When I first was asked to run the half marathon in San Francisco at 29 weeks pregnant, I googled every possible ‘running + pregnant + third trimester’ phrase. Then asked my doctor. I know it should have been the other way around. I completed the race, Tommy and Mommy were OK and the internet haters who said they “wouldn’t feel bad if I had a miscarriage” were silenced.
Now as I look forward to working out again, I feel like I’m in a similar boat googling ‘postpartum + running + when can I start’. During one LA visit, I took a spin class next to a woman that gave birth very recently. Her friend who I sort of knew said, “She gave birth last week!” I know that couldn’t possibly be correct, right? It must have been an exaggeration but by how much I do not know. As it turns out, the standard 6 week recovery period is not a mandatory rule across the board. Given I worked out the day before going into labor, ideally I should be able to workout sooner than the person who stopped during their first trimester, right? I do plan to wait 6 weeks until I start running again but I am itching to do some low impact workouts like barre, spinning, the elliptical and easy strength training sooner.
My Big Goal
When I do start running though, I have a goal. I will be training to run the 2016 Pittsburgh Half Marathon on May 1st! I was asked by GNC to document my postpartum fitness journey and finish with a challenge that takes place in their hometown. The prenatal vitamins that I took during my pregnancy and still am taking for breastfeeding were all bought at GNC so I figured it was a perfect match.
Here are the two vitamins I alternated between buying: Mega Food Baby and Me and Garden of Life Prenatal.
My Fears
Breastfeeding takes a lot of energy and is my number one priority. I’m afraid of how my chest is going to feel when I do put back on a high intensity sports bra. I tried one on this morning and it did NOT fit or feel good. I’m hoping to fit in my runs around Tommy’s breastfeeding schedule but as a newborn, he really doesn’t have a schedule which makes me nervous.
I have a jogging stroller that allows my infant car seat to snap in but he can’t use that for at least another 2 months. Fitting in my training runs is going to be a challenge in addition to the actual work and I’m looking forward to sharing my struggles here on my blog.
Here is a quick video I uploaded yesterday announcing my goal and some more of the fears I have.
If you are a mom, I’d love to hear down below when you started working out again and when you were able to do challengeing workouts.
Disclaimer: This post is sponsored by GNC. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
