Fitness Friday - 4/29

It's been SO long since I've had the opportunity to write a Fitness Friday, so today is a VERY exciting day for me!! Yay!

Currently Training For:

• Tour Lafitte 10 Mile Bike Ride
• 4 Miler on the 4th of July
• Disney's Princess Half Marathon & Glass Slipper Challenge
• Rock n Roll New Orleans Half Marathon

If you read Monday's blog post, you know I've slowly made my return to the world of fitness over the past two weeks or so since Baby Brayden's arrival.

Yesterday, I was going to find a YouTube video I could do from home but completely changed my mind. I was also going to wait until I hit four weeks postpartum to begin my return to running, but I just couldn't stand it any longer. (I made it three weeks and two days...haha!)

So, I laced up my shoes and went out for a spin around the block (after securing Brayden with Jason first, of course)!

By the way, my OB's specific instructions were to resume exercise gradually...so that's what I've done!

I had no preconceived notions with this run. It's been at least 9 months since I ran 3 miles straight through. It's also been since December that I even attempted to run, period. My first strategy was to take it slow, test what pace felt comfortable for me, and see how far I could make it before having to stop - the answer was 0.6 miles without pushing myself. I was worried I would have to start all over completely from scratch again, but I'm glad to say I made it at least that far. After that, I began a Jeff Galloway run/walk strategy of a 3 minute run, 2 minute walk until I hit two miles. My original plan was to stop at 2 miles but if you know me, you know I'm all up for a challenge - so I kept going at that run/walk pace, just to test out my 5K time.

 

(For the record, I was NOT running a 9:46...I have NO clue what is wrong with that app!!)

By the end of the run, I felt as if I had run the entire 3 miles through mud - my lungs were burning and my legs hurt. This body that spent 9 (wait, no 10) months creating another human being ran it's slowest 5K ever. Was I upset? Nope. How could I be? I'm practically starting over (almost) and will get back where I was, it's just a matter of time! Oh yes and guess what? I'm sore today...Hah!

Summer running? NOT looking forward to that!!

Tomorrow, I'm riding in a local bike ride with my sister-in-law called the Tour Lafitte. This is the largest bike ride in our area and has been going on for many many years. It also benefits Special Olympics. I've always been intrigued and wanted to participate, but was always in training for a running event. When Kayla called and asked if I was interested in a ride, I figured that this year was the year!

For this race, riders can choose between five distance options (64 mi, 50 mi, 40mi, 27 mi and 10 mi). We are going with the shortest, the family 10 mile option.

The one item I needed for this ride was a helmet. Jason had to go out last night for a few items so I told him what I needed. I'm not a serious rider here, so you can laugh all you want but my bike is a mountain bike from Academy and my shiny new helmet (thanks to Jason) is from Walmart! Hey, it will work in a pinch!

Did you also notice that runDisney introduced a new virtual 5K race series yesterday? Just when I was bummed over not being able to participate in ANY runDisney events for 2016, this was announced! After reviewing the details and not thinking about it for too long (because I tend to talk myself out of things sometimes), I bit the bullet and am now registered for the Virtual Running Shorts Series. A few local friends of mine are also registered, so it will be fun to complete some of these together!!

...I mean, look at that medal! How cute is that?!

Last but not least, to celebrate my return to running and my new runDisney venture, I decided to dig into my stash of these bad boys! It was about to expire so I HAD to eat it, right? :)

I hope you all have a great weekend! Anyone have exciting weekend plans? Any races planned?