Hey friends!
Here is what the third week of my “comeback” training looked like. The plan is still to basically just alternate days of running with days of cross training while slowly adding in a few back-to-back days of running as we go. I did two days in a row of running again this week. Insert happy dance!
Monday –
Plan: 6.5 mile run w/ 6 X 30 second strides
Actual: 7.0 miles (8:40 pace)
I got to do a few pickups on Monday! This was my first tiny little taste of faster running thus far during the comeback training cycle. The strides were 6 X 30 seconds for a whopping total of 3 minutes. Ha! I’m not going to lie, I was excited and a little bit nervous about those 3 minutes. I ran 5 miles like I typically would (at an easy pace) and then started the strides from there. I expected the strides to feel a bit clunky and awkward (they did!) and the goal was to only push to about 80-85% of what I would typically do for strides. The good news was A) I didn’t have any pain and B) my legs *kinda sorta* seemed to remember what to do! While the paces aren’t important, I’m putting them here {6:02, 6:23, 6:07, 6:20, 6:02, 5:55} so that I can look back and remember how my first “faster running” went.
Tuesday –
Plan: 70 minute elliptical (4 X 2 minutes “hard” w/ 2:00 “easy” + 5 X 1 minute “hard w/ 1:00 “easy”)
Actual: 70 minutes (12.75 miles)
Tuesday I had another elliptical workout! I did modified the planned workout just a touch once I got into it and ended up doing a 20 minute warm up, 5 X 2 minutes on/off, 10 X 1 minute on/off and a 10 minute cool down. I realized after the first few pickups that I was going so fast that the resistance on the machine was turning off. Because there wasn’t any resistance, my heart rate wasn’t coming up like it should and I wasn’t accomplishing the intent of the workout. This was an aha! moment of sorts and I think I might need to bump up the resistance for the entirety of my elliptical sessions from here on out. If I do that, I don’t think I will be able to spin the machine too fast and the resistance should stay at the appropriate level. We’ll see! I’m on a mission to test this theory later in the week.
As a side note: my coach was totally fine with the mid-workout modification since I was on the elliptical and there is little to no impact. I definitely won’t be adding a bunch of extra pickups during running workouts!
Wednesday –
Plan: 6.0 mile run
Actual: 6.0 mile run (9:10 pace)
Wednesday was my first run on treadmill since …. {checks Garmin Connect} … March of 2021!? Holy cow. I knew it had been a while, but had no idea it had been that long. My treadmill stopped working, apparently sometime last Spring, and we finally replaced it a few weeks ago! I asked for it as my “push present” after having Ward. Think about how bad it would look if my husband bought me a treadmill after having a baby without me asking for it. Ha! We found an awesome deal on a Sole F80 via Marketplace. We only paid 25% of the MSRP price for treadmill! It was a pandemic purchase for someone who had great intentions, but lacked in follow through [hey, I get it!]. The machine had less than 10 hours on it when we got it.
The weather was iffy all week and while I don’t love running on the treadmill in general, it is really nice to have it when you need it. It’s also possible for me to get a run in during one of Ward’s naps during the day (whereas I obviously can’t just leave him at home and go run if Richard isn’t home). Richard has started going back to work some, which makes it more challenging for me to get my workouts in. Side note: he got 12 weeks of paid paternity leave (how nice is that?!) and we are alternating our weeks at home for the remainder of his leave so that we can keep the baby out of daycare for a teensy bit longer. Richard actually got more paid leave than I did! Things that make you go hmm …
Thursday –
Plan: 5.0 mile run
Actual: 5.0 mile run (8:45 pace)
As thankful as I am to have the treadmill, I did not want to run indoors on back to back days. I waited until late afternoon on Thursday to run, giving the driveway a bit more time to dry out. It was still a tad muddy, but I am somewhat used to that at this point. This was still only my second time running on back-to-back days and this week’s second run felt really good! I was really happy to get out and get some fresh air after a full day of momming!
Friday –
Plan: 45 minute elliptical or go for a walk
Actual: 65 minutes (11.5 miles)
I did an easy elliptical session on Friday. I went a little bit over my allotted time, but since it is just the elliptical and I kept it very easy, it was one of those no harm, no foul type of situations.
Saturday –
Plan: 8.0 mile run w/ last 2 miles at “steady state” pace or 9.0 mile run without pushing the pace
Actual: 80 minutes (15.0 miles) on the elliptical
My schedule got completely messed up on Saturday morning. I’m honestly shocked that this hasn’t happened more often than it has. Ward’s sleep schedule is very unpredictable at this point and that really makes it hard to “plan” much of anything. I was really looking forward to that eight mile run with a fast finish, so I texted my coach and asked if it would be okay if we just switched the Saturday and Sunday workouts. Thankfully, he was very understanding and totally cool with it. I will admit that I wasn’t *feeling* the elliptical quite as much on Saturday as I have been recently. I settled for the lower end of the planned time range (which still felt quite long!) and called it a day. I didn’t push the pace during this session either, as I wanted to try to save as much as I could for Sunday’s run.
Sunday –
Plan: 80 – 90 minute elliptical
Actual: 8.0 mile run (7:20 pace)
I forgot how to pace myself. As noted above, I was supposed to do an easy 6 mile run with the last 2 at a steady state pace and instead I basically ran 6 at what my steady state pace should’ve been and then finished up the last 2 at a bonked, easy pace. My splits were 7:37, 7:16, 7:04, 6:57, 7:00, 6:37, 8:11, 7:46. When I started running, I felt amazing. The miles were clicking by and the pace, while faster than my usual easy pace, felt totally doable. I convinced myself that I was going to be able to run close to 7 minute pace for the entire run and that I would still be able to pick it up at the end. How cute. So yeah, the pace felt totally doable until it didn’t. The good news is that nothing hurt at all and this run was one of the first times that I actually didn’t feel like I just had a baby. I felt out of shape, yes, but like a postpartum runner, no. Obviously I am still a recovering postpartum runner, but I am taking it as a really good sign that I am running without consciously thinking of myself in this way.
In a totally random turn of events, I ran into someone I knew while I was out there and stopped to chat for a few minutes. She gave me a pair of fingernail clippers for the baby and I ran the rest of the way with a pair of baby nail clippers in my shorts pockets. I don’t know what it is about those tiny little fingernails, but I am so scared to cut them. The clippers she gave me are supposed to make it much easier, so we’ll see. She also told me that she didn’t cut her daughter’s fingernails until she was about 4 months old, which made me feel better. Maybe in the next two months I will work up the courage to actually trim his nails. I will keep you posted!
Totals –
Running: 26.0 miles
Elliptical: 39.25 miles (220 minutes)
Walking: 7.5 miles
Thanks for following along with me on the comeback journey!