Wells is 20 weeks old (as of Friday)!
Serious cutie pie
I missed the 19 week post and am late with the 20 weeks post because we have been busy celebrating my little lady turning 4 years old!
Then Valentine’s Day…
My little Valentines
But now I’m back! I had a really great week of running. Check out Saturday’s snowy run in this Garmin pic:
12.74 miles in 40:36, HAHA!
Obviously, that didn’t happen. I really ran somewhere between 4-5 miles in ankle deep snow on my way to yoga and the Garmin was freaking out the whole time. Just another reason not to trust my best buddy, Garmin 405. I have to give the little guy some credit though… his strap has been super-glued back to the face twice now and he’s still getting the job done.
In reality, it was a solid week of training despite the snow and ice. (Check this Oiselle blog post for some great tips for getting through winter workouts in the snow!) I did a treadmill progression run, a “sprint the clear and jog the snow/ice spots” run and a 13 mile long run (after not getting a run longer than 8 miles for the past few weeks!) Actually, I started the week with an 11 miler and ended the week with a 13 miler so this was a 57 mile week. Highest post partum mileage week!
Also this week – another pair of Yaktrax bit the dust. Is winter almost over?!
I’m really going to try to sew these since the fabric to hold on the Yaktrax ripped apart but the bottoms are still sort of ok.
Most of my long runs have been about surviving, just logging the miles and getting used to running longer than an hour at a time again. (I only ran longer than an hour 3 times from December 2012 until mid-November 2013. In fact, many days of the last pregnancy, I ran just 30 minutes a day and logged only 3-ish miles so building back up hasn’t been easy!)
This week I decided it’s time to step it up a notch. I didn’t want to do a workout as part of my long run (yet), but I wanted to be thoughtful of my pace and know that I was running (not hanging out in la-la-land). I guess I was looking for the difference between my pace for running vs my pace for “jogging” or “slogging” as Hollie or Kris might say. As a side note, I personally love my jogging/slogging miles and do them every week. I don’t take days completely off unless I’m really in a bind with my family schedule or have an injury, so my “off” days are my 4-5 mile jog/slog days. Those are some of my favorite runs!
I know I can’t do all of my long runs at a pace where my heart rate is lower than when I climb a flight of stairs. So, with the Garmin beep of every mile, I reminded myself to stay present in the run, but remain very conversational. I kept to the plan very well! It ended up being about a minute per mile faster than I’ve been running, I got a great runners high, and I felt perfectly recovered on my run this morning. Mission accomplished.
Here are the 20 weeks postpartum pics! Gonna be breaking this hot racing kit out for Gate River Run in less than 4 weeks!
20 weeks postpartum
Questions for you:
What’s the craziest thing your Garmin has done?
How many runs do you get out of your Yaktrax (or similar brand grippy shoe covers)?
Is winter over yet?
You look awesome. Happy Birthday to Currie! I have the 405 as well and rarely get a consistent read. One of the Garmin reps at a marathon expo once told me that the 405 is the lemon of all Garmins and just wasn’t made correctly and almost everyone has problems with it lol (I was so thrilled at the time)!!!
Thanks Ashley! And figures I’d get the lemon…
Both of your kids are just the cutest little things. Currie looks so much like you too! I spent a few too many seconds looking at that garmin pic trying to figure that out until I realized it was supposed to look crazy.
Haha, thanks Shannon! I wondered how many people would be puzzled by the garmin pic! I glanced at it a few times that morning and tricked myself into believing I ran that far!
I’m glad you had a good week. I just have the Garmin 10 now which I love. I had the Nike but it caused me a lot of problems so I’m glad to finally have that switched. Happy Birthday to Currie!
As far as slogging miles I would do them every single run! I didn’t do tempos and just hoped that slogging high mileage would get me places…obviously it did but I plataued. I know not slogging every single run (but not racing every run either) will keep me injury free this spring.
Yes, Hollie, I agree there’s a balance. You have been doing awesome and I think you are approaching things in a really smart way! I strictly raced for a few years, then strictly slogged for many years after that and neither way got me anywhere. I’m trying to cut out some of my slogging miles but will never get rid of them completely. They are too much fun!
Winter is NOT over. BOOO!
I will enjoy these 2 or 3 days of 40 degrees this week though. Pittsburgh–fast approaching!!
Yes, Joe! This weather feels AWESOME! Now the ice patches on the sidewalks need to melt and I’ll be one super happy runner!
First off as a mom I have to say, your kids are SO cute!! Secondly, I admire that you are sharing pictures of yourself post-baby. Way to be authentic and inspiring!
My Garmin once said I was running 4:16 pace….HA. Maybe if I was going downhill wearing roller skates 😉
Believe me, I love slogging miles. I will still do them here or there, just not 2-3 times a week like I used too. If I run doubles I try to make both runs purposeful. I swear EVERYONE is different though. Everyone just has to do what works for them and there isn’t a right or wrong way, in my opinion.
Thanks Kris!!!
Yes, I really agree with you! Everyone is different. I am also going to try to eliminate some of the slogging, but I don’t see myself ever getting rid of my 4-5 mile slog day.
That’s my rest day and I love it so much! I’m really working on having more purpose on the daily runs though, and even the long runs. A lot of that has been “just getting it done” in the past and I think the change will be huge in my progress as a runner! Time will tell!
Wow, I was trying to calculate what your pace was at first, before reading further, lol. Good thing you’ll be getting that other new watch any day now, 😉
Happy birthday to Currie, those pictures are adorable!
We need to run together soon.
Haha, I know, I was trying to trick some people with that picture. “Wow, Jen is getting in incredible shape!”