Running and babies

I thought I was a bit deranged when I ran the 1998 Boston Marathon after giving birth to my youngest daughter, Hannah, when she was only 12 weeks old. But there is new DFMC runner who just gave birth on Friday (Nicholas Joseph) and has plans to run Boston in April, just 10 weeks after delivering her bundle of joy. I loved reading her "race report" this morning. Wow - she's got a great medal to show for all her hard work!

Just this past week she emailed coach Jack asking for any tips he might be willing to provide in her post-partum training, and Jack proceeded to put the two of us in touch. It really is amazing how doctors now allow and encourage women to keep up their level of physical activity, including running! I actually felt great running during my pregnancy and ran 4 miles on the hills at Newton the day before I went in for my c-section with Hannah. I wasn't fast and I don't remember running more than 10 miles during my pregnancy, but I was able to maintain a certain level of fitness that made it possible for me to run Boston that April. My expectations were low that year...just wanted to run and be a part of the DFMC team. And as it turned out I had a great race - finished in 3:02. This came as a HUGE surprise. Geez, at 44 I'd be thrilled to run that pace again!! Please note: I would not recommend getting pregnant as a race strategy!

Natalie has also been able to maintain a decent base (weekly mileage of 30 miles) AND put in long runs throughout her pregnangy. Jack and I both recommended taking it easy and giving her body the necessary time to recover, but my prediction is that she will run a great race in April.

I just discovered a new "sweet pea" pattern after reading through knitter/writer Susan Anderson's blog. This will be a great gift for the newest member in the DFMC family. Happy Birthday, Nicholas!