. On the plus side, I’m starting to get some momentum going with a routine, and did both some Stroller Strides classes and got out for some good walks (despite the frosty weather). In the less good news department, my PT confirmed that my pelvic floor is not quite ready for running yet. The past couple of appointments, my PT has more » Read more
Licorice’s Post-Partum Log – Week 10
A couple of things happened this week: the baby started napping independently (not only can I put her down, but I can leave the room and she’ll stay asleep) and I finally really got my rear in gear on a fitness routine. The fitness routine is largely thanks to my mom’s group, as a bunch of them have started meeting on Fridays for an hour walk followed by lunch. Exercise and socializing? I’m more » Read more
Licorice’s Post-Partum Log – Week 9
It’s absolutely amazing to me that it’s been two months since Ellie was born. On one hand, it seems like she’s always been here. On the other, there’s no way it’s been two months already, because I swear it was just yesterday. I started off the week with 30 minutes of 1 minute running, 2 minutes walking just to see how it went. The answer: OK. I’m clearly out of more » Read more
Licorice’s Post-Partum Log – Week 8
I’d revisit my goals for the week, except I can tell you this right now: not much happened. I woke up Monday morning with a drippy nose and knew instantly that I’d caught my husband’s cold. Ugh. Since my usual MO of stocking up on NyQuil and sleeping it off for a couple of days wasn’t going to work with a baby in the house, I was just sort of more » Read more