Back At It!

            Waking up early 12 days post-delivery due to 2 little ones starting the day early, and discovering that I was physically ready to hit the pool again, was a big blessing!  Myles’ morning awake time goes from his morning feeding until his next feeding, which is somewhere around 9am, give or take, so I knew I could try to time out a swim (with him asleep in his carseat at the end of my lane) during his morning nap that followed.  Pool atmosphere is perfect for naps: warm, humid air and muffled sound (much like the womb in that sense).  I did it with Baya until she was 6 weeks old and old enough for the Y’s drop-in childcare.  So far he’s been doing great!  I’m back doing sprints with my aquatic director and it feels good to be back in the water, and finally hitting some splits that I haven’t seen in a while!

My little swim buddy keeping me company.

            I got back on the bike 9 days post-delivery.  It has been a faster recovery in terms of being able to handle a bike seat for an hour this time around.  I did sprints on the bike and it felt great to let loose!  During the week has been challenging trying to get a ride in during the time that BOTH are napping.  Some days just don’t work at all because he is unpredictable yet.  Some days I get a half ride in.  I finally got an hour ride in yesterday while both napped.  When I hit the hour mark, Myles was done, but fortunately so was I!  I’m working towards getting him on a schedule in the afternoons now too, so hopefully I have more good days than bad.  The weekends when Andy is home is the best, especially if I leave him with a bottle (just in case), then I know I can get a full workout in.  Between not being pregnant, taking some days off, and having a smaller overall training load currently, my legs have felt great and I’ve been able to bust out some tough workouts!

            I attempted running 3 days post-delivery (2.2 miles with Andy), only to discover I had unbearable pain from hip to hip in the uterine area as it continued to shrink down to size.  I tried again 3 days later, and gave up at a half mile, then tried again 10 days post-delivery and gave up even sooner.  It took until 12 days post-delivery for me to be able to run with less pain.  The track team was running hills, so I joined in, going at a much slower pace of course, but it was finally improvement!  I ran 4 miles a couple days later on the treadmill at the Y – with Myles sleeping next to me of course (I lucked out that not only was my favorite treadmill open, but there was even just enough space next to it for his carseat to sit!).  The next day I ran 3 miles outside, and went under a 10 minute pace finally.  Sixteen days post-delivery I ran about 4.5 miles outside.  By this point the pain was still existent, but it had moved down to my pelvis, giving my hips more range of motion.  So while I was restricted in how fast I could physically run yet, I was finally getting back at it!

            The first 6 weeks is the toughest, as I’m limited to one workout per morning at the Y during his nap, and with him still being a newborn, his afternoon naps are unpredictable, and I’m still getting up 2-3 times per night, leaving me tired already.  This is a good way, however, to build back into it and to focus on quality for now and try to not get frustrated.  For being only about 3 weeks post-delivery, I’d say I have a lot to be thankful for in how well I’ve been recovering anyway.  It has also been a huge boost mentally in being able to perform stronger on the bike and swim than I have in many months.  Running fewer days per week right now also keeps me looking forward to the next opportunity to run.  Motivation is back and so am I!