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.”

I'm baaack!

Thanks to Chariot, it will be much easier to get back to running! Check out the picture of Leah (2 weeks old) in the amazing, "very well-engineered" (as Jonathan told the boys while assembling it) infant sling .
Seth, Leah and I enjoyed our first walk today w/ the Chariot.

And thanks to Saucony for the spring/summer shipment of amazing running gear! The kids had fun (again) trying everything on!

I'm already back to running/biking/swimming. Now that the childcare is open again, I will be back at the gym. Can't wait!

Check out Kara Goucher's blog.
She ran the NYC 1/2 today and placed third with a time of 1:09:03. She just had a baby in September. Go, marathon mommies!

Getting Back Into It

March 13, 2011
Leah is now 8 days old and I've been walking most days since she was born. At this point, I really have to listen to my body. Do a little more each day but not too much. I haven't blogged on the birth but it was much different than the boys'. Long story short = I was induced at 4:30 pm...at 10:00 pm I was feeling a bit uncomfortable...at 1:00 am my water broke and my contractions were stronger...she was born at 4:00 am.
So, I've battled plantar fasciitis for the last 10 months - it started just as I was tapering for the Ottawa Marathon (which was end of May). I thought it would just go away w/ less mileage during the pregnancy but it did not. So, in the fall I started physio (Universal Health with Adam and Matt), which was somewhat helpful. Then I saw Dr. Scap (Niagara Falls) who referred me to a more local chiropractor (Dr. Binning at Champion in Cambridge) for fascial scraping and ART, which was also somewhat helpful. Just recently I saw an osteopath (France Saindon in Brantford) and got fittted for custom made orthotics with Dr. Mike Forgrave (Cambridge/Kitchener). I have noticed a difference since losing a bunch of weight already (thanks, Leah!) and hope that the osteopathy and orthotics do even more.
This week I plan to keep walking and perhaps hop on the bike (on rollers) for a short ride or two. Maybe I can squeeze in some swimming if the timing works out w/ Leah (and the boys), before Jonathan has to go to work. The childcare at the gym is open again March 21 so I will then get back to swimming and perhaps some light running on the treadmill.
I would like to do the 5 km of the Brantford Classic, May 15. It won't be record time but something to work toward.

Naming our Girl

Leah Maelle DuChene.
Where did we get the middle name, "Maelle"?
Well, we've always liked the names Mae and Ella (Micah was going to be Ella Mae Marie if a girl). Then, we heard and liked the name Maelle when Maelle Ricker won the Gold Medal in the snowboard cross event at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, becoming the first Canadian woman to win a gold medal at home in the Olympics. She pronounces it "My-elle" but we say "Mae-elle".
"Leah" goes with our other biblical names, Seth and Micah.

We love our baby GIRL!

Seth and Leah

Seth being a bit goofy with his sister, Leah Maelle.

A Baby Girl!

Leah Maelle DuChene
March 5, 2011
8 lb 5 oz

What a blessing!

March Birthdays

Well, it's official. This baby will be born in March. So, with Jonathan's birthday March 16 and Seth's March 29 ... March will be busy!
Getting closer!