Last week, I went to two different classes that had child care for little ones like Tommy. It was awesome but that means, I wasn’t running. Since I either need to wake up before Nick goes to work (and pump before I leave) and run in the dark or go after work when it’s time to start to putting Tommy to bed and I’m exhausted.  Needless to say, unless it’s a weekend, it’s hard to get in a run during the week for me. With the half marathon in Pittsburgh with GNC in just 7 short weeks, I’m starting to get a little panicked. As long as I can fit in one long run each weekend leading up to race day, I will be comfortable.

Nick was away this weekend and when he got home at 5pm on Sunday evening I went for my longest run yet, 6 miles total. I was shocked that I was running at a 9:10 minute/mile pace for most of the time. My legs were energized, the weather was perfect and it was just a great run. It was the fastest I’ve run since literally the Boston Marathon last year.

It felt fitting that I was wearing my official shirt too. For my new readers, I found out I was pregnant a week after I finished Boston last year.

This week, my dad is flying in to meet his grandson! He’ll be staying with us so hopefully I can get in a few runs. I’m planning to run 7-8 miles this weekend.

Not sure if it was the breastfeeding but even with just 6 miles, I was starving by the time I got home. I’m definitely going to be bringing a snack with me as well as water for the long run.

Typically, I do my long runs first thing Saturday or Sunday mornings. I wake up with water and a caffeinated beverage and then eat my breakfast. I shared a baked oatmeal recipe earlier this month that was fueling my morning runs and have been obsessed with it since. I’ve made a few tweaks to it as well to better serve my nutritional needs.

I keep hearing how intense exercise reduced many reader’s breast milk supplies so I’m being hyper aware and taking precautions by eating a diet that is full of nutrients known to be great for lactating women as well providing me enough energy and hydration for my runs. 

My Pre Long Run Baked Oatmeal Breakfast

Total Time: 30 minutes Makes: 5 servings

Ingredients:

• 2 cups rolled oats
• 2 tbsp ground Natural Brand™ Flax Seeds
• 2 tbsp Nutiva® Chia Seeds
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 cup chopped walnuts
• 1/4 cup dried cranberries
• dash of sea salt
• 2 1/4 cup of Unsweetened Vanilla Almond Milk
• 1/4 cup of honey

Preheat oven to 375F. Combine first 8 ingredients in a bowl and mix well. Add in the honey and almond milk next. If you would like to add more protein to this recipe, add a scoop of vanilla protein powder like GNC Pro Performance 100% Whey Protein and an extra 1/4 cup of almond milk.

Make sure the protein is a good quality and you recognize the ingredients. Since you’ll be baking with it, the less artificial ingredients the better. If you are vegan, you could also use Vega.

See how the final dish came out in my newest YouTube video here –

Before my morning rungs, I always have a slice of my baked oatmeal with some peanut butter on top!

In addition to the prenatals I’m still taking, I also take a fish oil supplement and drink a protein shake as soon as I get home from my workouts. If you’re interested in learning more about what supplements you would benefits best from, visit the GNC learning center here.

How did you new mommas fit in running during your maternity leave if you ran?