The Mom Crowd

Have you thought about running as a way to workout? As a way to lose that postpartum muffin top? If you want to run, you can do it! It is just a matter of wanting to do it and carving out the time in your schedule. Even if you have never ran a day in your life – you CAN run! You just need to be sure that you don’t have joint problems or any other condition where running would make your condition worse.

Myself, McKenna, Dawn and a few other friends are gearing up to run a Half Marathon in San Antonio, TX in November. My friend, Natalie, asked me what she needed to know before she started running. I pointed her to a few of our older posts here on The Mom Crowd.

McKenna ran a 5K (3.1 miles) first and she then encouraged Dawn to run her first 5K. Then Dawn took it to the next level and ran a half marathon (13.1 miles).  Here is how she prepared her for her first half marathon and her results.

I ran a 5K with McKenna the week I found out I was pregnant with my second baby. I also had the opportunity to interview my friend Kristin who lost 90 POUNDS from running. Kristin ran a half marathon last year and is planning on running another one with her husband in November.  You can check out the video below.

Here are 8 tips if you are brand new to running.

1. Know the lingo and set a goal.
In McKenna’s first 5K post she recommends to find a Fun Run in your area and register for the race. Because the race fees are usually non-refundable, you are more likely to do the race.

Here are the types of most races:
5K = 3.1 miles
10K = 6.2 miles
10 Mile Race
Half Marathon = 13.1 miles
Marathon = 26.2 miles

2. Have a good pair of running shoes.
Your feet and your joints will thank you! Saving your body is worth the price of a new pair of shoes. An article for beginners on RunnersWorld.com says, “Cross-trainers, aerobics shoes, and other athletic foot–wear don’t have enough cushioning to handle running’s impact–nor does the pair of running shoes you wore two years ago. Buy new running shoes, or you risk getting injured.”

3. Stretch, Stretch, Stretch before and after your run.
Set a stretching routine that you can follow every day. Don’t ever skip stretching, unless you want to pull a muscle. Additionally, stretching after you run will help with soreness. I really dislike stretching after I run, because I just want to be done. So I only do three stretches when I am done: touch my toes, stretch my quads and my calves. For me, these are the 3 areas that I will most likely be sore later. Here is great post with stretching suggestions! (Thanks TimeOutMom.)

4. Start small and build up your strength and endurance.
You can start running in intervals while running and walking. Go for 30 minutes by doing a 1:4. This means that you run for 1 minute, then walk for 4 minutes. You do that same pattern 6 times until you have completed 30 minutes. Then the next week you can do 2:3. Running for 2 minutes and walking 3 for 30 minutes. You keep up this pattern until you can run 30 minutes straight.

If you decide that you want to start running without any walking, then you can start with a short distance. Only do a quarter of a mile until that quarter of mile gets easy. Then, do a half mile until a half mile gets easy. And so forth. Eventually doing 3 miles will be easy!

5. Take rest days.
You need rest days! Sometimes we want to come out of the gate fast and workout every day, but your body needs recovery days. While you should maintain a minimum of 3 runs a week, you also shouldn’t run every single day. MarathonRookie.com says:

You should not run every day. Your body needs to rest between runs so it can recover from one run to the next, getting stronger between each run. Nutrition and eating the right foods at the right time also play a vital role in recovery. Take recovery days equally as serious as your running days.

6. Have accountability and support.
Doing a race with friends will help you stay accountable. You can cheer each other on during the training weeks. Text your friend and see if they ran that day. You also need the support of a spouse or friend to help you watch the kids when you go on runs. You can also join a training or running group.

7. Run for a cause.
Need some inspiration to run? Run for a cause. If you run a half marathon or a full marathon you can sign up with an organization and help raise money to support their cause. Angie ran a marathon and raised 4,536 for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society in honor of her father. She claims that she is not a runner. If you need some inspiration for running read her Gonna Run a Marathon Blog.

8.  Brag!
There is nothing wrong with getting on your blog, Facebook, Twitter or texting a friend to tell people that you ran that day! Knowing that I will get to update my Facebook status and Tweet my run gets me out of bed. (If you do tweet about running you can use the hashtag #momsrunning.) My friend, Dawn, also set up a blog just for the 4 of us running together to cheer each other on.

Now it is time to get out there and run! 🙂

More Articles About Running
Ultimate Guide to Becoming a Runner
Training For Your First Half Marathon
Six Simple Rules for Safe Runs
RunningMoms.com
Train Before Your 5K Goal

Do you like to run? Have you thought about running? Have you ever completed a Half or Full Marathon? What advice would you give someone just starting to run?

– photo courtesy of justin_a_glass

My son’s second birthday is coming up next week and I just realized that it’s been a year since he’s had his picture formally taken.  Not only that, but his big sister (now over 3 years old) hasn’t had hers done since her first birthday.  I realize that I am probably in the minority here; my nephews, for example, have their pictures taken 3 or 4 times a year.  Here are my reasons for not getting professional pictures done more frequently:

• we’re cheap we don’t have a budget for it
• I take a zillion pictures of my children throughout the year; their lives are well-documented
• I’m lazy
• it’s a high-stress situation for me, and I tend to avoid high-stress situations whenever possible
• our family has not made a habit of it – my husband and I have never even had professional shots done!  (A friend did our wedding pictures.)

It’s gotten to the point that I just don’t even think about it – until we receive a wallet-size from a family member or friend in the mail.  Then I’m like, “Oh shoot!  I should really do that.  Maybe this Christmas…”  And Christmas comes & goes.  Or, I keep thinking our church will do another pictorial directory and we’ll just get it done then.

How often do you get your kids’ pictures taken?  Is it a high-stress situation for you?  What has made your picture-taking experiences less stressful?

We were asked this question by a reader:

“I’ve just found out I’m pregnant, and I’m looking for a few reference books. My doctor is the type who will want to run every test available and I’d like as non-invasive a pregnancy as possible. Any ideas on books that will give me an alternative view from the “What to Expect…” view?”

What to Expect When You Are Expecting has some good information in it and the section that shows how your baby is developing is fun to read.  The problem with it however, is that it also tells you everything that can go wrong which tends to make mothers worry.  My husband actually told me to stop reading it when we were pregnant with our first son because I would call him practically in tears worried that some ache I was having meant that something was horribly wrong with the baby.  I know other women who have had similar experiences after referring to the book.  Some people do find it helpful but it is also very intervention oriented.  It offers a very medicalized view of pregnancy and birth.  **I know I ususally mention this in my posts about pregnancy and birth, but even if you plan on getting an epidural for pain relief there are other books out there with a less medicalized view of birth that can help you prepare for pregnancy and birth.

Here are my top 5:

The Complete Book on Pregnancy and Childbirth by Sheila Kitzinger-This book covers the development of the baby as well as all the changes that are happening with the mother.  This book takes more of a mother-centered approach (versus a medical establishment approach to pregnancy and birth). It covers hospital birth, homebirth, birth centers, waterbirth.  It does take a more natural birth approach to birth but perhaps if What to Expect is more up your alley this could be a book to read to help balance out the views in What to Expect.

The Birth Book by Martha Sears-This book is a great intro to labor and birth.  She is a nurse and her husband is a doctor.  They offer an alternative view of the routine procedures that are done within the medical establishment (episiotomies, continuous fetal monitoring, testing…).  There is tons of information in it about laboring techniques, what happens during labor, and procedures offered during pregnancy and labor.

Creating Your Birth Plan: A Definitive Guide to a Safe and Empowering Birth by Marsden Wagner-This book is top notch for giving you information to help you make an INFORMED decision as you come up with your birth plan and think about what kind of birth you want.  It explains a lot of the medical procedures and interventions in addition to giving you guidelines to make sure you choose a provider that will listen to you and offer you mother-centered care.  Marsden Wagner is a doctor who has seen the worst part of medical care for pregnant women in the US.  He holds nothing back about the way that many women are treated when they are pregnant or in childbirth.  

Thinking Woman’s Guide to a Better Birth by Henci Goer-This book addresses topics that many pregnant woman face and what research shows about it (i.e. episiotomy rate, inductions, epidurals, intermittent fetal monitoring, the difference between how doctors and midwives view birth, routine breaking the waters…)  

Natural Birth the Bradley Way by Susan McCutcheon-Obviously this book is about natural birth.  It is very practical and covers many relaxation techniques, the ins and out of what is happening to your body during labor, laboring with a posterior baby, different laboring positions, and pushing positions.  It has lots of helpful pictures and diagrams.

Did What to Expect make you freak out?  What helpful books did you read during pregnancy?  Have you read any of these books?

Being a mom can at times be very overwhelming, especially when you are dealing with potential health issues with your child. Typical things like runny noses and fevers are stressful enough, but when something happens that seems completely out of the ordinary, you have to learn to trust your instincts.

When our son first started showing signs of diabetes, I called the pediatrician. The on-call doctor told me to stop giving him juice and his frequent thirst and urination should subside. After trying that for a few days and not seeing any changes, I insisted he be seen and tested for diabetes. Sure enough, my poor baby had a sky high blood sugar and was gravely ill from going too long without being diagnosed. I can’t imagine what would have happened if I had just gone along thinking that the changes he was going through were just due to drinking too much juice!

More recently, he had a few drops of blood in his urine. Of course this was cause for concern and we rushed him to the pediatrician. It turned out that he was ok and that all of his lab work came back okay. I was a little embarrassed to have taken him in and him have nothing wrong, but the pediatrician reassured me and told me that they would rather see a million healthy kids with parents who are alert and taking charge of their children’s health than one kid who was sick.

Here are a few things to remember when you are trying to decide if it’s worth calling the pediatrician over:

• If your child is experiencing something out of the ordinary and you feel uncomfortable with what is happening, call and at least talk to the doctor or nurse.

• You know your child better than anyone else and you know what is and isn’t normal for them. Don’t let someone tell you that what is abnormal for your child is okay if you don’t think it is.

• A high fever usually requires a doctor’s visit, especially in a baby or toddler.

• When in doubt, call!

All of this is just to remind you that God gave you certain instincts and it’s best to follow them, even if it turns out that nothing is wrong. The worst thing you have to deal with, if that is the case, is a trip to the doctor and a few minutes of embarrassment. Better to have a red face than a sick child!

For a short informational video on when to call the pediatrician, visit the following link…

WebMD – When to Call the Pediatrician

Have you had times when you felt torn about calling the pediatrician?  What advice can you give other mom’s when it comes to trusting your instincts?  Have you ever followed your instincts and been thankful that you did because you caught something that could have been very serious?

Photo Courtesy of Exployment Now