The little toddler man, who turns 3 next week (!), is on to me. He "notices" when I'm gone on Saturday mornings, and when I'm in my smelly running clothes. Last weekend, when I ran a race and got home, he had put it together. "Mommy, you run with your friends." I smiled. Yes, Mommy does run with her friends. "Mommy, you stinky." Yep! It's sweet. I hope as a running mama it's a good example for my kids -- find something active you love and do it. Now, what do I do when he wants to come with? I was able to get my oldest when he was 15 to run with me from time to time, but a 3-year-old? I will have to cross that bridge later. When he can ride a bike alongside me. :)
Mommy was indeed stinky last weekend after running the Shamrock Shuffle 8K in Chicago -- and scoring a nice little 10-second PR of 42:53 (av. 8:37-minute mile, which is great for me). I actually do not like this race -- with 20,000 people and a RED Shamrock shirt this year, coincidentally the same color as the Bank of America corporate red, I'm done with it. But I'll take my PR and banana, for sure.
I've had a few PRs since having Baby C a year ago, but I'm getting to a point where that's going to stop unless I start working on speed. So, if any running friends are reading this, I'd love a one-day a week, non-track suggestion of something I can do easily at 5 a.m., because that's my running time, folks.
Happy running!
About Me
- Tammy
- After years of sloth, I am now a mama who runs and practices yoga. I write about exercise; parenting a grownup child as well as two little kids; and whatever is annoying me at the moment.
Hey running Mama! For speed work (which is awesome, and you'll definitely notice a difference), what about adding some intervals into a five-miler? Or, commit to one weekday run to do fartleks (a Swedish word) for the five-miler.
ReplyDeleteHere's a definition:The technique here is to introduce into your normal runs some short periods of slightly higher pace. Maintain these for a short period, say 200-400m (aim for a bend in the road, power pole or some other landmark up ahead). Then drop your pace back below your normal running pace, or slow to a jog, until you have fully recovered and your breathing has returned to normal. Then return to running at your normal pace, and put in another slightly fast interval later in the run. In this way you are putting a slight extra stress on your system which will, in time, lead to an improvement in your speed and in your anaerobic threshold.