The past few weeks have been some of the most challenging, stressful, and intense weeks I’ve (we’ve) ever experienced. To say I’m thankful for the structure and gift of running during this time of global disruption and uncertainty is an understatement. I feel so privileged to have the ability to go out the door for a run – and, most importantly, for my health. 

As I approach 9 months postpartum, I can honestly say I’ve never felt stronger or fitter. But it took so much work and faith to get to this point, and this journey has been anything but linear. I must add the caveat that every woman is different; however, after being disillusioned from social media, I expected this journey to be much different than how it’s played out.

My pregnancy and delivery were relatively uncomplicated. The only part I was somewhat concerned about was the SI joint pain that came on around 24ish weeks. It was bad enough that some days I was limping, and I had no choice but to eliminate running from my exercise regimen at that point in my pregnancy. At this point, I gave myself a lot of grace when it came to fitness (because, you know…growing a human), but I also set some reasonable goals:

1 – do one bike interval workout per week
2 – do one lift per week
3 – do one easy elliptigo ride per week

And anything else was gravy! I supplemented with a lot of hiking as the days got longer and warmer and I really enjoyed the extra time I had to spend with my husband.

I was hoping that when I had the baby, my back pain would disappear… but unfortunately, after delivering Eli, I felt like my body fell apart even more. The SI joint pain didn’t go away whatsoever…and all of a sudden, I developed a neuroma in my foot and a ganglion cyst in my wrist (I eventually received a cortisone injection for this). And I was really shocked with how long it felt like things were taking to heal *down there.* Honestly – I had heard of some women ramping up running after getting cleared at 6 weeks, but running was truly unfathomable to me for quite a long time.

6 Weeks Postpartum
My first postpartum workout was at 6 weeks, and it was a 30-minute elliptigo ride. The first thing I noticed when I started was how much oxygen I could breathe (exercising whilst pregnant is like breathing out of a straw). My organs also didn’t fall out of me, and this was a plus. This week I also started incorporating in lift movements with very light weights and trained by heart rate, always attempting to keep HR at or below 70% of max. For the next 3 weeks, I continued with the XT and light strength work. I also started incorporating brisk walking and interval workouts on the elliptical/elliptigo.

8 Weeks Postpartum 
I attempted a 15-minute run and it felt absolutely terrible.

11 Weeks Postpartum  
I tried another 15-minute run. This time, it was better, but obviously not perfect. I still had an incredible amount of pelvic instability – my SI joint, groin, and even pubic symphysis felt so loose. I wasn’t sure what to think and wrote this in my training log: 

Sleep has been rough the past few nights, so I shifted this to today. I ran slowly. Just not sure what to think. My pelvis and back feel AWFUL. Like horrible while running. But completely fine afterwards. And I leaked a little on this run but starting pelvic PT on Wednesday. I miss feeling like myself.

I continued with short runs but also decided to focus on more of a structured, 3x/week lift program, focusing on bilateral movements and high reps. 

13 Weeks Postpartum 
This is when I broke up with running. It just wasn’t enjoyable, and my back was still bothering me. I realized that I needed to adjust my expectations and fix my SI joint issue. Insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results…and enough was enough. So, I approached my boss at the gym, Mike Ranfone. I asked him to help. I knew if he couldn’t help me, no one could. 

14 Weeks Postpartum 
I started my rehab lift program from Mike on October 28th. This was a 3x/week program, focusing on my specific weaknesses (lateral strength + anti-rotation). If you asked me before I got pregnant if I thought I’d still be rehabbing 14 weeks out, I’d give you a hard stare and say hell no. But here we were. 

17 Weeks Postpartum  
I gave running another try, this time for 10 minutes. I had already started feeling the difference from the strength program, but by no means felt healed. Running was still scary (anyone w/ a chronic injury/pain will understand this) and honestly if it wasn’t for my coach, David Roche, I probably wouldn’t have even gotten out the door to try 10 minutes in the first place.

20 Weeks Postpartum 
I was sticking to 15-20-minute runs and, for the first time in MONTHS, felt a difference in how I felt running. The strength was paying off. But…

21 Weeks Postpartum 
…these weeks were the hardest because I felt like I was working really hard and still had low level pain in runs. I took another week away from running at 21 Weeks because I was pissed and frustrated at the lack of linear progression. Frankly I was sick and tired of not feeling like myself. 

David reminded me that the little efforts we put into the beginning of a buildup are never a waste of time (this is why coaches need coaches…) My new mantra was to focus on just showing up and believing that the little stuff, even the 15-minute runs, would pay off.

23 Weeks Postpartum – the believing paid off… 
At 23 weeks PP, I started my third phase of rehab-focused strength from Mike. And this is when things started clicking, On January 12th, I ran 25 minutes and wrote this in my training log: 

THIS. This was the run where everything made me believe that I must trust the process. Today, I forgot my back hurt. I forgot I had a baby 6 months ago. I didn’t pee my pants. Everything felt incredible.

26 Weeks Postpartum 
During this entire process, I had been seeing a doctor for my back. I received an MRI that looked fine, and he refused to give me a cortisone injection until I went to PT & worked on strength. Throughout this process, there was never a thought in my mind that I WOULDN’T get the injection…until 26 weeks PP. This is when I realized that, while not perfect, for the first time in a year, my back felt significantly better. I wrote this in my training log: 

I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I’m considering not asking for the cortisone. What is life?

Strength was working. I was fixing my imbalance by being patient, believing in the process, and lifting heavy weights. 

When the doc walked into my room on the afternoon of my appointment, he had a huge grin on his face because he knew things were clicking for me. I told him I couldn’t believe it, but after 10+ weeks of dedicating myself to fixing the injury, I was well on my way to being pain-free. We scheduled a follow-up appointment in 3 months (May) to reassess. I am definitely not anti-cortisone (neither is the doc) but it just didn’t make sense to schedule one while things were on the rise.

The decision to not move forward with cortisone (for the time being) was in February. In between then and now (mid-March), David has helped me safely build up my running. I am up to 45-60-minute runs 4-5 days per week and I have never felt stronger in my entire life (but let’s be v clear: 60 min runs still feel like a legitimate marathon). 

Another big part of this process has been dealing with a pesky neuroma (nerve irritation between the metatarsals.) It’s required me to find new shoes and I think I’m FINALLY in a place where I’m feeling really confident about my current shoe selections, as the neuroma doesn’t bother me one bit while running anymore.

One of my favorite pairs is the New Balance 1080 from Zappos – also available in wide, which my postpartum feet NEED!! 😍 I am in love with this newest update of the shoe. The sole is much thicker than past versions due to the Fresh Foam…but that doesn’t make the shoe feel heavy at all. It’s got a very plush and smooth ride, which is what me and my irritated foot nerves love. The upper is also much different from past versions, built with a soft and flexible knit material. This shoe is definitely a staple trainer for the neutral runner looking for a decent heel-toe drop (this comes in @ 8mm). I also absolutely love the colors it comes in. Click the link here, to purchase these AMAZING, intelligently cushioned shoes! 

 

So if there’s anything this postpartum journey has taught me, it’s that expectations are garbage, and I’m really just so thankful to be feeling good right now, because I honestly didn’t think I’d get to this point without medical intervention. The reality is that having a baby is a huge stress on the body…so healing takes a long time, too, and that’s ok. In the coming months, I’ve got my eyes set on a few local trail races and potentially even a marathon in the fall….?!?!!? But mostly I’m excited to keep this party going. It’s been 4 years since I really felt my best while running, and it’s about time to chase after some new dreams and goals.