09/01/2026
I am 5 weeks into my return to run postpartum & I’m still waiting for running to feel ✨ good ✨ again. It’s truly been the worst body feeling return to run I’ve gone through and I’ve had 4 previously (BSI in metatarsal in college in 2008 on crutches/boot for 3 months with only some pool running towards the end, 6 years off during law school and becoming a lawyer 👩⚖️ no cardio fitness at all in returning in 2015, labrum tear in 2022 with 6 weeks off no XT full rest, low grade hamstring tear in 2025 with a month off and some XT towards the end but mostly full rest).
So my point is, I’ve been totally unfit and rebuilt myself. I’ve been injured and rebuilt myself. This one hits so different bc you’re doing it while hormonally unstable, nutritionally not in an ideal place bc your baby took it all from you (as they should - love you Alice 💕) + birth (bye ferritin, hemoglobin, hematocrit and all the other things you need for oxygen transport ☠️ as an endurance athlete) you’re in a body that was stretched out over 10 months, center of gravity is so off balance, and once your baby is born you’re extremely sleep deprived for months.
Some days I feel so stiff, locked in my body and like the tinman in my joints. ⚙️ Other days I feel like Gumby and like I could roll an ankle every step I take like my tendons and ligaments are all floppy. My first few trail runs I felt uncoordinated and clumsy like I was going to fall over - it’s gotten gradually better each week. I can’t run downhill and it’s like my form and posture still thinks I’m pregnant. My first postpartum period was so wildly heavy for 13 days it sent me to the ER.
So, why do you do it? How do you do it?
Because I love running and I know it WILL feel good again. I will be the runner I once was, and hold optimism I will be even stronger & faster ahead.
Cautious. Deliberate. Patient. Adaptable. Positive thinking. Keep getting out the door. Keep putting one foot in front of the other. 💜 🏃🏼♀️
