Before having Jackson, I was sure I’d be running again as soon as my OB cleared me at my 6-week appointment. I even signed up for a 10k at 10 weeks postpartum.
But then after 3+ hours of pushing, I had an emergency C-section and had to recalibrate those unrealistic expectations: there’d be no swift return to fitness and definitely no running at 6 weeks postpartum.
But you know what? Having a C-section was the best thing that could have happened. It forced me to really rest – something I hadn’t allowed myself to do in years – and let my body fully heal. After all, a C-section is major abdominal surgery and pregnancy is an incredible feat in and of itself. It takes time, patience, and letting go of all expectations to build back to pre-pregnancy mileage. Because let’s be honest: the postpartum glamorization you see on social media – women running at 4 weeks and full-on racing marathons and triathlons within a few months of having a baby – isn’t realistic or safe for everyone. Let’s normalize rest, recovery, and respecting the postpartum bod (even 9 months after having Jackson I still have a C-section shelf 🤷🏽♀️), not the race to return to fitness and racing as quickly as possible.
(Obviously I’m not an OB so talk to yours before returning to training after having a baby. But know that the general guidance to running postpartum is changing and many PTs recommend waiting until you’re at minimum 12 weeks out. And yes, everyone’s recovery is different, but be smart!)
What really solidified this recovery period for me and allowed me to embrace it: a Girls Gone Strong blog post comparing a C-section to ACL surgery. Both are major surgeries – and I’d argue a C-section is more so – but both are perceived and treated completely different. We’d never expect anyone to be running again 6 weeks after an ACL repair. But there are wild expectations and social pressures on women to “bounce back” to where they were pre-pregnancy, even after a C-section.
That mindset switch and honestly, feeling pretty crummy made it much easier to embrace the rest and be completely ok with no running, no matter how much I missed it.
my approach to running again
At 6 weeks postpartum, I didn’t really even want to run. My incision still hurt (mostly when I rolled over in bed, but also randomly). I was exhausted from the lack of and broken sleep (even with Nick handling one of the overnight feeds). And my boobs were ginormous and leaked just thinking about them or if I even looked at Jackson. Not a great combo for running.
Instead, I asked my OB for a referral to see a pelvic floor physical therapist (be sure to ask because they don’t automatically refer you). My PT checked for diastasis recti (minimal) and prolapse (none), and for six weeks, we worked on exercises to get my deep abdominals and glutes firing again. So important because during pregnancy, all those muscles relax as everything expands and shifts to make room for baby – and shocker, you need those muscles to workout. Anyway, to supplement my PT and because I needed to move to start to feel more like myself, I swam in the sunshine and biked a few days a week. Daily 3-4-mile stroller walks (with a pitstop for an oat milk latte at Northern Coffeeworks) became my favorite time of the day.
Then at 12 weeks postpartum, I started a fairly conservative 4-week return to run program recommended by a friend, and whoa. Who knew 1-minute intervals could make you so sore after not running for four months?! I continued easy running on my own for a few more weeks to build some consistency and a bit of a base – and stuck to my strength routine – and then started working with my coach in November to prep for Boston Marathon. Since then, my build has been conservative, gradual, steady, and nearly all on the treadmill because that’s what works to maximize my time around naps, bedtime and my work schedule.
a few bumps
And up until 8 months postpartum, I felt amazing – no incision pain, no leakage, no other niggles. But since then, it’s been one bump after another, making this the bumpiest final build-up to a race I’ve ever had.
The first: a few weeks after adding some light speed work – and likely timed just right (not so right?!) after a couple nights of meh sleep – one of my hammies said too much. So I took the weekend off and stayed off my feet as much as possible. It’s all good now, thank goodness, and everything was back on track until I fell during my long run about a month ago. With two minutes to go in my 70-minute tempo and two blocks from home, I stumbled on some alley gravel and rough pavement on a downhill and went down, hard. Thankfully it was only some solid road rash – my right shoulder took the brunt of it – but it was hard enough that it threw some things out of whack. We dialed the next week’s mileage back a bit to let my calf and hammie chill.
And then after one confidence boosting 18-miler on the treadmill, influenza knocked me out for four days. It’s been a long time since I’ve felt so terrible. The lowlights: three days in bed, a nearly 20-bpm increase in my resting HR, bonkers joint + muscle pain, and a 3x higher than normal stress score. And while I’m finally feeling 100% physically, I’m trying my hardest to stay in it mentally. It’s been a long dark winter of running on the treadmill – often after 7p – and I’m ready for sunshiny runs outside in a sports bra and shorts.
running and breastfeeding
Training for a marathon while breastfeeding has taken some extra planning. I basically time running around when I feed Jackson. That means I don’t run first thing in the morning because I have to feed him and pump (and we let him wake up when he wakes up, usually around 7a, and I refuse to wake him earlier or just pump because that morning time is precious). Instead, Nick and I swap the 90-minute time slot immediately after work and before bedtime – meaning whoever has the bigger/harder workout gets that time, while the other work outs after bedtime at 7p. Needless to say, we don’t eat dinner until 8:30p most nights, which has been our life the past decade anyway thanks to ironman training. Sunday long runs are done in between feeds and during nap time. Thank goodness for the baby monitor – and for a husband who helps me make it work, even with his training ♡
As for fueling both to keep my supply up and to run… I eat… a lot. Basically like I do when training for an ironman. And it’s hard and takes a conscious effort to make sure I drink enough water and eat enough calories. I don’t track macros or calories – I don’t have time for that – and instead focus on eating real foods, mostly plants with a side of oat milk lattes, Kettle chips, all the carbs, dark chocolate, and guava booch by the liter.
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