Welcome back to my postpartum journey back to running! Two weeks ago, I introduced myself and shared Addison’s birth story. While Addison’s birth may have been the end of my pregnancy experience, it was just the beginning of my postpartum journey.
Before having Addison, I was chatting with other moms about their experiences and what the best piece of advice they had for the recovery period. I noticed a common trend: BE PATIENT and DON’T RUSH THE RECOVERY PERIOD. Many of these moms waited 12 weeks before running again to allow their bodies ample time to recover and adapt to less sleep, nursing, and allow the hormones to begin to balance out again. Levels of the hormone relaxin are still high after giving birth resulting in looser ligaments and an increased risk of injury. There are also other factors and risks to consider such as: postpartum hemorrhaging, stitches, prolapse, PPD or “baby blues”, breast engorgement, weak pelvic floor, and I’m sure many others that I am forgetting.
Of course, it is so important to listen to your body and know that your experience is going to be different than your friends. Don’t get caught up in someone else’s timeline. Some women experience few symptoms, heal quickly, and are able to begin sooner while others may need longer than 12 weeks, but being cautious and conservative in the beginning is wise. It is best to go off of symptoms rather than a specific timeline.
To be honest, I had no desire to run or do anything other than a short leisurely walk for the first 4-5 weeks of Addison’s life. My body was not healed and my energy levels were low. When I went in for a 2 week postpartum appointment, the doctor said I was about 40-50% healed, but I needed to wait another few weeks before beginning pelvic floor PT due to a few symptoms I was experiencing.
Around 5-6 weeks postpartum, I began to have the desire to run again, but was not cleared by my doctor and PT or physically ready to do so. To ease in, get outside, and see how my body felt under light stress, I went for stroller walks ranging from 1-5 miles. There were walks where I felt almost like my pre-pregnancy self and others where I was struggling with leaking, hip pain, pain where my stitches were, or abdominal achiness and would need to rest the remainder of the day or back off. I was not following any specific plan and didn’t think of my walks as workouts. Giving yourself complete flexibility to listen to your body is critical for your comeback and for your joy. I saw my walks as an opportunity to enjoy the weather that was warming up and soak up some outside time with Addy. They did not happen daily and they were not fast or forced.
Throughout the entire process, I have been communicating with my doctor, pelvic floor physical therapist, chiropractor, and coach. Setting up a team of professionals who you trust and who can keep you honest as you return to running is so important. You need to be working with people you can be open and honest with. I began working with one physical therapist at 5 weeks, but ended up switching to someone else at 9 weeks who I felt more confident in and connected with. If I could go back, I would have made the switch sooner. Trust your intuition when it comes to who you are trusting with your recovery. You should never feel like you are forcing a relationship or trying to convince yourself that you are in the right place. There will be someone you can confidently go to for your recovery and health. Without this team of support, I would push myself and come back too soon.
In a couple of weeks, I will share about my first run back and how I’ve progressed from a single 20 second run within a walk to now running a continuous 20 minutes.
Joyfully,
Breanna
