Jodi’s Running Blog

I have had some great running experiences this week, the best of which was my 4.25 mile Labor Day race in Woodinville, WA. Gabriel accompanied me in the stroller. There is nothing quite like pushing a 25 pound child in a stroller with the front wheel locked, and having to generate upper body strength constantly to keep it straight or to maneuver turns. Lately when I finish running with him, my arms have received the greater workout over my lower extremities! In any case, running with Gabriel has been a great chance for further bonding with my boy. He’s delightful, cooperative, and starts babbling/singing to me about two miles into every run.

Here is the summary of my week:

• Sunday, 8/31: ran/walked easy 3 miles (outdoors), pushing Gabriel in the stroller; 33:15 total (11:04/mile); post-call on this day, but wanted some gentle mileage
  Monday, 9/1: Super Jock N Jill Half-Marathon and 4.25 mile run (I opted for the shorter of the two choices), pushing Gabriel in the stroller: 37:03 total (8:43/mile).
       - Stats: Mile 1 - 9:21, Mile 2 - 8:15, Mile 3 - 8:41, Mile 4 - 8:51, Final 1/4 mile - 1:55; placed third in my age group out of 26; 43rd overall (women) out of 214 total
  Wednesday, 9/3: ran/walked easy 3.1 miles (outdoors) with the family (which included pushing Gabriel in the stroller), 37:22 (12:04/mile)
  Thursday, 9/4: ran 4 miles (treadmill - 5:30AM before work), 38:18 (9:35/mile)
  Saturday, 9/5: ran 5 miles (outdoors), 41:54 (8:22/mile) - this was a terrific run, run at a comfortable pace, from my home across the I-90 pedestrian bridge toward Mercer Island. Gorgeous weather, lots of fellow runners and cyclists out, and a little excitement over the thought of getting closer to that sub-50 minute 10k one month from now.
• Total mileage for the week: 19.35 miles

I’m looking forward to another week of fitness. It’s feeling wonderful for running to be fun again. When I first started back, it felt a bit like a chore, which was not going to work for me, since there is a lot of strategy that goes into squeezing in workouts. Now that it’s feeling fun, I can get myself out of bed at 5:30AM more easily, or I can push the stroller more eagerly.

Here’s to another week!

What an eventful week. Barack Obama accepted his party’s nomination as he continues to strive for the presidency. John McCain named his VP choice in Alaska governor, Sarah Palin. Residents of New Orleans are fleeing from a hurricane only three years after Hurricane Katrina. My thoughts are definitely with them at this time.

It has also been an eventful week for running (for me, anyway). Still fired up about the men’s and women’s Olympic marathons, I remain enthusiastic enough to drag myself out of bed very early on some mornings. I managed to run four times this past week, and I’m once again getting that “toned” feeling that one has after several weeks of consistent exercise. Love it! I’m going to try to start posting my weekly summaries of mileage as I prepare for the Salmon Days 10k on October 5th.

Sunday, 8/24: 4 miles (treadmill) - no time available
Wednesday, 8/27: 3.5 miles (treadmill) - no time available
Thursday, 8/28: 5 miles (outdoors - Judkins Park/Smith Park/Lake Washington Blvd) - 46:08 (9:14/mile)
Saturday, 8/30: 3.1 miles (treadmill) - 29:34 (9:32/mile)

I’m getting there, albeit slowly. I keep finding I’m tempted to run faster or farther, but I’m still fearful of injury as it seems that each time I seriously commit to training something happens (ie, the pubic ramus stress fracture in 2006). I know it’s best to slowly build a mileage base and not to push things too quickly, but I’m conscious of the fact that if I become injured, then I will not be running at all, which is worse than running slowly. Therefore, I’m mostly not recording times because I don’t want to be disappointed and I don’t want the pressure there to push myself. It would be nice to finally run that sub-50 minute 10k on October 5th, but I’m not there yet, and I don’t want to be upset if I fall short when, in reality, I’m just grateful that I’m back into the sport regularly, despite many demands on my time.

I think I’m going to take Little G to Woodinville, WA on Labor Day for a 4.25 mile race. It might be fun to push him in the stroller for a morning jog! I love my runs with him the best. I’m still hopeful that he will want to try running after accompanying his mother on her outings.

After beginning to run with any regularity again at the end of July, I’m still at it one month later. I have been running 3-4 times weekly, three to four miles per run. This morning I was going to go for four, and stopped at 3.5 because of a pesky side cramp that would not take its leave. I have been experiencing a lot of these lately, which I suppose means I should slow down, but I already feel like I’m running slowly, given how I used to run.

On Sunday afternoon during a particularly successful 4 mile run, I was contemplating what sorts of distances I would like to take on in the next few months. My short-term goal is the Salmon Days 10k on October 5th in Issaquah, WA. At the end of October is the Pumpkin Push 5k, and then I even considered the Seattle Half-Marathon on November 30th. Unfortunately I am on call that day, so I am in the process of trying to switch call days with one of my colleagues. I may not be able to find anyone, though. I suppose a half-marathon at this point is a bit of a long shot since I haven’t been disciplined in my running until the past month, and I’m getting side cramps at three miles, so maybe I’m not ready yet. We’ll see how things go in September.

In my frustration about not having enough hours in the day to run regularly, I have revisited the idea of running in the evenings while pushing Gabriel in the Bob Revolution. And you know what? It’s much more delightful in many ways than running alone is. It adds a great deal of difficulty to a distance run having to push that thing - plus the 25 pound boy sitting in it. I mostly avoid the steep hills because I’m afraid the stroller might take off on its own if I lose control of it. However, overall, it’s working well. Last night we went for a four mile run through Judkins Park, across 23rd Avenue and MLK, JR into Smith Park, through the Mount Baker tunnel, and onto the I-90 pedestrian bridge. Gabriel sat very quietly through the first two miles, taking in his surroundings, enjoying the cars on one side and the water on the other, and every now and then will look up at me as I say hello to him to remind him that I’m still there. On the way back home, he eagerly babbles, says “mamamamama,” and starts laughing for no apprent reason. Hopefully he laughs because he’s feeling very contented.

I hope that his accompanying me on some of my runs will model an example of fitness for him, so that when he is old enough he will want to run too.

After yet another running hiatus I have returned again. Gabriel turned one year old on July 14th! When that happened, I could not believe how quickly an entire year had passed, and along with celebrating my little guy’s first year of life and the wonderful events during it, I also faced the harsh reality that I had not been exercising regularly during that time.

During the month of April, I was working at our VA Hospital, and during that stint I worked with a neurologist who insisted on taking the stairs. <gasp> I used to be an avid supporter of stairs, but had fallen into the “elevator-takers” category over time. At the VA Hospital, there are actually two full flights of stairs between each floor, and the neurology offices are on the fifth floor, so that was quite the workout. However, my boss was motivating enough, and by the end of the month I was in better shape.

In May, I moved onto a two month rotation at Harborview Medical Center, and not only made it a point to avoid elevators, but decided to walk the 1.4 miles to work and home each day (scaling some mega-hills in the process). By the end of June, I was in better shape.

However, July brought me to Children’s Hospital, where I never needed to take an elevator (I came in on the floor where I was working most of the time), and was driving to work because there wasn’t an easily accessible way to get there by bus, plus it was too far to walk in a reasonable amount of time. By the time Gabriel’s birthday rolled around, I was already feeling out of shape again. Bummer.

Last weekend, I got myself out of bed at 6AM and ran three miles. It was rough, and I was sore, but I made it. My goal was to make it down there three times each week at first, and I actually fulfilled my goal at the end of week one. Wednesday morning’s run was easier, and Friday morning’s run was exhilarating! By the time I left for work, I was ready for anything.

So I have set a short-term goal for myself to stay motivated: the Issaquah Salmon Days Rotary Run 10k, schedule for October 5th. I’m going to see what sort of a time I can achieve after time off, having a baby, and being a resident for the past three years.

PS - By the way, thank you for all of the comments about pubic ramus stress fractures. I still continue to receive emails from people (all of them have been women, I think) with either the same injury or professionals trained in rehabilitation who are familiar with these injuries.

In the late spring of 2006, I posted this entry to my blog after sustaining a stress fracture of my left pubic ramus in the process of marathon training. I am posting a follow-up entry now because I have been amazed at the number of emails I have received from some of you out there about this topic. I don’t mean I’ve gotten hundreds or anything, but probably about a dozen or so since I wrote about my own experience.

As you may have read in subsequent posts, I had a baby in July 2007, a little over one year after the fracture. I became pregnant about five months after the injury, and about one month after feeling that it had recovered. I had initially wondered if the pain from the fracture would return as the pregnancy progressed, but it never did. Even at the end of the third trimester, I never would have known the fracture existed - it was a non-issue.

Another question I receive with some frequency is what I did to get better. The answer: I removed myself from all exercise for three months. It was irritating, because at the time I was quite fit from training, but every time I would attempt to do anything even as low impact as using the Elliptical trainer, the pain was back within minutes. Riding a stationary bicycle doesn’t help, because it requires sitting on the affected area. I finally had to use crutches for several weeks to keep weight off of the left side because it just was not healing.

This does not seem to be as uncommon of an injury as I initially thought - now that I’m aware of it, I have met many people who have friends or acquaintances who have had the same injury. I have not yet met a man with the injury - it really seems to hit women.

I have not run a marathon since the injury, but this is more for reasons of time and motivation than anything. I think I will wait until after I am finished having children and they are all done breastfeeding before attempting another one.

I think that’s all I have to write for now about this. Please feel free to email me if you have further questions.

As mentioned in my prior post, this was the week I finally made it up to 3.1miles/5k. It was a relief, but unsettling to me to realize how difficult what used to be an easy distance is. I’m still running at what feels like a slow pace, but I honestly cannot go faster at this point – pushing it anymore leads to severe side cramps and trouble breathing. Nonetheless, each run does seem to get slightly easier. I’m staying at 5k for my distance for at least another week until it becomes more comfortable.

Anyway, here are the details of my week:

Tuesday, September 11, 2007:

• Distance: 3.1 miles
• Time: 37:08 (11:59/mile)
• Average Heart Rate: 144; Maximum Heart Rate: 174
• G and I ran through Judkins Park, and this time through the Mount Baker Tunnel to enjoy a view of Lake Washington on a beautiful, clear (and hot!) day before returning home.

Thursday, September 13, 2007:

• Distance: 3.1 miles
• Time: 34:25 (11:06/mile) (Splits: 11:41, 11:09, 10:33, 1:02)
• Heart Rate monitor not worn
• Workout performed on treadmill

Friday, September 14, 2007:

• Distance: 3.1 miles
• Time: 33:54 (10:56/mile) (Splits: unknown – will be explained)
• Heart Rate: unknown (again, will be explained)
• G and I ran through Judkins Park to Rainier Avenue, then up Massachusetts Avenue, through Sam Smith Park, and then back home.

Saturday, September 15, 2007:

• Distance: 3.1 miles
• Time: 32:29 (10:29/mile) (Splits: 10:53, 10:29, 10:08, 0:59)
• Treadmill Run

Total Mileage for the Week: 12.4 miles

I have managed to lose my Garmin Forerunner’s charging cradle, so not only am I unable to pull workout data from the device to my computer, but Evan cannot construct maps of my runs, and even worse - I cannot charge the device, so the battery could go! We’re in the process of searching for it, but if it cannot be located, we’ll purchase another one. In the meantime, I’ll stick with the Timex Ironman Triathlon watch for timing on the treadmill, and will only use the Garmin Forerunner when I need the GPS to measure mileage.

Running is still tougher than it ever has been, but it’s getting better. I can finish a three mile run without horrible side cramps now! That’s something.

Postpartum running continues – and still proves to be much more difficult than I had originally thought, not only because the body takes a beating in pregnancy and delivery, but it takes so long to get back into shape when trying to balance the demands of an infant with the need to work out! I never pictured that staying home full-time (I’m off from work until October 1st) would mean still not having dinner prepared, and yes – only being able to squeeze exercise in two days a week. I’m feeling more hopeful this week that Gabriel (whom we’ve been calling “Little G”) and I will make it out at least three times.

My Ob/Gyn warned against rapid resumption of exercise. What I’ve discovered is – I don’t think I could overdo it if I tried at this point. I have never felt so out-of-shape in my life, even when I first started running track and cross-country as a young teen. It is wonderful to be out there again, though!

I only managed a single run from two weeks ago include:

August 28, 2007:

• Distance: 2.0 miles
• Time: 23:35 (11:46/mile)
• Average Heart Rate: 144; Maximum Heart Rate: 169
• Pushing Little G in the Bob Revolution! We ran to the Mount Baker Tunnel and back.

Then, two runs from last week:

September 4, 2007:

• Distance: 2.25 miles
• Time: 27:00
• Heart Rate information unavailable
• Was run on the treadmill.

September 7, 2007:

• Distance: 2.50 miles
• Time: 28:00 (11:13/mile)
• Average Heart Rate: 144; Maximum Heart Rate: 182
• G and I ran through Judkins Park and to the entrance to the Mount Baker Tunnel before returning home.

Then, finally, today I made it 3.1 miles, albeit slowly and carefully. It was 84 degrees outside, but G and I were determined to do it - today was the day! I was exhausted afterwards, again a reminder of how far I still have to go to return to my previous level of fitness. Nonetheless, it was a relief to finally meet this milestone.

September 11, 2007:

• Distance: 3.1 miles
• Time: 37:08 (11:59/mile)
• Average Heart Rate: 144; Maximum Heart Rate: 174
• G and I ran through Judkins Park, and this time through the Mount Baker Tunnel to enjoy a view of Lake Washington on a beautiful, clear (and hot!) day before returning home.

Finally, another picture of my new running companion. He has his track suit all geared up for his first race in October!

Hello, my running friends!

Allow me to bring you up to speed. My son, Gabriel, was born in July – below is a message my husband, Evan, sent to friends and family announcing his arrival, which was also posted on my other blog, Residential Space:

Gabriel Evan Dodds was born Saturday the 14^th at 5:47am – 31 hours after he let us know he was on his way and 3 days ahead of his due date (good thing too; we were getting impatient to meet him)! Everybody is doing just fine.

Gabriel Stats:

• 8lb 10oz
• 20.5”
• Full head of red hair like his mommy!
• He passed right over Friday the 13^th and decided to be a Bastille Day baby instead.

Gabriel Photos (it was hard to choose just a couple from the hundreds I took!):

The past six weeks have been wonderful – challenging and fulfilling simultaneously. We’re just crazy about our son! He grows longer, larger, and cuter on a daily basis. We can also appreciate his neurologic development (I have to throw this in, as a neurologist) – at six weeks, he can reach to bat at dangling objects (he has a toy duck that hangs from the handle on his infant seat) and is starting to smile. He has even laughed once or twice now! Here is a more recent picture of him, taken only two days ago:

Any woman who has delivered a baby knows that six weeks is a magical time period, for that is when she finally gets to go for her postpartum checkup with the obstetrician. My visit is tomorrow, and I anticipate receiving a clean bill of health. However, since yesterday was technically my six-week mark since Gabriel’s birth, I felt it was time to lace up the Brooks Adrenalines and head downstairs to take on the treadmill (very gently!).

I had decided in advance to only run for 20 minutes, and to take it very slowly. I set the treadmill at the pace of 4.MPH over the course of the first ten minutes, and gradually felt the increasing blood flow to my quadraceps and calves. I had also resolved not to allow my heart rate to climb above 130 in an effort to keep this low-impact and was successful. Even getting my heart rate to that level (it remained around 125 the majority of the time) felt wonderful! After 10 minutes, I increased the rate to 4.MPH, and much to my surprise actually developed a side stitch, so I backed down again. After nearly a year away from running, I guess I should not be surprised by how out of shape I am, but all the more motivation to start back regularly to recapture my previous self.

In summary, I ran 1.53 miles in 20 minutes, and finished by walking for five minutes. It was enough to count as a first real postpartum workout. Pre-pregnancy weight was 133 lbs (I’m 67” tall, so a BMI of 20.8) – so I thought, why not blog about weight loss after pregnancy? The scale after my workout read 137 lbs (BMI 21.5), so I am proud that I am actually almost there six weeks out. Ahhh, among the many wonders of breastfeeding, this is definitely a maternal benefit.  Thank you, Gabriel.

So I’m back, and ready to hit the roads again. Weather permitting, I’m planning on running outside on Tuesday with Gabriel. Evan took him running over the weekend while I was treadmilling it, and they had a great time. We’ll be working towards the Salmon Days run the first weekend in October – I have not decided on whether I will be doing the 5k or 10k yet (we’ll have to see what my muscles and fitness level have to say about this), but it will be fun to introduce Gabriel to the most fulfilling sport in existence. My hope is to instill a love and familiarity of running in this little guy!

Unfortunately, I don’t have much exercise-related news to convey to the few readers who may still exist out there (I’m sure many of you have stopped reading during my hiatus from posting). However, the positive news is that I am counting down the days until July 17, 2007 - the date of expected arrival of my first child! I have been archiving bits and pieces of my pregnancy tale on my general blog, Residential Space, since last December.

When Evan and I were faced with a decision about which stroller to purchase, around the same time that our R.E.I. annual rebate became available for use, we thought the BOB Revolution was a good choice. It’s pretty sharp - we have the infant seat adapter for our baby’s first eight months, until he can be strapped in directly. Then, he can accompany his parents on many running adventures as his mother recovers her fitness level! We joke about how the tires are built for off-roading.

Anyway, my apologies again for the absence of posting. My exercise lately has consisted of finishing my second year of residency - only two more years to go until I am a fully board-eligible neurologist! Stay tuned for my adventures in postpartum running.