returning to training after baby.

Well, here we are, wrapping up the fourth trimester. It’s been the slowest fastest time! I’ve taken postpartum pretty conservative, and while that’s been the right choice for me – c-section recovery is no joke – it’s been incredibly hard watching other women basically jump back into training and racing like nothing happened. There’s been a lot of self talk (and conversations with my husband), reminding myself to focus on my journey rather than someone else’s because no one’s postpartum recovery is the same. Comparison is the thief of joy, right?!

So, my recovery and the start of my journey to back to fitness! And I’m using the word “training” here very loosely – ha! (This was the number one thing you were interested in reading about when I asked on instagram, so thank you!)

the first 6 weeks

Other than walking – and even that didn’t start until nearly 4 weeks pp – I didn’t do any exercise the first six weeks after having Jackson. My sole focus was healing my incision, which meant minimal movement and no lifting Jackson (😭) or carrying him up and down the stairs (I didn’t even change a diaper! Nick is seriously best dad ever ♡). I loosely followed the 5-5-5 rule – 5 days in bed, 5 days on bed, and 5 days around bed – with minimal visitors, and to be honest, it was pretty easy to stick to given how I felt. We were in the hospital for five days and after that my incision was still fairly painful – a pierce burning shot through one side every time I rolled over in bed or bent too quickly. We got out for our first (short) walk – for coffee at Northern Coffeeworks, duh – three weeks after we got home and it felt good, though I was definitely tired and aware of my incision. After that, I continued easy daily walks with Jackson, gradually increasing in length.

Could I have done more during that time? Definitely. But my priority was maximizing my healing from the triple whammy – c-section, mastitis and shingles all within 3 weeks OMG – so I could be stronger later. But you better believe as soon as my OB gave me the all-clear at just shy of 6 weeks postpartum, I was on my bike for an easy spin!

first back: biking and swimming

Since then, I’ve been trying to bike three days a week, which sounds easy in theory, but man, it’s tougher than I thought it would be! Jackson isn’t quite on a good nap schedule yet so getting a bike in during the day can be tricky with Nick at work, and I have zero interest in starting a trainer ride after 8p. It has, however, gotten easier since Kona was rescheduled (meaning Nick is no longer doing two-a-day workouts right now), and I’ve been riding an hour each time and gradually increasing intervals each week. My loose plan, biking three days a week (and to be transparent, I’ve only been on my tri bike twice the last three weeks):

• Week 1: easy ride
• Week 2: warm-up, 10x (1 hard + 1 easy), rest easy
• Week 3: warm-up, 5x (2 hard + 2 easy), rest easy
• Week 4: warm-up, 3x (5 hard + 5 easy), rest easy
• Week 5: warm-up, 2x (10 hard + 5 easy), rest easy
• Week 6: warm-up, 2x (15 hard + 5 easy), rest easy

My easy rides and warm-ups are all around 100w. I started the 1-minute intervals around 180w to test out my legs, but quickly increased to 200w. The 2-minute intervals have all been at 200w or so, and the 5-minute ones at 180-185w. I’m excited to keep building interval duration and power from here. While my power is far, far from where I was pre-pregnancy, we’ll get there again. I keep reminding myself that my body grew a tiny human – that took super strength.

Swimming felt amazing and I crammed in as many swims at the outdoor 50m pool as possible before it closed early September. Nick and I tag teamed each swim – one of us watched Jackson while the other swam and then we swapped. But since my regular pool at St. Kate’s isn’t open yet, I’m trying to figure out where to swim over the winter. Covid’s made the swimming situation tough!

pelvic floor PT

My OB also gave me a referral for pelvic floor PT – something many friends recommended before starting to run again. While I ran through most of my pregnancy (other than the first 10 weeks when I was still following IVF protocol), my max was about six miles and I stopped at 34 weeks when my belly got uncomfortably heavy. All said and done, I took about four months off running.

PT was fantastic, and I highly recommend going after baby. I got the full labor & delivery experience(!): 3.5 hours of pushing, the vacuum and a c-section (after a long day of labor – Jackson was born at 12:03a!), so wasn’t sure what to expect with my midsection recovery. Luckily, my diastasis recti was minimal and I didn’t have any prolapse. That said, my core was pretty weak, so PT included exercises to get my deep abdominals and glutes firing (it’s always the glutes, right?!).

At my last PT appointment a couple weeks ago, I started light strength work, including one-legged bridges, deadlifts, kettlebell swings, side planks with leg raises, straight up planks, band walks, one-legged calf raises, and whoa… hello, muscles I haven’t used in awhile! I’m pumped to be doing strength again and am fully committed to it going forward. Because it’s always been the first thing to drop – or, let’s be honest, it’s rare that I stick to a strength routine unless there’s someone telling me what to do. Not so this time around! After having a baby I’m realizing just how important strength training is to stay injury free.

returning to running

Given how my pelvic floor and core rehab has gone, I felt strong and ready to run so I started running a few weeks ago. While it’s definitely not easy – who knew 1-minute intervals could make you so sore after not running for four months?! 😆 – it feels great and has done wonders for my mental health. I’m following a postpartum return to run program that friend and momma Hailey followed and recommended. It’s conservative – an every-other-day run/walk approach – and exactly what I needed to smartly ease back in (vs. going all-out running or racing… OMG how?! why?! After birthing a tiny human, I’m full-on Team Respect the Postpartum Body and let.it.heal. It’s not the time to be a hero). I’m up to 4 miles around 9:30 pace – and feel great with no pelvic pain, incontinence, or heaviness – and while I’m far from fitness, there’s something about crawling back after time off. Everything’s new again, and it’s exciting to see progress and feel stronger each session.

I have a couple races in mind for 2022 so once those are finalized, I’ll share more about my build and training (maybe I’ll even bring back more regular training posts?!), our approach to getting in workouts now with a tiny human in the picture, and where we’re headed!