Author Archives: Jen

3 Months Postpartum Running, Down Weeks, & Multi-tasking

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On Friday, Wells turned 13 weeks old. It was also his 3 month birthday!

wells3months

He’s doing great and his big sister is being a wonderful sibling!

cw3months

I missed a few of my weekly posts because of travel for the holidays. My parents have been doing matching Christmas PJs for our family for longer than I can remember (way before it was cool…) Here is the picture from this year:

xmas2013This year was Jeff’s 10th Christmas with our family, and that meant his 10th pair of matching Christmas jammies. Here is one from 8 years ago. Loving that v-neck! HA!

DCFC0003.JPG

Running has been good. I originally planned this week to be my 3rd week in the 50 mile range, but I haven’t hit 50 miles yet. After my last post, I had a really tired, unmotivated weekend. Instead of running 13 miles, I did 7. My body was telling me I needed a down week. While I have taken things conservatively (adding 5 miles/week, with just 1-1.5 miles per week on the long run) my body was still saying I needed a down week. I realized I was building, building, building and never dropping. Oops! So, I took it. No bad feelings, no guilt. Just giving myself a break.

The next week, I decided I would run at least 8, up to 13 miles for the long run, depending on how I felt. I ended up with a strong finish 11.8 miles and was shocked to see I had 47 miles on the week! I was expecting 35-40 miles. I guess I ran a few extra miles during the weekday runs because I had my brothers and Jeff to join me.

Our reflective gear ended up messing up this pic, but it was little bro Jason, husband Jeff, big bro Josh, then me before heading out on a run!

Our reflective gear ended up messing up this pic, but it was little bro Jason, husband Jeff, big bro Josh, then me (posing by one of my mom’s 10 Christmas trees!) before heading out on a run!

This week I ended up with a hilly 14.2 miles to close things out at 48 miles on the week. I think the 2 down weeks served me well. I plan to get to 50 miles and stay there for a few weeks so I can continue feeling good and strong!

Wells is still managing to be a champion sleeper of 8-12 hours straight at night every night since December 8th. I know it won’t last forever, but like I said, I’m enjoying it! Thank you baby boy!

I’m quickly narrowing down a goal race for the spring. Details to come…

Finally, this has been a week of multi-tasking. I’ve been trying to fit in all the running “extras” while still doing all the fun holiday stuff & getting settled back at home stuff. Here are a few ways I fit some strength and stretching into the week:

  • Hip exercises while online bill paying and online library book renewal.
  • Leg/hip strength exercises while hanging out on the playground with the kids.
  • Lacrosse ball arch of foot massage* while nursing Wells.
  • Lacrosse ball arch of foot massage while writing this post!
  • Self calf massage while playing all sorts of imagination games with Currie.

*There is nothing wrong with the arch of my foot right now. However, after I had Currie, I got really bad plantar fasciitis. Then, I spoke with a women this fall who said she used to run until she had kids and got really bad plantar fasciitis. That was enough to keep me proactive with the arch/calf massage after having Wells.

Finally, here are the 13 weeks (3 months) postpartum pics! From my point of view, there’s more definition in my arms, everything else remains the same.

13weekspostwells

Questions for you!

Any fun/crazy family traditions this time of year?

What’s your favorite way to multi-task with strength/stretching routines? 

 

11 Weeks, Feeling Thankful

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Wells is 11 weeks old today!

Big, happy 11 week old!

Big, happy 11 week old!

I accomplished my goal of getting more sleep this week, but I can’t claim to have done it alone.

Screen Shot 2013-12-13 at 10.10.58 AMI tweeted that a few days ago and am happy to report Wells has been sleeping 10-12 hours a night ever since. (I realize this could stop any day and I’m appreciating every moment!) My contribution has been getting Currie to sleep as well and then going to bed shortly afterward myself (instead of staying up to get stuff done like usual)!

I didn’t quite hit my goal of 45 miles this past week because the weather quickly turned treacherous on my long run and after watching a dude fall HARD on the slick trail I decided to head home a mile early. It was a smart decision. I was only one mile shorter on long run and one mile short on the week. Gotta be smart and flexible.

The next day I was running on some rough, snowy trails (wearing yaktrax) but I twisted my ankle really bad (landed on outside of foot, hard). I have been blessed with extremely strong, yet skinny ankles, but this roll HURT. I limped for a minute, then was able to resume running with no problems. I was worried about how the ankle might feel the next day but I felt NO PAIN at all when running. However, the ankle has been tender when I do some of my foot exercises so I’ve been really cautious all week. Plus, I’ve been dealing with weather like this:

coldw coldw2So the week has consisted of all easy runs, with the exception of a few strides at the track today. My ankle is feeling 99% better, even when I roll it through a full range of motion with my hands so I’m feeling very thankful! I haven’t had any pain while running since that first minute of limping when it originally happened.

The funny thing about the ankle roll is that it happened while I was zoning out, thinking of how thankful I am to have running in my life. And how thankful I am to have my health, and my youth, and two wonderful, precious children.

My sweeties

My sweeties

And a husband who supports my running, encourages me, and rearranges his schedule to make sure my workouts can happen. He was much more serious about running than I was when we first met (and for the first 4 years of our relationship), and he definitely helped light the fire inside me and make me think I still had PRs left in my legs after 7 years of easy running and no workouts or training schedules.

And of course for my sponsor, Oiselle, for making the best running apparel, truly caring about their athletes and also being wonderful people and friends.

So I guess it’s been a week of thankful running!

Here are the 11 weeks postpartum pics!

11 weeks post Wells!

11 weeks post Wells!

Have you been braving the ice/snow/dangerously cold temps this week?

Anything you’ve been especially thankful for this week?

Strong ankles, weak ankles or just normal?

 

10 Weeks! Proud, Cute, and Not-So-Proud Running Moments

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Wells is 10 weeks old today!

Hello Mr. Personality! Ok, so he’s not a “little speedster” yet, but I have a feeling I’m going to have my hands full with Currie and this little guy. :)

Since my Turkey Trot, I’ve been a little exhausted. I recovered well from the racing, and even the long run (11.6 miles) with my brothers and husband 2 days later.

Husband Jeff, “little bro” Jason, me, big bro Josh.

But I am really far behind on sleep from all the family time and travel to see family. So my muscles are feeling good but my body is feeling pretty exhausted. My goal this week is get good sleep (and a nap!) at least 4 of the 7 days!

My proudest running moments of the week were:

  • Reaching 40 miles in one week. I’ve been increasing 5 miles per week and adding 1-1.5 miles to the long run distance each week and it has been a great gradual transition so far. I am thinking I’ll hold at 50mpw for awhile when I get there in 2 weeks. I’ve been having the desire to run doubles again which I’m not doing but I’m happy to be craving extra running.
  • Realizing my mental strength is still alive and well. I’ve had a few instances in the past 2 weeks where it would have been easy to throw in the towel mentally which would lead to physical decline. (Easiest one to explain is the pain train during my Turkey Trot, although my positive splitting was nothing to brag about, it could have been much more of a train wreck, but I held it together mentally even when my body was failing and finished strong.) I’m right where I want to be in the mental realm of my running.
  • Flexing my abs in the mirror and seeing the slightest hint of muscle! You know when you occasionally (or frequently) step out of the shower and flex your muscles in the bathroom mirror? Well, I discovered that if I flex ’em really hard, I can see my abs again! They are there! Gonna be awhile till they look like this:

Karknocker 5k, Rochester NY

but I’ll get there!

  • Getting my sprint on! I’ve been doing strides at the track for the past 2 weeks and today, I felt totally normal and fast again. Sure, the strides are the WHOLE WORKOUT right now so it’s nothing to “write home about”. Yes, I’d usually be doing strides as a normal part of my warmup to an entire speed session. But, sprinting hasn’t felt totally normal until today. I was a little concerned on the few snowy days of running to see that my usual toe-running style was replaced by trudging along making almost flat footed prints. Today, I was up high on the balls of my feet with my stride extended so much I literally kicked my butt on a few of the turnovers. I felt like my normal self and that was something to smile about!

My “cutest sighting on a run” this week was:

  • Old lady out for a brisk walk using an old school walkman! You go granny!

My not-so-proud running moments of the week were:

  • Lack of sleep leading to another cold! Must change that this week!
  • Falling off the bandwagon with my strength exercises. While traveling for Thanksgiving, I missed a few days of my “at least one strength exercise per day” routine.

All in all though, I’m chugging right along!

Here are the 10 week postpartum pics!

10 Week photos taken by a hyper 3-year-old again.

Good luck to everyone racing this weekend! Especially Heather and Laura as they run one of my favorite races, California International Marathon!

Questions for you:

Do you flex in the mirror daily, weekly, monthly, yearly?

What’s your cutest sighting on a run this week? Ever?

 

First Race Post Baby #2, Columbus Turkey Trot

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I’m beat! Columbus Turkey Trot, 2013. Although I debated racing in buns for this race, it was far too chilly and I was happy I chose the apparel you see above!

I ran my first race since baby #2 on Thursday. Wells was 2 months + 1 day old. I was 68th place overall, 4th female in 31:14, or 6:15/mile pace. Last year I was 17th place overall, first female in 28:19, or 5:40/mile pace.

As a side note, I ran my first postpartum race after Currie (a 5k in 18:09) when she was 5 months old. I almost puked and felt equally awesome and horrible. See pic below!

10 Ugly Men, first race post-Currie, July 2010.

Back to the present: last week’s first postpartum race was a 5 mile Turkey Trot in Columbus, Ohio which is about an hour from my in-law’s house. I was probably more nervous/excited in the days leading up to the race than anyone else toeing the line at a Turkey Trot! Most people seem to run these races for fun… I was trying to get a good starting point for real workouts. I was unsure how I would feel, and was anxious to test my fitness.

On the drive to the race, the sky was gorgeous, and the temperature was a chilly 20 degrees or so, with winds less than 10mph.

I bundled up – so many layers – and still felt a bit cold standing around pre-race. Long sleeve, singlet, vest, and 2 light jackets with one warmer jacket on top, fleece lined tights and warmup pants on bottom, heavy mittens and a headband to round things out.

So many layers, I felt like a marshmallow! This “selfie” perspective doesn’t show the true marshmallow-ness of my look.

Before long though, it was time to head to the start line! I did 4 strides and positioned myself in the second row. Then I looked behind me and saw my friend Casey from Rochester, NY! I also got to quickly meet and hug Molly who I’ve known online for awhile now. Both of these ladies pumped me up more than they realize! I ended up lining up right by Casey maybe 6 rows back (she should have started in row 2 because she’s speedy) but we both stayed back.

The gun went off and we went out in what felt pretty comfortable. The first mile drops 100ft and I was shocked to see we ran 5:36-7 that first mile! Ah! (The course goes out, does a loop through Ohio State’s campus, then comes back up the last mile to end where it started so the last mile is back up 100ft, on a long gradual uphill.) I got that sort of hollow feeling in my arms that mile, like I get when I’m either freezing and/or run a lot faster than I’m used to (Does anyone else get that hollow feeling?) and knew that would be my fastest mile! During this mile the girl who ended up in first place passed me and Casey.

Mile 2 feels downhill but I guess you go up and down so it ends up having no elevation gain or loss. I was 11:38 or about a 6:01 mile. I was still feeling pretty good. I let Casey go this mile. I knew she was in better shape and she didn’t need to hang back with me. This left me in 3rd place female.

The third mile is another 20ft drop and I was 17:50 or 6:12 mile. At that point I started thinking a 5k sounded much better than a 5 mile…

I don’t know the elevation for the 4th mile, but I was at 24:25 or a 6:35ish mile. I was passed by the girl who ended up 3rd female at the end of this mile.

My final time was 31:14, making my last mile 6:47ish. So obviously my body doesn’t know pacing, and it was a long death march to the finish. Like I said in my last post, I didn’t pass anyone at this race. Instead, I got passed by all sorts of people the entire race. Makes sense when I saw how much I positive split the race!

Almost to the finish!

During the last mile, my arms and legs had a dead feeling and I was happy to know I was giving a great hard race effort. Could I have run a little faster? Probably… Am I 100% happy with my time? Well, I’m probably happier with this race than I’ve ever been with a race performance (aside from my 5k PR race). My goal was 33:00 and I thought on a great day I could run 32:xx. So, yes, I was pretty pumped!

Since the race I haven’t been obsessing about what I could have done differently for a faster time like I usually do. I’m almost never satisfied with a race (always hungry for more attitude which I’m proud of!) but I’m satisfied with this one.

Post race, I got to see my friend Kathy (who ran at OSU with me) and my friend Casey again for a very brief moment. Of course I had to take a pic!

Kathy, me, Casey

Then I went to Peets Coffee to “refuel” with an almond milk mocha as big as my head. Turns out if you tell a barista you want a mocha and don’t mention size they choose the largest size for you.

Big ol’ almond milk mocha

As far as awards go, they were better than last year’s trophy. For 4th place female, I got a trophy, a medal, a “Chase” embroidered fleece, duffel bag and water bottle.

Awards. Can you tell who sponsored this race?

I recovered from this race much better than expected. I was just a tiny bit sore for the first few minutes of my run the next day and felt completely better the next day for my long run. Now… it’s time to decide what race will be next!

Hope you are having a great week and thanks for all the support!

9 Weeks, First Postpartum Race

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It’s been an exciting few days! On Wednesday, Wells turned 2 months old!

My little 2 month old

Kissing his sister for making him a 2 month sign after I forgot to pack his official 2 month sticker for Ohio!

On Thursday, we celebrated Thanksgiving with a Turkey Trot, my first race after having Wells. I ran 31:12 and beat my goal time of 33:00. More to come on this race later.

Jeff and me before the race

And today, Wells is 9 weeks old!

I’m going to sleep right through this 9 week birthday.

I only did 2 “workouts” this week, both were strides on the track. So, they weren’t exactly taxing workouts, more just getting my legs going fast again. Maybe that contributed to my 5:37 first mile in the Turkey Trot. Oops! And maybe THAT ridiculous first mile is why every mile got progressively slower, and I was getting passed like crazy during the race (last year no one passed me, this year, I passed no one!) More details of race in another post!

With no real workouts on the schedule last week, I just ran whatever I wanted every day and ended up hitting 35 miles for the week. This week I plan on hitting 40. I had my first easy run (4 miles) where the overall pace was sub 8 minute miles so that was exciting! Progress!

The mental side of my running was pretty good this week, even with the daily freak out session “I’m racing for the first time in 11 months this week! How will it feel? What kind of shape am I in?” On a few occasions, I had sudden feelings of all the blood draining from my arms and legs because I was so nervous (and excited!) to race again! Even for a low profile race, I get myself pretty worked up in the days prior and I like it because it helps me reach the perfect of amount relaxation by race day. It might seem a little crazy to someone who isn’t a runner, but I look forward to these crazy nervous feelings and love the nervousness/anticipation of race day. It was good to have a goal to look towards again! Race morning was everything I wanted it to be, and like I said before I’ll do a recap soon!

Here are the 9 weeks postpartum pics and no, I didn’t race in buns. Too cold!

9 weeks!

Questions for you!

Did you Turkey Trot? How did it go?

Do you get worked up over races days (or weeks!) in advance or do you save your nerves for race morning? 

 

8 Weeks! Hills!

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Wells is 8 weeks old today!

Love that little smirk!

We are headed back to Rochester for the weekend and I’m excited to do a few runs on flat paths and trails! I’m also looking forward to a long run with Laura and spectating Jeff’s cross country race with Victoria. The rest of my time will be spent hanging out with non-running friends. :)

I did my longest postpartum run, 9 miles, last Sunday. I did the whole run on hilly trails and I was pretty sore the next day. I also did a mini-workout of 6 x strides (working up to 95% effort) on Tuesday. The strides didn’t feel bad at all during the workout or later that night, but my hamstrings were crazy sore the next day. I think it’s because I did all the strides on hilly streets, going both uphill and downhill. My body is still adjusting to this hilly neighborhood! (I realize I overuse the word hill, but I grew up in pancake flat land, and have almost always trained in flat places so this is really new and difficult for me!)

The final item to note about my comeback is that I’m starting more strength exercises. I’m doing something strength related every day. This may be as simple as a set of planks. Or a few sets of pushups. Or it might include 6 different hip/butt/leg exercises. (Not up to the Dirty Dozen yet!) All of my strength work so far is either body weight or baby weight (holding Wells who is somewhere around 13lbs).

I have to be honest, I’m VERY weak right now. I’m usually a pushup queen and I had to start with 2 sets of 10. (Ok, I actually started with 20 wall pushups, then the next time moved on to the regular kind.) When I asked Currie how many pushups she thought I could do, she said “3!” Glad I beat her estimate! My balance and stabilizing muscles are really off as well. I tried standing on one foot and reaching for an object on the ground and I was wobbling all over the place. Also, I could only hold side plank (lifted, not on elbows) for 5 seconds per side without toppling over the first time. As I said in my last post, it will all come back, step by step.

So with that, here are the 8 week postpartum pics!

8 weeks!

Questions for you:

Do you run more on hills or flat? Do you prefer one over the other?

Are you racing this weekend? Spectating? Relaxing?

7 Weeks and Step by Step

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Wells is 7 weeks old today!

My little ones snuggling in bed this morning!

I did 2 mini-workouts since my last post. Both were small steps in the right direction toward my goals. Oh, and look what I got on Monday!

My Oiselle Pro Kit! (Front of top, back of briefs).

I have 2 things to say about it. First – talk about motivation to get strong and speedy again (thanks Oiselle!) Second – I still have to remember getting in shape is a process and I need to take it day by day (or really step by step)!

When I was pregnant with my first child, I had big dreams about what I might do with my running, but because I was going to be a first time mom, I had NO CLUE what to expect out of running after giving birth. Would I ever race again? Even though I ran throughout the whole pregnancy, I wondered what childbirth would do to me. I wondered if I could be fast. Could I even be faster than ever? (It turns out I could be and birthing a child didn’t have negative effects on my running.) The process took awhile though. I didn’t do my first workout until 4 months after Currie was born.

When I was pregnant with Wells, I believe it was Laura, the mastermind behind Salty Running, who told me I’d bounce back quicker with the second. She was right. I feel like my body and running are bouncing back quicker (the running is mostly coming back quicker because I realize it can and I’m not scared to do some workouts this time around). But, let me be clear, I have a LONG way to go.

Workouts HURT. They are hard. This is always true, but especially after the trauma of childbirth. My times are nothing like usual. I thoroughly enjoy, and yet am humbled on every run. My mile time trial last week was exactly what I dreamed it would be and of course I was over the moon happy. BUT… there are moments when I allow myself to really think about it and I realize it was slower than every mile I run when I race a half marathon. Of course I don’t expect to be there right now, but I get a good reality check – I still have a long, long way to go.

I did a light progression run/tempo on Sunday. It was mixed in with my longest run yet, 7.5 miles. The goal was just to pick up the pace, faster than my every day runs, each mile a bit faster. I was hoping a few of those miles would be in the low 7:xx range. (I live and do all my running in Squirrel Hill, and if you don’t know the area, let me just say it’s super hilly. With no hills, I honestly probably would have wished for some high 6:xx in there.) Turns out, no mile was faster than 7:37. I complained a bit to my husband. He made some remark like “yeah, you’ve been running a whole 3 weeks after having a child, you should really be faster”. Obviously sarcastic, thanks for the reminder, Jeff!

I did some speed yesterday (Thursday) as well. It was the same workout I used as my first workout after having my first child. (6 x min hard/min easy) It was challenging. I have no idea what my pace was, as I wasn’t wearing a GPS watch, I just know it was enjoyable in a difficult-run-type-of-way.

Before every workout, I’m reminding myself to take my running step by step. After every workout, I think of things day by day. Sure, I have long-term plans and goals and I think about them, but my running is living in the moment. I push out every little old-self comparison thought. I will take things slowly, step by step, because that’s the smart way, and the only way I will get to where I want to be.

So, here are the 7 weeks pics! I will switch over to pics of my pro kit when I get the courage to show you all my bare belly! I’m not as brave as Lauren Fleshman… yet!

7 weeks! My pics are never “high quality”, but today they were taken by an especially wild 3 year old so they are both fuzzy and lopsided. :)

Question for you:

Do you get caught up in comparing your out of shape self to your in shape self? 

 

6 Weeks & A WORKOUT!!

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Wells is 6 weeks old today!

My exciting news of the week is: I did a workout!! 

Actually, I’ve done 2 “workouts” now. The first was just a short, impromptu hill sprint workout. A few hours before my run that day, I thought it would be fun to push the pace on some hills. I ended up doing 4 x 40 seconds hard uphill. I jogged for 40 seconds between the hard parts. It was hard, but not too bad – a good intro to pushing the pace.

Then, my pace twinsie, Jason, challenged me… nudged me… not sure what the right words are, but he said he was doing a hard mile on the track on Wednesday of this week and asked if I was going to do one too. (We don’t live in the same state so we weren’t going to do the workout together physically, just updating each other virtually!) I said “maybe” but I knew right away I was going to do it.

Carnegie Mellon University track

Wednesday rolled around, and I was nervous. I walked Currie to school and told her what I would do while she was at school. I did this more for myself as some “get pumped for the workout talk” than for her. “I’m going to run to the track at Daddy’s work and do 4 laps as fast as I can. Then I’ll run back home, shower and come get you.” She thought that sounded fun and wanted to skip school to join me. I told her we could run together another day!

So, the workout: I got to the track and did another 3 laps to make about a 1.5 mile warmup. I did some high knee walks, some butt kicks and 4 x 50 meter strides. I was going through all the motions slowly, nervously. I was stalling. Finally, I had nothing else to do, so I was off. Laps were as follows:

  • 88
  • 90
  • 90
  • 90

5:58.02! I finished the workout with a 2.5ish mile cooldown to make 5 miles for the day (5 mile Turkey Trot coming up!) I was very pleased with this. It wasn’t a puke-inducing workout, but it also wasn’t easy by any means. My secret goal was to go sub 6:00. I know I can always do a 90 second lap, but was unsure of doing 4 in a row. I told myself to be happy with anything between 6:00-7:00. So yes, I’m very happy!

I was sore the next day in my hips, inner thigh, butt, and stomach – the places where I had the biggest body transformation during pregnancy. Also where I am holding the last 10lbs of baby weight. (Not saying this as a complaint at all. I realize I look good for 6 weeks postpartum, even for someone who hasn’t had a baby. Just noting that I’m 10lbs over racing weight and sore in these places.)

So far so good with the running. I’m just taking it day by day. Here are the 6 weeks pics:

6 weeks!

Questions for you:

Do you stall when you’re nervous for workouts or just jump right into them?

Do you talk to yourself/family/friends about workouts that frighten you to get in the right frame of mind?

 

A Race Planned!

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I’ve made a list of races I want to run in 2014. I’m so pumped to start racing again! Right now, there are far too many on the list and I’m going to have to make some cuts – lots of cuts! For now, I can tell you I decided on my first race post-Wells: Columbus Turkey Trot (a 5-Mile race)!

Columbus Turkey Trot

Pic from last year at the Columbus Turkey Trot. I was first female, 20th overall in 28:19 (5:40 pace). Construction background! I’m not the best at setting the scene for my pictures.

I’m terrified to run it – which is exactly why I’m doing it. It’s going to be 5 miles of STRUGGLE BUS. I will probably get at least four different 5+ mile training runs done before the big day, and will probably have a few 25-35 mile weeks under my belt by then. Wells will be 2 months+1 day old on the day of the race. I probably won’t be racing in buns. Or maybe I will… details, details…

I decided to race because:

  • I miss racing
  • It will be a good starting point and introduction into racing again
  • I’m looking for a good burn and that will definitely happen
  • I’m scared to death to race already (having no idea what kind of shape I’m in, knowing the pain of first race in awhile, knowing I’ll be a lot slower than last time I raced, this list could go on and on…)
  • I should run into a lot of people I know – motivation!
  • I took a twitter poll and every single person said some variation of “YES DO THE TROT!”
That’s the plan for now! I’m going to be starting up mini-workouts and am excited and a little nervous about it. :) Here we go!
Questions for you:
-Are you running a Turkey Trot?
-How do you know when you are ready to race?
-After a period of rest do you prefer to throw yourself back into racing or do you like to wait until you are in better shape?

 

Five Weeks & Getting Passed on Runs

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Wells is 5 weeks old! Check out the Halloween adorableness from last night!

Wells' first Halloween!

And here is a picture from this morning!

5 weeks old today!

Running is going well! I’m feeling good. The initial soreness from starting back up running is gone. I’m doing 2.5-4.5 miles per day (I think I will have about 25 miles this week). One day off a week. Actually, this isn’t even my second full week of running yet, but that’s the plan. I’ve been doing all of my runs on hilly trails near my house. There is nothing flat in my neighborhood. I figure my legs are going to be killer strong and sexy after a few months of this training!

Fall weather, trails, cute & cozy run layers… what more could I ask for?!

On Wednesday night, I mentioned on Twitter that I got passed on a run for the first time since moving to Pittsburgh. I was running uphill and a guy, who seemed to be running his normal pace, passed by me and went along on his way. Then a few minutes later, another guy, who was panting harder than I breathe when doing track work, passed me. After dude #2 passed, he slowed down and I could have passed him back but I didn’t. I was only a block from my house at that point and he obviously wanted to be ahead of me. In the last block, he looked over his shoulder at least 5 times.

I’m not passing judgement on people who can’t stand to be running BEHIND someone, even guys who can’t stand to be behind a girl. I used to, but now I’m realizing that I don’t “love” being passed by anyone, male or female, and I definitely pick up the pace when I feel someone behind me. It’s just a little competitive nature at work. If someone has a faster or better run because they were able to pass me, more power to them!

Here are the 5 weeks post baby pics! They look similar to the past few weeks. Currie took the pics again this week since Jeff had to leave for work early.

5 weeks!

Questions for you!

How was your Halloween?

Do you try to compete with people who pass you on a run?

Do you try to pass others on your daily easy runs?