I was incredibly active for much of my pregnancy – running until I was almost 32 weeks pregnant – but it definitely took a backseat when I got closer to my due date. After delivering, I was blessed to have a really easy recovery, and I lost all my pregnancy weight within 6 days of having Spencer. Plus, though I tore, I was out running just 21 days after giving birth. It was just a mile, but I was so happy to be out there moving again.
What I didn’t realize was that settling into a new routine was going to be harder than I thought. Working out took a back seat when we moved into our new house in Black River, and I was lucky if I got a single run in every two weeks. For someone who really longs to be active and moving, this was really frustrating for me. After a few weeks of Ryan and I struggling to find a new normal, we decided to get a part time babysitter. She comes four days a week for three hours a day, and I can finally work out and run again!
Even better, Ryan and I signed up for the 2015 Lake Placid Half Marathon, so we’re training at full force now. This is week 3 of our 15-week regimen, and I’m supposed to run four days – 4-miler, 4-miler, 5-miler and one more slow 4-miler. I’ve never been a good runner. In fact, I’ve always been pretty terrible at it, but I find it incredibly liberating now. There’s something freeing about being out there, putting miles on my legs and getting it done…even though it’s been far too cold to run outside so far. I ran on the treadmill until last week, and now I’m just sucking it up on the 1/9th of a mile indoor track…monotony at its finest, folks.
This was my first postpartum 3-miler – 2 weeks ago
Despite the monotony though, I find that these hours of time on the track are really revitalizing me as a wife, a mother and a woman. I find a little bit of freedom in those minutes by myself. Don’t get me wrong – I adore my role in our home, but I also love that there is still a little bit of me, the spitfire, that is able to come out, as well. I want to inspire my son with a love of health and fitness, and I know that in order to do so, it’s important for us to lead by example. And so, I’m going to obnoxiously document my fitness journey here, as well. I’ll do a weekly run report (or workout report), if only to keep me sane.
And, as spring time decides to show its sweet and oh-so-welcome face here in upstate New York, I can’t wait to take our daily runs outside. It’s about time we’re able to take this sweet boy outside in his jogger. Can you believe the last time we used it was when he was 13 days old in Arizona?! Craziness.
Truly though, the moral of this entire post is that postpartum fitness, for me, is less about fitness and more about finding some “me time.” I don’t need to pamper myself at a spa. It’s not me. I just need to get out there, feel my legs move and grow stronger and become aware that I’m still the person I was before…only different…and maybe a little more selfless 🙂
