“Mariane, would you like to lead a morning run for tourists during summertime?”. It sounded like the perfect coaching opportunity since I love sunrise runs. However, there was one small detail…I got the offer the day after I gave birth. My baby was born in March and the runs were going to start in July. I had 4 months to get back into running, which seemed reasonable to be at least jogging.
Fast forward to the beginning of July, I didn’t run at all, for various reason but the main one was that I didn’t feel my body was ready. So with one week to start the run I needed a training plan to be able to at least jog 4 miles easy. My week training plan was to run 1 mile one day, 2 miles the next day, then 3 miles and finally a full 4 miles.
I stopped running a year ago, when I was four months pregnant, so it was a big deal for me to run again, and I was afraid how my body would respond. I started the run very, very slowly, and right away I felt my muscles growing really tight, my core jiggling, and the weight of my breast feeding boobs a little uncomfortable, but I kept “running”. I ran four laps around the block, each lap a victory for me. I finished the last lap thinking: “Oh my! How am I going to run 2 miles tomorrow?”
The next day I tried to run the 2 miles but I stopped after a few minutes because my hips and groin were too tight, and I was afraid they were going to “pop”. So I just walked for one mile. The day after I decided to run on a treadmill for a softer surface. I was able to jog, but it was the longest two miles ever! It took me 25 minutes, but it felt like I was running fast. The next day after my “hard” treadmill workout, I Ocean Run instead of running 3 miles on the road. In the water my body feels much stronger and comfortable. My training plan wasn’t very successful but that’s all I could manage to do at that moment.
The morning of the first run with the tourists I wasn’t sure if I was ready to jog the 4 miles, so I had a backup plan–an assistant coach that could run faster in case we had a group of fast runners! Thank goodness the group wanted to run an easy pace and stop to take lots of photos. It was a successful inaugural run for them–and for me, since my body felt ok.
After these last 3 months jogging, I am not as afraid to run as I was before, but I also know that I am not ready to run any faster or any longer. I have been researching how runners recover from postpartum and get back to running, and I found a blog about pelvic rehab, so I talked with my doctor, and this week I started physical therapy sessions to strengthen, stretch, activate and stabilize all muscles, joints and tendons that were affected by my pregnancy. So hopefully with this rehab I will be ready to keep running healthy for a very long time!
P.S.: On my next post , I am hoping to share the rehab exercises:)
some dreams are worth sharing…
mariane
running shoes: On Cloudsurfer
outfit: Lululemon
photos by: Mércia Starominski
