Nuts and Bolts of Bouncing Back after Baby

[wawa]

I know I just need to wait for this kid to actually exit stage left and see how I feel in a few weeks...but I'm impatient.  I've asked variations of this before - but it's ALMOST FINALLY HERE and I just want to have a plan with details.

I was in solid (for me) 10k shape when I got KTFU in November.  Slow as hell compared to many of you, but steady.  This winter sucked with the ice and the cold, so I didn't last long keeping up with anything and haven't really done much besides go for walks since like...December. 

So let's say I get induced on Monday.  I'm going to taking walks as soon as I'm not bleeding.  Assuming I give myself the whole month of august to take it  pretty easy and just walk - and gently start jogging in September I'll have 10 weeks to the 10k I signed up for a million years ago.

I don't want to set any records - I just want to finish solid.  11 minute miles would be fine by me if I can do them steady without having to take walk breaks outside of the water station.  My timing chip malfunctioned on the same 10k (the only one I've done) last year, so any time under 3 hours would technically be a PR.  (I'm still mad about that!  stupid chip)

This sounds doable barring unforeseen complications right?  I thought it did, but then I was looking at couch to 10k and 10k training programs and they're all either like 20 weeks long or assume I can start from running 3 miles.  So...maybe I'm nuts and I need to just be prepared to cover the distance and give up on the not walking thing.  I had a pretty easy recovery with DD, so I'm just working from the base assumption that I get that again, and if I don't...well, then I'll walk it. 

But anybody want to help me figure out a best case scenario training plan?  Or do I really just need to slow my roll and see how I feel once he's here?  I ifeel like if I don't have a plan I'm not going to be able to pry my ass out of bed/off the couch at all.  I need structure, but I'm not the type to push to the point of causing myself harm, so I can scale back on the fly if need be. 

[chitownbelle]

I think you answered your own question...slow your roll and see how you feel once he's here. It all depends on your recovery... I had an induced vaginal delivery, didn't tear too bad, but had so many internal adhesions that I could barely sit without pain for 2 weeks, which was totally unexpected, and I didn't workout for 6 weeks. If this kid comes flying out smoothly and you recover quickly, then just see how you feel and slowly start running again. Just expect to not run this 10k like you would have had it been a year ago.
I didn't run distance for over a year, and have gone into marathon training with no base because of it, and it is not.going.well.
Embrace the summer baby and weather and you will get off the couch with him and get outside. And, congrats in advance, mama!

[chw57]

I think it's totally a wait and see situation. Assuming everything goes smoothly, your 10K sounds totally doable. I didn't have any sort of structured plan after either kid other than starting back at 3 weeks postpartum, and running every other day until they were 6 weeks old and things started to feel a little more normal.

[kams]

I know it probably isn't what you want to hear, but I would really try to take the pressure off on getting back to it. I finished an ironman 2 weeks before conceiving, so I went into my last pregnancy in the best shape of my life. I worked out all the way to the end. And, while I can still run for awhile, or go to hot yoga and make it through class, I certainly can't do it with any consistency at this point (my dd2 is 4.5 months old).

Part of my struggle may not be relatable for you - I have 2 kids now, and my H travels a ton and works long hours. And, she gets motion sickness, so I can barely even take her for walks in the stroller, let alone much running, until she's big enough to face forward. Those things might not be part of your equation -- I hope they are not -- and you may be able to jump right back in and feel great. But, there's just a lot of unknown until baby is here and you get through recovery.

Congratulations! And even if you can't swing this 10k, I promise you, you will be back in action.

[juliabug]

Your experience will be unique to you.

I was on bed rest and did not exercise during much of my pregnancies. I bled for about 6 weeks following my deliveries. I got back in the gym after about 2 months, but it was a very slow process for me. My kids were also terrible sleepers and I struggled with PPD after #1 was born.

I hope you are able to bounce back faster than I did, but be patient with yourself if you don't. Best of luck with your delivery!

[Wines Not Whines]

I agree to slow your roll. It's great to have a plan, but I think finishing a 10k, even if you have to walk half of it, is an ambitious goal for 10 weeks pp.


I would see how you feel on your first few runs. You may realize you need to start over with a Couch to 5k type of plan to gear up again (which is completely fine and common after a break). Or you may be able to get back to it fairly quickly. I think it's hard to predict.

[wawa]

But I don't WANNA! you guys are mean.

Hmph.

(Please let it be clear that I'm joking. Mostly. I know you're all right, but I am getting sooooo impatient for this kid to make his appearance that it's turned ne into an 8 year old)

Though ftr it will be 14 weeks pp for the 10k. I'm not counting the first 4 as viable training time since I'm not totally crazy.

[mrshandy]

You can do it!!

Ok, that's my motivational speech. BUT if you can't, it's ok. It just depends on your recovery, sleep, etc.

I actually found it was easier to find time to run during maternity leave than when I get back to work since I didn't have additional commitments.

10ks will always be there and you will make it back. I'm two years PP and I'm in the best shape of my life and feel like my running is better than ever. Enjoy your baby and know that you can never get the newborn snuggles back!

Also make sure you plaster the board with pictures.

[Wines Not Whines]

Jul 29, 2015 6:35:20 GMT -5 wawa said:

But I don't WANNA! you guys are mean.

Hmph.

(Please let it be clear that I'm joking. Mostly. I know you're all right, but I am getting sooooo impatient for this kid to make his appearance that it's turned ne into an 8 year old)

Though ftr it will be 14 weeks pp for the 10k. I'm not counting the first 4 as viable training time since I'm not totally crazy.

Ok, I misunderstood that part. 14 weeks pp is a more reasonable time frame.

I'm not trying to pooh pooh all over your plans. I ran a 10-mile race 10 or 11 weeks after I had my son. I was slower than pre-pregnancy, and I took walking breaks, but I finished it. I think you can do the 10k. I just wouldn't get too focused on a time goal or anything like that until after you start training again and see where you're at.

[jene]

I'll add to the chorus of take your time. I was very much like you, chomping at the bit to get back into everything. And while I was on maternity leave I had a pretty good rhythm going. And then I went back to work and started traveling, and then A's sleep went to shit until he was a year old. So, be gentle with yourself. A is 15 months now and I find it's much easier to get workouts in now than it was 3-4 months ago.

[runblondie26]

Yep, just take it one day at a time. Celebrate the days you get in a good run, and don't beat yourself up on the days you can't.

I have a nebulous plan to do some 5k's in Nov/Dec (I'm due September 6th), and the Charleston half in January. Time goals are pretty loose at this point. I can estimate times based on previous pp recoveries, but who knows what kind of temperament this baby will have to allow me to workout. Plus, I have 2 other littles to wrangle.

Sounds like you have a very realistic plan, but if you need to extend the timeline to another 10k, no biggie. There will always be another race.

Good luck next week!

[CallingAllAngels]

Jul 29, 2015 7:30:20 GMT -5 mrshandy said:

You can do it!! ... BUT if you can't, it's ok.

This!  I have no first-hand experience since I didn't start running until my baby was almost 2.  Go easy on yourself and do what you can. 

[wawa]

Jul 29, 2015 8:06:11 GMT -5 Wines Not Whines said:

Jul 29, 2015 6:35:20 GMT -5 wawa said:

But I don't WANNA! you guys are mean.

Hmph.

(Please let it be clear that I'm joking. Mostly. I know you're all right, but I am getting sooooo impatient for this kid to make his appearance that it's turned ne into an 8 year old)

Though ftr it will be 14 weeks pp for the 10k. I'm not counting the first 4 as viable training time since I'm not totally crazy.

Ok, I misunderstood that part. 14 weeks pp is a more reasonable time frame.

I'm not trying to pooh pooh all over your plans. I ran a 10-mile race 10 or 11 weeks after I had my son. I was slower than pre-pregnancy, and I took walking breaks, but I finished it. I think you can do the 10k. I just wouldn't get too focused on a time goal or anything like that until after you start training again and see where you're at.

I know this is all totally true.

I am just really curious to see how bouncing back goes.  I was still in my endless cycle of doing the first 4ish weeks of C25k and then falling off the wagon when I had Shorti, and I didn't really get on the wagon for real until after her first birthday so this is my first time with something to come back TO.  I want to just go for a run so badly  just to see if I can, you know?  I mean...right now, no, I can't.  I know that.  I can barely walk around the block before I need a rest.  But dude, KID GET OUT ALREADY MAMA WANTS TO RUN.  Or at least try to run. Run a block and then walk the rest of the loop all chagrined. SOMETHING. My running clothes miss me.

My general impatience and hormonal nonsense at being past EDD again is all mixed up in there too, which isn't helping with keeping rational wawa in charge.

Ok.  I'll stop whining now.  Here at least.  Everybody IRL is going to have to keep listening to me.

[mrshandy]

Jul 29, 2015 8:36:13 GMT -5 wawa said:

Jul 29, 2015 8:06:11 GMT -5 Wines Not Whines said:

Ok, I misunderstood that part. 14 weeks pp is a more reasonable time frame.

I'm not trying to pooh pooh all over your plans. I ran a 10-mile race 10 or 11 weeks after I had my son. I was slower than pre-pregnancy, and I took walking breaks, but I finished it. I think you can do the 10k. I just wouldn't get too focused on a time goal or anything like that until after you start training again and see where you're at.

I know this is all totally true.

I am just really curious to see how bouncing back goes.  I was still in my endless cycle of doing the first 4ish weeks of C25k and then falling off the wagon when I had Shorti, and I didn't really get on the wagon for real until after her first birthday so this is my first time with something to come back TO.  I want to just go for a run so badly  just to see if I can, you know?  I mean...right now, no, I can't.  I know that.  I can barely walk around the block before I need a rest.  But dude, KID GET OUT ALREADY MAMA WANTS TO RUN.  Or at least try to run. Run a block and then walk the rest of the loop all chagrined. SOMETHING. My running clothes miss me.

My general impatience and hormonal nonsense at being past EDD again is all mixed up in there too, which isn't helping with keeping rational wawa in charge.

Ok.  I'll stop whining now.  Here at least.  Everybody IRL is going to have to keep listening to me.

Don't worry, you will run again and soon! Hell I would just try to run/walk now. That's what got DD out for me.

[arch01]

I just looked back at my log to see when I got back up to a 10k-my first 5 mile run was at 13 weeks PP. I started running again at 3w PP. I had a super easy c/s recovery but didn't have anything to train for except a 5k at 11w PP and a half when DS was 9 months old.

I think you can do it, just don't go in with a time expectation. Listen to your body and don't push too hard too fast.

FWIW I totally understand where you are right now. I ran up til the day before I went into labor and it was the most freeing experience to get out the door and go run on my first run PP. I probably looked ridiculous since I'm pretty sure I had a giant grin on my face for the first little bit since I was out of the house, taking care of myself and didn't have to listen to a baby cry for an incredible 30 minutes.

[ktzmoh]

I completely understand your head space right now. Completely. I was not a happy pregnant woman and I had big life things happening outside procreation and I was really eager to move past the pregnant miserable woman stage adn get back to my normal life. You get plenty of hair pats from me.

I would echo what others have said - it's totally reasonable to make a tentative plan and it may happen for you. A 10K 14weeks PP is probably not undoable, especially if you are open to running walking. But also be open to the unknowns. You don't know who is going to pop out of you - they could be a super chill easy going baby or they could be a firecracker colicky baby, they could love sleep and they could hate to sleep.

And feel free to vent here all you want - the great thing about this board is that we never get tired of hearing and vetting crazy racing plans! <3

[Brit]

Another slow your roll! You might have an easy deliver and recovery, and if so that's awesome! But, I will say that even though I had an easy delivery and recovery my main issue was that DD never slept for more than 30 minutes at a time for the first four months, so I had sleep deprivation like nothing I could have imagined. She also needed to eat like every 10 seconds, so that made running tough. I think it is possible, but not a for sure thing. Sending you easy baby vibes!

[breezy8407]

I was only walking 20 weeks on and then on bed rest the final 4 weeks. Twins were born in April. I had a lofty goal of doing a 1/2 in October. It happened, only the October a year later.

The thing I did not account for is just survival mode. I just wanted to get an hour fo sleep let alone go running. Granted, I had two newborns, but still. The hormones are a real b, too. Nursing throws another wrench into things.

My kids were two when I ran a pre-baby 1/2 PR, so you can and will get back to it, it's just going to take some time. I know a lot of ladies here get back to the routine really quick. It just didn't go that way for me and it's okay.

[katinthehat]

Here's my tentative "running" plan, it's a slow your roll program. I was/am fully capable of walking for an hour and covering over 3 miles so I didn't want to go back to just a 30 minute workout like C25K.

So a few weeks ago, I ran a minute, walked 9. For an hour. Then ran 2 minutes, walked 8. This week, I'm up to 3 minutes of running.

When I get up to 8 minutes of running, I'm going to go run 10, walk 5 for an hour. Follow something like that and I bet you can do the 10K within your time frame.

[wawa]

Jul 30, 2015 14:57:52 GMT -5 katinthehat said:

Here's my tentative "running" plan, it's a slow your roll program. I was/am fully capable of walking for an hour and covering over 3 miles so I didn't want to go back to just a 30 minute workout like C25K.

So a few weeks ago, I ran a minute, walked 9. For an hour. Then ran 2 minutes, walked 8. This week, I'm up to 3 minutes of running.

When I get up to 8 minutes of running, I'm going to go run 10, walk 5 for an hour. Follow something like that and I bet you can do the 10K within your time frame.

oh thanks!   this is definitely the kind of thing I was trying to come up with.  Everything I was finding was either way too "easy" or way to aggressive to start - this sounds doable and easy to scale and follow.