ashleyd /

Weekly Workout Recap– August 16th–23rd

Workout Recap 8.23.17

I’m thrilled to reintroduce a series that I used to feature on the blog, my weekly workout recap. Now that I have permission from my doctor to return to workouts, I’m excited to start sharing my workouts with you all on a weekly basis. Even though I had very little time to think about workouts the first two months of motherhood, I definitely missed the sweat and endorphins that follow a workout. In addition, I’ve received lots of questions from you guys about what I’m doing now that I received a clean bill of health from my OB-GYN last week.  While I’ve been cleared for all workouts, though it is recommended and only smart to ease back into things, I’m choosing to frequent post-baby or mommy and me workouts right now versus the typical, boutique fitness or group fitness workouts. Why you ask? Well, honestly, at this point in my life, it is a great way to build a commmunity and find support from other parents who are going through the same evolution that I am. In addition, since most of them include childcare or incorporate Katie into the workout, it means that I don’t have to think through the process of working out super early or late, before or after Bo goes to work. Don’t get me wrong. Once in a while I definitely want to meet friends for a workout, but these will most likely be reserved for Saturday workout and brunch dates.

So, now that we’ve covered those bases, let’s get to last week’s workouts, shall we?  In addition to the post-baby workouts I found while researching options a few weeks ago, you’ll see that I’ve discovered a few additional options due in part to the comments I received after sharing that post. 

  • August 16th – My friend Elizabeth convinced me to give CrossFit South Brooklyn’s Diapers & Dumbbells workout a try. I’m so glad she helped me overcome my intimidation of this workout as it is a great option for local parents! The postpartum focused Crossfit workout is designed to help new moms and partners return to exercise while inviting them to bring their children to the workout. The 1-hour class was taught by postnatal certified insturctors and included warm-up, strength and conditioning portions. My favorite exercises were the hanging lat shrugs and the sled push, two exercises that I’d never done before but each of which made me feel SO strong!  While I broke a sweat, Katie and the other children were just a few feet away being cared for by two lovely women who quickly cuddled with the kids, replaced pacifiers and played with them. Katie slept for half the class and then enjoyed some time on her blanket for the rest of the workout.
  • August 17th – Between running errands and going to visit a friend, I walked 5.8 miles throughout the course of the day.
  • August 18th – Total Body Balance workout from Gina’s Post Baby Bod ebook which included six exercises that I did in a circuit, each of which enaged the core and required a focus on balance.
  • August 19th – Bo offered to spend the morning with Katie so I could squeeze in my first post-baby Orangetheory workout. It was great to catch up with the Park Slope Orangetheory staff as they have become friends after all the workouts we took from December until June. The class was a strength class which was the perfect way to return to Orangetheory as I love the challenge of lifting heavier weights and learning new movements. As always, their head coach, Robin, did a great job providing me with a few adjustments for the ab series but otherwise I was able to do everything without modifications. For the treadmill portion I increased the incline and speed but stuck with power walking for my first week of woring out versus running or jogging.
  • August 20th – Rest Day
  • August 21st – Bo and I walked 1.5 miles to Katie’s pediatrician early Monday morning and then later that afternoon I completed the Total Body Workout from Gina’s Post Baby Bod ebook.
  • August 22nd – I met two local moms for a 3.5 mile stroller walk around Brooklyn Bridge Park. This was a nice change of scenery from my typical walking routes and will hopefully be a place that I frequent with her at least once a week. Since it requires a subway or cab ride to get there, I don’t think I can swing it too often but the cool breeze coming off the water and the city views were so nice as was meeting new moms.
  • August 23rd – This morning I was able to enjoy a 45-minute body-weight workout in Carroll Park with two other moms while Katie napped nearby. The workout, taught by Carolyn of CLT wellness, was a body-weight workout that leveraged the park benches and nearby basketball courts to help us break a sweat in a safe, efficient way. It was exactly what I needed today! The fresh air, breeze and cooler temps were great for Katie, while I benefited from the workout and comraderie after a tough night and morning with a fussy baby.
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ashleyd /

Marathon Training and CrossFit

Hi everyone! I’m Meg and I blog at RunFitKin about my life as a runner, crossfitter and wife/puppymom (and hopefully person-mom within the next year!) Being a runner the majority of my life, I’ve always viewed myself as someone whose strength and ability was built on running around an oval or on a cross country course.

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So when my husband approached me about trying this crazy new workout program called CrossFit, I was nervous to step outside my comfort zone. I was also intimidated. At the time I was struggling to even do push-ups on my knees! I knew that I would be frustrated with my lack of strength but John was encouraging and we took the leap, mainly because he wanted to lose weight and I wanted to get out of a running slump. I found out a couple of things right away.

  1.  Everything is scaleable, it didn’t matter that I couldn’t do a pull-up, there were bands to help me. It didn’t matter that my flexibility was limiting, there were mobility exercises to practice to get me more limber. It didn’t matter that I didn’t finish first in all of the WODs, my “boxmates” (fellow class members) were always there to cheer me on.
  2. I was the best runner out of everyone. Now this was important to me, especially in the beginning because I have a big ego. I have a “medium size fish”, little pond mentality going on over here. Being good at running showed me that everyone has strengths and weaknesses in CF. The slower runners at our gym were some of our strongest athletes. I wanted their skills and they wanted some of mine, together we gave each other tips and cheered each other on and challenged each other to do better. We believed in each other through and through. It made me find my fire for running again.
  3. I started to believe anything was possible.

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Which brings me to my marathon story. When I moved to Seattle and realized that adults don’t really run XC or track, I was sort of at a loss. I ran a few 5ks, then my first half marathon. I told myself I could never do a full marathon; half was tough enough. But then curiosity got to me, and I signed up for the 2009 Vancouver Marathon. My training was all over the place and I DNFed at mile 10, knowing that I wouldn’t be able to make it through all 26 miles without serious pain. I wasn’t ready.

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Fast forward to 2012. After a big PR in a half marathon in 2011, just 4 months into crossfitting, I could feel the difference in my core. My mentality was stronger and I had much more confidence in myself. I was ready to try Vancouver again in 2012. I used the Run Less, Run Faster training plan, which pairs hard miles with cross training. I used Crossfit instead of biking or swimming and found myself hoping to BQ on my second attempt at the marathon.

While the BQ didn’t happen, I did finish my first marathon sub-4, after injuring myself in mile 14. My physical therapist has told me that it was no fault of Crossfit or even a lack of training that got me injured, she believes I’d been overcompensating for weak hips and glutes for years.

I returned for another marathon after some strength work both in PT and in CF, and hit a 15-minute PR in the race. While training I also gained a few PRs in lifts at Crossfit. I was proving to myself that I could maintain Crossfit strength and run pretty well (though still no BQ).

I won’t pretend that you can be top notch at both sports simultaneously. When training for marathons or attempting to be competitive in half marathons, Crossfit takes on a cross training role for me. I will go twice or three times a week and prioritize my mileage over Crossfit. I will commit a Crossfit sin and cherry pick my WODs. For instance if something is going to burn out my legs on a morning of a track workout, I’ll skip the WOD so that I can bring a strong performance to the track. This is how I manage to keep my love of Crossfit in moderation with my love of running.

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When I’m not training for big running goals, I focus on Crossfit. I can now run a happy pace and hit “good enough for me” times on half marathons and sometimes surprise myself at shorter distances. The advantages I have gained from doing both sports has me convinced that this is the formula for me. My next big goal, which is a very lofty one, is a sub 1:30 half marathon. I plan to do  Crossfit about twice a week and average 40 miles/week.

While there a program called crossfit endurance, I’m still not sold on it. I may experiment for my next full and see if CF endurance can get me to 3:30 (or below). I have not seen many women be competitive runners and competitive crossfitters. I would love to learn from anyone who has that experience!

Have you tried crossfit?

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