Marathon Mom

Yesterday was 2 months since Ophelia was born, a lot has happened in that short amount of time for both her and I. Thanks to everyone who has commented on my posts and requests for help as I figure out this mom thing. I’m sure there will only be more questions to come. I’ve gotten more creative with my cooking and am attempting to slowly add back some of the foods she didn’t seem to like. We ordered the BOB Ironman and it should be here on Wednesday, which will help greatly with getting in weekday workouts. She remains tall and lean, 10lb 1oz (50th percentile) and 23 ¼” (90th percentile), no wonder the 0-3 clothes are almost too short, but still big everywhere else. This past weekend she rolled over from her tummy to her back for the first time, of course I was out running when she did this but she repeated it for me when I got home. She loves mornings; I know she got this from her dad since I can’t function before I’ve had my coffee. As soon as she sees us in the morning she is all...

Okay moms how do you manage to fit in workouts with an infant? I have a child who loves to sleep at night, but would rather stay awake all day to the point that she gets overly tired and turns into a huge crab! I guess it is better that way, but help me out baby and give me a few good hours of sleep each day. When she does manage to sleep during the day it has to be either in her swing or my arms. I thought I had the answer and moved the swing down by the treadmill, but nope she just watched me and then screamed after 15 minutes. So what is the secret to fit in those workouts when you are home alone with an infant? I have ordered the BOB stroller which should be in late next week so we’ll be able to get outside for runs soon as long as she tolerates that. Right now we do manage some walks with the regular stroller, but as the other hardcore runners know that just doesn’t quite cut it.

A running stroller will be the next important baby related purchase. We originally planned to get the BOB Revolution, but are now thinking about the BOB Ironman instead. Between Matt and I the stroller will log plenty of miles. The main use will be for running, but I am trying to decide how important the turning front wheel would be for those few times it would be used for other outings besides running, or is the hand break more important considering the hilly runs we will be taking it on. The less important aspect of the decision is the color, I do like that the Revolution comes in more colors, but who am I kidding I rarely match when I run anyways! Time to make the decision now that Spring is here and my REI dividend check is on the way, I have been planning this purchase since last Spring.

I made this goal for myself to be running 1 mile for each week of Ophelia's life, so far so good. With the time off I wasn't sure I'd do 7 today, but things felt great and I had to take advantage of the last day of sunny, warm weather. Sunny and 60s, perfect day for running in shorts, I love this time of year too bad the rain and highs of 30s/40s are returning tomorrow. Now just to keep gaining the speed back, finally back under 9 min miles for the first time since Fall.

Running during pregnancy has taught me one good lesson, listen to your body! This is something I have never been very good at. I would continue to push through pains, never stopping before an injury got to the point of requiring me to take time off. I figured this time back I’d be fine since I had taken off 2 months completely and ran low mileage for a couple months before that. I also started back slowly with mostly walking. This is why I was so confused when right leg pain started after only 2 weeks back to running. At this point I was only running 4-5 miles 3 days a week. This pain was very similar to what I have had the past 2 Springs, same leg, same general area, and same feeling. 2008 it ended up being posterior tibial tendonitis requiring 6 weeks off, PT, and a boot, 2009 it ended up being a distal tibial stress fracture, once again requiring a boot and 6 weeks off. This time I was determined to not let it get to anything bad. I found a new doctor who’s specialty was women’s...

I need food help! I am a vegetarian who eats fish/seafood and the rare chicken/turkey, although I managed through my entire pregnancy without any poultry since it made me ill. It looks like Ophelia doesn’t like it when I eat lentils or beans, problem is I tend to throw beans in a lot of foods to get protein. The worst days that she has had have come after lentil tacos for both dinner and lunch the following day and then again after 4 bean chili for lunch and black bean quesadillas for dinner. These days are the only times when she refuses to sleep, only wants to be held, spits up large amounts which always end up on me, and is extremely gassy leading to multiple diaper changes. All this makes for a tough day for me. I need more ideas for easy vegetarian meals without beans. I love tofu from restaurants, but all my attempts to cook with it at home have been failures, any secrets? The other thing I need is simple, healthy snack ideas. With the return to running and breastfeeding I am ...