1. Walk first!

 

I know this is hard for some people. Myself included. If I hadn’t have found Expecting and Empowered you better believe I would have been lacing up the day of my 6-week appointment for a 3-mile loop. And you know what, I probably could have powered through it. Not realizing that my insides needed SO MUCH MORE TIME to heal.

A friend of mine put it this way and it helped me a lot. When the placenta detaches from the uterus it’s the size of a dinner plate. That’s the size of the wound that needs to heal on the inside. Just because we can’t see it, doesn’t mean it’s not there.

Krystle (from E & E) recommends not running until 12 weeks post-partum OR until cleared by your own PT.

Also, its good to check if you have any prolapse before beginning. I was “cleared” at 6-weeks PP from an OB but when I visited my PT she found I did have a slight prolapse of my bladder and uterus (aka they had descended from where they should have been). If I had jumped back into running right away there is a high chance I would have caused it to worsen.

2. Retrain your brain and core how to breathe/ contract.

 

 

My PT is not a runner (she’s a cute little former gymnast with baby bangs and Austin flare), but she asked me, “do you breathe in rhythm when you run?”. I had to think, “like 3 steps inhale, 3 steps exhale? Only when I’m running fast enough to need to.” Well, time to start! I started practicing without running,

“Inhale– relax the pelvic floor. Exhale-contract the pelvic floor”.

This took some work, honestly. Then I had to translate it to my running stride. Wow, I’ve been running for how long without this type of core engagement?! It takes a lot of concentration. Aka, I haven’t listened to a podcast since restarting…but I think my upper body form has improved.

3. Walk/run.

You know I’m a little type-A. I love plans, check-lists, marking things off. I think my PT could tell. “I’m going to give you a return-to-running plan to follow” Aka… “I know its going to be hard for you to go slow but if you have a list of how to progress, I know it will be easier for you.”

1 min run / 5 min walk… 5 cycles

1 min run / 4 min walk…5 cycles

1 min run / 3 min walk…5 cycles

You get the idea. Until I could complete the “workout” without peeing my pants at all, I couldn’t move on. If I started to leak during the workout, I had to finish with walking. It’s been slow. Sometimes I would try to jump ahead (yes, guilty), only to find I would sabotage the rest of the workout. I finally worked up to one mile straight, then two miles. I can count on one hand how many times I’ve run three miles without walk breaks. Add the stroller dynamic and I have to cut back down to my run /walk cycles…because it takes away from my core contracting and my concentration. Yes, it really takes me a lot of concentration!

4. Find ways to work your cardiovascular system without then running.

 

During this slow progression, I have missed that feeling or working hard (heart-pumping kinda feeling)! So, I’ve had to find other outlets! Hill intervals on the treadmill and swimming laps have been my go – to. Also, super-setting (doing two exercises back to back 3-4 times though) my strength training gets my heart rate up quite a bit without having to do any jumping or plyometrics.

Here are some other cardio workouts Krystle put together.

POST PARTUM CARDIO

5. Don’t give up!

I’ve had to tell myself this a lot. I know, it’s only been five months. But sometimes I feel like saying, “forget it, I like strength training well enough and I’ll probably never get back to where I was.” This is when I bring in external motivation.

• I found a 5k to participate in. Road races are SO FUN. If you have never done one, just try it. There is a reason people get addicted to having a participation medal placed around their neck! I needed a goal, a small goal even, to keep me moving forward.
• I started going with friends. I found a few gals to stroller run with and the change of scenery once a week can totally change my mood about running.

• I watched the Boston Marathon. Even though it was hard for me in some ways (insert jealously emoji)… I knew it would inspire me. It did.

Final thoughts…and a few more helpful tips!

1. Don’t skip strength training.

 

 

2. Get a good pair of shoes.

 

 

3. Recruit a cheerleader 📣!