Countdown Begins!!

I'm sure that most of you migrated over at least on a casual basis to my other blog, but for those who did not - I'd like to announce that my son Corrigan was born on 10/12/08 at 2:05 a.m. after a marathon 33 hour labor! He's healthy, I did great, and we're now adapting to a completely altered state of existence.

I have my first post-partum checkup tomorrow which will be exactly one month since the birth, but I have to say that I feel I've recovered quite well from the pregnancy and delivery. I've started walking, mainly putting the "Gremlin" (term of endearment for the baby) in a stroller and heading out in the neighborhood for 30 minutes of exercise. The first couple of times I did this, I had a lot of soreness afterwards, but my last walk I had no residual discomfort. My main obstacle to exercising at this point is dealing with a somewhat cranky baby who likes to scream at inopportune times which leads to some major sleep deprivation. Breastfeeding every 2-3 hours really takes a lot out of me as well - though I'm not complaining since it's the best thing for him!

Regardless of my obstacles, I will officially start training for the Little Rock Half-Marathon on December 8th. I'm going to follow a walk/run plan from my book Marathoning for Mortals that will have a lot more walking than I'm used to. I figure if I feel great I can always throw some more running in, but at this point I just need a reasonable and tangible goal.

I also need to get back into strength training and really focus on my core. This will be a little more difficult since going to the gym now requires a coordinated plan for the spouse to watch the Gremlin, but he is very supportive of my goals so I'm sure we'll find a way. As always, I'll be using this blog to keep me honest and hopefully more accountable!

So here we go!