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| Juno is here! 8/2018 |
BUT, as I am back to semi-endurance training again, almost 8 months post-partum from 3rd kiddo and 2 weeks out from the Indy Half-Marathon, it occurred to me that I had some things to say that were too long for one of my rambling Facebook or Instagram posts, so a blog seemed like a good idea. During my 5-mile pace run today, I was realizing that though there have definitely been some lulls in training for high-risk pregnancies or post-partum knee rehab, I have actually been an endurance athlete for 10 years now! I was thinking today about how mind-clearing running is for me and how it really is an act of personal kindness and intellectual wellness. Today while I found my stride for the first time since starting to train for this race 2 months ago, these are the tips I was thinking about that I have learned during the crazy journey that has been my re-return to fitness over and over again over the last 10 years.
1. la vie en rose
Seeing the world through rose colored glasses. The title of this blog comes from a moment the other day with my girls when Violet was trying on my sunglasses inside (while we were trying to eat breakfast and get off to school nonetheless), and she told me, "Mommy, do you know when you look at the light through these, it's pink?" She was right. My cheap drug store sunglasses that are now all scratched from being around these kiddos do have a pink tint to them that I had never noticed before. I played the song "La Vie en Rose" for them and we pretended we were eating at a French cafe, and we talked about seeing things in a positive light. There is nothing more important in endurance training or in life than staying positive. I am honestly so bad at this, but I am working on it. There are so many setbacks and obstacles in training, and you will help yourself out by not letting yourself get bogged down by one bad mile, one bad run, one off week, etc. My Numa sports glasses that I have actually been wearing for racing for the past 10 years are rose tinted sunglasses. How funny that just now I am seeing the symbolism in that and hoping it will keep me positive and not allow myself to be my toughest critic.
2. Don't expect perfection
This lead me to my next lesson- don't expect perfection. Not out of yourself but also not out of your training. As someone who has had Ironman races cancelled for hurricanes and done marathon training in thunderstorms, racing and training is never perfect. Don't plan your training schedule or your life too much. Go with the flow
3. Don't be embarrassed by your pace
Everyone is running a different race, has different obstacles, has different goals. You don't need to compare yourself or push yourself beyond reason. I am the worst at this. I want to be a better version of me- the doctor me, the mom me, the wife me, and the athlete me. Dude, something's gotta give. I finally accepted that I am going to run this race at a pace that is embarrassing to me, but I also could very easily be not training at all or waiting for the right time to jump back in, and honestly folks, with that mentality, it may never come. Maybe I'm never going to have an endurance pace of 9-minute-miles (I used to lust after 8 or 7-minute-milers.), but I'm out there getting my runner's high, and that in and of itself is really enough right now. Because I finally accepted my pathetic pace, I had a really strong pace run today because I wasn't chasing a pace the whole time that was too much for me. Getting faster is something I will do after this race. It's okay to set these kind of goals for ourselves, especially when you haven't been racing. You aren't going to be able to do endurance and speed training in your program unless you're already up to snuff. This is my first time running postpartum without knee rehab first. Mistake? Not yet anyway. :-\
4. Treat your allergies and wash your hair after workouts! -
Flonase. It's class C in pregnancy, which I guess is why I haven't used it in so long, but my life is forever changed from starting this medicine again 3 weeks ago. Turns out not blowing snot rockets your entire run is very uplifting. Bad allergies? Take Zyrtec, Singulair, and Flonase. Works great for asthma, too, since Zyrtec and Singulair work synergistically in allergic asthma, and flonase has been shown to improve asthma as well.
Wash your hair. This is so time consuming and annoying, especially busy parents and others who find themselves barely having time to fit in the run much less the shower, but washing the allergens off after running including getting them out of your hair and nose (Neti pot or Sinus rinse anyone?) is key to ensuring that you don't sleep in a carpet of pollen on your pillow that will keep you stuffy all night and into the next day. Curly hair? Use a cleansing conditioner so you don't dry out your hair! I love Amika :)
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| Family trip with rose-colored glasses |
1. la vie en rose
Seeing the world through rose colored glasses. The title of this blog comes from a moment the other day with my girls when Violet was trying on my sunglasses inside (while we were trying to eat breakfast and get off to school nonetheless), and she told me, "Mommy, do you know when you look at the light through these, it's pink?" She was right. My cheap drug store sunglasses that are now all scratched from being around these kiddos do have a pink tint to them that I had never noticed before. I played the song "La Vie en Rose" for them and we pretended we were eating at a French cafe, and we talked about seeing things in a positive light. There is nothing more important in endurance training or in life than staying positive. I am honestly so bad at this, but I am working on it. There are so many setbacks and obstacles in training, and you will help yourself out by not letting yourself get bogged down by one bad mile, one bad run, one off week, etc. My Numa sports glasses that I have actually been wearing for racing for the past 10 years are rose tinted sunglasses. How funny that just now I am seeing the symbolism in that and hoping it will keep me positive and not allow myself to be my toughest critic.
2. Don't expect perfection
This lead me to my next lesson- don't expect perfection. Not out of yourself but also not out of your training. As someone who has had Ironman races cancelled for hurricanes and done marathon training in thunderstorms, racing and training is never perfect. Don't plan your training schedule or your life too much. Go with the flow
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| Running at 30 weeks pregnant pushing my Kona Bean in 103 F Houston heat |
3. Don't be embarrassed by your pace
Everyone is running a different race, has different obstacles, has different goals. You don't need to compare yourself or push yourself beyond reason. I am the worst at this. I want to be a better version of me- the doctor me, the mom me, the wife me, and the athlete me. Dude, something's gotta give. I finally accepted that I am going to run this race at a pace that is embarrassing to me, but I also could very easily be not training at all or waiting for the right time to jump back in, and honestly folks, with that mentality, it may never come. Maybe I'm never going to have an endurance pace of 9-minute-miles (I used to lust after 8 or 7-minute-milers.), but I'm out there getting my runner's high, and that in and of itself is really enough right now. Because I finally accepted my pathetic pace, I had a really strong pace run today because I wasn't chasing a pace the whole time that was too much for me. Getting faster is something I will do after this race. It's okay to set these kind of goals for ourselves, especially when you haven't been racing. You aren't going to be able to do endurance and speed training in your program unless you're already up to snuff. This is my first time running postpartum without knee rehab first. Mistake? Not yet anyway. :-\
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| Juno likes my Camelbak! Post-run, sweaty cuddles |
4. Treat your allergies and wash your hair after workouts! -
Flonase. It's class C in pregnancy, which I guess is why I haven't used it in so long, but my life is forever changed from starting this medicine again 3 weeks ago. Turns out not blowing snot rockets your entire run is very uplifting. Bad allergies? Take Zyrtec, Singulair, and Flonase. Works great for asthma, too, since Zyrtec and Singulair work synergistically in allergic asthma, and flonase has been shown to improve asthma as well.
Wash your hair. This is so time consuming and annoying, especially busy parents and others who find themselves barely having time to fit in the run much less the shower, but washing the allergens off after running including getting them out of your hair and nose (Neti pot or Sinus rinse anyone?) is key to ensuring that you don't sleep in a carpet of pollen on your pillow that will keep you stuffy all night and into the next day. Curly hair? Use a cleansing conditioner so you don't dry out your hair! I love Amika :)
Stay tuned. I imagine this blog will evolve since I'm PEM now, but we'll come up with some good topics or just random life updates on whatever race or obstacle is next! :-P
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