Back On The Saddle

My 6 week countdown to lacing up, preloading the Garmin Forerunner, and hitting the asphalt is finally OVER!! After given birth, it is recommended by Doctor's to wait a minimum 6 weeks (each pregnancy and labour may differ) to let the body heal from the labour process. I actually can't believe how quickly the last 6 weeks have flown by. It scares me how quickly time has passed since having Iyla. I'm hoping it slows down just a little, because at this rate she'll be leaving for school in the blink of an eye - and that thought can very nearly bring me to tears just thinking about it. 

So back to running. As Iyla turned 6 weeks old, my own official 6 week milestone came to an end Sunday. Not going to lie, I have been itching to get out running in the summer sunshine! I chose to begin my training on Monday because it was a smoother transition back onto my 'Training Peaks' 3hr30min marathon training plan. Since it is a 16-week Training Plan, and working backwards from the November Road2Hope Marathon, it means I jump into the plan already 4 weeks in. Starting it on Sunday would've had me jump into a 14mile long run at the end of the third week of my training. 14miles seemed a bit steep to jump into so with race day 12 weeks away I started week four of training. 

My training plan tells me the distance and a set pace to run for each run I go on. It has me running 6 out of 7 days of the week and includes everything from strides, hills, MP (marathon pace), LSD (long steady distance) and more. It's an intense plan that excites me!

DAY 1 Monday August 5th:

Run: 4 miles easy

Pace: 8:48 min/mile 

This was the pace set as part of the training plan. Having just come back into it, my focus was not on pace, but to just run and see where I was at. Here's what happened pace wise:

Mile 1: 9:22

Mile 2: 9:14

Mile 3: 8:43

Mile 4: 8:30

Mile Avg: 8:56 min/mile

As you can see I struggled in the first mile. This showed up for me in my lungs and it was a feeling I haven't felt since I first started my journey of running. While running and seeing this pace on my watch it made me think of the end of my pregnancy, 30lbs heavier and how I was running in the 8min range. Bizarre what the body can still do when pregnant, yet how quickly it can decline when consistency is lost. I could tell my endurance lagging a little, and it's going to take some time to get it back. Each mile just got easier and the body felt lighter as I went on. I felt ZERO PAIN when running and I am so thankful that I waited 6 weeks before getting back into it. During the run I just celebrated each milestone I made. These milestones I staged as each street I turned onto. When my Garmin watch beeped at each mile marker I celebrated no matter what time showed up. I have to admit though it made me excited to see the pace improve as I progressed. I spent lot's of time after the 4 mile point to walk and stretch.

Despite the stretching I woke up quite stiff today. I'm not in pain at all but my muscles got worked and I can feel the soreness. It's a GREAT feeling.

Moving forward with my training I am shifting some things up. For the next few weeks, pace is not my focus, but completing the milage is. I am planning to run 4-5 times this week vs. the posted 6. The indicator for this is based on how my body is feeling. I don't want to go too hard, too fast, too soon and risk injury, so right now it's about pacing myself as best as I can.

Here's to my first week of running!!!