Bjorn turned 6 months old on Friday, and I wrapped up 60 miles of running this past week!
The last time I ran this much was during my 5th week of pregnancy with Bjorn, February 2019 while I was in Hawaii. I traveled with my coworkers and no one else knew I was pregnant. Luckily I was able to hide it despite not drinking alcohol, not going in the hot tub, not eating poke, but being able to run quite a bit probably helped. That quickly changed the following week when everything went south, and I could barely get off the floor from pure exhaustion.
This past week of 60 miles went quite well for the most part. I hit the mileage I wanted to, but I didn’t get a hard workout in for the second week in a row. It has been hard to get quality workouts in without access to a treadmill since all the gyms are closed, and our indoor 400 meter track at the Dome is closed as well due to COVID-19.
The only other thing that has been difficult is not be able to do quality weight sessions. I will never be the type of person that does workout videos at home–I just end up putting them off and they never end up being much of any length or intensity. When I go to the gym, I am much more productive, and the boys aren’t there to distract me.
But I am happy to be running so much and feeling pretty well though. I am not able to get any sort of therapy or treatment during this time, so I’m glad my injuries are under control right now.
Here’s a look at my workouts from this past week. This has been a slow progression to get up to 60 miles. I have been very cautious during my time postpartum–listening to my body and knowing when it is okay to push versus when I need to back off. You can see all of my workouts postpartum by following me on Strava.
March 23 – 29, 2020
Monday
8 miles | easy run | 8:59 average pace
Morning run with the sunrise. It is still really cold here in the mornings though–low 20s and sometimes in the teens or single digits. Grr!! I am so ready for warmer temps. I felt fine during this run though–just slow, but that’s how winter running goes.
Tuesday
10 miles | easy run | 8:29 average pace
I ran my favorite 10 mile loop, and it reminded me of so many training runs I’ve done on those roads. I also found some dry pavement off to the side of the road (versus the paved path I usually run on), and it made the run so much more enjoyable!
Wednesday
Off
I wasn’t planning on taking this day off; I was going to wait until Friday, but Craig’s back was really bothering him, and he was unable to take care of the boys, so I pushed my runs back a day.
Thursday
10 miles | interval workout | 8:06 average pace
4 x 400 meters, 2 x 1600 meters, 4 x 400 meters
This was a pretty sad attempt at a speed attempt for the week. I usually go to the gym and run on the treadmill or run on our indoor track at the Dome, but both are closed now due to COVID-19, so my only option was to do something outside. Most roads were still ice-covered or snowy, so good traction is hard to come by. Plus my muscles do not work well when the temps are in the 20s. Hopefully things will warm up, and the tracks will clear off soon!
Friday
7 miles | easy run | 8:38 average pace
I had to return a cake pan to a friend, so I carried it during the first mile of my run until I got to her house. Ha! Good thing it was dark out, and there weren’t a lot of people out since it was early. Otherwise this run went fine–nothing terrible, nothing great.
Saturday
7 miles | easy run | 8:22 average pace
This was my first run of the season in non-studded shoes! Here in Alaska, I wear studded running shoes for about 5 months (sometimes 6 months!) because everything is covered in snow and ice during the winter. They don’t use salt on the roads here, so the ice never melts. Plus, the sun never gets high enough in the sky and is never very warm during the winter until this time of the year. It felt so good to run in regular shoes!
Sunday
18 miles | long run | 8:13 average pace
I had plans of doing my long run the day before, but my head wasn’t in it. I also didn’t get started until the afternoon and hadn’t eaten very much which caused me to feel depleted, so I just ran 7 miles yesterday and did my long run this day, and I’m so glad I waited. I felt a million times better, it was sunny (albiet cold as the real feel was 3*F when I started), I felt more energized after a good night of sleep, and my head was definitely ready for it this time.
The thing I am most bummed about is that I don’t know when I’ll be able to race next. I’m sure any races that are supposed to happen in April or May will be out of the question. And beyond that, who knows?! It’s a bummer because I live for my summer races.
But of course, this is a very trivial thing compared to what others are dealing with and how the coronavirus has affected others in a much more terrible, sad, devastating way. It will pass and eventually I’ll be able to race again. I’ll probably just have to set my sights on a fall marathon rather than a summer one.
