Fors Family Blog: Swim Bike Run!

I was able to start jogging again about 5 weeks after having Hudson. I had to wait another couple of weeks to really start up running again like I did before baby though. Having a c-section just meant I had a little longer recovery time. It felt so great to get out there and run again though. The first time out, I just felt like myself again (for the first time in really almost a year)!

I decided to vary my work outs and get back in shape post-baby by training for a triathlon. If J-Lo can do it, I can do it! I registered for the Jackson County Tri out at Longview Lake. It was so great to have a goal and a work out plan, and also really a nice change for me to add in the biking and swimming to my normal running routine. I started a basic training schedule of swimming, running, and cycling each twice a week (with one day off). It wasn’t hard to keep this up while still on maternity leave, but when I started back at work on July 21st, it became a bit more challenging. It was so much easier to be away from Hudson for an hour per day when I was on leave, but add that extra hour to the work-day and it was almost impossible to cram in that work-out when I was so anxious to get home to see him.

Luckily, a coworker of mine was training for the same Tri. We brought our bikes to work and stored them here and twice a week would take them out for a few laps around the 4-mile airport loop, usually over our lunch hour. The convenience of having an established bike route right around our offices made this possible. I did a couple of BRICKs, which stands for Bike + Run = It Can Kill, and also did a few combo workouts with biking and swimming and running and swimming, just to see how I’d handle the transitions.

The best preparation, however, was biking the entire Longview Bike Loop with my dad. We thought we’d just do a flat course first, but decided to tackle the real thing. Cycling is by far my weakest link of the Swim-Bike-Run combo. If only it were Swim-Run-Run or Swim-Run-Golf! But we did the Longview Loop and although exhausting and extraordinarily hilly, it was definitely doable. After that, I was certain I could finish the Tri. It was mental preparation as much as physical.

I was so fortunate to have an amazing support system for both training and the day of the race. My dad was a great cycling companion, Rollie (and Hudson in the Bob Jogger stroller) joined me for the weekend running, and the gals watched pool side as I did my laps (and often times watched Hudson so I could do this). And of course, my mom was always willing to watch little Hudson so I could get those work outs in – even coming over early in the morning so I could run or bike before it was too hot outside.

And the day of the race I even had amazing friends out there cheering me on! Brandi Smith (and her darling fiance Scott) went above and beyond by baking muffins, bringing Vitamin Waters, delivering water along the route, making a custom sign with my name and number (!) and Brandi even ran alongside me for the last stretch of the race! I don’t think I could have done it without her. My aunt Pat surprised me by coming and taking gorgeous pictures. And of course the hubs, Hudson and my folks were there as my biggest fans. I ordered Hudson a custom onesie that said: Swim, Mommy, Swim – Bike, Mommy, Bike – Run, Mommy, Run! I contemplated one that said: “Cryathlete: Eat, Sleep, Poop”

All in all, it was an amazing experience. I beat my time goal, even though my biking really slowed me down. I think if I do another one of these some day, I’d have to get a nicer bike than the old mountain bike I borrowed from my dad. But where my cycling suffered, my swimming was actually better than I expected. And I passed another 50 people on the run portion alone! My transitions were also very smooth and not at all stressful.