Tuesday Happenings: 5 Mile Runs + Pool Time AND Thoughts on My Longest Run Postpartum
Hey guys and happy Wednesday! I have a few Tuesday items to share with you and then I want to chat with you all about my longest run postpartum! Sound good?
Yesterday morning started off with a bright and early five mile run. There are days I have great runs (Mondays was amazing) and there are some days that I don’t. Yesterday was one of those days. I felt tired and wanted to stop, but I knew it was my mind playing tricks on me. So, I powered through and finally fell into my running groove and knocked out five miles.
Once I got back home, I made Landon breakfast, sent him off to work and fed Benaiah his breakfast.
Oh and I refueled with my favorite smoothie. Frozen banana + designer protein powder + cocoa powder + almond milk + a little bit of honey + ice. It totally hit the spot after a hot and humid run (85% humidity!) and I guzzled it down quickly!
After breakfast, Benaiah and I watered our herbs and shortly after he went down for his morning nap!
Benaiah slept about an hour and a half, which left me plenty of time to shower, spend time with Jesus, and put in a little time with work.
Once Benaiah was up, it was time to go to the pool!
We spent about an hour at the pool and I think I may have loved it as much as Benaiah did. We ended up walking about a mile there and back to the pool, so by the time we got back home, we were hungry!!
Landon and I devoured these delicious salads (mixed organic greens + shredded carrot + 2 hard boiled eggs + FETA + quinoa + sunflower seeds.) and topped lunch off with strawberries, kiwi, and iced coffee.
Benaiah enjoyed his banana and tried kiwi for the first time! Verdict: He is a fan!
After Landon headed back to work and Benaiah played in the kitchen, I took advantage of the distracted Niah and prepared dinner. Landon and I are big fans of Mexican food, which means Taco Tuesday is a thing around here. I whipped up a batch of ground beef taco meat for Landon and lentil tacos for myself. (I eat beef, but ground beef is not my favvv).
Just another shot, because they are so pretty!
After I was done prepping dinner, Benaiah and I played and snuggled before I put him down for his afternoon nap. Once he went down, I finally changed into some dry clothes and finished up some blog related work!
Landon and I had an early dinner of tacos and brown rice, because I had a women’s ministry event to get to!
My friend Rachel and I drove together and enjoyed a night of ministry and fellowship with friends!
Once got home, I went to bed and called it a night!
Tuesday = success!
So, Friday I ran nine miles, which is the longest run I have run postpartum. It is also the longest I have run in about three years (how crazy is that!?)
Since Friday’s run was such a monumental run, I thought I would take a moment and write about some thoughts I had during and about the run, if only for my own personal reflection.
Friday’s run started of bright dark and early at 4:45 am. I seriously have a great group of people to run with a bunch of them moved our run up from 5:25 to 4:45 to help me get my miles in. Who does that?!
We met at 4:40ish, chatted for a few minutes and we were off. The first four miles flew by and I didn’t even realize we had run as far as we had. Once we ran the four miles @ an 8:20ish pace, we looped back around to the Starbucks to pick up other runners who were joining us at 5:25. Isn’t running such a community sport?
We stopped for maybe a minute, picked up the runners, and ran another four miles. I felt strong through the whole run, but towards seven miles I started to feel that familiar heavy leg feeling. I opted to stop once or twice and stretch my calves for a moment or two before rejoining the group. Although I was feeling a little fatigued around miles seven, I knew I could push through and that is what I did. I truly believe running is 80% a mental sport. We finished our run at Starbucks and I then realized I had only a half mile before I had officially ran the furthest run postpartum yet. Obviously, the endorphins carried me through the last half mile and I finished feeling strong, not too sore, and super happy!
The rest of the day, my legs felt a little sore, but nothing too bad. I foam rolled, stretched, and iced, and before I knew it, my legs not only felt okay, they felt good!
A Few Things I Learned Through this Run:
- Sweet potatoes worked well as a pre-long run dinner. I ate a bunch of roasted sweet potato wedges + grilled chicken and it seemed to work really well with my stomach. I am going to try this out again for my next long run and see what happens!
- A few animal crackers works well before heading out the door. If I am running a short distance, I won’t normally eat anything before a run, but if I am running around an hour or more, I will eat a few carbs to give me an extra boost! This run, I grabbed a few animal crackers and loved the quick pick up from them, without the heaviness! I will definitely be using those again!
- I ran in my Enigma’s and loved how my feet felt! I really enjoyed running in my Mizuno Engima’s so I will probably use those again, next run!
- Lastly, I tried not to worry too much about pace and just tried to soak in the joy of running long. This is always a struggle for me (I want to run every run fast!) but with this long run, I tried to focus on enjoying the run, the conversations, and just going at a comfortable conversational pace- and I think my legs thanked me for that. 😉
And on that note, I have a few miles to conquer! Talk to you all tomorrow!
Questions of the Day
- What is your favorite pre-run snack? Do you eat anything before?
- Do you have a typical night before the race dinner?
- What are your Wednesday plans?