244. Pregnancy & Postpartum Running Journey W/ Coach Mary & Victoria

We did a podcast about postpartum and pregnant running back in spring of 2021, and we decided to do another episode about this topic to answer questions we have gotten from our listeners. In this podcast Coach Mary will be joining me in chatting about her 2 pregnancy and postpartum running experiences. I am a mom of 3 kids 6 and under myself. Together we have had our share of struggles and triumphs during this stage of life. We hope sharing our experiences can help you navigate this season without feeling so alone. We will be talking about lots of pregnancy and postpartum related things in this episode, so if that isn’t your jam, probably best to skip this weeks episode :) We also are not medical professionals and just sharing our our experiences. Please consult with your doctor before starting any exercise program or advice on your specific situation.

Pregnancy Experiences:

1. Pre pregnancy & TTC

1. Lots of messages about how long it takes to get pregnant

2. Does running impact fertility?

3. Have you ever lost your period from running

1. First Trimester

1. Symptoms 

2. How does training change

3. Fear?

2. Second Trimester

1. Symptoms 

2. How does training change

3. Unsolicited advice?

3. Third Trimester

1. `Symptoms 

2. How does training change

Birth Experiences:

1. “Does training help with birth”

1. C section vs vaginal

2. Spontaneous vs induction

3. Epidural vs no epidural

4. Birth = so many unknowns

Recovery timeline

1. Rest/Healing 2 weeks

2. Walks 4-12 weeks

3. Core engagement exercises expecting and empowered 

4. Pelvic floor PT

5. Walk/Runs 6-12 weeks

What is postpartum like?

1. Everyone’s situation is different

1. Sleep

2. Help/support

3. Recovery

4. Desire to train

2. Is postpartum running harder than pregnant running?

1. Expectations vs reality 

2. It took you a long time to build the fitness before pregnancy, so it will take awhile to get back to old levels

3. Pregnancy takes 9 months to make the baby… give yourself time to get back to feeling like yourself

Breastfeeding

1. How do you ‘maintain your supply’

2. Best breastfeeding sports bras

3. pumping/feeding before and after runs

4. Mastitis

Training

1. How long does it feel to get back to norma

2. How long does it take until you sleep again?

3. How do you find the time to train?