6 weeks, baby! Finally got to this point! Although in truth, I feel like the time flew by in a blur; funny how having a newborn makes time both slow down and speed up simultaneously. This will be my last weekly update. I will still be providing updates each month and posting regularly, but now that I’m 6 weeks, the major postpartum stuff is over.

I’ve been cleared to return to everything. I’ve started to add more speed work to my runs and I will be started lifting and weight training now. Maybe even hitting up a boot camp class.

I’m a goal kind of person. I love making goals for myself to keep me motivated and focused, whether it’s in fitness, home life, work life, whatever. I think making goals or a plan is such a key to growing as a person and becoming the best version of yourself. Otherwise we’re all just kind of bopping along with no real plan.

My fitness goals are a bit trickier to plan. Mostly because as  moms, especially ones who have just had a baby, we need to be flexible. Things come up. Kids get sick, schedules get crazy, injuries happen. That’s just the reality. So while I’m sharing my goals with you, please know that the number one priority is simply to try my best.

Goal # 1: Half marathon in July. I’d love to break 2:00, but I’d be thrilled with just a PR or even to finish. Body after baby is always a tricky thing to figure out, and while I feel great, you can’t predict injuries or schedules.

Goal #2: Sprint Triathlon in August. This one is totally up in the air. I’ve always wanted to do one, and never have before. I’m kind of waiting on my sister-in-law to confirm whether or not she wants to do it with me. Either way, it’ll encourage me to start cross training more.

Goal #3: 10k in September. I’ve never done a 10k before and there’s a small, easy one very close to me. The dream goal is to place within my age group. But no matter what, I’d set a 10k PR.

Goal #4: Marathon in November. This one is a stretch. Marathon training takes a lot of time and dedication, but we’ll see how it goes. My past two marathons have been quite disastrous. Rookie mistakes, injuries, etc. I would love to have a better marathon experience and to hit my goal time of about 4:30. (That hasn’t happened yet.)

Goal #5: Back to pre-baby weight by September (five months post). This is also a hard one to predict. I’ve said before that I have a hard time losing while breastfeeding, so I’ll do my best, but it may not happen. I don’t typically start weaning until about 6 months, so the weight loss might not happen until then. Who knows. I have about 13 pounds to lose, which, normally, would be a totally doable goal by September.

I’ll keep you posted throughout on the progress, but for now, here is the latest, (and last weekly) update:

Baby Girl: She’s great. I’m almost feel bad saying that she’s been sleeping through the night pretty consistently for the last couple weeks. Her growth is great, and she’s starting to observe and watch more of the world around her.

Workouts: I’ve upped the mileage, and managed to work up to a 5 mile easy run. Since I started  speed work this week, I back off the mileage a bit, and will incorporate a day of speed work and a “long” run of 6 miles this coming week. It’s so important if you want to increase speed to incorporate speed work. It also is a BIG help for weight loss. Also will be starting weight training!

Nutrition: Still hit and miss. Sigh. I always plan out my meals and snacks a week in advance so I really shouldn’t have an excuse. (Which by the way, is such a great key to weight loss. You can see my blank menu planner here and fill it in yourself to help keep you on track.) Just be sure to stick to it and don’t go grazing outside of what you plan. And drink plenty of water!

Weight loss: Now that I’m at the 6 week mark, I am actively trying to lose weight. Workouts have always come easily for me and they are an excellent tool to lose or maintain weight, but nutrition is a HUGE part of weight loss. (It might be even more important than exercise.) It took me a long time to learn that you can’t outrun a bad diet, and I still struggle with it. The good news is, once I reach my goal weight, I can relax on the diet a LITTLE bit, and just continue working out to maintain my fitness.

I’m so happy to be at this point, and while I certainly have my work cut out for me, I know that time and hard work are all I need to reach my goals. It won’t be without it’s ups and downs (as you saw in my last post), but by setting goals and keeping myself accountable, I can do it. Let’s do this!