Postpartum Running

I haven’t always been a runner and I actually didn’t even really start running until about 7 months before getting pregnant with my daughter who is now almost 3.5 years old. I had always been interested in running and went through phases where I would try it out for a few weeks but I had never really committed to running until April 2011. I honestly think it was all of those years of gym class fit tests and never once being able to run the 12 minute mile that deterred me from running.

Anyways, I started running in 2011 and then I got pregnant with Edith and at that time  I was actually training for my first half marathon but with the onset of first trimester sickness, running took a backseat while I tried to make it through those first few weeks. Finally around 18 weeks pregnant I was starting to feel better but by this point running was the last thing on my to do list, especially since it was the dead of winter in Vermont. So, I turned to other workouts to keep me active during my pregnancy.

Right before Edith was born I was feeling great and was convinced that because I had stayed active that I would end up having an easy time postpartum and that I would be one of those women who started back to running at 6 weeks postpartum. Well after Edith was born the first 6 weeks came and went and I was no where near healed and I was feeling crushed.

Around 12 weeks postpartum I started to feel healed and ready to run. I got back to running a bit but with the snow and the ice it wasn’t as easy as I had hoped. To top it all off my husband took a job offer across the country and we had three weeks to find a place to live, pack up our house and move to Oregon…oh and did I mention we had a 5 month old and it was Christmas time? So again running took a backseat, especially when we found ourselves staying with my parents for a few weeks in rural Vermont where the snow was 3 feet high. Anyways that was right around the time that I decided to commit myself to a new race. This helped me have a goal, a training plan and a reason to run.

Once we moved to Oregon I started training for my first postpartum race, a quarter marathon (6.55 miles). Thankfully Oregon winters are super mild so running was easy. It was also a fantastic way to explore a new city and connect with other women (more on that below). I ran my first race at 9 months postpartum and ran up until once again I found myself pregnant with baby number 2 and the worst morning sickness ever. I ran for the first few weeks of my pregnancy but the morning sickness was so terrible that I spent most of my first trimester days in bed with Edith reading books and I just never started running back up during my pregnancy.

When Alder was born my expectations were low when it came to the time frame of getting back to running. However this time things were a little bit easier and around 8 weeks I slowly started to run, but nothing super consistent. At 5 months postpartum, I am once again back to running and I am training for the same race that I ran after having Edith. I don’t know what it is but a race really helps to keep me motivated and ready to run.

Update….I started writing this almost a year ago so let me fill in the blanks and then I’ll explain where I am at now.

Shortly after I started writing this blog post in March 2015 I found myself having a lot of knee pain. I ended up going to physical therapy for most of April and May. By the end of May I was feeling stronger and actually got back to running. While I didn’t end up doing the race I had planned on I was hoping to do a 10k in September but I found myself with yet another injury. 

In June I ran into Edith’s Learning Tower and broke my toe. I was in incredible pain for about two weeks and it took a total of around eight weeks before I could walk without pain. So again I took a break from running and I didn’t end up running my 10k. 

Now it’s December 2015 and I have gone for a total of 2 runs. It’s not because I don’t love running but rather I am just not making time for it these days. With the sun rise and set so much earlier if I want to run I have to force myself to take the double BOB out during the day with both kids. Right now that idea just sound terrible so I have been focusing on other forms of fitness. 

I am spending a lot of time outside with my kids going on nature walks, family hikes and at home I am fitting in 10-15 minute workouts when I can and I am getting back to doing my PT exercises to build up the strength I have lost. I also just purchased a new yoga class pass so back to yoga I go. 

So what about running? It will be there when I am ready to pick it back up. I love running and I’ll return to it soon but right now I am focusing on other forms of exercise and trying to help my body get stronger so that when I do return to running I can do it with less of a chance of injury.