Joanna runs again, but slowly

I finally had my first post-partum run! This Wednesday morning I laced up my shoes and headed out for what I promised myself would be an easy 20 minute jog. It was 20 minutes, and it was at an "easy" pace, but it wasn't easy! I have a few good excuses--I'm 5 weeks post-partum, it was blazing hot and humid, and it has been two months since I did anything like pretend to run, and that run at 8 months wasn't terribly athletic. So while I didn't expect it to be as hard as it was, I was really pleased with it. While I ran, I got so excited by realizing that the world of fitness is open to me again. I can run, do other cardio, lift weights, do more yoga, etc. I can't wait to get back into decent shape!! And...that's right...training for Indy should be starting here in a few weeks. Meg (my friend and currently-long-distance running partner) and I will probably start to draft a training schedule soon. I'm so excited. Seriously. You have no idea.

yoga dvd

Recently a friend asked for a recommendation on a yoga dvd. Like me, she was afraid of buying something, getting it home, and realizing that it is really lame. I have a dvd called Yoga & Sculpting by Karen Voight that I've really liked. N borrowed it while I was pregnant and enjoyed it. Like all exercise dvds, once you've done it so many times it starts to get easy, or at least easier, as your body adjusts to the routine. Regardless, I like this and have gotten more than enough distance out of it to recommend it. It has 25 minutes of yoga, 20 minutes of pilates, and a 40 minute workout that has a short cardio warm-up, followed by legs, butt, arms & back, and ab workouts.

Elliot!

My husband and I welcomed our son, Elliot Finnegan, into the world on May 22, 2008 at 6:14 pm. He weighed 7lb. 15oz. Both Elliot and I were healthy and doing well following the birth. Thank you to everyone who prayed for us!! I'm not going to post details about labor and delivery here; email me if you'd like more information. :)

Life at home with a newborn has been a learning experience. I love watching him figure things out about the world, like the fact that he can control his arms and hands. My husband has been a great father and an amazing source of comfort and support for me over the last five weeks. All told, we're a happy, healthy little family.

Finally, some pictures. The first is (obviously) me right before he was born. This was taken 4 days before, actually. The second picture was taken about 2 minutes after his birth. The third was taken at home maybe a week later. Of course, I have many, many more pictures of him. Let me know if you'd like to see more!

Pregnancy and yoga

A few years ago I was doing a lot of yoga because it kept me limber and kept my arms and upper back toned without using weights. I enjoyed yoga, but didn't regard it as a primary source of exercise. Well, my friends, prenatal yoga is another story.

These days, I look like this:

It's beautiful and I'm a happy pregnant woman, so what I'm about to say is not meant to be a complaint. That said, at 38 weeks there is just a lot of weight to carry around. My back, calves, hamstrings, and especially my hips get very tight. Sometimes I find myself at 3am stretching at the foot of the bed. Prenatal yoga is the solution! I find that if I do about 30 minutes every 3 days or so, and do some walking in the interim, I stay fairly comfortable.

At the risk of sounding like a commercial, I'm going to endorse the DVD I use. For Christmas my husband gave me "Prenatal Vinyasa Yoga with Jennifer Wolfe." I had read reviews of it online before asking him for it. I was afraid of getting a DVD that was, well, frankly, lame. The Jennifer Wolfe DVD is for people who have done yoga before. It's rigorous enough that I think I'll continue to use it after the baby is born. It's also nice in that it demonstrates alternative poses for women in various stages of pregnancy.

My due date is two weeks from today, so it could be any time now! Stay tuned.

A brilliant idea

Tonight while on the phone with my brother I was explaining that I was burning up because I had just consumed a cup of decaf coffee. He asked why I was drinking coffee if it was making me too warm. I told him I'd brewed it because I was thirsty. His response? "You know, I've never considered coffee a thirst quencher. If it were meant to quench thirst there would be a coffee flavored Gatorade."

Why has no one thought of this? It's brilliant. Runners could still (sort of) have their morning coffee, hydrate rather than dehydrate, and get all of those electrolytes. Starbucks could cash in on this.

"What will it be this morning?"
"I'll have a mocha latte Gatorade, please. Hold the whipped cream."
"That will be $4.73."

I'm buying stock now. You'll soon find this in my Catalog of Obscure Running Gear, right after the maternity dry-fit clothing section.

Shout out, Nashville edition

Congratulations to Debby Rehn for finishing her first half-marathon this past weekend in Nashville!! Not only did Debby finish, she beat her goal time, finishing in 1 hour 57 minutes 25 seconds. Good job!!

As for my efforts, it isn't even particularly comfortable to walk much anymore. The baby has moved down as far as humanly possible, so there is a good bit of pressure from time to time. I will however be walking and/or doing prenatal yoga tomorrow. It's high time! In either case I'm not sure how much I'll be able to do, but it will feel good to get some exercise.

Shout out, Boston Marathon edition

A big congratulations to my TNT coach, Harley Johnson, for completing the Boston Marathon in 2:49:21! That's an average pace of 6 minutes 28 seconds per mile. Way to go!!

I also heard through the grapevine that some of my teammates are gearing up for their next races. It looks like one will be running Indy with Meg and me in October. A few are planning on doing the Chicago Marathon. Two of my former teammates are coaching the TNT fall team. I think they'll be great coaches. The fall team kicks off here in a few weeks. I can't wait to take my baby for early morning strolls and see the team while they train! All around, very exciting news from my little community of runners!