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​Returning to Running Post Partum

11/25/2015

3 Comments

 
PictureShe's so tiny!
After Nora, my first child, was born I was terrified of hurting her. She was so small and so cute. I wouldn’t even let my husband walk with her in the jogging stroller until she was “older." I never gave him a definite age he could put her in the jogging stroller and kept saying, “When she’s older.” I finally felt comfortable with her in the jogging stroller when she was six months old.  
 
Fast forward to my second child, Asher. After I’ve realized that children won’t break at the drop of the hat, I was very curious why some people say to wait eight months before running with a baby. I wanted to do more research for myself and took to the Internet. Unfortunately, there isn’t a lot of scientific research out there on when to run with a baby in a jogging stroller. What my searches were pulling up was Internet gossip on baby forums. So I decided to make a list of reasons why Internet gossip said you can’t run with a baby in a jogging stroller.  I then took each of these ‘reasons’ and researched what was needed to cause them. For example, one woman said you couldn’t run with your baby in a jogging stroller because it would cause a detached retina. So I researched whether a detached retina was possible. If so, what conditions are needed to cause it? My research uncovered that a detached retina is possible, and the force needed to cause it was equivalent to shaken baby syndrome.

PictureMy toddler enjoying our new setup
Now let me tell you a little bit about my set up when I run. I have a BOB Duallie Revolution with an infant car seat attachment. My infant is strapped into his car seat (which is safety rated), and the car seat is securely attached to the infant car seat adaptor, which is securely attached to the BOB. The whole thing is so strongly connected that I can pick up the ENTIRE stroller just by the handle of the infant car seat. The infant car seat is rear facing in the BOB, which means baby is facing me and I can see him while I run. I have full view of his head the entire time I am running, and I slow down if we need to go up or down curbs. I have never seen my kids' heads move more than they would if we were driving in a car and I have certainly never seen them have a head movement equivalent to what I’ve seen in the shaken baby syndrome videos.
 
After talking with my pediatrician and doing my own research I felt comfortable heading out for a jog at three weeks post partum with baby number two. How was it? It was WEIRD. Asher was fine, he loved the run but I felt totally weird. I could feel my uterus bouncing up and down in my body, and while it didn’t hurt, it was a very creepy sensation. I decided I wanted my organs to settle back down where they were supposed to and finished that day walking. I tried to run again a week later and the creepy sensation was gone. It was awesome! I built back up slowly through walk-run intervals and was back to my normal running self in no time. Asher is now a very happy, confident, well-adjusted, four-year-old who is doing great in his pre-k class.

PictureAsher is ready for a run!

After baby number three, I think I was over confident in my body’s abilities. I had been very active during this pregnancy (two half marathons pushing a double, triathlon at full term, etc) and thought I would have a super easy transition back to exercise. I started back to running around four weeks post partum and started doing two workouts a day. I’d run in the mornings and lift weights and bicycle in the afternoons. Don’t think I’m completely crazy; I was trying to build up quickly for a 10K race I had signed up for pre-pregnancy (the race was 10 weeks post partum). What happened to me? I had an increase in bleeding among other signs of complications and ended up seeing my doctor earlier than the six-week checkup. She told me I’d done too much too soon and was restricted from ANY exercise for the next three weeks. At eight weeks post partum, I was finally cleared to work out again and started running with baby number three.
 
So what are my postpartum plans for baby number four? This time I have decided I am going to wait until I am cleared at the six-week postpartum checkup before I run. I am then going to use the C25K app by Zen Labs to build back up to running. I didn’t enjoy having complications and a set back last time around and I want to take things slower this time around.

PictureSoon to be a family of six!
A lot of people ask me, “What should I do? When should I run with my baby?” I don’t have an answer for you. I think everyone is different, every baby is different, every pregnancy is different, and every family is different. Be prepared that your build up post partum is dependent on a lot of different factors and can’t be predetermined. You need to talk to your doctor and your spouse. Do your own research and make your own decision –one that works for you and your family!
 
What you’ve read above is just my experience with building up to running with a baby post partum. One of my favorite things about Stroller Warriors is that the Facebook SW Chapter pages are full of amazing women who will happily share their experiences with you. I’ve seen lots of discussions about this topic on the wall, and they’re always team-oriented and non-judgmental. Everyone is different and therefore will make different choices for their families!
 
My final words of wisdom for building up post partum are this, GIVE YOURSELF GRACE! It will not be easy. It will be hard work to return to your previous level of fitness with an infant in tow. My intended runs have turned into walks more times than I can count. When I have an infant in tow I always bring: a baby carrier (wrap or Ergo are what I use), diapers and wipes, and a breastfeeding cover that permanently stays with my BOB. I have sat next to the trail breastfeeding and cheering on my fellow SWs more times than I can count and while for the moment it sucks, in the long run I’m okay with it. Babies are only babies for so long. I know that if I’m persistent, eventually baby will be more used to our stroller runs, and we'll eventually be able to run together. I know a half-attempt is better than no attempt at all. Each time I go out I will get stronger, baby may nap longer or have a longer time between feedings. We both have plenty of time to figure out what works for us.
 
Happy Running!
Kelly

3 Comments

The Active Metabolic Assessment

11/12/2015

0 Comments

 
by Angel 

Are you a numbers person? If so, tune in…you might enjoy this.
I recently had the opportunity to do an Active Metabolic Assessment. The goal of this assessment is to find out how your body burns fuel and how to make it burn more efficiently during your workout. From this assessment, you will gain data such as your VO2 Max, what your workload is in each target heart rate zone, how many calories you burn per minute in each heart rate zone, and whether they come from fat or carbs.
​
I scheduled the appointment, nervously. I am going to run on a treadmill wearing what? This beauty right here…
Picture
The process itself was not as terrible as I had anticipated. There is no right or wrong; you just do your best. I got to pick my cardio…the treadmill, naturally. The gist is that you run (or whatever you opt for) until exhaustion, increasing your pace every two minutes until you simply cannot go any longer. During this time, you are wearing the mask that measures your oxygen consumption and a heart rate monitor. You also are providing feedback on your level of perceived exertion (think smiley face chart at the doctor’s office).
​
Once complete, I went for a snack (because I had to fast for this) while the trainer completed his end of the data. I returned to a lovely print-out of how my body functions at various levels of exertion. This information provides you with an idea of how hard you need to work in order to efficiently burn fat, how hard to work in order to increase endurance, what levels are ideal for recovery days (for instance, my current ideal recovery pace is 11:19)…a whole lot of concrete information in one little chart. 
Picture
The VO2 score shows how much oxygen your body can use at once. This can be an important tool in training if you are trying to increase speed and endurance. While your muscles can be trained to move quickly, you must have the oxygen circulating to fuel the muscles. The higher your score, the more speed and endurance potential your body has.

Your VO2 capacity can be increased through various methods of interval training. One example is to do hill repeats; the hills need to be a couple of minutes long. Complete a warm-up jog for about 10 minutes. Run up the hill for 3 minutes, recovery jog downhill, and repeat four to six times. During the uphill interval, you are pushing hard, breathing hard (this would be Zone 3 in the Metabolic Assessment). You want the effort to be difficult but not all out.  

These numbers are helpful because some of us don’t know exactly how to manage a workout (raising my hand…that’s me!).  Some workouts may call for running at percentages of max speed, 30 seconds faster or slower than average pace, or lots of other numbers that are difficult to measure based on feel. The results of this assessment are interpreted through heart rates, perceived exertion, and actual speed…you can use any of these that you are able to measure when you apply this to a workout. For instance, I know about what my exertion level is when I am running a 10-minute mile. I know that I am working at about conversation pace, and I am comfortable. I now know that this is the pace at which I most efficiently burn fat. So, if I don’t have a Garmin or heart-rate monitor with me, then I can run at a comfortable pace, and hit my target for fat-burning mode. When I need to work on speed or increasing endurance, I will insert intervals in the higher zones of effort like the hill workout described above. This can also be helpful if you're training for a triathalon or cross-training due to injury. The same data applies to workouts in the pool, bike, or other medium for cardio exercise. ​
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What does all of this mean? It means there is another tool out there to help you take the guesswork out of your workouts. It helps you get familiar with your own body. It’s more information you can have should you want it (at a cost of course, at least $100 you’ll shell out at a local gym). While it’s certainly not necessary, I find it kind of fun…but I’m one of those numbers people. I feel like I have personal information to tailor my workouts for various results.
 
Have any of you tried this out? Please, please share! We would love to know how it was for you, did you find it helpful, and have you seen desired results from knowing this information?
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