Tuesday 21 February 2012

The Comeback Plan

The other day I enjoyed some last minute baby shopping & lunch with a gorgeous friend and mother who inspires me very much. After lunch she asked me if I had a plan and timeline for returning to training post baby...

OH DO I HAVE A PLAN!!! I have spent every spare minute reading up on and writing a training plan for my running "comeback" post baby. Actually I am on version #3 and I am sure there are more versions to come. Each time I finish another book I have some new ideas and training principles that I want to try and so this plan is constantly evolving and being revised.

However, no matter how good the plan I know some of the hurdles of my return to running can't all be all be addressed with a good training plan. Here are some of the big challenges I am anticipating I will face and need to overcome:

Bits will wobble
For a sginificant period of time the body I return to running with will be very different to what I am use to. Even though I honestly believe it will all strengthen over time and return to its former glory I know that I will have to be patient with it and work with what I've got while I go from incubator to a performance machine.

Back to absolute basics
I have no balance, I am clumsy and my running muslces have been on an extended vacation. You would think after months of carrying around the extra weight I would come out the other end stronger but honestly I feel completey unstable around the hips and pelvis and can't imagine pumping out speed sessions without some serious basic strength training first. I honestly took for granted how "structurally sound" my body was. Now after the the transformation my body has gone through to grow and birth a baby I will have to really focus on building back strength and balance that can handle the intensity and speed of my desired training.

Contending with boobs
To date I have been very fortunate to be able to throw on a sports bra and not have to worry about anything after that in this department. I dare say feeding will bring about some new challenges for running, namely; support, milk supply, lactic acid in the milk and just the overall comfort of the whole thing. Hopefully there are some fantastic maternity and feeding sports bras out there to help me in this area. Keep an eye out in the review section. Also my training is going to have to have the flexibility to fit around my feeding responsbilities. So as much as I will try for routine its not going to be a given and I am just going to have to make the most of the opportunities I get.

Pelvic Floor Muscles
I don't think I need to elaborate on this one. Suffice to say I could write a whole post on Pregnancy and the Pelvis. Thank goodness the muscles can be trained like any other so there is hope! Kegels here we come!

Emotions
On the odd winter morning when my husband has looked so snug in bed I have struggled to tear myself away but otherwise I generally find it easy to slip my sneakers on and escape for my run. I don't doubt for one second that having a gorgeous little new born at home will tug at the heart strings when I am trying to get out the door. But I honestly believe that taking this little bit of time for me and my health (mental and physical) will make me a better mother and I hope that focusing on that can keep me on track. Not to mention its going to be a great time for baby and daddy to have together!

Well, it will be interesting to return to this list of things in a few months and compare it to the actual challenges I have faced. What challenges did I not anticipate and what things will be easier than I thought?

I think a good plan is always a good starting point but for this particular goal I know it is going to take more than that. I will also need determination, patience and tenacity to overcome many new challenges... simple things that I have just taken for granted in the past.

So here starts the joy of being a running mummy! Wish me luck!

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