I'm super excited to see on the cover of Runner's World "Fit Mamas: Running Through Pregnancy With Kara Goucher, Paula Radcliffe & Carrie Tollefson" (Carrie had a baby in April of this year, is on the cover and looks amazing.) Paula had a huge comeback after her first pregnancy and it's been awesome to follow her.
When I was pregnant with the little toddler man, born in April of 2009, I was lucky to be healthy and able to run into the beginning of my third trimester. (Never mind the strange looks I got at the gym that winter while on a treadmill -- I joked to my husband often that those folks were probably trying to decide whether to call 911 or not, LOL)
And I swear by the benefits of being able to continue running and cross-training during that pregnancy. I bounced back and lost all of the baby weight within months, and PR'd at every race distance post-partum except marathons -- 5k, 10k, 10-mile and half marathon. And I was 41, not exactly a spring chicken. With my oldest son, I was 24 when I delivered him. I didn't exercise then and ate like pooh. I had a tough pregnancy, a brutal delivery and a long comeback. I can't prove that running created all the right conditions for my comeback the second time around, but it certainly played a large part. :-)
About Me
- Tammy
- After years of sloth, I am now a mama who runs and practices yoga. I write about exercise; parenting a grownup child as well as two little kids; and whatever is annoying me at the moment.
Argh. As an athlete and new mom trying desperately to find the time to claw my way back to some kind of fitness, I find all these articles depressing, not inspiring. I'm really happy for all the women who came back faster than ever. But not me. I'm not sure why, and I'm jealous. I did get benched at 20 weeks from running, I did exercise -- biked and swam -- up until I delivered. And I started running again as soon as my doctor cleared me to. Whenever I hear about a new mom that's faster than ever, I find it discouraging, not encouraging. It's even more pressure.
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