New discovery: running to the song "Cell Block Tango" from the musical Chicago is exhilerating. If you listen to the rhythm of the song (I have the version from the movie on my iPhone), you'll naturally find yourself doing intervals of medium/high intensity and sprinting. Just try to keep your feet tame when Catherine Zeta Jones snarls out, "They had it coming."
What are your favorite interval tunes?
Thursday, December 23, 2010
Saturday, December 11, 2010
Goodbye Garmin (for now)
Before I was pregnant, I'd use my Garmin as a guide for how fast to run. My average pace tended to be in the low 9:00s, so if I glanced down and saw myself edging towards the 10s, I'd speed up. That's not really working so well for me right now, at almost 6 weeks post-partum. Just trying to maintain a pace in the 9s in this period of recovery shoots my heart rate into the 180s.
The problem with a heart rate in the 180s? It makes me HATE running! And it's not healthy. It's also really hard to run a decent distance when you're so overtaxing your heart. I hate to think that my old comfortable pace is now "sprinting" to me, but it sure feels that way to my heart!
So now I'm running instead with my Polar F6, which just monitors heart rate and calories burned, and figuring out my pace after the fact by cross-checking my mileage with my time spent running.
It took me a lot of months of running and a leaner body weight to get to the 9s, and it's going to take a lot more miles and pounds lost again before I say goodbye to the 10s again. For now, I'm proud that I ran 3 miles this morning while my newborn slept at home.
The problem with a heart rate in the 180s? It makes me HATE running! And it's not healthy. It's also really hard to run a decent distance when you're so overtaxing your heart. I hate to think that my old comfortable pace is now "sprinting" to me, but it sure feels that way to my heart!
It took me a lot of months of running and a leaner body weight to get to the 9s, and it's going to take a lot more miles and pounds lost again before I say goodbye to the 10s again. For now, I'm proud that I ran 3 miles this morning while my newborn slept at home.
Saturday, December 4, 2010
I couldn't wait any longer!
Pssst. Don't tell my doctor, but I had a pretty good time defying her orders this morning.
I know I was technically supposed to wait until mid-December to start running again, but I've been feeling pretty strong (and fat! and tired! and in need of running therapy!) so I decided to kick off my post partum boot camp a week early with a short run today, on my old path.
I'm proud to say that after nine months of pregnancy, including three of them with prenatal yoga as my only exercise, I did 2.48 miles in 26 minutes, 19 seconds. I ran the whole way and felt pretty good.
No incision pain, no bleeding, no freaky sensation that my uterus was about to fall out.
I am pretty certain I could have done the 3.15 mile short run that I used to do on a daily basis, pre-pregnancy. But at the halfway mark I got what could only be described as "boob telepathy." That distinct burning sensation that had to correspond to my baby waking up and wanting Mommy. (Indeed, when I got home, he was hungry and mad, and my husband confirmed that it he began stirring in his sleep 10-15 minutes earlier.)
Next time I'll pump or feed before I go and go for the full 3.15. Hopefully as the weeks progress and the pounds come off (I still have a lot to go), I'll get back into my old groove.
I know I was technically supposed to wait until mid-December to start running again, but I've been feeling pretty strong (and fat! and tired! and in need of running therapy!) so I decided to kick off my post partum boot camp a week early with a short run today, on my old path.
I'm proud to say that after nine months of pregnancy, including three of them with prenatal yoga as my only exercise, I did 2.48 miles in 26 minutes, 19 seconds. I ran the whole way and felt pretty good.
No incision pain, no bleeding, no freaky sensation that my uterus was about to fall out.
I am pretty certain I could have done the 3.15 mile short run that I used to do on a daily basis, pre-pregnancy. But at the halfway mark I got what could only be described as "boob telepathy." That distinct burning sensation that had to correspond to my baby waking up and wanting Mommy. (Indeed, when I got home, he was hungry and mad, and my husband confirmed that it he began stirring in his sleep 10-15 minutes earlier.)
Next time I'll pump or feed before I go and go for the full 3.15. Hopefully as the weeks progress and the pounds come off (I still have a lot to go), I'll get back into my old groove.
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