Post-pregnancy running was extremely different after both of my pregnancies. While I was pregnant with Quinn, I didn't run much after 12 weeks or so. I found out I was pregnant the beginning of October 2011. I was scheduled to do the Des Moines Marathon two weeks later, but decided that dropping down to the half and taking it easy was the best course of action. After that, I didn't run another step. I was a big fan of the elliptical, which I did about 5 times per week for 30 minutes. I was able to do this up until the day before I went into labor at 36 weeks. Quinn weighed 7 lbs 1 ounce and was a perfect first child. He slept through the night at 5 weeks. He rarely fussed and was very laid back. I felt pretty good after having him, so I tried running two week post-partum. While the first couple days went okay, I soon had to stop because of achilles and hip issues. (I guess I didn't want long enough for my body to go back to normal.) I was absolutely crushed. It goes without saying that Quinn was totally worth it, but I was so looking forward to running again. I ended up taking 4 more weeks off and started back up injury free. I had signed up for the Chicago Marathon in October 2012...I was sure that I'd be able to handle motherhood, running, work, etc. And actually, everything was going really well until I went back to work. When September hit, I was so burned out. Although I was using my spin bike and elliptical, I think I ran about twice that month. While I was able to finish the marathon in 4:20, EVERY.SINGLE.MILE of that race felt terrible. Strange race. Seriously, mile three felt just as bad as mile 20.
After that, I was able to get my momentum back a bit and had a decent winter and fall. However, I found out that I was pregnant again at the end of March. Although I was signed up to run the half that coming May, I ended up backing out of it due to early issues with the pregnancy. The problems continued and at the end of July, I was hospitalized twice for hemorraging blood. Although I was never officially put on bed rest (in hind sight, I should have been), I obviously did not run or workout at all during this ordeal. I had some pretty serious issues through August until my water finally broke on the 18th. A day later, Anders was born at 24 weeks via c-section.
Most doctors recommend that you do not run for 8 weeks following a c-section. At my two week check up, I asked the doctor if I was allowed to do some walking. He surprised me by saying that it looks like I was healing fabulously and could try some running....which of course I did. I think with Quinn, it was more my type-A personality taking over and pushing me to run, but this time it was much different. This time, running allowed me to cope and heal with the hardest situation that life has ever thrown our family. Sometimes I just think God works in mysterious ways. With my running back, I felt like I had something to grasp onto, something good in front of me to keep putting one foot in front of the other and get through each tough day.
I have this new drive. This week alone, I have done 400 repeats and mile repeats. Philip and I are doing a 15 miler on Saturday. While our life with Anders is unpredictable, I CAN control my running and my workouts. Much to Philip's chagrin, I still cry a lot. The treadmill is a great place for me to get rid of my sad and negative feelings. (If you can think of another way, please let me know. There are only so many miles that I can run...)
We can do this! Keep those miles comin' in!
Crying is nature's way of letting off steam! Let the tears flow! When water in a tea pot boils, it whistles, when our emotions fill us up, our eyes leak. It's natural and therapeutic, and nothing to feel bad about!
ReplyDeleteHugs, ReNae