Posted in Blog, Featured, Rehabilitation, Women's Health.
Happy Mother’s Day!
Moms are strong.
We are highlighting some of our patients as their first mother’s day approaches and honoring their journey to returning to running.
Stacey & Sophie
What’s been something you’ve learned/realized as you return to running postpartum? Recovery is SO MUCH HARDER than I ever thought and I feel so lucky that I knew where to go for help. I expected to have to build up again like any injury, but I really had to start even more from scratch than when I first started running. It’s been a huge learning experience for me and the more moms I talk to the more I realize it’s not talked about enough.
How has PT played a role in returning to running? PT was absolutely crucial in being able to return to running. Between maintaining my scar from surgery and getting my core back in shape I don’t know how I could have started running again – at least not safely – without it. I would have tried to do too much too soon and ended up hurting myself. It’s been a slow process to start feeling like myself again, but now that I’m finally getting there I’m very grateful that we took the time to do it right. And equally thankful that Sammy reminds me that I’m exactly where I’m supposed to be.
Do you have your first race scheduled? Yes! I’m signed up for the Mini 10K in June. And while a 10k would have been a short training run before, I know that finish line is going to feel like a marathon finish after all the work it’s taken to get there!
What are your first mother’s day plans? Spending the day with Sophie, my mom, and my family celebrating multiple generations of moms!
Hannah & Calvin
What’s been something you’ve learned/realized as you return to running postpartum? It’s somewhat of a lonely & unfamiliar process. I’m not able to run with anyone I used to run with and can’t follow my usual training plan. It’s unfamiliar with a new body that feels a bit different and sometimes foreign. But I have found I have a lot of support and people cheering me on. I have my wonderful PTs and coach, helping me build back strength & endurance. I have my friends encouraging me and my husband, doing his share to give me time to get out there even on days I don’t feel like it.
How has PT played a role in returning to running? I think prenatal PT really helped me learn a lot about breathing and core and pelvic floor strength. When I started back running, having those tools and being able to connect what I learned in PT into my strength & running reassured me I was doing it safely and I was ready. But also when something didn’t feel quite right, I was able to address it.
Do you have your first race scheduled? The Brooklyn Half in two weeks will be my first race in 2.5 years, a pandemic & a baby later.
What are your first mother’s day plans? We are going to Calvin’s first baseball game (Go Yankees!)
Cheryl & Baby
What’s been something you’ve learned/realized as you return to running postpartum? Returning to running postpartum, as with post-injury, is not linear but it’s still amazing and I’m thankful for every step! Going into pregnancy injured, I hadn’t run for about a year once I started again postpartum. While I haven’t “bounced back” to running the way some women do after pregnancy, I’ve been able to truly appreciate each step, mile, run for the mind clearing solo time that it is! So while some runs are more blissful than others, some runs are slower or shorter than I’d like, and some days I have to take an unplanned rest, I’ve still learned to love every run I am able to complete – which is something I haven’t always been able to say.
How has PT played a role in returning to running? PT is the ONLY reason I’ve been able to return to running postpartum! As someone who never prioritized strength or rehab even before pregnancy, I realized how important it was during pregnancy, and now even more important postpartum. I’m sure I wouldn’t be running at all right now if it wasn’t for PT during and after pregnancy. From waddling into FLPT at 36 weeks pregnant (little did I know I would go 41 weeks…), to finding my way back at 6 weeks PP to now, I couldn’t have done it without the FLPT team (especially Sammy)!
Do you have your first race scheduled? I have my fingers and toes crossed that I’ll be able to run the Berlin Marathon at the end of September. It’s an ambitious goal, but I still have my registration from 2020, and it would be my first international marathon, a HUGE bucket list goal of mine for many reasons!
What are your first mother’s day plans? My husband surprised me with a “staycation” in NYC this weekend (we currently live in Montclair, NJ). I plan to run in Central Park, get food from some of our favorite restaurants, and then take our son to his first swim lessons on Sunday, which is kind of perfect since swimming got me through the final months of pregnancy!
