Marathon Training with an Infant (Week 1 Recap)

Week 1 of the official training program is in the books. I wanted to start off with low expectations, so I already skipped a workout. (Relax, Jack! I added a new one at the end.) So. Will (aka husband/FORMER training buddy) pulled a hammy at JAG School, so he is under doctor's orders not to "go out and run 5 miles or anything." First day of training? A 5 miler. Luckily, I have another training buddy who is at least equally as cute . . .

My sole running buddy (10 weeks old). I like him.

(Will is doing physical therapy now, so hopefully he can start joining me and little Will on runs within the next couple weeks. At a minimum, he got one of those big foam rollers for free at physical therapy. Holla.)

Anyway, training with an infant has its own set of challenges. I took to the fitness blogs for tips before we ventured out with our beloved companion, Robert (more commonly known as BOB Stroller), so I thought I'd share our routine. Maybe it will be helpful to other running mamas out there.

Our Routine:

(1) Nurse first and double down. This is going to be pretty intuitive for the newly nursing mom. Feeding the baby before a run kills two birds with one stone. You won't have painful, full breasts during your run and your babe won't go hungry or want food right after your workout when you are all sweaty and gross. Also, double down on the sports bras if your chesty is still kind of sensitive. Once your supply regulates, you probably won't feel the need to do this.

(2) Head for the door. When we're home, I just change into my workout clothes while he's napping. I'm still doing the EASY routine, so I'll wait until he wakes up (or wake him up) and nurse him. (I just pull everything right on up. No special nursing sports bras or anything.) When we finish, I stick him right in the infant car seat, into the stroller, and get everything ready.

(3) RUN. Duh. But I've actually found that running with the BOB is more difficult than I initially thought. It's hard to keep a good running form when you are pushing a heavy stroller with one hand, especially against the wind. I have a tendency to lean back, so I really have to focus on leaning forward into the stroller a little.

(4) Cool down = nap time. At least for us, as soon as the stroller stops, baby Will's eyes shoot open. If I want any sort of cool down, I have to keep walking around our culdesac until I'm ready to pull him out of the stroller and go back into mom-mode. If you have one of those super-sweet babies that will, like, sit still for any period of time, then you can disregard this advice.

Some Other Thoughts:

Timing. I like to run in the late afternoon and time it so that Will gets home just as I need to shower. As we head into summer, I will probably need to re-think this and go out first thing in the morning. I am still lobbying Will for a treadmill so I can just keep an eye on Will on the baby monitor.

Lactic Acid. I've read that the lactic acid from exercise can change the taste of breast milk and babies will refuse to eat. This has never been a problem for us.

Milk Supply. No issues at all, but I've been refueling with plenty of water and ice cream.

Weight Loss. My weight loss has plateaued and I still have about 7 pounds (of the 43+ gained during pregnancy) clinging to me that have been sticking around the past few weeks. I'm interested to see if running gets rid of them or if I'll actually have to wait until baby Will weans and diet (i.e., stop eating ice cream for a few days).

Leave me a comment if you have any other tips!

Week 1 Recap:

So here is Phase I of the program, the first 4 weeks: 

And here is what was actually accomplished: 

Tuesday

5 miles, 55:07.90, 11:02/mile (with BOB)

Wednesday 

3 miles, 32:15.24, 10:45/mile (with BOB)

Thursday

5 miles, 56:29.97, 11:18/mile (with BOB)

Friday

3 miles, 29:05.78, 9:42/mile (with BOB)

Saturday

6 miles, my stinking watch ate my run, but it was completed in less than 1 hour. Last mile was sub 9-minutes! (no BOB)

Sunday

3.1 miles, 25:25, 8:12/mile (no BOB)

Total: 25 miles

Overall, it was a good week. I'm starting to feel like I have my pre-baby legs back. (The entire abdomen area, however, is another story.)

Crazy duckfaced post-run mirror selfie complete with Jesus photobomb.

One week down, 21 to go!