I am now a little over 6 months postpartum and have been running for about 5 of those months.
My return to running after having Bjorn was very slow and cautious but now that I’ve developed a solid base, my mileage and intensity have increased quite quickly over the last couple of months.
At 4 months postpartum I ran 40 miles, and at the end of this week–a little over 6 months postpartum, I am planning on running 70 miles. I’ve been fortunate to be steadily increasing my mileage each week but also taking a down-week when my body needs it. I’ve been doing 1 or 2 speed/interval/tempo workouts a week, plus a long run on the weekend.
Here’s how my mileage has progressed since returning to running:
4 weeks postpartum: 5 miles
5 weeks postpartum: 4.5 miles
6 weeks postpartum: 7.5 miles
7 weeks postpartum: 9 miles
8 weeks postpartum: 6 miles
9 weeks postpartum: 7 miles
10 weeks postpartum: 13 miles
11 weeks postpartum: 17 miles
12 weeks postpartum: 20 miles
13 weeks postpartum: 24 miles
14 weeks postpartum: 28 miles
15 weeks postpartum: 30 miles
16 weeks postpartum: 21 miles
17 weeks postpartum: 24 miles
18 weeks postpartum: 35 miles
19 weeks postpartum: 40 miles
20 weeks postpartum: 36 miles
21 weeks postpartum: 45 miles
22 weeks postpartum: 50 miles
23 weeks postpartum: 52 miles
24 weeks postpartum: 37 miles
25 weeks postpartum: 55 miles
26 weeks postpartum: 60 miles
27 weeks postpartum: 65 miles
My easy pace is starting to drop now that the snow and ice have mostly melted, but I still have difficulty moving my legs fast when it is cold out.
I am desperately looking forward to no snow, one layer of clothing, no mittens, and warmer weather. This is a hard time of the year for me because every other state (Minnesota included) now has warmer weather, no snow, and it’s spring there! It’s so close I can taste it and feel it in the air. I also know it is getting close because it is no longer pitch black when I start my morning runs!
Of course, the biggest news in the last month has been the development of COVID-19 and a lot of businesses having to close during this time and everyone being ordered to stay at home. I miss my access to the gym and our indoor 400 meter track for hard workouts, but I’m doing my best to get quality workouts in each week. None of them have been stellar, but I am trying to remind myself that this is a good time to base-build as I’m not sure how many (if any) races I will be running this summer. Plus, once the snow melts off the tracks in town, I’ll be able to do plenty of hard workouts this summer.
I asked on Instagram whether people were running (or working out/being active) more, less, or about the same since “hunkering down.” I was surprised how many people said they were working out more. I’ve definitely seen more people out-and-about when I’ve been running, which is awesome!
Postpartum Hair Loss
Within the last couple of months, I’ve noticed some postpartum hair loss. Not the fistfuls that some people talk about but definitely more than I usually lose. I don’t remember any postpartum hair loss with Cullen, but then again I may not have known it was a thing and my hair was much shorter around the same time.
Postpartum Body
I feel like this is always a tricky subject to talk about since everyone is at a different place with themselves after having a baby. I, personally, do weigh myself a couple times a week as a check-in. The combination of breastfeeding (and the additional calories that requires), plus running, and frankly being so busy I don’t feel like I have time to eat as much as I should has helped shed the weight I gained during my pregnancy. However, the skin around my stomach is still lose and has stretch marks on it. I know this will change as time goes on.
I still have incontinence if I run in the afternoon or evening. It has gotten better, but it still happens even if I go to the bathroom right before I run. I need to be better about doing my PT exercises. If we didn’t have to social distance right now, I would probably be going to PT for my pelvic floor to keep myself accountable.
I am still exclusively breastfeeding Bjorn, and I have been able to maintain my milk supply during these higher mileage week by drinking plenty of water, eating higher fat foods (avocados, nuts, nut butters, full-fat dairy products, etc.), and trying to eat as much as I can. (I can’t remember the last time I felt full. Ha!) I breastfed Cullen until 14 months and plan to do the same with Bjorn.
I am glad that my injuries are under control right now. I have been trying to take 10-15 minutes every day to do some bodyweight exercises to build my glute strength, which is the underlying cause of my high hamstring injury.
Postpartum Baby
As far as Bjorn himself, I can honestly say that things are starting to feel easier each month with Bjorn. He is still a pretty clingy baby, but if he is well-rested and fed, he’ll let us set him down for 10 or 15 minutes at times. He has started eating solid foods, some of his naps are starting to stretch out longer than 30 minutes, and he absolutely lights up when Cullen walks into the room. It is incredibly precious to see, and Cullen has been a great older brother.
Postpartum Mind
Thankfully my hormones stayed pretty stable after having Bjorn. If anything, I remember more swings with Cullen, but that could have also been due to his terrible sleep habits. I am getting pretty decent sleep these days, which helps immensely. It isn’t 8 hours of uninterrupted sleep as I’ll often wake-up just because or when Craig goes to the bathroom. Bjorn will often sleep through the night, but he also has nights where he wakes up once or twice before we go to bed, or for some odd reason he was up about 5 times last night, which is definitely not the norm.
I am really going to miss not being able to race much this summer, but I am still hoping to try and run a marathon before the end of the year. It is just so hard to plan right now, but hopefully things will become more clear as this month progresses.
