My Not-So-Secret Secret

So I've eluded to a little secret in previous posts, and I guess I just need to come out with it.  I've recently picked up running.  I absolutely HATE running, but know it is a pretty easy workout.  I say easy in that it requires you just moving! I figured if I can't be intentional in just getting up and doing something, I'll never really have a good work out routine.

In the past, I've done really well about just doing video workouts.  I was especially good with doing yoga while pregnant (really helped keep me in alignment), but I haven't really done anything since Bean has entered the world.  Luckily, the baby weight dropped really quick and I was back to pre-pregnancy weight in just a few months (I can thank all that to breastfeeding and having stairs in the house!).

So why now?  Well, it all started when my friend "hoodwinked" Steve and I to do a team challenge race.  We thought it was going to be more like Amazing Race, when it was more like "run all over Lima and mark the stops on a sheet".  We had fun, but were really tired from all the running.  A few days before the race, I ran a couple miles on a treadmill and felt pretty good.  I hadn't ran in almost 2 years, and didn't even think I would be able to make it a mile.  But I ran for 2!  Hyped up on confidence, I decided I could pick up running and really stick with it this time.  I pulled the trigger and bought a jogging stroller.  No turning back now!

Now that I have the stroller, I kind of feel like I have to run with it so many times in order for it to pay off.  So it has become good motivation!  In the past 3 weeks, I've logged about 15 miles (with 9 of those miles being in the past 2 weeks).  I still absolutely HATE running, but I feel pretty good about myself after running.

It also really helps to have friends who run.  Even though I prefer to run by myself at this point, I see my friends posting about their runs, which keeps me motivated. Most of these friends are moms to little ones (or about to have a baby!).  I see them posting their times & photos with their strollers, while working full time. Whenever I almost talk myself out of running, I just think, "if they can do it, I can do it!"  I can't use "oh, I have a baby" or "oh, I don't have time".  No excuses! Just do it!

Running with Bean is pretty challenging in just picking a good time to do it!  She doesn't mind being in the stroller, and I actually think she closes her eyes and sort of snoozes.  Although one time, she was pretty mischievous and kept dropping her cow in the road.  So I have to make sure I do it around a time that won't affect her sleeping schedule.  I've figured out, that if we go right after she eats breakfast, it doesn't affect her, and I can't procrastinate and talk myself out of going.

Currently, I just run around our neighborhood.  If I follow a "figure-8" pattern around the neighborhood, it ends up being just over 1 mile.  So for now, I just do a couple of laps.  Tuesday marked the first day that I RAN the entire 2 miles.  While pushing the stroller, I do a 11m15s/mile pace.  Without the stroller, my pace was 10m52s/mile.  I didn't think it would be so hard to run with a stroller, but it actually works out your arms and makes running harder.  And I also just figured out today, that there is a slight incline at the back of the neighborhood, which is harder with the stroller, too.

Things I'd never imagine doing;
-Running while pushing a baby in a stroller
-Run in the morning (i'm talking 8am!)
-Run in the rain (while pushing baby - I tied my rain jacket over the front so she was dry)
-Run on a Saturday afternoon so I didn't have to take the baby with me

Noticing a theme??  I'm doing something i never imagined for myself, and so far I'm being successful.  I'm successful in that I'm doing it!  I'd love to lose some more weight, but my main goals are to feel better about myself, get into shape, and be a role model for my daughter.  I want to set a good example on being active and making an attempt at being healthy.

So far, I've taken the stroller out for 5 runs.  In order for it to pay off, I have to take it out like a bazillion more times.  Haha, I kid.  If I keep up my current running (2-3 times a week), it'll have paid for itself by the end of fall.  Here's hoping my legs don't fall by then ;-)!

(I got a BabyTrend Expedition Jogging Stroller.  Just something simple that gets the job done! The new stroller looks a lot like our first 3 wheel stroller. The difference is that the jogger has real rubber tires which allow for a smooth ride for baby; and it also is a little slimmer.)

(Mom, what on earth is going on?!)

(On Saturday, Steve took on daddy duty so I could go run alone.  When I got back, I laid on he floor and attempted to stretch while Bean decided it was a good time to attack Momma.)

(Bean has some weird obsession with mouths.  She loves to put her fingers into your mouth to feel your teeth, gums, etc.  It's funny like the first time, then gets annoying.  I just want to stretch! Okay, really I just wanted to lay on the floor and not move, ha!)