31 Miles in 31 Days

Despite being a fairly consistent runner and generally active person for my adult life, I really slowed down during pregnancy for obvious reasons. By the end, I was massive and mostly sedentary, and really anxious to get moving again. So, when I was about 40 weeks pregnant, I boldly signed myself up to run a 10 mile race this October, thinking it would be a great opportunity to get back in shape. Based on the rule of thumb that you need one week to train for every mile you want to race (which has worked pretty well for me in the past) - I had plenty of time.

However - I didn't have much luck exercising during maternity leave. When I got back to work, I was really excited to get moving again, though I was now behind schedule for the race. I started walking at least 10,000 steps a day (huge improvement over the average 4,000 steps a day during maternity leave). I started going to the gym and ran several times, but just couldn't get back to my normal speed and really couldn't add additional distance like I could in the past. I was so winded and exhausted by everything. Clearly, training this time would be a lot harder than in the past because I had a whole lot more work to do.

So, sadly, I decided to give up on the 10 miler because it was just way too ambitious. I am still fighting to get back in shape, and generally do better with a goal or thing to train for. So, here's my new plan-- I'm going to run 31 miles in 31 days (aka, October). [Several years ago, I set the goal of running 100 miles in a month and almost did it (knee pain at the end grounded me)]. I think this will be a more reasonable but still ambitious goal, that should help me gain the strength and rebuild the muscles I lost during pregnancy.

October is an excellent month for running - which is why all the big races happen now. It's cooler but not cold, turning leaves give you something to look at, and the approaching winter makes you want to soak up every minute outside. Plus, I'm already having visions of Thanksgiving pies and Christmas cookies- so now's the time to get moving. To hit an average of 1 mile per day, my plan is to run 2 or 3 miles several days during the week, so that I don't have to run on the weekends. Since the baby isn't old enough for a running stroller yet, it's kind of difficult to run on the weekends.

DC is a fantastic city for running

If I lose weight - great. If I get faster - great. But my primary goal here is to get stronger and start feeling more like my running spirit animal -- the gazelle-- and less like my current spirit animal - the hungry hungry hippo.  [Sidenote - I'm focusing on getting in shape to be stronger and healthier - but baby weight sucks, so it would be nice if I could lose some of that too.]

fantastic day for an afternoon jog

Today is the 5th day of the month, and I'm currently 3 miles done. A little behind schedule, but totally feeling optimistic and on track. Feeling good about this goal - will check in soon with progress.