Hm. Generous offer, sure. But...I was also a bit nervous and had kind of been banking on the "excuse" of pushing the jogging stroller as to why I wouldn't be nearly as fast as I had been in past years ;). Regardless, I decided to take him up on the offer. I've been pretty excited and somewhat anxious to get back to my previous levels of pre-baby fitness (knowing, of course, I needed to give myself grace and be somewhat patient during the process!).
Gabe was born on April 22, 2016. I had run 450 miles during my pregnancy, the last pre-baby run being a 2-miler I ran at 38 weeks, 3 days pregnant (2 days prior to going into labor). I had fallen short of my goal of 500 pregnant miles, but seeing as I dealt with nasty sciatic pain for the last weeks of pregnancy ... I really just had to be forgiving of myself and my body. There was a 22-day period from late March until April that I didn't run at all because of the sciatic nerve pain.
That last 2-miler was run on a Monday after work. I had texted Clint at some point during the day and asked if he wanted to run two miles with me after work. Long prior to this, he had said that he wanted to be sure to run my last pregnancy run with me. We went out to a park near us, White Oak Park, and ran two 1-mile loops around the pond there. It was SO nice to be out and I was thankful for his support and company. I was definitely crampy and had a few contractions, but soldiered on regardless. Afterward, Clint coaxed me into taking a shirtless photo in the parking lot. I was kind of embarrassed...but also found the situation pretty funny as well. Looking back, I am SO glad we had that "last run" together to remember and I am glad we have this CRAZY belly pic to show for it as well. It's kinda funny, I even titled the run, "last pregnancy run?" in my Garmin Connect account.
 |
| The bottom picture (OBviously ;)) is the aforementioned photo post-final-pre-baby run! The top, to contrast, is a similar photo taken when I was just a few (unknowingly!) days pregnant...taken post-13.1-mile run in Moab, UT on our honeymoon! WOWSA...what a contrast!!! |
My first run back was on a Thursday with my beloved Thursday Night Running Group. That night, Coach Clint had planned a mile time trial at the ISU track. The plan was for the group to meet and run to the track and then run back to their start. I opted to drive to the track, ran quarter mile warm-up and then ran my mile. I was pleased and surprised to complete the mile in 7:57! That night I ran a total of 12 minutes and 50 seconds with my quarter mile warmup and cool down. It felt GREAT to be out there, but I definitely also felt challenged!
My next run after that was three days later on Sunday, May 29. We were in Davenport visiting my family (and celebrating baby Gabe with a shower with my aunts/cousins on Saturday and then celebrating our niece Charlee with her 1st birthday party on Sunday!) and I decided it was a great idea to invite my 3 1/2 year old niece Macy to accompany me on the run in her mommy's jogging stroller. EEK! I pushed her for 1.5 miles through that hilly neighborhood in 17:06 (pace of 11:25). I felt a little bad-A after all that ;). HA!!
At that point, I started (with Clint's guidance) slowly ramping up my days running each week, mileage per run, and pace. I had my sights set on running some of my favorite summer races, "race-ready" or not: Park 2 Park, Dog Days (a local 5k) and the Bix 7 (in Davenport Iowa) all in July. On Sunday, June 5th I ran 5k/3.1 miles for the first time since Gabe was born (I was 6 weeks, 2 days post-partum at this point) in under 30 minutes (29:05) which was encouraging....and I actually did it pushing the stroller for most of the time!
Here's what I wrote in my Garmin Connect write-up:
Coach Clint told me to try for 2 miles today...woot! After the morning song-and-dance of feeding/diapering/pumping/diapering again, we loaded up G in our Beast of Burden (*fun fact...BOB as in BOB jogging strollers stands for Beast of Burden!). This was its second excursion and our first time running with it. I caved and bought the infant seat attachment because I decided I am DONE waiting for him to have enough head control to use the stroller w/o the special attachment that allows you to snap in a car seat. I need "freedom" and need to start running more! So, $60 "infant attachment" it is...thanks Amazon! Anyway, we went out together (after Clint ran and biked this morning!) and Clint pushed the stroller for the first 1.5. After a mile, he kept asking if we were turning, and I smiled and kept running...saying I wanted to do 5k/ He commented about the fact that my only runs have been 1.5 miles and that's a big jump ;-)...but I was stubborn and soldiered on regardless. At the turn around, I took control of the stroller for the next mile and was excited to see how easily it handles. As we approached 2.6 miles, Clint suggested that I "do work" for the final half mile so I handed over the stroller and pushed my pace bit harder for the final half mile. The pace (7:57 minute/mile pace) was basically my BQ marathon pace (8 flat)...funny to think that I did 26.2 miles at that pace 9 months ago! All in all, it was a great run...hot but refreshing. And, G slept the whole time! Thanks for the help and support along the way, Clint!"
The day after that inaugural post-partum 5k marked the start of Heat Wave, a Monday night summer running program for women in Bloomington-Normal. Last summer I volunteered as a mentor for the program and I decided to do the same this summer. My desire to help out with this program again this summer was another reason I decided to get the infant car seat attachment...though the program was in the evenings, I had to leave to make it to our meeting place each week prior to the time Clint gets home from work so I knew that participating meant that I would have to bring baby G! Once again, Mondays in this program ended up being some of the highlights of my summer.
I stuck to 2-3.1 mile runs for a while and then on June 19 ramped it up to 4 miles! My first 4-miler was run on a HOT Sunday afternoon, sans stroller, while Clint watched our little man. On June 23 I ran my first 5 miler...and this 5 miler included five 0.2-mile hill repeats while pushing the stroller! I ran my second 5 miler on Thursday, June 30th and at that point was at least confident that I would FINISH the 5 miles at Park 2 Park on July 4th (no matter how slow and, if I needed to, perhaps walking a bit!). On Saturday, July 2 I pushed for my "hardest" 5k distance of the summer and ran the 3.1 miles in 25:48 (8:20 avg pace). I officially felt READY for Monday's race! Though I knew it was a bit lofty, I made a goal of running in a slightly-sub 8-minute/mile average pace for a sub-40:00 finish.
Now, if you're not local and/or have never run this "glorious" race ... you are blissfully ignorant of its hills and the HEAT that is typical of 7:30 am on the 4th of July in central IL. Expecting five 8-minute miles on this course out of myself when I hadn't really run much at that pace since like December of last year wasn't very realistic, but I wanted to TRY and basically see what I could do.
Clint and I got up around 5:30am and I started the cycle of feeding and diapering and getting myself and the little man dressed (I realized quickly that race-morning-prep looks a LOT different as a mommy than it did in my pre-mama days!). I packed a bottle of pumped milk (I am breastfeeding) in a little cooler *just in case* G got screamy and felt the need to eat while they were waiting for me to finish. My plan was to feed him in our car right before the start and then, of course, to feed him again after crossing the finish line. At this point he was eating every two hours or so during the day which meant that I SHOULD have a big enough window of time to run the 5-mile race without him getting hungry, but...as anyone who has interacted with an infant knows...things could be unpredictable ;). On race day he was just 10 weeks and 3 days old...so still pretty new in the scheme of things!
We headed to Miller Park, where the race began, around 6:15...aiming for a 6:30ish arrival so that I would have an hour to prepare before the race started. We got there a bit later than we wanted but in "baby time" we weren't nearly as late as we COULD have been! We chatted with some of our friends and area runners before the race. It felt SO GOOD to be there, back in one of my "happy places!" I just love the camaraderie and excitement before area races.
 |
| Our little family pre-race! I'm sporting our 2016 Heat Wave shirt! |
While I waited for the start, I chatted with other runners in the starting area and did my typical "dance around nervously" movements as I mentally prepared myself for the pain that was to come. I tried to chase any thoughts of self-doubt out of my mind. "Can you REALLY run FIVE WHOLE miles?!" Yes, yes I CAN! Five miles is NOTHING. I've run 5 miles twice recently and a bajillion times in my life. I will finish!!
Soon, the starting signal sounded and we were OFF! I started out fast and strong and chased some of our Often Running Racing Team members for a bit (knowing, of course, that I wouldn't be able to hang for long!). Mile 1 ticked off in a WAY-too-fast 7:40. I knew I needed to dial things back but I didn't really want to...not just yet anyway. I figured I could try to push for a while just to see how bad I was able to hurt.
The second mile runs down Main Street through downtown Bloomington. I enjoyed coasting down a not-long-enough-downhill portion and mile 2 dinged in 7:50. Slower than mile 2, but still sub-8. Nice! I had accomplished something I hadn't been able to do since late 2015 and the second trimester of pregnancy - two consecutive sub-8 miles!
Mile 3 started to hurt for sure....8:04.
My friend (and fellow Heat Wave mentor and former Often Running Racing team teammate) Karen pulled up next to me as we approached University High School shortly after the water stop at the 3-mile mark. I thought about trying to stick with her but decided to let her go, knowing that I really had no idea if I would be able to keep with her for the final 2 miles. Looking back, I should've stuck with her and pushed a bit harder (she finished 44 seconds ahead of me!) and been a bit more confident, but alas I didn't in the moment.
During the 4th mile, the course turns to the left and runners are greeted by a nice downhill and then a gross UPhill (arguably the worst part of the course/race). Area runner Julie Sibley came up behind me and encouraged me to push it up the hill...I tried to hold her off as long as I could, but ended up giving in and she sailed by. I REALLY appreciated the push, though! Mile 4 was over in 8:10, my slowest mile of the race but really still great as far as my training had been thus far!
Now the back and final mile of this race is just plain horrid. By this point you are just ready to be DONE and the rolling hills that this mile boasts are just mean. As I approached the stadium, a man I didn't know pulled up next to me and said, "you've been pulling me through now let's finish this thing together!" I told him I didn't know if I could and that he should just carry on, but he insisted. I dug in and was able to (somehow!) find another gear and turns out that fifth mile ticked off in 7:57 (faster than miles 3 and 4!). We crossed the finish line together in JUST over 40 minutes...DARN IT ALL!!! ;)
 |
| Approaching the finish line with my new friend! Hooray for kind, encouraging people who spur us on to be our best self...in races and in life! |
Total - 40:02 - Average pace 8:00min/mile
Overall finish - 155/588
Female finish - 39/286
Age group - 6/44
It was awesome to cross the finish line and to see Clint and Gabe (one of whom was sleeping ;)) waiting for me. What a FUN first race back! This definitely re-whetted my appetite for racing and I was pumped for the next one. It also showed me that I could start pushing harder in training...8-minute (and sub-8 minute!) miles could once again be MINE!
 |
| Me with my "biggest fan" in the "Corn Crib" post-race! |
Next up....Dog Days 5k!
