Happy Friday! It took me longer than I hoped to get this recap from last week out but I did it! This recap covers my first full week back at work and I was surprised by how quickly I got used to our new routine. By the end of the week, things almost felt normal and I grew a lot more optimistic about my ability to fit in training, working full time and spending time with Siena and Mike. Of course, I know that some weeks will go better than others (and this week started out rough actually!), but I’m feeling better by the day about my decision to go back to work.
Monday – Rest day. We got back from my Grandma’s on Easter late so I didn’t get up to workout. I like to have at least one rest day a week so I was fine using it for Monday.
Tuesday- Rest day. I had set out my clothes to do a morning run, but Monday night was Siena’s worst night of sleep since she was infant. We were up pretty much every hour and she was having a really hard time falling back asleep. She seemed to be in pain, so we thought maybe she was getting her first teeth but there’s still no sign of a tooth! I think I slept a total of 3 hours. It was a rough day at work that day!
Wednesday – My company recently started offering a free 60 minute vinyasa yoga class every other Wednesday from 5-6 p.m. The class was wonderful and more challenging than I expected. The teacher was good at giving modifications for both easier postures and more difficult ones, and I did all of the more advanced variations.
Thursday – Finally, a run! Asia came over before work (she recently moved back to Encinitas) and we ran 4 miles. I wasn’t sure how much time I’d need before our run so I was up a little early and did a good warm-up including some planks. When we started running at 6 a.m., we didn’t even need a headlamp which was a relief. I felt great and had runner’s high afterward!

Friday – Another pre-work run with a friend. Allison came over and we ran 4.3 miles on a similar route to Thursday’s run. I felt good and really wanted to run even farther but decided to end on a good note and leave myself more time to get to work.
Saturday – I headed out solo for a 10 mile long run. I felt pretty good and kept the pace easy. I listened to the end of the latest Ask Lauren Fleshman podcast from Running on Om and it made the miles tick by.

Sunday – Carlsbad 5000 (5k). I had no goal going into this race other than to have fun and hopefully run a sub 8 minute/mile average. I accomplished both goals! Full race report to come shortly.

Weekly Totals:
- Total Miles: 21.4
- Total Strength/Yoga: 1 Hour
This week started out rough with the lack of sleep but by the end of the week I felt SO much better. It helped that suddenly Siena started sleeping through the night (8 p.m.-7 a.m.) without waking so I’ve been getting some solid, uninterrupted hours of sleep lately! It really makes a huge difference.
I’m really trying not to focus on comparing myself to other new mom runners and to my old self. It’s hard at times because I don’t really feel like I’ve made a lot of progress running wise, but it was my choice to focus on strength training with P90X over running. I think my body is going to thank me for the solid base I created when I’m in peak marathon training later this year. We all have our own paths and this is the one I chose for myself this year. I’m doing my best and learning to accept that I may never train at the volume and maybe even speed I did before, but it doesn’t mean that I can’t make progress as a runner and as an athlete. It’s up to me to prioritize running and if I’ve chosen to put other things first, I can’t be upset if I’m not as fast as I would like to be.
How was your week?
You are doing awesome, mama! Isn’t it amazing how unpredictable babies are? You just never know. I wonder what was keeping Siena up all night. It’s so hard at this age when they can’t talk and communicate with you. As moms, we just have to go with the flow. I love the picture of you and Siena at the finish line. BTW – you look AMAZING and strong. It’s so impressive watching other moms bounce back and do their thing after pregnancy. Everyone’s journey may be a little different, but it’s all inspiring nonetheless.
I know what you mean–I’ve been doing a second round of p90x in preparation for my first marathon, but it seems like I’m doing less running than I should. But I think that it really helps stamina without getting as boring as when I’m running all the time, and helps with other things I enjoy like climbing. How did you transition from half to full?
I just signed up for the full and went for it! I joined a training group and that really helped!
Woo hoo! Yay for a great race and training again. Super awesome! Three cheers from FL. xo