Buggyfit

I mentioned in a recent post that I was going to try out a buggyfit class in an attempt to regain some fitness. So on Tuesday morning I dusted off my trainers, packaged Hannah up in her pram and with some trepidation power walked (because as usual I was late) off to Butts Close, Hitchin.

There were 8 of in the class, all of us new as none of the usuals were there which meant at least the class could be tailored to us a little bit better. We started by strolling round the park, did some stretching and then power walked around the park. We then did some reps of lunges (with the pram, an interesting test in co-ordination), some pelvic floor exercises and some cardio work (running or power walking) around part of the park and finished off with some exercises for triceps and abs.

I really enjoyed it and felt I was able to be quite energetic which was a nice surprise. That said, it was harder than I expected and I know that even at my most fit, that number of lunges would have made my legs hurt. Anyway, I paid for 10 classes up front so I will have to keep going now. Even better, Hannah loved being jostled around in her Nipper 360 and slept through the whole class, well worth it!

And now? Well, 2 days later I am suffering from the lunges and my legs are sore...but I am sure I will recover!

I'm watching you!

For those of you that don't know, I work for (when I am not on maternity leave) a well known online travel company. One of things that is important to the team I work in is knowing how people find your site. given this professional interest, I thought it would be interesting to have a look at who was landing on my blog and how they were getting there.
First of all, don't worry, I can't tell who anyone is! But I can see what words they entered into google to find this blog.
Unsurprisingly, the most popular words in google which bring up my blog are "half marathon" and "half marathon training blog", I suppose that makes sense. But imagine my mortification when I discovered that someone recently typed "very unfit marathon training" into Google and ended up reading my blog as a result! Ouch!

From marathon to Buggyfit in 15 months!

Regular readers to this blog will remember that in November 2008 I ran the New York Marathon. When I look back on the run up to New York, I realise how fit I was then with plenty of runs along with circuit training. Things are a little different now as I can count the number of runs I've done in the last 6 months on one hand!

I'll blog at a late date about my plan to get fit again (I do have one) but I thought I'd let you know about my newest fitness adventure, Buggyfit! I'm going to my first class tomorrow (my cold permitting) and I am not entirely sure about what to expect. According to their blurb, it's the "ultimate fitness class for mums and babies" although I don't think the babies really get a work out as they lie back and watch from their prams and snuggly and warm in their footmuffs! The class is an hour long and apparently will involve a 3-5 mile route in total...that's about my current speed so fingers crossed I should be ok!

I'll report back once I have been...

Racing again...but not training

I've not blogged (or trained really!) in a while but I did a couple of races in December.
My post-Hannah debut was the third of the Stevenage 5k series on December 10th. I think my training for that race consisted of the run described below and one other (about 40 minutes in very wet conditions!) so I was slightly concerned about how I would get on. But, 5k is only 3 and a bit miles and I survived unscathed! I ran all the way round, even feeling comparatively strong in the last kilometre and finished in an unimpressive time of 31:19. How times have changed, I was very happy indeed with my unimpressive time!

My next race was the Pirton Boxing Day Run, a very friendly, relaxed local off road 3 and a bit mile race. I have to admit I didn't run at all between these 2 races (although in my defence I do a lot of walking with the pram). And yes, no training and a muddy slushy course is hard work. However, I did really enjoy it (but I did have to go to bed at 8:30 that night as I was so tired).

Running Mummy

I've been sitting on the sofa and thinking about getting back into my training and in true Lindsay style I've been doing some research...

I wondered how soon other runners started back running after having a baby (Hannah is just over 10 weeks old at the moment). Turns out there are loads of running mummys out there just desperate to get their trainers back on. It certainly seems like there isn't a right or a wrong answer, just start back when you feel like it!

So, once I realised I could run whenever I felt like it, I decided to go for a run instead of just thinking about it. This was made easier by the fact that I have been spending the week in Preston with my parents so I had some day time babysitters just ready to be deployed. Yesterday, I fed Hannah, left her with Grandma and went for a run for the first time since the end of July and it was great, I loved it! I ran/walked for about 40 minutes and even dodged the rain (which in Preston is quite an achievement!)

Today I have sore legs and bending down to pick Hannah up or put something into the pram and crouching on the floor to do nappy changes was...er...interesting...I've got a long way to go.

Hopefully before long, I won't need a babysitter to go running, I'll be able to take Hannah with me in her pram:

Starting all over again

I've not run since 23 July (and even then I wasn't running a lot) and I think it is about time I started running again. However, there are a couple of obstacles to overcome:

I am very unfit at the moment!

I am very lardy...

Although Hannah sleeps well, I am still a little lacking in sleep

Hannah makes it a bit tricky to find the time to fit running in
I've entered a 5k on 10 December, mmm, maybe not the most sensible thing I have ever done, I need to get from nothing to being able to run 5k in less than a month! I've also entered the Pirton Boxing Day fun run but I've got a bit more time to prepare for that one!
So, where to start? I think I'll sit on the sofa and think about it for a while!

Why I haven't run (or blogged) for a while...

Hannah Louise Cook (12 September)

I reckon I have a good excuse...