So I was starting to feel like a major badass this week after going to the gym and run/walking on the treadmill for two days in a row. (Doctor cleared me to run, just told me not to do anything stupid. I’m so glad he didn’t tell me to listen to my body.)
Then last night, as I lay snoozing with the baby in the recliner and watching the 49ers/Giants game, I started feeling ominously chilly. I sat there contemplating, not wanting to miss the end of the game, and REALLY not wanting to wake the baby. It didn’t take long before my entire body began to ache and I was visibly shivering. I climbed out of the chair -queue: baby scream- and teetered to the hall closet to dig out the thermometer. 100.4, and the evening continued in a downward spiral from there: I missed OT and royally pissed off the baby. She thought it would be the perfect time to play the game where she falls asleep with the pacifier in her mouth, spits it out, and then wakes up and screams until you put it back in there. Repeat 50x.
I finally brought her in bed with me (BAD MOM!) and made her a nest out of the Snoogle so I could at least lay down while we played the pacifier game. In three shirts, flannel pants and a heating pad shoved up against my back, I finally fell asleep (and so did she). When I woke up a few hours later, the fever was gone and I felt perfectly fine. So weird.
Now that you’re up to speed, let’s talk about the running, shall we?
Pale, fat and optimistic, I doubled up on the sports bras Saturday and went to the gym for the first time in more than six weeks. My running shorts “fit” me again, but they look a little obscene, plus my incision is still tender, so I opted for the maternity crops. BIG mistake. (Julia Roberts: “HUGE!”) I kept having to hitch them up to keep my unsightly belly from hanging out.
I did a 2:2 run/walk for two miles and managed a 10:00-11:00 pace (mostly closer to 11s, if we’re being honest) on the running end. Then I walked another mile. It all felt pretty gnarly and awkward, but really not as bad as I thought. Oh, except my right boob started leaking milk halfway through. Luckily my shirt was black and it wasn’t too noticeable.
Sunday, I ran for 15 minutes without stopping at about a 10:40 pace. It still felt kind of awkward, but I’m not sore today at all, which I think is really promising. (Yeah, I did come down with that four-hour mystery fever, but at least my crotch doesn’t hurt!)
So anyway, obviously my immune system is weak from the lack of sleep and I probably need to ease it up a notch. Thankfully, Kenzie slept straight through until almost 5 a.m. this morning -a MAJOR milestone- and I got some decent sleep.
Right now, I’m wearing her in the Moby wrap and she’s out cold! So goddamn cute.
