Here we are crossing the finish line. My sister and I had the best time. The weather was great and we completed the longest run either of us had ever done – we ran the full 1/2 marathon!
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I have read many “diet” books, some I’ve liked, some I have not liked. My awesome next door neighbor (she is a runner) really likes the South Beach Diet and she went on it in order take off her baby weight she gained after her 2nd baby – she looks great, by the way.
So she let me borrow the book. I have not read it yet but at first glance it looks like another low carb, low fat, high protein eating plan. I think I might give it a try since I’d love to knock off another 10 pounds – preferably from around my middle – I can afford to, trust me, there’s lots of jiggle in the middle, and the book does say on the front “lose belly fat first“. Oh, wait a minute, does that mean I need to lose my belly fat before I start the South Beach Diet?
Have you ever tried South Beach? What have you heard about it from people who have tried it? I’m sure it’s like most sensible diets, if you stick with it, it will work for you. Lately I have been pretty sloppy about my eating habits and want to do better, I think better eating will help me to improve my running performance, too. But I’m in need of some fresh inspiration, good recipes, an easy plan to follow, you know, to increase my chances of success!
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Yesterday I completed my first 10 mile run, in preparation for the 1/2 marathon I am running 6 weeks from now. If you’ve read my other articles you may remember that running has been the exercise that literally tips the scales for me and helps me to burn off the baby weight that I acquire during pregnancy. For some great tips on getting started running, go here.
If you’re ready to run 10 miles, or if you’ve just started running and want to take it to the next level, here are some more tips to help you (and if you have any tips to add, please feel free to do so in the comments, we can all benefit from your experiences, too). And, of course, any information you obtain from this article or from the comments is not meant to replace professional medical or fitness advice.
I listed my first five tips in the last post, go here.
Do these DURING your run:
6. Enjoy the music. As you get started, focus on your breathing and the pace you want to set, then just listen to your music. I love great music while I’m running because my mind can get lost in it and my running body goes on autopilot for a while, it helps the time and distance go by quicker.
7. Lengthen your stride slightly. If and when your joints start to bother you, try lengthening your stride slightly (do not overextend). Increasing your stride length increases the amount of ground you cover with each step and I find that it helps to alleviate any discomfort I am starting to feel in my knees during a long run. For more information on running stride and form, try this article at runnersworld.com.
8. Relax and Celebrate! It is easy for some people to tense up in their shoulders, arms and hands while running. This tension can get uncomfortable really fast. Occassionaly during a run I like to let my arms go, just to be sure I’m keeping my body relaxed. Also, at my halfway point I celebrated my accomplishment with a deep breath and a quick stretch. It felt GREAT to know I was halfway through my 10 mile run!
9. Pick up your pace. Once I’ve gotten into a good “zone” on a run, if I’m feeling pretty good, sometimes I will increase my pace at certain intervals in order to increase my stamina, calorie and fat burn. Then, when I settle back into my moderate pace (I don’t stop), it feels like a nice break and I can continue on. It is important to me not to slow down, but, rather, to speed up at intervals and return to my moderate pace.
10. Start over. When there’s only 3 miles left, your body might ache and you’ll start to get thirsty. But hey, running 3 miles is no big deal for you. Imagine that you just started a three mile run instead of dwelling on the fact that you are actually running miles 8, 9 and 10. Talk yourself through it, “A 3 mile run is no sweat for me. I’m just doing a 3 mile run. 3 miles and I’m home, done, good to go!”
Shape.com has a few more tips for you to consider as well.
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I just completed my first 10 mile run, in preparation for the 1/2 marathon I am running 6 weeks from today! If you’ve read my other articles you may remember that running has been the exercise that literally tips the scales for me and helps me to burn off the baby weight that I acquire during pregnancy. For you, it may be something different that helps you accomplish your postpartum weight loss goals, sometimes just changing up your exercise routine and challenging yourself will help you to finally torch those last (or the next) five pounds. But if you’re not sure what to do, I suggest giving running a try. For some great tips on getting started running, go here.
If you’re ready to run 10 miles, or if you’ve just started running and want to take it to the next level, here are 10 tips (5 now, 5 tomorrow) to help you (and if you have any tips to add, please feel free to do so in the comments, we can all benefit from your experiences, too). And, of course, any information you obtain from this article or from the comments is not meant to replace professional medical or fitness advice.
Do these BEFORE you run:
1. Rest. If you know you’re about to challenge yourself on your next run, don’t do something strenuous, like waterskiing, the day before, your first 2 miles of your run will be hell and you will seriously consider turning back, which won’t be good for your overall mental game if you quit before you really even get into your groove. (Yep, I went waterskiing the day before my big 10 mile run and every muscle in my body ached as I got started but by the end of 2 miles the cramps and muscle stiffness had gone away – trust me, rest the day before.)
2. Hydrate. If you plan to run in the evening, spend the day drinking water – you don’t want to drink it all an hour before you run, you’ll feel heavy and bloated, drink water slowly throughout the day to hydrate your body before you run. If you plan to run in the morning, hydrate the day before – and no wine or beer before you go to bed! 
3. Prepare your route. For a long run (or any run, really), you need to know where the heck you’re going. For me, I decided to increase my distance by adding onto a route I already take. I didn’t necessarily want to go farther from my starting point (my house) in case I really had to putter out and go back. I decided to be safe and just add on a side street and another loop through one portion of my seven mile route. I used RunningMap.com to figure out where I could go easily to accomplish a 10 mile run, without actually getting farther from my house.
4. Check the weather. It is a really good idea to check out the weather for the day of your run so that you are dressed appropriately as well as figure out an ideal time to go when the weather will work for you and not against you. As well, you need to consider the amount of time your run might take you (especially if it is a new, longer distance) so that you give yourself plenty of time to finish your run before sundown, or so that you can start your run as early as you can, taking advantage of sunrise. I love to check out Weather Underground for the hourly weather forecast as well as sunrise and sundown times for the day.
5. Update your playlist. Fresh music can be very motivating on a long run. Choose songs that energize you personally and then mix ‘em up so that you don’t know what is going to play next!
Shape.com has a few more tips for you to consider as well.
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The hair on the back of my neck bristles when I hear this comment, one I’ve heard countless times, “Oh, you probably stay in shape chasing after those four boys!” or “You’re so busy with your kids you don’t have time to eat, no wonder you’ve lost weight!”
Of course, there are always smiles and laughs accompanied by these light-hearted, somewhat complimentary words, and, to some degree, I HAVE learned to take myself and my weight issues less seriously……..so I have had to sort of evaluate why I feel this sting in my gut when those “compliments” are directed at me.
I certainly don’t look like a supermodel, far from it, but I have stamina, I’m strong, I like the way I look in my Joe’s Jeans and each time I have had a child, I have lost the extra pounds (which I had in abundance) which makes me look transformed when someone hasn’t seen me in a while. But none of these little successes happened BECAUSE I am busy with four active boys, in many ways, I think they happened IN SPITE of the fact that my kids and their constant needs could become excuses for me not to work out regularly or eat right.
When someone says, “Now I know why I used to be skinny, too, I was burning all those calories chasing my kids,” a small voice inside me yearns to receive some credit for the fact that I have to work HARD darnit to take off baby pounds, and not just once, FOUR times! I should be a freakin’ pro at weight loss by now! Yes, I have learned a lot, and yes, I do take the weight off, at least by 1 year post partum, but I sweat and strain for every pound I lose! I WISH it were as easy as just “chasing after my kids” – SHEESH! Anyway, no matter what people think, or what excuses they want to make for themselves, the reward, for me, is not in the compliments, it is in the satisfaction I feel when I put on my pre-4th-baby favorite pair of Joe’s Jeans! My reward is the 9 miles I can run, because I am grateful for a healthy body that I can discipline and train, a body that has delivered four healthy children into this world and that gets me around in life and allows me to enjoy every blessing in each present day!
It is really tough for some of us moms to have a baby and then feel like everyone is watching to see what your body will do this time. At some point I realized that taking care of my body had to become a priority, not just for me but for my family. Once, when my third son was almost a year old, I got stuck overnight in Atlanta at the airport when our connecting flight had “mechanical difficulities”. I was alone with my three kids and they were shuttling planes full of people to hotels at midnight. I waited as shuttle after shuttle quickly filled up with people while me, my three kids, with stroller, bags and car seat, hung back with the poor folks in wheelchairs because none of us were quick enough to shove our way onto the buses! It was a frustrating, exhausting and lonely 48 hours for me and my kids and I truly think the only reason I was able to physically do it (and not lose my cool with my kids) was because I had been taking good care of my body and I was physically up to the challenge of hauling three kids age 4 and under around airports and hotels and onto planes in an unknown city where an airline endangered us, but did finally deliver us, to our destination.
As moms we have difficult choices to make, we are caregivers and professionals but we are also women, with one body and one chance to keep it healthy. Sometimes I think it is harder work to protect the priority of healhy fitness habits than it is to actually burn through a 9 mile run (let alone a 30 minute workout!) or plan a healthy balanced meal for us to eat. Sadly, in my experience, as much as I wish it were true, extra weight does not melt as a result of the daily, however important, task of “chasing after my kids”. Maybe I don’t think they want to really hear what I do, or maybe I am just enjoying my small successes within myself, but I usually just smile and think to myself, “Weight loss, for moms, or anyone, is a goal that is first acknowledged, visualized, worked for, and accomplished. And ANYONE can do that.”
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