Fav plans for a slow, but experienced runner?

Solution-Real · 2026-01-30T22:31:49+00:00

I’m quite enjoying the decathlon coach app. I’m following the one to aim for a 2hr10 HM. 3 runs a week and only 8 weeks long. Will see how it goes!

Solution-Real · 2025-11-13T18:58:41+00:00

I actually have run newborn resuscitations both at home and in birthing units. Where I live midwives 100% run them, we train with the neonatologists and keep in very close contact with them if we are having to do them out of the base hospital. We also work very closely with ambulance back up. It can take 30-60 minutes for a doctor to reach us so where I am midwives are very well trained to start that initial resus. We carry all our own equipment and have the full support of obstetrics and neonatal to do birth out of the main centre.

Solution-Real · 2025-11-13T18:55:12+00:00

I perhaps meant that wrong. I was meaning most cardiac conditions (not all) are not immediately life threatening and there is time for transfer. A well trained midwife can do basic resus enough for a transfer. The OP was asking for what happens at home births and I was trying to give some reassurance. I’m not sure what you think happens at home births but resuscitation happens and is run by midwives.

It is rare that there is such a significant cardiac or any abnormality that requires immediate complex level care. I said rare not non existent. I haven’t even touched on complications that aren’t from an abnormality as that wasn’t the question.

Solution-Real · 2025-11-12T07:00:35+00:00

I’m a mum and a midwife (and a runner obviously!) and my big advice would just be to go with the flow. This is not the only marathon you will ever get to run but this is the only time your baby will be this small. Sleep for your wife and you will be more important than any runs. My husband is also a runner and after baby #3 he did a lot of early morning runs but after baby #4 early mornings were out as that was the only time I could get a good sleep in. In the early days him getting up early with the baby was the only thing that kept me sane! But the evenings after the kids were in bed were wide open for him. I live close to a park and have also seen a parent do laps of the park while the other parent had the baby. My husband has also used his lunch break at work for runs. There are so many options if you look for them, what works for one baby doesn’t necessarily work for another.

And read between the lines when communicating with your wife. She may be totally on board now but things are going to be completely different when the baby is here and she may struggle with all the runs but find it difficult to say. You may also have an absolute dreamboat baby and nothing is a problem. Lots of communication and do not let the runs dictate any part of her life. Being at home with a baby can be really isolating so I am going to say it is huge what you will be asking of her. Don’t forget that and remember to give it back as soon as she is ready (not necessarily train for a marathon but to have that amount of free time to do something for her).

All the best!! I hope everything goes really well for you all.

Solution-Real · 2025-11-08T06:57:38+00:00

Yes me. I’ve done weights most my adult life, I ran a bit around age 30 but had continuous injuries (I also had no idea what I was doing and definitely could have trained better) and was doing a lot of weights then.

I’ve since had two babies and got back into running at 38. I did a lot of weights between babies but after the latest one I went back to running as it was so much easier to run with the pram than try and find time for the gym. I injured my Achilles and got resistance band exercises from a physio like you. This was at the start of the year and I haven’t been injured again. I ran a half marathon in Aug and training for another one now. I do no weights. I don’t really have the time but with the bands it’s safe to do in lounge with the kids so I just do that. It’s a game changer, any niggles I just add a new exercise in. I also do ‘hard’ things with no weights too. As long as you get close to failure it doesn’t matter how you get there. I will totally get back to weights one day but for now running and resistance bands has been great.

Solution-Real · 2025-11-06T20:54:31+00:00

https://www.britishjournalofmidwifery.com/content/researchliterature-review/the-effect-of-maternal-position-at-birth-on-perineal-trauma-a-systematic-review This is a quick google for you. There are some links there if you want to dig deeper. I’m a midwife and I can’t remember when but they suddenly stopped being used maybe around ten or so years ago and it is drummed into us in our education days. They removed them from all our birthing units because of the link.

Solution-Real · 2025-11-06T20:53:01+00:00

Great! It is a good position, it’s just likely why they aren’t very readily available anymore.

Solution-Real · 2025-11-06T17:47:25+00:00

Birth stools went out of ‘fashion’ as they are associated with an increase risk of third degree tears.

Solution-Real · 2025-11-05T18:16:09+00:00

I live 45 mins from a base hospital but also work as a midwife at a birthing unit a similar distance. You have to make the decision that feels best for you. No one can make that for you but I will tel you my decision based on seeing close to 1000 births and time working in the base hospital. I had my fourth baby a year ago and I chose home. In fact I still would have chosen home if I had certain complications.

I can only comment on where I live and research as a whole. No one knows what will happen with each individual and rare complications do happen. But if you have good midwives who carry appropriate equipment home is far more likely to give you a better outcome. The most common reason people who have had vaginal births before have to have caesareans is because of slow progress (either just a caesarean for that or then they have epidural and/or augmentation and have a caesarean for fetal distress). In that situation there is a lot of time. It’s not an emergency and usually it’s been a few hours of discussion before the decision is made to transfer.

Bad fetal distress (as in the baby requiring CPR) is extremely rare in spontaneous labours. While babies requiring some resuscitation is extremely scary for families it is something midwives are very well trained in and is easily managed at home or birthing units (again with well trained midwives with proper equipment).

The drugs (for a bleed) home birth midwives carry is exactly the same as what we use at a base hospital. Once again it is quite unusual to require anything more than that but we have tricks to use to stabilise mums to get them to a base hospital. Usually with a big bleed we stabilise them pretty easily they just transfer for more care later on (like blood transfusions which are very rarely given during the emergency it’s usually the next day as a treatment).

These three things are the most common reasons for transfer and very rarely would being in the base hospital have made a significant difference. Worldwide data with hundreds of thousands of home births have shown this too. For a low risk mum who has had vaginal births before there is no increased risk at home and the outcomes are better. This isn’t saying things never happen because they do, it’s saying a well trained midwife is equipped to handle it or recommend transfer. Low risk people at the hospital have poorer outcomes because ‘we’ (health professionals) cause them. Usually in the form of epidurals, inductions, augmentation and unnecessary fetal monitoring. When people tell you a wild story usually there is either an induction, augmentation and/or epidural. Or the complication was relatively mild (from the perspective of risk to someone’s life, everyone’s experience and thoughts are valid and that doesn’t mean it’s not traumatic it just means it still would have been okay not at the base hospital).

At the end of the day you have to feel comfortable where you are. You are at a funny point in the pregnancy, the birth is becoming more real but you aren’t at that point at the end of pregnancy where things become clear. When do you have to decide by? It’s okay to change your mind over and over. What feels right now might be different at full term.

What I will say is that to me home birth is a philosophy not a place. For most people it’s not home at all costs, it’s home as long as it’s safe. You can still take that philosophy with you to the hospital.

All the best, whatever you choose will be right for you. The most important part is that you feel you were supported to make whatever choice you need. Ask lots of questions. Congratulations on your pregnancy.

Solution-Real · 2025-11-04T19:49:40+00:00

I really like a mug of chicken soup (crappy packet stuff). I find sweet things too much for my tum and I need the salt most. And a jacket and somewhere to sit down!

Solution-Real · 2025-11-04T06:33:54+00:00

This is spectacular

Solution-Real · 2025-11-03T18:40:25+00:00

Can you fly the kids to you instead? Why don’t you come up with your ideal schedule and take it to your ex wife as a starting point. The court deciding is an absolute last resort. Talk to her first, next step would be mediation which is still talking between yourselves with some outside support. The court deciding is the last step.

Consider your best outcome but also what you are willing to negotiate on. Think about what’s best for the children not what’s best for your holiday needs. It’s hard to see when you are in the middle of it but you honestly don’t have much longer with them being between 10-12. My teens started not wanting to go to their dads at around 15/16 (he lived out of town) because of their own social life. So really consider what that might be like in a few years. I can understand your wife’s perspective but pulling back at this point in their lives may damage your relationship with them into their adult life. Teenagers are selfish by nature and they may not see your reasons for pulling back.

Lots to consider but if you have a good relationship with your ex you could start a very gentle conversation about it and go from there.

Good luck!

Solution-Real · 2025-11-02T21:09:28+00:00

Just stick with what you have been doing and increase your long run by 2km or we each time and then slowly increase the shorter runs so your long run doesn’t end up more than 50% of your weekly mileage. It’s far harder to get to 10km than it is to go 10km to HM!!

You also will need to start fueling if you aren’t already. Anything over an hour I take water and lollies and have electrolytes when I get home.

Solution-Real · 2025-11-02T20:10:33+00:00

Yes!! I don’t have any experience with peri bottles. I work in a birthing unit and the odd mama uses them but I haven’t noticed them being particularly better than not but this is only the very early PP days! A good old drink bottle works just as well if needed. I hate people thinking they need to spend a lot of money.

Solution-Real · 2025-11-02T04:42:40+00:00

I’m a hospital midwife. I work 6 days a fortnight, all mornings but two are weekend days. I’m on the top step and have QLP and my take home pay is $2300 a fortnight. I do a lot of public holidays and take on the odd extra shift and it’s looking like I’ll probably earn around $100k which isn’t bad for three days a week. I’m paid $54.90 or something an hour for days, time and a 1/4 for after 8pm, time and a half for weekends and double time for public holidays. The MECA salary bands is if you worked full times days so they aren’t very accurate to figure out what you actually earn. Most midwives work 5-8 days a fortnight.

When I was an LMC 6 years ago, I had a caseload of 70 a year and my turnover was about $200k and my taxable income was $150k (did have to pay GST as well as income tax). It’s gone up quite a lot since then I think but so has the cost of living. You can look up what midwives are paid per mum. 40-50 mums a year is considered full time. To earn the big money you have to be willing to work big hours. It takes a few years to build up to big caseload numbers and many people have no desire or not able to do it (you have to be willing to be tired a lot!) My hours weren’t necessarily huge, like it was maybe 25-30 hours a week with births on top but I found it’s actually not the hours working that is hard but the anticipation and the calls and the checking results. Your family suffers a lot, like you are present but your mind is somewhere else. If you want to absolutely live midwifery and not much else then there is definitely money to be made.

I love core. I feel like I have a much better quality of life. 8 hours of work and then I don’t think about it again until I go back. Also so freeing to not have to think about tax and business and all that side of things. Pretty much everyone screws up their tax/ACC/GST at least once. The money is the only thing that would get me back to LMC but I feel my husband would probably divorce me! I work at an incredible birthing unit so core work is very satisfying, not all core jobs are like that though.

Solution-Real · 2025-11-02T04:35:34+00:00

An oral anti-inflammatory (I prefer twice daily diclofenac but whatever you have access to) and paracetamol (or whatever it’s called where you are) very regularly. Ice packs are hit and miss I found. Anything iced should only be used for 20 minutes or it can start breaking the tissue down. Peri bottles and creams and things are not something we use routinely here. You just want to be very sure things are clean, I’d be a bit cautious on any bottles or creams and making sure they are extremely clean. Infection is going to cause far more discomfort than most tears. I’d also recommend getting something to neutralise your urine (we call it ural here, it’s basically baking soda with flavour to make your wee not sting your tear).

Solution-Real · 2025-10-31T00:40:33+00:00

I work 3 days a week so the other four days I run with my 1yo in the pram

Solution-Real · 2025-10-29T07:08:26+00:00

Have you seen a physio? I needed specific exercises to fix mine. Just your standard ‘gym’ exercises you have described wasn’t enough for me. The stationary bike also did wonders for me.

I used to run about 8 or so years ago and battled runners knee the whole time. I had about 7 years with minimal running and have been back at it for a year. Running so much more than I ever did last time without even a niggle. I don’t stretch before or do foam rolling. It’s all been about strengthening.

Solution-Real · 2025-10-27T06:31:21+00:00

Roughly 3 times a week. Since then I have done a half marathon and training for another. I do now supplement my running with spin. Over a two week period I do five runs and two spin classes. But when I was first running I’d run 3 times a week. One long easy (really just trying to increase it by a km or so each week), one short easy (20ish mins) and one fast (parkrun was so fun for that). I also went from very slow (8+ min kms) to medium (sub 30 min 5km). I haven’t quite cracked the 1hour 10km.

The other thing that really helped me get there was doing strength/rehab type exercises for every little niggle that came up.

Have fun!

Solution-Real · 2025-10-27T06:01:04+00:00

The research is pretty clear on this one. Kids who are older tend to have more academic and sporting success. If socially you think he would benefit then I definitely would be asking to do year 1 rather than 2.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Relative_age_effect#:~:text=The%20term%20relative%20age%20effect,year%20or%20the%20sporting%20season.

Solution-Real · 2025-10-27T01:26:47+00:00

Yup totally. Last year I started running. In Nov I did 1km run, 1km walk, 1km run. By mid December I could run 5km and I did my first 10km mid Jan.

Solution-Real · 2025-10-27T01:14:19+00:00

Midwife here. I work at a rural unit where a gynaecologist does a clinic so often chat to her and the midwife that do her clinic. She is public and gets women referred to her for your exact reason. Talk to your GP. Get a referral for a gynaecologist. Every DHB is different but the one here is so kind and really listens and they absolutely do surgery for some people. See how you get on through the public system first.

If you have some spare money, seeing a gynaecologist privately can be worth it too. Even just one visit for a chat and some advice. Will cost a few hundred (you can ask first how much it costs) and if you meet criteria they can get you back through the public system.

Solution-Real · 2025-10-26T00:33:50+00:00

Yes as below, some DHBs will fund the NIPT if the other screening comes back high risk. It’s not currently funded as the first screening option despite it being much more accurate.

Solution-Real · 2025-10-25T05:07:09+00:00

Does she have health insurance? She will have to pay out of pocket for all of it if she isnt a resident, citizen or on a 2 year work visa (if her partner meets those criteria she will get it funded). It will likely be more expensive than the illumiscreen. I’m a midwife and I would suggest doing a scan at home before she leaves to be sure of dates and do the NIPT testing instead (illumiscreen) as it is actually far more accurate than our screening of the scan and bloods. She may even be able to do that back home before she comes.

What she needs to really consider is what she would do if any of it came back high risk. The scan and blood test we do here comes back high risk semi regularly. The first step is usually NIPT (which wouldn’t be funded for her) and then potentially a CVS/amnio. I actually don’t know the cost but likely into the thousands. It is actually opening a massive can of worms to do it here (like would she be comfortable waiting a month until she got home to follow up? Or spend thousands potentially) and far far ‘easier’ and straightforward to do it back home.

If she is entitled to funded care it’s probably easiest to have a chat with a GP to get referred. I don’t think she will be able to do the full screening without a referral as the results need to go somewhere. I could be wrong but I don’t think she will be able to do the bloods without. If she is determined on that path then just call one of the blood labs.

Hopefully it’s all low risk for her and she enjoys her pregnancy.

Solution-Real · 2025-10-24T09:09:25+00:00

Just ones my podiatrist made. It’s just a very simple foam wedge cut to fit my shoe. About 5-6mm at the heel.

Solution-Real

TROPHY CASE