Postpartum Running and What Life Looks Like Right Now

Hey hey and happy Friday! I hope you guys are doing well today and that you are staying safe and healthy. This pandemic is quite crazy right now and I am so thankful that Jesus is in control of all things. But what a wild time to be alive. Hope you all are doing okay!

Today, I wanted to chat about my postpartum running journey and catch you guys up on that! Since I am sure you are dying to know 😉 I am officially at the point postpartum where I am feeling more and more like myself, which is such a relief. I really enjoy being pregnant (overall) and don’t mind the whole postpartum journey after, but this time around I was itching to feel more like my normal self more quickly than usual. Maybe it is because I was running more before and during Eliana’s pregnancy, but whatever the case, I am so happy to feel more like myself recently.

I started running around 6 wks postpartum and definitely was humbled by how challenging a couple minutes of running felt. This time around, I decided to switch up my whole approach to running postpartum. After 6 weeks postpartum with Benaiah, I ran 1 mile and died. I really didn’t pace myself (in fact I kind of kept an eye on the watch, note to self / don’t do that again.) and ran most of my miles like that after. I didn’t make it back up to 3 miles for a long time and I dealt with some hip flexor issues shortly after I started back to running. This time around, I wanted to avoid those issues if I could, so I invested in a pelvic floor program for postpartum mothers and started run/walking. It was kind of humbling run/walking but I felt so so much better doing that vs. running 1 mile as fast as I could and feeling awful. haha. The pelvic floor program I used (I went through Bump Runner with Christine – she’s amazing!) included running workouts, which I loved and helped me have guidance in building back slowly (and kept me accountable to not overdue it, which is always so tempting!)

I started run walking really tiny amounts at a time, 2 minutes on/1 min off and built from there. Eventually, I worked back up to running 40+ minutes at a time without stopping and felt more and more like myself with each workout behind me. The past 4 or so months of running have taught me to be patient and to keep making it happen. I just started taking Eliana and Benaiah out in the stroller (now that she is cleared to run in the stroller) and it is life giving to be outside with them. Before, I was running all my non weekend mileage on the treadmill and let me tell you, it feels good to have a break from that!

I have been so encouraged with how I’ve felt coming back to the sport, postpartum but lately, I’ve noticed that I’ve let some strength work slide a little, so that’s my next goal for the couple months. Focused strength work/ consistent mileage / and enough sleep! (Which is proving a little challenging with the little one!)

My big goal is to run a marathon in November (as long as everything clears up from this pandemic) and I am so excited to consistently work towards that goal. But, while I am not in serious training for that right now, I am enjoying running with the stroller, inching my long runs up bit by bit, and running simply for the joy of it.

I really should be adding some speed back into my calendar, but to be honest it kind of excites and scares me haha. So, maybe I’ll add that back in next month 😉

Until then I’m focusing on building a base, staying consistent with strength, and enjoying the ride.

How about you? What are you training for?