no need to pr
After my doctor’s appointment yesterday morning, I got the all clear to start being active again as long as I am listening to my body. The doctor said that since I had been active during my pregnancy and am young + healthy that she sees no reason I can’t start exercising again but not too push it – and no abdominal exercises (which I am definitely NOT ready for).
Although I am feeling great 2.5 weeks after having major surgery, I definitely can tell what my limits are. I actually started walking this week while pushing MacKenna in the stroller since it was so beautiful outside. Right now, I am only walking around the block, which is about a half mile.
It’s felt great to be outside + active, but 10 minutes is about all I have in me right now. Which is just fine with me. I would rather start out really slow and not push myself + delay my recovery. My plan is to slowly increase how much time I am walking each week. This week I have been walking about 10 minutes each day and will probably increase my time to 15 or 20 minutes next week. If I’m feeling any pain or discomfort, I’ll stick with 10 minutes for awhile longer.
Getting the “all clear” has me thinking about races come January. [Ha, like I haven’t already been thinking about them since last January after I had to ditch my plans for the GO! St. Louis Half Marathon.] However, after having a C-section, I was worried that I wouldn’t be ready to go to run the half in April. How would I ever be able to PR when I won’t really be able to start running again until the beginning of December, if that early?
I was thisclose to scrapping my plans to run the half marathon in April until I read this wonderful post by Healthy Ashley. Ashley was in a pretty horrific bike accident a few months ago, breaking her pelvis in 3 different places. She is very slowly recovering but her progress + story has been so inspiring. Ashley just got the all clear to start walking on her own without a walker and is determined to run the Disney Marathon in January. And there is no doubt in my mind that she can do it, no matter how long it might take her.
Her post really got me thinking. She also had major surgery and her recovery is so much more difficult than mine and here she is planning on running a marathon in less than 3 months. She’s not worried about time. All she cares about is her legs (and pelvis) taking her those 26.2 miles to the finish line. So, why do I think running a half in April isn’t possible?
My thoughts have completely done a 180. I’m no longer concerned about achieving a PR because I am realizing that even if I didn’t have a C-section, a PR most likely wouldn’t be possible. (I feel like I will be lucky if I can ever beat my current PR of 1:37 in the half – that’s going to be a tough one to beat.) Instead, I just want to be out there, running those 13.1 miles on those 2 healthy legs that I have, no matter how long it takes me. It might not be my best race, but who cares? I’ll just be happy to be running again…
So, that’s my plan. Start walking regularly until I feel I am read to run and then slowly increase my mileage so I can be at the starting line of the GO! St. Louis Half Marathon on April 15. But, for now, I’m just so happy to be active again – and feel like myself again!
What holds you back from achieving your goals?