White Lie of Omission : Sodus 2013

Ok.  It's time.  I owe you guys an apology.  I haven't been completely honest with you, and it's time to fix that.  Let's not call it a lie, ok?  Let's call it a small fib by omission.  Read on.

You see, in my post pregnancy recaps, I've played it real.  I've had some struggles with being a new mommy, in terms of kiddo eating and sleeping.  Everyone's got stumbling blocks, right?  I'm okay with it.  We're learning, day by day.  And about the only things keeping me sane are my husband, who is an awesome daddy and partner, and my "Rae time", which is the one sacred hour I get a day to do what I want.

A sane person would nap.  Since when am I sane?

As I've alluded to, I have been extremely lucky and blessed physically during this pregnancy and post partum.  I was able to run up until the week before I delivered, I biked two days before I delivered, and swam the day I went into labor.  I've also been lucky since kiddo was born - I started biking again 5 days after delivering (I know, I know) and was swimming and running two weeks pp.

So I got a little crazy.  Remember how I told you about Greg's and my first triathlon back in 2005?  Sodus.  It's a nice little sprint tri about 45 minutes from home, and we've done it every year since '05.  First triathlon.  First triathlon as a Glaser.  Sprint PR.  Every year, good or bad, I've crossed the finish line.  Sometimes with Greg, sometimes well ahead, sometimes well behind.  The tri was set for August 11.  And I knew I would be cheering Greg on from the sidelines.

But a few weeks after giving birth, I started to get ideas.  Crazy ones.  And I biked.  And swam, and slowly started running (with depends.  Nah, just kidding.).  But...could I do this?  I talked to the grandparents.  They agreed to help out, even though I know they all thought I was losing my mind.

So I did it.  5 weeks post partum, I did a sprint tri.  And here's my race report.

 

Pre Race: Hah, whats routine?  I was up at 1am to feed, and again at 3:30.  I topped off little one at 6am as Greg got all our stuff together, grabbed some peanut butter toast and coffee, packed the diaper bag, stroller and little dude, and we were off.  When we got to the race site, Greg stayed with the kiddo in the car while I grabbed my number and set up my transition.  Then we swapped.  Little dude was AWESOME and napped for the full hour before the race, and the grandparents showed up to round out our cheering section.  Rob, of course, had the best outfit-an official onesie!  I had some milk pumped and ready to go, so he didn't have to miss his 9am feeding.  With a big smile and ready to play, Greg and I headed out to the water.

Swim (800 meters) 17:12 (included a short run to transition).  It's important to know that I had no intention of racing this race.  My goal was 1:40, about 20 minutes off my PR on this course.  I haven't swam with any structure in 7 months, and I've been taking my runs and bikes super easy.  I've had no workouts over an hour since before I get pregnant.  So this was a day of fun and listening to my body.  With that said, the swim was great.  A bit choppy, a bit congested, but I took it easy and enjoyed life.  When I got out of the water, it was one of my slower swims, but one of my better ones...I was just so happy to be out there!  With a smile on my face, I headed out to bike the 13 miles.

Bike (13 miles):  42:06 (18.6 mph):  THE BIKE!  Usually it's my least favorite (I am a big chicken).  Must be something about giving birth that teaches you to push through pain and to breathe, but the hills felt great, the wind in my face felt great, and my legs were ready to go!  I got out of breath a bit more easily (I have not biked outside since last fall, and no hills on the trainer since month 4 of pregnancy).  I'll say it again.  I was just so damn happy to be out there that I loved every second.  And it showed.  I rolled into T2 only 2 minutes off my best time on this course (it's hilly).

Run:  3.2 miles: 28:13 (9:08 mile)  As I rolled out of T2, I waved to my little man and headed out for the run! This is usually my favorite part, but I knew I would have to take it super easy, as I haven't done a brick yet this season.  So I took it out to have fun (are we sensing a theme here?)  I walked both big hills, took water at the aid station, and smiled the whole way.  My legs gave protest a bit, but I reveled in the "Rae" time, and enjoyed not playing mommy for the race!  As I rounded the last turn, about a quarter of a mile to the finish, a guy came up behind me and said "lets blow this thing in", so we raced to the finish.  He just edged me out, but since he had a Kona visor on, I considered it legit.  The race announcer (friends of ours) announced my name and that I just had a baby 5 weeks earlier.  All the people at the finish line looked at me like I had two heads, but I didn't care, I was so happy!! 

Post Race:  I grabbed my little man, thanked the grandparents, and we waited for Daddy to finish (the guys start 5 minutes after the girls).  We socialized with our fellow triathletes, and introduced our little athlete all around!  My official time was 1:31:24, which is 10 minutes off my PR for this course, but I easily had the best Sodus race ever.  And here's the best part- I managed to snag 3rd place in my age group (out of 10) and finished in the top 20% of the women!  Woot woot!

Even though it probably wasn't the smartest idea in the world, I am so happy I did it.  I never stressed my body, and I got the green light from my OB to resume all physical activity (she probably didn't have a tri in mind, but hey, since when do I listen to reason?).  I'm not saying this is the right thing for every brand new mom to do, but I think my activity level during the pregnancy made it possible, along with an easy delivery and return to activity as soon as possible.  Since exercise is my stress relief, I've really needed it since our kiddo has been born.  And I hope to set a positive example for him for the rest of his life by doing it.  Oh yeah, and I also had to show off  my new MIM's status (Moms in Motion)-Greg gave me a jersey and membership for a "push present", which was so perfect.  This mom is in motion!

So what's next?  Well, you guys know I need something for my sanity.  Rochester Half Marathon, on deck!  Time goals?  Nope.  I'm following a super lax training plan (more to come).  I believe this is whats keeping me from going over the edge with my sleepless hungry monster- when daddy spells mommy, she goes for a run.  My sanity and pre pregnancy pants thank you :-)

So there ya go. I promise I won't keep stuff like that from you guys anymore.  Thanks for reading along with my crazy adventure!  Have you ever done anything slightly crazy to keep your sanity?