My First Postpartum Race - I'm BACK!
I did it! I ran my first race since having Quentin and honestly - it went better than I expected!
I’ve shared a bit on my Instagram about some of the setbacks I’ve had since coming back to running postpartum. To summarize, I had symptoms of prolapse (heaviness) without actual prolapse (yah, but still not a fun feeling) and really had to work on strengthening my glutes, core, and overall stability before I successfully returned to running again at the end of July. Since then, I’ve built back from a run/walk to a continuous run and hit my longest postpartum run last weekend at 6.5 miles! I still experience some heaviness now and then, but it’s likely due to the fact that I’m still breastfeeding and my pelvic PT assures me that my pelvic floor is strong enough to run. The journey is never linear, am I right?! I’ve had to be extremely patient through this process, but knew that running would always be there if I did things the right way.
I had to get some races on the schedule, less for motivation and more to just get myself back into the routine of training and to focus on the buildup again. This local 5K in early October seemed like a low stress race with a later start time so I could keep Q on his schedule, we could walk to the start and not have to worry about a long journey or early wake up. It would be about 9 weeks after starting from a run/walk again, so I felt confident I’d be able to run a continuous 5K by race day.
Feeling good and happy at the start!
I’d done some strides over the last couple weeks, but running fast still felt very strange for my body. I was unsure I’d really be racing or if I’d just be out for my daily run. I was thinking a 25-26 minute finish would be good for me. My race plan from my coach was to run the first mile easy, then focus on picking off other runners for the next two miles and just pushing down the pace if I could. The race starts uphill and the course is generally pretty hilly, so I felt fine taking it easy. Of course when you get into the race environment, that’s hard to do!
As we headed out, I knew I was going a bit fast. I had just done a walking warm up and some dynamic stretching so I pulled back a bit. I felt some heaviness in the first half mile, but it started to go away. I was being very delicate with my steps, trying to be light on my feet and reduce the pounding. As I started to feel better, I got into a good groove and saw Ricky and Q just before mile one. Instead of a clock at the mile marker, they had a volunteer yelling out the time. He yelled something in the 7s when I ran by. “Wow! That’s too fast!” I thought. But I felt good and now it was time to start picking people off.
The course went into a downhill here before heading back uphill. As we passed near the start line again, there were some people cheering which is always motivating and I just thought, man it feels so good to be in a race again! I felt surprisingly strong on the hills which is not like me. I guess my body has gotten used to training on hills the last 2.5 months! As we cruised, I just focused on the ponytail in front of me and trying to catch it (they have a men’s race and a women’s race - you can race in either, but I opted for the women’s race because it was later). I think I knocked off about 13-14 runners in the last 2 miles.
Felt strong coming into the finish!
I saw Q and Ricky 2 more times and each time felt good enough to smile and wave, so I knew I was in control and feeling good. The final 200 meters is over a bridge and into a nice downhill and I had enough left for a finishing kick in the 6s! I felt like I was going to puke at the end, and I missed that so much! I came in at 22:58 and am so happy with the results! It’s so far from my PR, but considering I wasn’t running 9 weeks ago, this is a great result and I’m feeling so confident in my progress!
Missed this post race feeling of wanting to puke!
Very happy with these splits and that final kick!
Racing hasn’t felt super important to me in my return to running for a variety of reasons. Maybe it’s the pandemic. Maybe it’s because it’s been hard to have several setbacks after being away from running for so long due to pregnancy. I’ve struggled with how running will fit into my life, if it’s worth the fight to keep at it, and if I’ll ever truly be able to chase my big goals again. The last several weeks, running has been more for my mental health than anything else, but I felt the spark again this past weekend and felt more like myself than I have in a very long time. This race let me know that running is something I love and that I still have the drive to improve.
Thank you all for sticking around on this long and patient journey as I’ve made my way back. I’m excited to keep chasing big goals and dreams and eventually get after that sub 3 hour marathon (when I can get better sleep)!
J
