What Happened to Exercise Before Knitting???

While you may have been thinking that I ought to change the name of my blog to Knitting While Nursing, I finally have some real exercise news to report! The exercise has been on hiatus because of the little Santa.

I ran through my pregnancy until 28 weeks, at which point I could no longer prevent my running shorts from falling down around my ankles at the slightest jog. People, there are no decent maternity running shorts out there. I've done the research. Not even Mothers In Motion and Fit Maternity shorts work in the 3rd trimester. In the early postpartum period, Beatrix and I took long, afternoon walks every day for both exercise and mental clarity. Still, I longed for my old running routine. Nothing clears my head like a good run and I was really fighting the foggy, postpartum brain!

Inspired by Sharon's postpartum running experience, I started running again when Beatrix was 13 weeks old. At first, I tried popping her in the jogging stroller with lots of head support, blankets and a wind shield. The verdict? This baby hates the stroller. At least, for now. She's good for about a mile and then she goes from happy, contented baby to screaming, angry devil child in a matter of seconds. Needless to say, I'm leaving her at home with Aaron until she's a bit older. Since the days are so short, I have to very carefully plan when I'm going to run.

The results, you ask? After 2 1/2 weeks of running, I'm happy to report that it's going pretty well. I started with 2 miles, 3 times a week. Never have I struggled so much to run two miles. Yesterday, I ran a triumphant 2.5 miles and I finally felt like I achieved that long sought after head-clearing effect! It amazes me that 2.5 miles at a stupendously slow pace could make me feel so good! Thank you, endorphins!

My goal is to continue running at least three days a week, altough four would be ideal. I'd like to build up to 3 miles during the week with a longer run on the weekend. Once I can do three miles every run, I think I'll add one mile to my long run every week. I've always like the run/walk method of Jeff Galloway so I might use that training approach. For any of you considering embarking on a new running program, I highly recommend this approach - it is so gentle and painless.

I have no training goals, although I would love to be able to run one of my favorite races in April. This race is special to me because I ran the 5K version when I was 20 weeks pregnant (with three stops in the middle of the race at the port-a-potty, I'll have you know). Don't worry, I went very slowly (I just wanted to be able to say that I ran a race while pregnant). Even though it would be nice to run the half marathon, I am NOT going to aim for it this early. However, if I'm in good shape in February, I'll go for it.

And now, since the exercise is out of the way, have some knitting:

This is my second cabled sock. I'm going to Cincinnati this weekend to visit my grandfather so I'll probably post the finished socks when I get back. In the meantime, I'll be enjoying some of the best ice cream on the planet and bringing back chili! It's too bad Skyline is so limited for vegetarians but you can buy chili spice packets to make your own chili with fake meat. That's what we do in our house!!!