That’s me 12 weeks after giving birth to my first child, finishing a very muddy Warrior Dash, a 3-mile obstacle course with fire, barbed wire, swimming, robe climbing, and all the ankle twisting mud you could ever want. I couldn’t run the whole thing, but I crossed the finish line!
By Alicia Barnes, liciabobesha.com
Finding time to train for a half marathon as a mommy has been way easier than I ever expected. While I can’t maintain a rigid training schedule, I’ve found that running is the perfect flexible workout to keep me strong, lean, and happy.
To train for a half marathon, most plans recommend just 3-4 runs a week with 2-3 crosstraining days. For beginners these runs start off at 2 or 3 miles or about 30 to 40 minutes if you’re just getting started and doing a mix of run/walking. To me this is a light commitment because I’ve realized if I can’t find 30 to 40 minutes for myself 4x a week, then my life is seriously out of balance.
Here’s a quick run-through of how I train plus ideas for all moms who are interested in running as well:
1. When to run
Early morning
Running before the day begins has lots of great perks. Starts the day off with a bang and if it’s the first thing you do, it’s hard to let other things get in the way. I like early morning weekend runs because it also helps the child care problem. If I run in the morning before my husband goes to work, he’s there to take care of the baby.
Lunch break
I don’t need 60 minutes to eat. I actually eat my lunch earlier in the morning and use my full lunch break to work out. Some days I run, other days I go to yoga or an aerobics class for cross training. I do the majority of my workouts at lunch time which works great if you work outside the home like me.
2. Running with the kid(s) around
When at home with kids, you can still get your run on by using jogging strollers and treadmills though they both have their drawbacks.
Jogging stroller
The jogging stroller isn’t my favorite. It changes my gait. Pushing my 30lb toddler uphill pretty much sucks, so I keep runs with the jogging stroller to no more than 4 miles. I couldn’t imagine pushing two in a jogging stroller, but sometimes you have to do what you have to do. When I’m using a jogging stroller, I don’t worry about my time. Instead, I view it as resistance training as if I were running with weights or dragging a tire behind me. I know I’m getting stronger with it and it’ll make me faster when I’m not running with it.
Treadmill
Treadmills are great for when the weather is bad. If you have one at home, you can use it while the baby naps or plays on his own. The downside of treadmills is they’re not really like running on the road because the track helps your feet keep moving. But they’re great to get a run indoors. I sometimes use the treadmill at the gym for speed runs when it’s very hot or very cold outside.
3. Creative Crosstraining
Training for a half marathon is not all about running. Crosstraining, or non running exercise, is important to condition all muscles, Crosstraining promotes recovery and stretching, discouraging your running muscles from getting overworked. Being a mother has changed my crosstraining more than any other part of my work out.
Dance party
My absolute favorite crosstraining is putting on music with a good beat and dancing with my toddler. We really dance. We stomp, we squat, we run back and forth and jump up and down. I pick him up and swing him around. I alternate hammer curls using him as the weight with cha-cha-chas. We spin until we are dizzy. We laugh until our abs hurt. I get a full body workout and so does he. Some sessions are as short as 10 minutes but he usually will keep going until I stop. I loved working these in especially on days when I missed my planned workout, but honestly I do them several times a week. If I start sweating, then it counts as crosstraining.
Yoga
I go to a lunchtime hardcore yoga class twice a week. Most days I run after this class as well allowing me to get stretch, strength, and cardio all in the same day.
Aerobics
I also attend lunchtime aerobics classes like step. These 60-minute long cardio workouts are usually all I do the days that I do them. For at home, I love dvds to get these type of workouts in. I credit Yoga Booty Ballet several years ago helping me finally get into a fitness routine I could sustain.
Doing the above, when I could really got me ready for my last race. I did almost all of my preparation in 60 minutes or less through Monday-Friday with the following exceptions:
Long runs
For a half marathon you only need a few runs longer than an hour to prepare. These runs take more time than a lunch break and I couldn’t do them with a jogging stroller. I was lucky to go part time, so I was able to run in the afternoon while my child was at childcare, but I also put them on the family calendar so my husband was prepared to be home by a certain time so I could get my long runs in.
Missed runs
If I had to schedule a run on a weekend, it was usually because I missed a run due to work, illness, a bad day, a meeting, weather, or life getting in the way. As I said, running is flexible. If you miss one day, it’s not a big deal as long as you’re being consistently active otherwise. If you can’t make all the runs you like, mostly you’ll just be slower than you could have been, but that’s no reason not to race.
So that’s how I train, and it works great for me. I just ran the Rock and Roll New Orleans half marathon. I was really worried because I hadn’t gotten in all the runs I had wanted. I hadn’t trained as fast as I wanted. Then on top of it, I was training in mostly 20-40 degree weather and the race temperature was in the 60s with 100% humidity. I had to find shorts and tank top to run in. Despite it all, I still got a new personal records of 13.1 miles in 1:57:47. Running is forgiving that way. If you work hard when you’re able to work, then you’ll race well. It’s not about perfect training. It’s simply about lacing up and getting out there.
***
Alicia lives and runs in a small college town that often challenges her resolve to live as simply and as stress-free as possible. When she’s not working, rereading the same children’s books, cooking, or wondering how crunchy she’s become, she’s busy updating her site, liciabobesha.com. You can follow her on facebook.
