Faster After Baby – Book Review

Happy weekend, friends!

This morning I completed my 4th run within 36 hours for a total of 30 miles within those 36 hours. It was a bit much for my legs, so they are enjoying the break this evening.

Wednesday night I did a hard interval track workout of 10 x 400s in 80-82 seconds. It wasn’t easy, but I recruited a friend who definitely helped me push when I was tired. I was stoked that all of the intervals were within the targeted paces. I really had to work for each one of them, but I can tell I’m getting stronger and fitter. (I remember doing ten 400s in college in about 90 seconds each with even more rest! I am obviously much fitter than I was in college.) I ended up doing a long warm-up and cool-down for a total of 12 miles.

Then Thursday morning I had 7 miles to run before Craig went to work. That afternoon I logged a wet 4 miles with the stroller.

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Finally this morning was another 7 easy miles that were granny slow. There’s no rest for the weary because I have a long run with 2 x 3 miles at 6:30 pace tomorrow morning.

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It is not easy, and I often have to remind myself to enjoy the journey because I know if I wasn’t out there working my tail off, I’d miss it!

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It has been quite some time since I’ve been able to read a book. (Hello having a baby!) I did, however, manage to finish one book this year so far. . . .that I started back in September. Faster After Baby is a great book for those who are new to motherhood but not ready to give up their competitive running days (me!).

This was such a great book that provided a lot of helpful information on what the body is going through physically during pregnancy as well as postpartum, the hormone changes that take effect, and tips on how to balance a new baby and wanting to return to running.

The author shared a lot of stories that I could relate to as she has a young son of her own and really wanted to keep running and training competitively; however as one could guess, having a baby doesn’t always make it that feasible. I felt a lot more reassured about the different feelings I’ve had over the course of the last year trying to maintain my competitive running. I definitely appreciated that it was an easy read and kept me interested the whole time as my brain is pretty fried by the evening most days.

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The author, Meredith, contacted me last spring and interviewed me to be featured as one of the “Mighty Mamas” in the book. I was completely honored as I was featured alongside Deena Kastor and Stephanie Rothstein Bruce (<–who I would highly recommend following on Instagram if you are a runner and new mom).

I feel very honored that I was chosen to be featured in the book. When I answered these questions, I was only a few months postpartum. Not too much has changed since answering these questions, I still ‘want it’ just as much, my goal of a sub-3 hour marathon still stands, and I am learning to balance competitive training with a 15 month old.

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If you find yourself in this boat, I highly recommend picking up a copy of Faster After Baby. And even if you aren’t training for any competitive races but you enjoy running, this is still a great read.

Hi, I'm Michelle

I love running around the lakes of Minnesota, running after my two boys, and racing anything from the 5K to the marathon. I have been blogging here since 2010 when I ran my first marathon. I finally secured my sub-3 hour marathon after trying for 8 years.

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2 Comments

  1. 2.1.16
    Kelly Baxter said:

    That is awesome you are featured in the book!!! You go girl!

    Kelly

  2. 2.2.16

    so cool! Congrats!