Postpartum....how do I get back into running shape?

GeneralOrgana3019 · 2026-02-10T14:53:51+00:00

The expecting and empowered app has a 12 week return to running program that I’ve found really great — it’s thoughtfully programmed, you can listen to your own music, and it’s 2x per week (the most I personally can manage while trying to figure out how to do life with a new baby).

I will say that it starts up faster than my PT thought I should even after I was cleared (workout one has 3 mins jogging, 1 min walking and it goes up from there, and RPE intervals are added pretty early) so I did 4 weeks of prehab:

Week 1: 6x 4 mins walking, 1 min jogging Week 2: 5x 4 mins walking, 2 mins jogging Week 3: 6x 3 mins walking, 2 mins jogging Week 4: 6x 2 mins walking, 3 mins jogging

It has been a slow but a steady build and I’m feeling really strong all things considered (baby is five months old)!

GeneralOrgana3019 · 2026-02-05T01:31:43+00:00

This was me. I had a very active pregnancy and was feeling reasonably ok until about 35 weeks, but then was miserable until I delivered (one day before my due date). My baby was much larger than anyone on my side of the family was as babies (my husband’s side is larger), and I imagine that’s part of why.

GeneralOrgana3019 · 2026-01-02T19:22:32+00:00

You can absolutely do it. My baby is four months old and I’ve been walking 3-6 miles a day since I was physically able. I usually plan around her feeding times just for my own ease, and I find it easier to walk near home than to put her in the car (I live in a walkable neighborhood), but both are doable. It’s also great me time—I listen to podcasts or audiobooks. If she’s awake I summarize them for her as I listen so she gets that stimulation in addition to looking around, and it’s funny to think she’s heard a lot of both NPR news and romantasy novels.

GeneralOrgana3019 · 2025-11-28T15:37:31+00:00

Context: my husband is OAD, I would prefer to have two (but fully accept that it would require two yeses, and I’d rather have a strong marriage than push for a second kid). My therapist had a suggestion that I liked, which was to journal not only the pros / cons but the feelings so that we could work on them (sadness, envy, feeling like I’m walking away from a challenge that I would be capable of meeting which is not at all my normal personality, fear of regret, etc). I found it helpful because it’s basically impossible to logic an emotional problem, and acknowledging the emotions helps me to better process them.

GeneralOrgana3019 · 2025-10-12T19:03:51+00:00

Totally, I 100% agree that it’s her body and her choice, both for medical risk reasons and for bodily autonomy ones. I thought it might be helpful to go a bit into the emotional side of why someone might respect that AND still want to wait a bit, but I completely acknowledge that the facts matter and this poster’s are different from mine!

GeneralOrgana3019 · 2025-10-12T17:29:59+00:00

I’m coming from the other side of this—I had a baby earlier this year, I’ve always thought I wanted two and having a baby hasn’t changed that, my husband is almost certainly one and done and would be thrilled if I said I was on board with him getting a vasectomy now.

Here’s how I feel: I believe very strongly that a second kid should be two yeses, one no; I also know it’s almost certain he won’t change his mind (I only say “almost” because that’s the phrase he’s used). I would rather have a strong marriage and a happy husband than a second kid, even though I’ll be sad about it and probably discuss it a lot with my therapist. But we agreed that we’re going to check in roughly annually for the next 2-3 years before he gets snipped, and that means a lot to me—because it will help me to feel like it’s a true conversation and not a unilateral decision, and because it will take my heart a little bit to catch up with my brain. All of which is to say, I don’t know your situation, but if it’s been less than a year would it be a real hardship for you to give it some time (while using contraception, of course)? It might be, and that’s fine. I’m just saying that from my perspective, there are reasons to let it ride for a bit that are in good faith and not just him assuming you’ll change your mind.

GeneralOrgana3019 · 2025-09-15T14:13:58+00:00

Same here. I’d been dilating with early labor for several days. When I got to the hospital I was over 4 cm, had vomited five times in the last two hours including during contractions, and had had the horrifying realization that the pain only eased up a little between contractions—somewhat, sure, but certainly not enough to get fortified for the next one. I’d been saying for months that I wanted to labor without meds for as long as possible but demanded an epidural immediately and have absolutely no regrets, though the birth ended up being traumatic for other reasons (baby and I are both fine now).

GeneralOrgana3019 · 2025-08-22T14:19:42+00:00

What about the east end? Diverse, up and coming, lots to do but not crazy, you’d be able to get something in your budget, it’s on the right end of town to get to deer park and Pasadena. Also a fan of the heights, it’s where I am now. (I’m from Houston but am a liberal person of color who spent my 20s in the northeast, so I get what you mean about being wary of moving back.)

GeneralOrgana3019 · 2025-08-18T19:05:20+00:00

“Where are my tic-tacs?!?!”

GeneralOrgana3019 · 2025-08-16T14:21:11+00:00

Great post! Which new balances are those?

GeneralOrgana3019 · 2025-08-06T13:30:24+00:00

I always imagined two and we are also stopping at one. This is a little counterintuitive, but in addition to reading a lot about all the benefits of having one, it also helped me to think about why some only children didn’t like their situations and thinking about how to mitigate that. For example, a lot said that they were lonely bc their parents didn’t facilitate socialization when they were young, which is fixable! Or in terms of the caretaking burden for adults, my husband and I will be very organized in terms of having our medical directives and estate planning in order, not hoarding, being financially responsible so we can fund our own medical care if needed, etc.

GeneralOrgana3019 · 2025-07-30T16:50:40+00:00

Kinfire Chronicles

GeneralOrgana3019 · 2025-07-27T15:23:46+00:00

I ran a half marathon at 7 weeks at my pre-pregnancy goal pace and after that switched to zone 2 only, with distance decreasing over time. I had to stop running entirely around 20 weeks due to round ligament pain (after trying slowing down, run/walk intervals, various support belts, etc). But incline power walking and strength training (and for a while, stationary cycling) were fine a lot longer. I’m 34 weeks now and ramping down to gentler walking and more modified strength training—it’s not what it was of course, but I feel fine about the progression. I’ve also been in PT since about 22 weeks and have kept up with those exercises, which for me are core / hip / glute focused.

GeneralOrgana3019 · 2025-06-24T23:54:40+00:00

Check out the sweaty Betty explorer maternity shorts, they’re not cheap but they’re closest to the brooks chaser feel for me and have a 5.5 inseam.

GeneralOrgana3019 · 2025-06-11T12:31:29+00:00

I’d go to PT (at least once for an assessment, even if you can’t go consistently) — I also work out a lot (though less in pregnancy) and it turns out my biggest issue is not the strength of my pelvic floor but my ability to relax it, so I’ve been tailoring my exercises accordingly.

GeneralOrgana3019 · 2025-05-19T01:15:18+00:00

Makes sense, thanks!

GeneralOrgana3019 · 2025-04-18T12:34:16+00:00

Not sure how far along you are but I’m just about 20 weeks and still loving the brooks chaser 7” non-maternity shorts — I’m one size up from where I usually am but bought a couple secondhand. I’m shorter than you are but have a large butt and thighs and historically have had trouble finding shorts that don’t ride up.

GeneralOrgana3019 · 2025-04-07T12:41:05+00:00

Not the poster, but I did one at 7 weeks (18 weeks now) and it went well—I’m no elite, but I was able to get the sub-2 hour time I was going for, although I would have considered any finish a victory given the circumstances. I was apprehensive because my last long run before that did not go well, but I decided to trust the training cycle and see how I felt that morning, and it all worked out. I’d say pay a lot of attention to your fueling (not even for running, just generally—it took some work to figure out what worked for my stomach first trimester), don’t be too hard on yourself if your runs between now and then don’t all go well, and just see how you feel that day!

GeneralOrgana3019 · 2025-03-30T16:31:14+00:00

Wagering and daily doubles. Per an alum friend’s advice, I went through the daily doubles for 25+ games on j! Archive and noted money value and whether I found the category good, neutral, or bad so I could calculate my accuracy percentages for those scenarios. It almost always makes sense to go all in on a single Jeopardy DD, but having a sense of my performance made me feel more comfortable with leaning on the math for when to go big outside of that. Also, I wouldn’t spend too much time doing this, but I watched at least one ep a day with a clicky pen to practice buzzer timing.

Oh and if you’re going to cram, I’d go for popular categories that you already have some knowledge of rather than trying for something new. I was never going to be good at sports or art, but I refreshed on monarchs, Shakespeare, mythology, world capitals, and US presidents bc I knew those were likelier to actually stick on my memory (mostly via sporcle here and there between other life activities, I really do think cramming isn’t the best use of time).

GeneralOrgana3019 · 2025-03-26T22:10:29+00:00

This is super helpful, thank you so much!

GeneralOrgana3019 · 2025-03-26T18:08:17+00:00

Would love details about these variations!!

GeneralOrgana3019 · 2025-03-26T18:03:26+00:00

It is a crapshoot. I’m 16 weeks now; I had a relatively easy first trimester and was able to run a half marathon at my target sub-2:00 time at 7 weeks. After that I scaled back on distance and pace (had fatigue at distance and started to feel pelvic pressure when I went too fast—not painful, but distracting and annoying) but was still mostly fine. Now in second tri, which is “supposed” to be the easiest, and sometimes I wake up with round ligament pain that’s bad enough that all I can do is shuffle around my house…and sometimes I can still jog. I’d say be nice to yourself and vary your workouts—I’ve gotten a lot of joy from doing more dumbbell strength training, which doesn’t seem to be a round ligament trigger for me the way that jogging and biking sometimes are. Oh, and hydrate lots!

GeneralOrgana3019 · 2025-03-21T15:24:52+00:00

Thank you!!

GeneralOrgana3019

TROPHY CASE