Many things have changed in my life since the last time I wrote a post. This is the first time since I started maintaining the blog that I have gone so long without writing any post. 10 months. OMG! How did that happen? Well, I have got 2 full-time jobs — one where I get paid and another one which is completely thankless — motherhood! However, I do get paid with occasional kisses, all-time hugs, some rolling eyes, and some tantrums for impossible things and I will not exchange this for anything in the world. This little troublemaker of mine recently turned one, putting my whole life in perspective. From breastfeeding struggles to following nap schedules to keeping her healthy to playing with her, every second in my life in these past 10 months has been around her well-being. What about self-care, you ask? Saying yes to odd-times meditation, 6 pm dinner, 9 pm workouts, occasional shower, less than 8 hours of sleep, middle of the night wakings, no late waking up on the weekends? Sure. Everything was acceptable. Looking at this bundle of joy though, all those adjustments seem just so small.
While I was busy around the clock being a mom, I realized what happened to the creative writer in me. I thought to myself, I definitely need to maintain my identity before I completely succumb to the incredibly awesome motherhood. Otherwise, thanks to the rewiring of neurons in the brain after childbirth, nature has made sure that moms’ radar is always on for their children.
Anyway, during the early months of recovery from childbirth, I had a physical therapist to help me with exercises. Soon after graduating from my physical therapy class, I got a personal trainer. Actions without any goal felt like a chore. I worked with my behavioral coach and personal trainer to set an audacious physical goal for myself — “I am turning 30 in July 2022, I’ll bike 30 miles (~48 km) to celebrate my 30th birthday.” That definitely set a really good course of action for my recovery. The reason I say it is audacious is that when I set this goal I was just 3 months from childbirth and had no clear segue into building back my physical strength. I was barred from many core exercises and jumps. All I was doing was low strength no weight exercises. For someone who has been active throughout her life, this was a challenge and no less than torture. Both my personal trainer and the therapist were extremely positive about my recovery. They helped me build back my strength both physically and mentally. My physical therapist would always encourage me saying “Just because you gave birth to a baby should not stop you from doing any strenuous activity including a 30-mile bike ride.”
I definitely felt scared before I felt prepared to meet this goal! Nevertheless, I did it. (July was a really very busy month for us so I finally got this ticked off of my list in the month of August) And a huge shoutout to my husband, Sushant, and 13.5-month-old daughter for tagging along and supporting me throughout the ride. 🙂
30 miles for 30 years of being awesome! Cheers!
Workout tracker in preparation towards the 30 miles bike ride
Khup chan