With the temperatures floating around -8 C at the moment, I've turned to running indoors for the time being. Two months postpartum and I'm already looking to the spring racing season. I have signed up for a challenging 8K in April and then a fun and fast 10K in May. Ideally, I'd like to be able to do a half marathon in May, but I'm taking a "we'll see" approach.I'd rather not rush the training and give my body time to heal and get fit again. And as I wrote on New Year's Day, I have a lot of training and running to do again before I feel as fit as I once was. And along with the running, I've added more weight and resistance training to my regimen. I'm also very keen on incorporating more core work with the Bosu trainer and stability ball. So in the next few months, I'll increase my cardio and strength at the same time. It should be fun indeed.
What I've discovered with running postpartum and nursing is that I now have to time Baby Max's feedings with my running sessions. I simply can't just jump out the door anymore. For if I don't feed, well, my "Girls" will just fill up with milk to the point where it becomes painful. So I've learned to feed Baby Max a few minutes before I run.
Since I've strapped on my shoes again, I've also discovered something else: I actually miss my smallish boobs! Before I got pregnant, my "Girls" were pretty tiny. I won't say what cup size I was for fear of embarrassment, but I will say that when I was a Western Cheerleader, my old stunt partner used to call me "The Little Boy!" (Of course he meant it somewhat affectionately, we still are friends to this day!)
Well, pregnancy and postpartum living has opened up many doors in the brassiere department. I'm now about a C-cup (wow...the cup really do runneth over) and have to strap the Girls down when I run or else it is quite painful. I'm no Dolly Parton, but I do need a lot more support than before.
A long time ago, during a clinic at The Running Room, when Wendy or one of the other girls gave us the lecture about the need to support our Girls during runs, I tended to tune out. Those days I could get away with a tiny sports bra with minimal support. Now, I have to lug the "Big Guns" of sports bras out. As Wendy, my wonderfully funny friend at The Running Room said a few weeks ago, "Sharon, there's a different bra for every stage of your life!"
So right she is!
The two bras I recently purchased have made running postpartum a joy. (I ran a few days without the support and wondered how on earth I was ever going to get back into running shape again.) The bra I wore during my pregnancy runs just won't cut it, so now I have a super supportive bra that allows me to run without much jiggle. Yay...that makes me giggle.
Socially, my newly enlarged bust has garnered a lot of attention, especially from my hubby and from my girlfriends who are in shock that I now have cleavage. It's kinda fun, really...but I'm told that once I'm done nursing, they'll shrink down in size.
Oh well, better enjoy them while I can.
Le sigh...
5 Comments:
haha! That's great! I had to wear 2 sports bras when nursing the boys. Now, I am back to enjoying the tanks with built in bra's-aka no support at all. There is NOTHING left, thanks to motherhood! Oh well :)
Hi there, I've been following your blog as I was also a pregnant runner. I'm 4 days postpartum and ran up until almost 38 weeks. :)
I cannot wait to get back to running but my question for you is what the brand is of the sports bra that you bought? Do you only wear one at a time or double up?
Thanks!
I give you and all other running mommies who can manage running AND breastfeeding a big round of applause. Breastfeeding was not working out for me - it WORKED, but I was way too stressed out over it and not loving it at all. I'm pretty much done with it now and Robby's 12 weeks old. I've been meaning to blog about this topic - moms who run and breastfeed, moms who choose NOT to breastfeed, etc. It seems to be such a taboo topic, especially when women choose NOT to do it. But anyway, I think you're doing great!
what bra did you buy? I just got a moving comfort Fiona that my friend recommended. I can't wait to try it out. I've only been out a few times with the baby in the stroller, but it felt so good to get out! I too have to wait until right after a feeding to go, but that's ok. :) Trying to plan my next race, but it's hard when I think about having to pump and stuff. My next race may not be until september...
I'm also thinking about a 1/2 marathon in May, but that will only leave me 3 months post-partum.
I'd be interested in knowing what bras you have. For my first I bought a Champion bra that was super adjustable (and I was an E cup at that stage and everything was clamped into place). I have a La Leche League nursing sports bra that I'm interested to see how it holds up to running.
Balancing the feeding and the training is tough -- there were a lot of races that first year where I nursed right up until minutes before the starting whistle and I always carried my pump with me to races to drain the girls afterwards. Here's a funny account of my first 10K post partum.
http://decafplease.blogspot.com/2007/05/race-report-commit-to-get-fit-10k.html
(and I'm happy to be your newest follower!)
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