New Plans, Races and Recipes

So I had a kid, a pretty awesome one...you may have seen her plastered over Facebook, Instagram and MiniFancyPants (yes, she has her own blog).  I had full intentions of posting all these great posts...but baby, work, life got in the way.

Somewhat recent February - Sofie - 6 month shot

I started running with her about 6 weeks post-baby, once I got the official clearance.  I truly think the running, walking, strength training and lots of yoga while pregnant helped me have a faster recovery process after Sofie was born.

About 4 weeks post-baby - lots of fast walking at the park

6 weeks post-baby - I can still run (sort of)

I did a 10K in November, just 11 weeks post-baby.  I think I made it through about 4 miles before I did 2 small water walk breaks about a minute each.  Definitely slower than my time last year, but I was very happy to be back.

New mommy run club?

Got milk? Doesn't everyone run with a breast pump?

I was on a relatively good track, running-wise, keeping to a 4 mile runs and strength training and spinning. I signed up for the Love 1/2 Marathon in March...

I got super excited because as I was deciding which 1/2 Ironman to do, low and behold, the WTC decides they will do the Princeton 1/2 Ironman.   So I signed up for that, knowing that I have swam, rode and ran the course many times from both the NJ State Tri and just in general my riding and running routes.

So that happened, then after getting ourselves ready for a 1/2 Marathon plan of long runs with friends and babies...

Running with Sofie in the Bob Stroller - a little hard in the wind...or in general

and numerous Snow Apocolopse that have been happening in NJ, we couldn't take the dreadmill for another day and decided to go outside and be super careful....and I was, until, my clutzy ass falls on a rock and sprains an ankle.

So, as I type I am just finally at almost healed on this damn ankle,(almost 6 weeks) which does not help at all in the motivation department.  Knowing there is no chance in hell I will be running the 1/2 marathon in two weeks.  Super Sad Face. 

During that "time off" the baby has kept me feeling like I ran a marathon daily because she is always on the go...(may have been my fault with keeping so active being pregnant - the Sofinator does not stop!)

So here is the new schedule, I figure if I write it, it will happen...

Redbank Sprint 5/18

ODDyssey Half Marathon 6/8 - MAYBE

NJ State Olmpic (Wait List) 7/20

Princeton 1/2 Ironman 9/21

It's short and sweet, but with the baby, I don't know if I want to over-extend myself this year. 

I leave you with two of my favorite new green salads that are helping me get back to pre-baby weight!

Grilled and Green Quinoa Salad

2 cups water
1 cup quinoa
1/2 jar capers
1/2 can of artichokes in water (Trader Joe's)
1/2 can green olives (Trader Joe's)
1/4 cup of fresh flat leaf parsley
2 cups baby spinach
2 grilled chicken breasts
Balsamic vinegar
Olive oil

Rinse quinoa and add to water in pot.  Bring to a boil and reduce to low for about 20 minutes covered.  Grill chicken breast pieces (or use leftovers).  Make the salad with the rest of ingredients.
Add balsamic and olive oil to liking - I use about 2 swirls of each :)  Add drained quinoa and eat.

Warmed Super Green Salad

1 cup Tuscan Kale chopped
1 cup Swiss Chard chopped
1 chopped hard boiled egg
5 cherry tomatoes
1/3 chopped cucumber
1/4 cup of chopped/shredded carrots
1/4 chopped bell pepper
1/4 cup of goat cheese
1/4 cup of chickpeas or kidney beans
Balsamic and olive oil

Equal parts in large bowl chopped Tuscan Kale and chopped Rainbow Chard (with stems) - I use the Trader Joe's cleaned in a bag super easy for the busy working mommy or anyone.  Add remaining ingredients.  Microwave for 45 seconds and add dressing of choice (balsamic and olive oil).


Now I can get back to training!

And still able to spend time with the hubby and drink some good beers...

Rutgers Unite - 8K Race Report

Well, this is less a race report than it is a running report since I am not really racing.  I have a short post on the other blog http://minifancypants.blogspot.com/ on pregnancy and running.

I dropped down once I found out I was pregnant from the half-marathon to the 8K and I have to say 5 miles is really a nice distance!  Something different than a 6 mile race.  At this point, I am 5.5 months or 25 weeks, 15 to go!!!
 
Nicole and I picked up our race packets and I had a discount with the race and bought the newer version of the Brooks Pure Cadence 2!

More on that on another post once I start running with them.  I tried to eat like I normally would before a race with some lean mean and veggies and some sort of carb but with our kitchen being remodeled I just had to wing it.  I also made some arm warmers for Christine and I to go with our outfits.

I went to Mike's gig since it was Nick's last night locally with the band before he leaves for another continent (sad face). 

My rockstar husband...

Race morning, I had my normal ezekial english muffin with almond butter and apple butter and brought a banana.  I also brought some extra snacks (being pregnant you don't want to be hungry) and sipped on lots of water pre-race. We met up with Christine and Kate and drove up to Rutgers and was met with lots of sunshine and cold temperatures (um what happened to our 70-80 degree temps). 

Nicole ran off for her 1/2 marathon, while Christine and I took some pictures for her "coming out" party on facebook of being preggers....see the matching shirts...

How cool is it my best friend and I are pregnant together!!!

We then met up with Lisa, and saw another new mama, Kristin (her first race post-baby) for the start of the 8k.  Lisa and I rant together at a really nice pace, the chatty pace which was on target for what I could do.  I needed to stay in Zone 2 and we walked 30-60 seconds per mile.    Since she was just getting back to running after her marathon (see race report) she didn't mind running with the slow pregnant woman.  It was also nice to actually run with someone, I have felt a little lonely outside of a couple spin sessions with friends in my pregnancy workouts.  The course was BEAUTIFUL and was a perfect rolling hill, nothing too crazy.  Before I knew it the turnaround came and I was really surprised at how good I felt. 

There was only one time when I felt my heart rate going a little crazy on a long hill that I walked an additional 30 seconds but otherwise, I was really happy with my time and how I felt for being 5.5 months pregnant.  I hope this feeling continues throughout the pregnancy.

Lisa and I averaged at a 10:48 pace for the 8K with a final time of 53:42.
I felt a lot of emotion on this race and it was a little extra special, it represented to me that my little girl just did her first race and we, as women are strong!  A girl took our picture and said she didn't know you could run or do this when pregnant and then she asked me my age, when I said 37 she hugged me and said she was so happy that this was possible.  We told her you still have to check with a doctor but it was a nice feeling.

 
Afterwards, we had more paparazzi shots

...and met up with our team, where I discussed the possibility of doing a relay for a couple tris of the swim portion or even a 5k. 

Afterward, was a reward of fro yo....every prego and non-prego woman's craving...

TRX and Core Strength Training - A Great Way to Get Ready for Tri Season

As many of us get ready for triathlon season, or in my case, ready for the biggest race of my life...giving birth...strength training is very important.  It falls off the to-do list when the priorities shift to longer swim/bike/run sessions and 15-20 hour training weeks start becoming difficult to maintain your work/social balance and the ability of adding 1 hour of strength training or 1 hour of a vinyasa class becomes severely low on the totem pole.  So, now is the time - Jan, Feb, March when you are building your bases or just before building your base.  I started doing TRX last year in the winter.  I was in between trying cross-fit and TRX and well, TRX was offered at the gym and I heard nothing but awesome things from one of my favorite fast tri friends, Hailey , who was raving about using it.  I used to be a gym-rat before all this triathlon business took over my life, where I had actual muscles and looked cut and really had a six pack and it wasn't just because I was under 30.  So in the strive to get a remotely cut look back I added TRX and plyometric training and really felt that this helped with my PR season of 2012 and a somewhat improved body from what is was looking like over the past few years when I started tris.

In the wake of finding out I was prego I did some research.  I found out there was a legit study that showed that strength training 3x per week equated in faster weight loss after the baby was born, which is actually a "no-duh" moment but sometimes you need to read about it again.  I also realized that the ab/core work you are allowed to do made TRX training a viable option.  I talked to trainer Eric  and he said as we go we may need to modify but we should be good.

If you don't know what TRX is - it is a new form of torture suspension training  that was built on the philosophy that your muscles are all interconnected and nothing is entirely isolated.  With TRX you move on multiple planes and in my opinion helps tremendously in all three of the triathlon disciplines.

Here is a short video of what encompasses my 45 minute sessions of TRX from the #DayInTheLife You Tube series from my trainer Eric (NOTE - ERIC AND SAQUIB MAKE EVERYTHING LOOK SIMPLE - IT'S NOT) 



 If you have the opportunity check it out, I promise it will help with your next swim session, hill workout etc.

Lastly Eric has another recent total body workout he posted on You Tube so check it out!! It will hurt but so worth it!