The Joy of New Shoes

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April turned out to be a good month. I was able to shed about 5 lbs, finally. I wasn’t very consistent with my running, but I did track my food pretty much every day, and the weather was nice enough to rack up over 1600 fitness minutes of mostly long walks with Keira, who likes to sleep while I sweat!

I had some pretty bad hip flexor pain this month after my runs, particularly the hilly ones. Thanks to my friends on Sparkpeople, I was able to alleviate it with some stretches, particularly the ones here on fitsugar. But sadly, I haven’t run a full 3 miles since mid-April. And I have a race on Sunday, which I don’t have high expectations for, but I hope to be able to run the whole thing, albeit at my snail’s pace.

If I sound discouraged, it’s because I am. I had expectations for what I would weigh and feel like 4 months postpartum, and I haven’t met them. I’ve lost 22 lbs since having Keira, which is good, but I figured I lost it quickly before, and so I could do it again. But it hasn’t been that easy, GOD DAMNIT!!!!

Oooh, it felt good to type that.

Here’s what the shoes I got back in February look like already. Being a chunky runner means having to replace these mofos more quickly than the average one. So whomever said that running is a cheap sport was an effin’ liar. Unless you run barefoot and naked, it can get pricey. So yeah, I probably have these things to thank for the hip pain and the like. Usually I use my old shoes for walking, but even those ones felt crappy so I was using these. Probably a mistake.

Thankfully, this is the time of year when they liquidate the old styles of shoes, so I went shopping.

Two pairs for about a hundred. Nice. I have always had good luck with Saucony’s stability shoes (I’ve worn Guides and Omnis.) so I decided to try a pair of Hurricanes. I also got Brooks Trance to see if they last a little longer than the Saucs. The rule is never to wear a new pair of shoes to a race, but I’m thinking about breaking it because they can’t feel any worse than the worn out ones, and it’s only 3.5 miles and not a half marathon or anything, so we’ll see.

I still want to go for a half marathon in the fall, and need to remind myself that I trained lazily for the last half I did (adding a mile every week or two) so I can try to do the same thing this time around.

I want summer! And summer weather!

Since the 5K…

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I am now a two-time graduate of Couch to 5K! I completed a 3.2 mile run in about 40 minutes a couple of weeks ago. It felt great! Still no shin splints or PF, but a little pain in my hip flexor, so I need to be better about stretching there. Once hitting a milestone like finishing C25K or running a race, it’s hard to know what’s next. I’m not really ready for a 10K or even 10K training at this point. I really want to drop more pounds so that running feels natural again and I can get back to a 10-12 minute mile pace. Right now, I’m running a 13-minute mile and sadly, pretty much every fitness website has decided jogging stops at a 12-minute mile. I know that’s not true. I know people who have run 15-minute miles and yes, they are running and not walking.

So right now, the goal needs to be consistency, eating well, and exercising lots. Walking isn’t a problem. I usually take Keira out on a walk for about an hour or so every day. But I need to continue to run 3 times a week, and next month, when my gym membership restarts, start incorporating other forms of exercise, including strength training, even though I find it extremely difficult to stick to a regular routine.

In other great news, I got my jogging stroller! It’s a BOB, of course, and I got it for $200 barely used from craigslist. Seriously, the thing still had packaging material wedged in some of the parts and the treads on the tires brand new! It’s the SE, but the Stroller Strides model, going for about $400.

I can’t use it til the K-bomb gets a little bigger (probably July-ish), but she’s made great progress already. I can’t believe how big my little girl is!

My next race will probably be the Melrose Run for Women on Mother’s Day. I’ve run this before, and it’s a wonderful race, but it will be first one as a mama!

Ras na hEireann 5K

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Céad míle fáilte!

Well, my first post-preg 5K has come and gone! It was a great time, with a field of almost 5,000 racers, it was nice not to feel alone at the back of the pack. But yeah, I’m carrying about as much baggage as I did when I first started running, and I’m still not finished with the Couch to 5K program, so I’m pretty pleased with my time.

Jon and Lori and I planned to catch the bus over to Davis Square where the race was to be held, but I got a notification on my phone that they weren’t going all the way there because of the race. So we legged it 1.8 miles to the race, (a bus passing by wouldn’t stop for us when we flagged it down … fun!) and made it just 5 minutes prior to race start.

The race started at 11am, which is standard for winter/early spring races because they try to catch the warmest weather they can. Too bad we had some unseasonably warm weather and the temp approached 70 degrees at race start, because it was definitely one of the warmest races I’ve run. I stayed with the 10-minute milers at the start (the slowest corral) and plenty of them passed me, but there were also a fair amount of walkers in my way… it’s always a pain in the ass to dodge walkers 4-people astride at a race. People were on their cell phones! Why pay to enter a race? You can do that ANYTIME ANYWHERE.

Anyways, rant over. Despite the “flat” billing, there were nice rolling hills on the course and the field was so large that all the streets were completely blocked off, which I love, because as a slower runner, they sometimes start to reopen the streets when I’m running, and the traffic sometimes has no mercy. I liked that! I also liked that a lot of people were dressed crazily. I don’t know how people run with so much “bling” (I once tried to run with some Mardi Gras beads and ditched them like 3 minutes in), but it definitely is fun to watch!

I managed to run the whole thing except for a bit at the water stop (where I poured a cup on my head, I was feeling so hot!) and at the largest hill of the course at Mile 3, albeit slowly. For the last half mile, I could see the balloon arch finish line, which was nice motivation to keep going.

In the end, I posted a 41:01 time and 13:12 pace. I wanted to come in under 40 minutes, but I have to keep reminding myself:

I just had a baby 12 weeks ago…

I’m not in the shape I used to be when I was running 31-32 minute 5Ks…

And it’s OK!

I look like an Oompa Loopa, with that nice orangey-red post race glow! We got cool medal/bottle opener medals at the end of the race and tried to get into a pub, but quickly realized every place was super crowded and we’d rather be drinking beer outside in the backyard than inside a stinky pub, so we decided to walk back. Man, that was a much slower walk than the walk to the race and the last half mile was kind of a killer…

So Hawaiian and buffalo chicken pizza in my meager backyard chased with some Sam Adams Alpine Spring and some Richie’s Slush on a 75-degree Sunday in mid-March. Aw, hells yeah. And I saw my good friend Lori for the first time in over three months!

Sure, call it a comeback.


First Post-Pregnancy 5K and Running Thoughts

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… it’s coming up this Sunday!

Ahhhhh! I’m nervous and excited. This isn’t my first rodeo, but it kinda is, you know? Thankfully, it’s a flat race and a large field, so I know I won’t die going uphill or be left in everyone’s dust. It’s also St. Patrick’s Day themed, so I’m gonna don my green dudds!

I haven’t written in awhile because it’s pretty much been the same ol’ same ol’ around here. I run three times a week and the weather has been gorgeous, so those runs have moved outside. Keira and I try to walk outside at least a few times a week. She usually naps most of the walk, which is great. I do most of my work during her naps, which can vary from day to day, so I never really know how much I’m going to get accomplished daily.

That being said, I want this blog to be more than “I ran x today.” 

So hopefully soon we can expand to more topics, perhaps when things become more “routine” around here. I want your input as to what kind of posts you’d like to see here.

There are still plenty of obstacles in my way. That same school bus (I need to get the wherewithal to find out where it’s coming from) with the little boys yelling “fat mama” at me is a pain in the ass. Last night on my run, it was warmer than usual, and I could definitely hear the honks and shouts despite blasting my running playlist. You can take it as a negative, or you can take it as a positive, even if it’s intended as a negative.

I don’t know why people find it necessary to dog other people who are out there trying to get healthy, but in a way, it’s empowering, because if you were out there doing the same old thing, then nobody would take notice. It’s sad in a way that seeing an overweight woman running is such an anomaly that it inspires such a reaction in some people.

But you gotta keep going.

The Wall

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I ran two of my Couch to 5K days outside last week and the one on the treadmill was more difficult BY FAR. Why is that? I’m running a 12-minute mile outside and a 14-minute mile on the treadmill without a real incline and I’m soaked from head to toe.

Despite having a lot of help with the baby this weekend and despite the fact that she is sleeping longer and longer at night, I feel like I’ve hit the wall today. And for Week 5, that’s not a good thing, because you need momentum going for that first non-interval run of 20 minutes on the last day.

I need some motivation big time. I admit it was nice to fit into my old pants last week that didn’t fit a couple of weeks before, but that scale is still being an asswipe to me, despite eating well and exercising as much as I can with the baby. I have so much help from my husband and family members, but I still feel like the day never ends. I’ve taken on a freelance job and actually have managed to snag a couple of cases, even though I’m a full-time mom and I’m barely at my office.

Although I’m sleeping more than I expected to at this stage, I still feel frazzled and I am frustrated as to why I feel this way. And surprisingly, coffee almost exacerbates the fatigue at this point.

I gotta run tonight. I’m forcing the water down, but I just don’t feel like it. 

Outsiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiide!

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OMG, the freedom of running outside! The treadmill has given me the gift of running no matter what the weather (or whether the lil’ K is around!) but nothing compares to the cold wind on your cheeks as you whoooosh by. OK, so my whooshing was probably just a 13-minute mile or so, but still, to me it felt like I was speeding along.

W4D1 of C25K yesterday and it felt great. Two intervals of 3 min running/1.5 min walking and 5 min running/2.5 min walking. I find running outside a lot easier despite wind conditions and incline, and it’s always a boost of confidence when I realize it’s not as hard as it sometimes feels on the treadmill. The winter weather has been forgiving this year: it’s not often you get a whole February of temperatures in the 40s and 50s in Boston. I hope I get some more outdoor runs into my training schedule the rest of the winter and spring!

Running for Weight Loss?

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A lot of people assume that when you start a running program, or training for a race like a 10K or half marathon, the weight will just fall right off.

You will need a heart rate monitor to really figure out your true calorie burn (and even that isn’t totally accurate) but a female at my weight will usually burn 500-600 calories an hour when running. That’s a good chunk, but it doesn’t account for the intense hunger pangs that sometimes surface when you run all the time. And the water retention from drinking tons of water, but still having your fingers swell like sausages from the workouts and your calves ache from shin splints. And having to consume calories at the start of your run (and during, if it’s a long one) in order to not feel like you’re going to collapse.

Because as much as the Nike ads and running propaganda want to portray running as soaring…

Running is hard. 

Running is sweaty.

Running can be painful.

I did lose weight when I first started running, but I kept track of each and every thing I put in my mouth. Logging food can be tedious, but thanks to a lot of free tools like those at MyFitnessPal and SparkPeople, it’s a hell of a lot easier than it was 10 years ago when I first went into battle with my fat. And now that I’m restarting a running program, I’m finding that the weight isn’t coming off quite as quickly despite eating and keeping track of similar foods. Maybe it’s the lack of sleep or that I forget to drink water during the day when I’m with my eight week old. But most likely, it’s the fact that my cross-training (off-running) days consisted of kickboxing and spinning and now I’m lucky if I can get a brisk walk in.

Running is not always the most efficient way to lose weight. I don’t want to lie to anyone in this blog and let them think that it is a panacea for an expanding waistline. I could probably eat less if I didn’t run and might be able to lose more weight this way. But I’m still committing to this lifestyle. Why? Because running for me means freedom. It means doing something that so many people didn’t think I could do at first. It’s about competing with myself. It’s proving to myself that last time wasn’t just a fluke. That the chunky girl who trained and ran her first half marathon can train again and run another one.

For me, even if I lost all this weight, if I couldn’t run again, I don’t think I’d be happy. But if I could continue running, I think I could be OK being the chunky runner for awhile.

But yeah, both would be nice.

A Running Life

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Yes, the title is a play on A Football Life. I gotta say that I’m relieved the NFL season is over. It’s always a sign of impending spring, yes?

I had a blog post planned about the Komen/Planned Parenthood debacle, but that seems to have taken care of itself, as the decision has been reversed and the fall guy has resigned. My first 5K race was the Race for the Cure in Boston and it’s also where I got my PR in 2010.  It’s great that the power of Twitter and public opinion actually can influence policy decisions. That whole kerfluffle was insane, and I agree, they need a whole new PR team if they thought that decision was going to fly!

I finished Week 1 of Couch to 5K and moved onto Week 2 last night. Thankfully, I’m not dying like I was the first time I started this program, but I’m reminded every day that I weigh the same as I did two years ago. Yes, I know. I had a baby, a huge step forward in life. But in many ways, I feel like I’ve stepped back, reminded by that double chin that pops out in photos. I really want to feel the wind on my cheeks as I run, but for now, I’ve been confined to the treadmill. I feel great after my runs though. Not too sore, as I thought I would be! I ordered a new pair of Sauconys in anticipation of getting outside again soon and breaking them in before my mid-March 5K.

That being said, I had a bit of a scale debacle. It told me that I had dropped 8 lbs since I started running again. It was a large amount for just a couple of weeks, but not improbable as I’ve been told that the first bit of baby weight can come off fast after resuming exercising. Well, it turns out my scale shit the bed and is all wonky. Yesterday I gained it all back and when I stepped on it again, it had me 90 pounds heavier.

So a new scale is coming from Amazon and a tape measure too. I know it took me 9 months to gain all this weight and it will probably take even longer than that to get it off, but I need to start getting back in the right direction.

The K-bomb will be 7 weeks old on Thursday. She’s still a very good baby, though she hates napping most of the time. The lack of sleep is probably my biggest stumbling block in losing this weight. I put her down for her nap this morning figuring she would sleep for less than an hour because she was so antsy, and she’s been down for 2 hours already! And then I think, “oh, no I could have napped too!” I usually feel more tired when I catnap, so sometimes it’s not worth it to lie down when she’s taking shorter naps. Mostly, she will sleep about 3.5-4 hours at night, and will go to sleep shortly after eating, but by that time, I’m awake and have a difficult time getting back to sleep. So in a way I’ve been my own worst enemy in that regard!

Man, I love when she sleeps.

Flexible February Fitness

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I’m coming to terms with the fact that any fitness goals I have will need to be flexible due to a certain adorable six-week old in my care. I live a pretty sedentary life now, even more than when I sat in front of a computer monitor for 10 hours a day. At least I had the commute and lunchtime to walk around. Now I’m pretty much in the house all day and 100% responsible for my little munchkin’s needs. Flexibility is key.

And given it’s February 1, it’s probably a great goal for all of us. It reminds me of a blog I wrote a couple of years back about the “all or nothing” attitude leading us to give up on our goals. I don’t think we do ourselves any favors with New Year’s resolutions. We tend to want to be perfect come January 1, and usually by the beginning of February, we realize that perfect is the enemy of good. Some of us give up because we can’t measure up to our lofty January aspirations, and some of us adapt.

One of the things that people get stuck on with C25K is the whole three times a week thing. Monday, Wednesday, Friday. Clockwork. Well, life doesn’t work like clockwork. I was supposed to start on Thursday. I ended up starting on Friday. Then I didn’t get to run on Sunday or Monday. Tuesday, I bucked up and I got there and did it a little faster.

It was actually tougher than the first workout. Maybe because I went a bit faster and probably didn’t drink enough water beforehand (that’s one of the keys to a good running session… staying well-hydrated!). But I did it. Running isn’t pretty, especially when it’s on a moving platform, but the rewards are well worth it in the end. I always feel stronger, more limber, and more in control of my life.

Six weeks ago, I became a mom and in a little more than six weeks, I will be back on the road in a 5K race. I’ll run what I can and be proud of what I can get done.

One of the things I can do easily is be more diligent with my food choices. I started tracking food  again and it’s a wake-up call. I love how starting the day with a healthy breakfast usually sets you on the path to a day of good nutrition. The same goes for a crappy carb-laden breakfast.

So I’m going to be flexible with my fitness this February and do the best I can. I know that in the past I lost the most weight when I stuck to a rigid plan, but circumstances change. Adapt or die! Let’s do the best we can this leap month.

Getting it (Re)Started

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So as promised, I did restart Couch to 5K!

It was Week 1, Day 1… so it wasn’t pretty, but surprisingly not as heartbreakingly difficult as it was when I first began this program in June 2009. I ran faster than I did then and I felt like I could do more. I didn’t ache the next day either. So I’m considering it a triumph for my sweaty self!

Yes, it was on the treadmill, but I find treadmill running a lot harder for me (I run slower, but it feels faster, does that make any sense?)

Of course I undid all the good from my run when I had guests bring over an ENTIRE cheesecake from the Cheesecake Factory. Not a piece. A whole cheesecake. Wild Blueberry White Chocolate Cheesecake, if you must know. Two pieces eaten this weekend and I’m pawning the rest off on friends, because lordy, no one needs that much cheesecake.

Monday to Friday, I’ll be tracking my food at every meal. It might not be pretty, but it’ll be a start.