On the third Monday in September 2019, I went for a morning three-mile run. I felt fine, even in the late summer humidity. By the afternoon, I was holding my baby girl in my arms as the drugs from a C-section wore off. Even to my own surprise, I ran through my entire pregnancy, up until the day I went into labor. I honestly did not have the goal of running throughout my entire pregnancy. I told myself I would run as long as it felt good. Early on, I even planned on switching to ...
Postpartum 10K Training, Week 4
Last week I barely exercised at all. I had been optimistic that my flu vaccine would protect me from contracting Isla's flu, but the week turned out otherwise. On Sunday, just as Isla's flu symptoms were mitigating, I developed a sore throat and cough. Before bed, I suddenly as if I had just run a marathon - my entire body hurt. By Monday morning, I was obviously sick with the flu. I experienced chills, a fever, body aches, a dry cough, sore throat, fatigue, and a dreadful headache. I visited ...
Postpartum 10K Training, Week 3
Last week's workouts were successful, although they were squeezed into a busy, tiring week. I love the feeling of being back to training and it's worth the time and energy. Although I could not imagine trying to train for a longer distance right now! Monday: 5.4 mile easy run The treadmill is a sanity saver on Mondays. Mondays are my busiest workdays, since I do most of my coaching feedback on Mondays. Hopping on the treadmill just makes the day mentally easier. I ran a hilly iFit ...
How to Add Speedwork Without Getting Injured
Many runners want to run faster; it’s a natural desire and a clear indication of progress. In order to run faster, you have to train your body to adapt to the physiological demands of faster running. Typically, this involves speedwork. Yet speedwork increases the risk of injury - which will emphatically not make you faster. With the right approach, you can speedwork without getting injured - whether you are introducing speedwork for the first time, making your speedwork harder, or doing ...
Postpartum 10K Training, Week 2
I frequently tell my athletes about how life stress affects training. Over the past few weeks, a fair amount of stress took its toll - and then this week released that stress. Part of this included Isla's weight returning to her percentile track after falling off the charts. I had been so worried about a problem, but the only issue was low milk supply - and supplementation proved a simple and effective solution. My anxiety eased down, and for the first time in weeks, more than a few days passed ...
Your Guide to Fartlek Workouts
Fartlek workouts are a versatile, adaptable, and even fun workout - any runner can incorporate them into their training. They are also highly effective, no matter how your level of experience or your running goals. The word “fartlek” is borrowed from Swedish and means “speed play.” In the first half 20th century, Scandanavians dominated the running scene and attributed their success to the use of “speed play” workouts in training. Now, fartleks have been adopted by the larger running ...