Thursday, March 31, 2011

Marathon Moms' Return

So, Leah is now 3 weeks and 5 days old and we are settling into a pretty good routine.
On Tues' and Thurs' mornings, I take Micah to school and leave Seth and Leah w/ Maureen and Jeanetta at the Gretzky Centre. I then swim close to 2.5 km (about 1 hr), do the eliptical for 40 min, and stretch/lift weights/do core for 20-30 min. So far, Leah has slept during this entire time!
On Mon, Wed, Fri, Sat, and Sun, I ride the bike (on rollers) for 30-45 min in the am, and run for 30-60 min in the pm (or vice versa). Breaking up the training into two parts makes getting back to it much easier with a newborn, preschooler and jk'er! And it's something I wanted to start anyway, eventually running twice daily (for some days) down the road.
By the end of the week, I will have logged 45 km. I will continue to increase my mileage, slowly but surely so as to avoid injury. I hope to run the 5 km at the Brantford Classic as a tester, May 15th. By September, I should be at 100 km/wk and ready for some serious training. Not sure what my other races will be but they may include the: Peachbud 5 or 10 km in June, Acura 10 miler in August, Zoo 10 km in September, Scotia 1/2 in October, and Hamilton 1/2 in November.
We'll see?!
And the feet...are GREAT! I really think the orthotics have done the trick. Thanks, Mike Forgrave! I continue to see an osteopath and stretch, which also helps.
Of course, the Chariot is starting to get great use again. And Jonathan is super supportive (I just have to make sure I have some milk pumped and in the freezer for him!).


I've been following the training of other marathoning moms. Kara Goucher ran a 1:09 placing 3rd at the NYC 1/2 Marathon. She is running Boston in a few weeks, which will be 7 months after having her baby. Go, mom!
Another marathon mom, is World-Record Holder, Paula Radcliffe. She too had a baby (her 2nd) boy 7 months ago. Check out her routine!

PAULA'S ROUTINE IN ALBUQUERQUE (for seven days out of 8)

  • Up at 8am Feeds the children
    Nanny arrives (for the morning only)
    Morning run with husband Gary – 12-18 miles
    Home for shower and lunch
    To the gym for weights session
    Home for 2-hour nap
    Up at 4pm for second run of the day – a 'short’ 8-9 miles
    Back home for 45 minutes of core exercises with daughter Isla joining in (as Gary cooks the dinner)
    8.30pm – reads bedtime story to Isla
    Relaxes and answers emails
    10pm – bed

“The times I notice it as a bit manic is when I come in from my run at night and I’ve got 45 minutes of core exercises to do,” she says. “I used to do that with Isla playing around next to me. Now I’ve got Raphael there, Gary’s trying to get the dinner ready and get Isla fed, and she’s trying to join in with my exercises. By the time I’ve fed Raphael and read Isla a bedtime story, it’s already 8.30.”