These days, there is no shortage of moms doing amazing running things. At 15 months postpartum, Elle St Pierre won the USA Olympic track trials 5000m in a record breaking sprint finish and followed that up by coming third in the 1500m. Canada’s very own Malindi Elmore, mother of two, competed epically in the Olympic marathon, her third trip to the Games. Another Canadian, Briana Scott, who has a 2-year-old son, is headed to the Olympics in the 5000m. This can get you fired up and wanting to jump right back into training, “If these women can be at the top of their game postpartum, why can’t I?”
However, starting your return to the running journey can be intimidating and, unfortunately, there is a lack of education on the topic. First and foremost, always listen to your health team. Although you might be told by your antenatal care provider that you are OK to begin running, you may need more time. It’s worthwhile to be assessed by a pelvic physio no matter how you delivered your baby.
Once you have medical clearance, how do you know if you are ready to run? The medical consensus suggests that one should be able to pass the following tests before heading out for a run:
- Walk for 30mins
- Single leg balance for 10s/leg
- Single leg squats 10/leg
- Jog on the spot for 1min
- Forward bound x10
- Single leg hop 10/leg
- Calf raise x20
- Single leg bridge 20/leg
- Single leg sit to stand
The general guidance is that new mothers should wait three to twelve weeks and allow all birth related injuries to be healed before resuming running. Aside from that, it should be individualized—making it hard to know when is the right time. My personal experience was eleven weeks off running postpartum.
It’s important to remember that you can still be active before coming back to running.
The reason it takes a while to get back to running is due to its high impact nature. However, you can be working toward the above tests through other cardio and strength. Strength work should be specific to running (if getting back on the run as quickly as possible is your goal).
Personally, I did a lot of walking for the first six weeks and then slowly introduced the elliptical thereafter. For strength building, I started with very light work (breathing/core) and progressed to single leg and weighted work.
Now that you’re medically cleared and physically ready, you can start putting together a running plan. Leave the ego at the door and set realistic expectations. The first consideration is how long you’ve actually been away from training (not just running but real training). For me this was around twenty-five weeks, even though I ran right up until I gave birth and took eleven weeks off postpartum.
WARNING… You will not feel the same as you did previously!
Your body has literally grown, birthed and now is feeding another human! This is no small feat, and it’s fair that your body is not going to feel the same (or as good) as it once did, not to mention the current energy demands of breastfeeding and potential lack of sleep. I felt like Bambi during my first several runs and it took many weeks for my body to feel like it was my own. It has been a humbling experience and running did not feel natural until about five months postpartum, and we still have some work to do!
Here’s an example of how to ease back into running: start by going for a walk and sprinkling in jogs. I’m now eleven weeks into my return to running and I did seven weeks of run/walks, starting with every third day. I started with a brisk walk for 5-10mins, then added 5-10x of 30 seconds (slow) running + 2:30 of walking. I finished with another 5-10 minutes of brisk walking.
It was slow in the beginning. But I was able to continue progressing and I’m now back to 6x/week of straight runs. Be sure to only progress to the next run if the previous run was symptom free.
Symptoms to watch for include:
- Bleeding
- Pain
- Lack of bladder/bowel control
- Heaviness in the pelvis
- Swelling
- Decreased milk supply
Finally, try to embrace the process. You’re not alone in feeling like you’re in a new and different body, because you are. I assumed getting back into running postpartum would be like coming back from an injury, but it’s not. It’s a whole body experience. I’ve had more runs that feel awkward or bad than feel good or natural. Five months on, I’m starting to feel a little more normal. Everyone’s journey will be different. Do your best and try not to compare yourself or compete with others. And remember, you have the cutest new number one fan cheering you on, which is amazing.
Dr. Brittany Moran is a chiropractor, Certified Strength & Conditioning Specialist (NSCA) and
Certified Endurance Club Coach (NCCP). Find her @TORunningChiro, torunningchiro.com. You can find more about her personal journey on Instagram and Strava. PS: She’s open to book personal appointments and lovely.
Our Magazine
