The answer to how much and how fast to run after giving birth, just like how much and how fast to run before giving birth, differs from woman to woman. A lot of it has to do with how tough your pregnancy and delivery were. A standard guideline is to wait about six weeks after a vaginal delivery, a bit more for a C-section. Again, though, those are just general guidelines. Part of being a runner is being in touch with your body, and you should have a feel for when it’s right to get going again. Gwyn Coogan started running again only 10 days after giving birth, but Janis Klecker waited eight weeks. As some women runners have pointed out, you never know until it’s too late if you tried to come back too soon. In this sense, starting to run again after giving birth can be a lot like starting again after an injury. You’re always going to be wondering if it’s OK to try to progress, and you’re going to feel a lot different running than you used to. That’s especially the case for new mothers who are probably trying to run with more weight than they had before being pregnant.
Your joints and ligaments remain loose for about nine months to a year after delivery. This looseness makes you especially susceptible to injury during this time, so you should avoid hills and uneven terrain. Put all those factors together, and most women runners who have been through the process, even highly motivated ones like Coogan and Klecker, think it’s a good idea to err on the side of caution. Some women say that once they return to their regular running program after giving birth, they feel much stronger. Of course, there’s a psychological side to this. As Louise Kelley, a top local runner in the Washington, DC area, says about being a running mother, there’s nothing like a forced nine months off to get you really motivated.
No comments:
Post a Comment