Mission: Undo What the Baby Did: Update 5

I'm behind in my updates again so here's what the past two weeks of Mission: Undo What the Baby Did looked like.

Week 1: I'm still hitting my hourly goal for the week.  This week was 5.75 hours.  That was even with taking 2 days off.  Usually I've only been taking one day off each week.  Megatron was visiting his grandparents so I was buzzing through a mile long to-do list.  The very first thing I did after he left though was a Jillian Michaels workout.  I told you I'm determined to undo what that baby did to my body!  I also had a big victory.  I had my longest run since December!  The morning after Megatron left with his grandparents, I hit the road!  I ran 8 miles!  EIGHT!  The weather was PERFECT and I felt great.  I know I could have easily gone further but I knew it wouldn't be smart so I stopped.  I felt so strong the entire time which was reassuring that all the hard work I've been doing lately is paying off in some way.

Lovin' the cornfields in my hometown. :)

While Megaton was on "vacation," I spent one entire day cleaning and then went on a date with The Pilot but I also got in 13 miles total while he was away.  Thirteen miles while he was away meant 13 miles WITHOUT pushing the run stroller!  Happy mama right here.

I even got in an additional 5 miles once he was back from his grandparents' but The Pilot spent the morning with him while I went running with the local Moms Run This Town group.  That brought my mileage for the week to 18!  I can't even remember the last time I hit that many miles in a week.  Probably before my pregnancy.

But first, let's take a selfie! (Photo borrowed from MRTT page.) :)

I also spent some more time with the evil Jillian Michaels and made progress with the arms and abs challenges.  I still struggle with doing "real" sit ups and I am still doing modified push ups though I try to put my knees further away from my arms whenever I can.

Week 2:  I hit a bit of a wall this week.  I was pretty discouraged when I went to the doctor early in the week.  I've only lost about 2 pounds over the last several months despite kicking up the workouts several notches.  My bad cholesterol and triglycerides are also still high which frustrated me since I've cleaned up my eating significantly since we returned home after Megatron's transplant.  After reviewing my exercise routine and diet with the doctor, among other things, its becoming more apparent that my bad cholesterol and triglycerides may be out of my control and are genetic.  My good cholesterol and everything else looks great (looks better than it did in April) and since I don't have any other risk factors, the doctor decided it wasn't so high that I need medication as long as it doesn't get any higher.  Hopefully I can keep working on losing more weight which may help those numbers as well.  The whole ordeal was frustrating though.

In addition to that, Megatron has several medical appointments, including one sedated procedure, which is always stressful.  Nothing major, its just stressful and tiring.  I dealt with most of it on my own so by the end of each day, I was exhausted.  I was soooo ready for The Pilot to return home after 4 long days away.  I only got in one run and it was only 40 minutes while The Pilot stayed home with Megatron.  Ultimately what happened was in order to meet my goal of 4 hours of exercise in a week, I had to cram most of it in over the weekend once The Pilot was home to help out.

So I ended the week with 4.25 hours.  Just barely squeaking in there.  Blah.  It happened though.  And even though I was ready to call the week a wash and not even attempt to reach 4 hours, I sucked it up.  The Pilot pitched in and cleaned up the dinner messes after Megatron was down for the night so that I could spend quality time with Jillian Michaels.  I am so thankful that he has been so supportive during Mission: Undo What the Baby Did. 

2014 Emerald City Quarter Marathon

Better late than never.  On August 24, I ran/walked the Emerald City Quarter Marathon (6.55 miles).  This was the first race I actually "raced" since having Megatron.  There have been two 5k races but they were more for fun and about the mission of the respective charities (Arthritis Foundation's Jingle Bell Run and Lifeline of Ohio's Dash for Donation).


I did this race back in 2011 and remembered it being hot, humid and gross.  Why did I sign up for it again knowing I hate hot, humid weather?  I don't know.  Well, really it was because I was in desperate need of a race.  I wanted to do something my pre-baby-had-a-transplant self did.  Plus my friends were jumping off a bridge doing the race, so I signed up.

Me and Katy, pre-race smiles!

So guess what the weather was?  Hot, humid and gross.  The only thing that saved me from overheating and crying in a ditch was the fact that it was overcast almost the entire race so the sun was intensifying the heat.  I was so very thankful I didn't lose my mind and sign up for the half marathon!

Just like the last time, I struggled with shin splints in the beginning but after a mile or so that eased up. And just like with about every race, it took me about 3 miles before I truly felt in a groove.  Katy did the race with me and we chatted while doing a run/walk combo.  I'm still not back to running for consistent stretches so I just did my best to run as long as I could and then take a walk break no longer than a quarter mile.  For the most part that worked.

In the last mile, I was really starting to feel the heat and was ready to be done but I got a little extra pep in my step when two friends, Krista and Kristina, came flying past us on the half marathon course.  Yes, they both did the half marathon faster than we did the quarter.  No, I don't hate them for that.  ;)  They are amazing role models.  They run like the wind, have 7 kids between the two of them and are some of the strongest, caring and kind ladies you will ever meet.  Plus, seeing them fly by gave me some extra wind to carry me to a strong finish.

Katy lit a fire under my butt and made me run it in to the finish...starting the last run much sooner than I would have if I had been alone.  And we did have a great finish.  1:34!   I was pretty surprised to see such a "fast" time for my first real comeback race.  About 9 minutes slower than 2011 but considering all that has gone on in the last year, I was very proud of that time.  And as always, it's a blast to spend time with friends.  Especially friends who have supported me both on and off the race course...

Right before the race started a group of friends gathered around me and I was pretty sure they were about to tell me I had toilet paper stuck to my shoe since I had just returned from the portapotty.  But instead, they presented me with a medal.  They wanted to recognize that while I didn't get to do my planned comeback race in January and didn't get the Disney medal I was after, I got the best medal of all, my little Megatron.  Isn't this the sweetest thing you have ever seen?!  I love them all so much and am so thankful they are in my life and have really stepped up to help me cope through Megatron's challenges.

Mission: Undo What The Baby Did: Update 4

Given that it is Monday again, I'll update my progress from the past two weeks.

Week 1: Success!  I got in 5.75 hours of activity.  I did one stroller run/walk (5 miles) and was pooped.  I really wasn't planning on going that far but Megatron fell asleep later than usual (nearly 3 miles in) so I had to keep moving until he woke up from his nap.  I might be a rookie parent but I know enough not to wake a sleeping baby....even if it means putting in more miles.

I also did a 5 miler with some training buddies a few days later and I was so proud/excited that I was able to cover the same distance I did with the stroller but 11 minutes faster.  11 minutes!  It's amazing how much harder it is to push the stroller.  It also helped that I was with people for a couple stretches of my stroller-free run and was able to run longer and take shorter walk breaks.  Thank you Lisa, Jim and Kami!  You pushed me without even realizing.  Well....Lisa probably realized because she had to yell at me to start running after a walk break.

Week 2: Success!  I got in 6 hours of activity.  My most yet since keeping track and probably the most I've done in a week since the beginning of my pregnancy.  I was pleased to see how much this week added up to because I was pretty fatigued all week and not very motivated.  I somehow managed to force myself to get something in 6 out of 7 days.

I only did one stroller run/walk (4 miles) due to the heat but I did spend an hour and 45 minutes with Jillian Michaels this week.  I'm now on day 22 of the abs and arms challenges.  I'm really starting to hate planks but I'm still plugging away.  It was also a very fun week.  My hubby joined me three days in a row.  The most fun was a 45 minute hike with him and Megatron.  Love these boys!

In addition to the fun hike, I had a BLAST racing on Sunday!  I did the New Albany Walking Classic 10k.  My half marathon walking PR is at the New Albany race but I haven't walked the 10k since 2006!  Thinking back to that race, SOOOOO much has happened.  I didn't have a blog, a husband or a baby.  I'll post more on the race soon (so behind on race recaps!!).

I've completed 4 weeks of tracking my progress both by writing it down and blogging about it and I think both have kept me much more accountable.  Looking forward to adding it up each Sunday evening but not having the pressure of having to do a set workout each day is working.  I have to be flexible with Megatron in the picture but having a weekly goal instead of a daily goal seems much more obtainable to me right now.  I've been doing some kind of activity 6 days a week which is a huge improvement over the random 1-2 days here and there, with some weeks lacking completely.  I went ahead and printed out another 4 weeks of fitness calendars so I can keep it up.  My goal is still at least 4 hours each week but I'm seeing that 5 hours is still very reasonable.  As I get closer and closer to finishing the 30 day arms and abs challenges, I need to start looking for something new to do.  I like having the option of a quick 10-20 minute workout I can do on busy days, bad weather days, or days I'm just not into it.