RACE WEEK?! What? This was my first race week in a looonggg time, and to be honest….I loved it. I talked during pregnancy about how I realized that my love of running was tied to competition so this felt like a big turning point for me to pin a bib on again. While I have actually found myself enjoying running lately even without specific goals/training plans, it was still nice to feel those pre-baby feelings again.

The week as a whole was good though and not just race weekend. I got in a little bit of everything this week between stroller miles, a mini speed workout, some walking, easy running and then the race of course. I cut back on strength a bit the second half of the week for the race, and recovery on the weekend.

II will recap the race in another post, but the short of it: I went out too fast (6:16), but somehow held on for 6:47-48 miles for  2 and 3. Finished in 20:47 for what will be by now 5k postpartum PR! Having Hannah at the race was honestly the best feeling, I loved finish lines before but babies at finish lines- hard to even describe!

This was a slightly lower mileage week (again), but with the race I kind of wanted it that way. I have been hanging between 25-28 miles for a few weeks now and it seems to be a good spot. While I want a bit more, I also like the loose plans I have and flexibility with my running schedule. If I get more in, great. If I run a little less that is cool too. Now that I have done a race though, I feel a bit better about maybe putting a few fall goals on the calendar but still nothing crazy- I don’t see myself getting into a rigid training cycle for a few more months at the least. I’m enjoying flexibility and balance that I have at the moment and want to continue that in hopes to keep it going even when I do start officially training for something.

Monday 8/7: late evening 12 min core/PT, my ancient loop band finally snapped so I had to order some new ones

Tuesday 8/8: 5.2 stroller miles (9:05 avg) + 15 minute strength circuit (w/kettlebell & dumbells @ home)
Wednesday 8/9: 20 minutes upper body strength at gym + Evening run with 4 x 3 minutes with 2 minutes recovery
Thursday 8/10: 1.9 mile evening family walk
Friday 8/11: Evening 20 minute shakeout run + 6 x strides
Saturday 8/12: 1st Postpartum race! Bergen 5k/USATF Niagara Champs
Sunday 8/13: 7.6 easy miles
Totals: 24.9 miles runs, 47 minutes fitness/strength, 1.9 miles walked
Beers Drank: Sam Adams Summer Ale, Sam Adams Golden Hour (Still working on that Sam craft pack obviously)

Goals for coming week: 25-30 miles, 2-3 strength/fitness sessions, at least 10 minutes of recovery work each night this week, Also finish any remaining SA beers in the fridge to make room for some new ones!

Barley

A new mom and Upstate, NY resident who loves the marathon, a good beer, and all of the numbers/nerdy things. I write about my journey to a sub-3:00 marathon, training tweaks for improvement, and finding that "running/life balance" unicorn. On tap Next: Maneuvering through motherhood and postpartum running!

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