Realistic goals, running after a baby

[WhenSunnyGetsBlue]

Before my daughter was born I was running fairly consistently and getting decent 10km times. I stopped running at the beginning of my pregnancy. Now my daughter is 5 months, I only just feel ready to start exercising properly again. (It definitely took longer than I thought!) Anyway, this week I did my first 4 runs with the pushchair. Times looked like this:
4km - ???
5km - 31 mins
5km - 28:58
10km - 1hour 36 seconds

I know these times are nothing to write home about...I still have a long way to go to get back to my pre-pregancy pace.

I had planned to build up to a 10km but since i did it on my fourth run I'm thinking about starting half marathon training (never run that race before) as a new challenge.

Does anyone have any tips or advice on how to get back into running after a baby. Is there anything I should be careful of, ie. Would a regular half marathon training plan result in injury. How long did it take you to get back to your old self? Thanks in advance 🙂

I started marathon training when DS was about 9 months old when I finished nursing, that seemed to be the only thing holding me back.

I didn't do any runs with the baby though as it's brutal hot here so all my runs were at 4 or 5am.

Your times are good considering you've been out for a long period and remember you'll be quicker without the running stroller. Just get back into it and rediscover your love and go from there!

Keep at it! I'm a bit further down the line - the younger one is now 3 and I got back into running at the beginning of last year.

The first few months were frustrating. I'd been in decent shape before having children, running regular half marathons, but then had a few years off. Even 2k felt hard and I hated how slow and sluggish I felt compared to 'before'.

I took it pretty slowly but still picked up a few niggles and and made relatively slow progress for the first 5-6 months. Once I felt a bit fitter I signed up for a half last September and really enjoyed seeing my range increase.

This year I've done a full marathon and a 50k (my first race over marathon distance). First 50 miler is lined up for end of September.

I've found that while I'm older I am also smarter about training, and more consistent. Every session has a clear purpose. As a result my marathon time has actually improved.

Jasmin Paris is my inspiration when I'm tempted to trade the next run for eating crisps on the couch - do look up her performance at the Spine Race if you haven't heard of her.

Sorry, I forgot to add the bit you specifically asked about: I would spend a few months just building a consistent aerobic base, doing lots of moderately paced runs, perhaps a few strides thrown in but no formal speed work. Don't worry about times at all during those runs, and just enjoy having time to yourself.

I'm really bad at this but doing strength work probably would have helped me avoid some of the niggles I picked up and made it easier to get back into good shape.

I'd keep this up for a little while and then start a formal plan.

Your times are really good! Keep consistent and do some intervals and you will be back in no time

Thanks for the words of encouragement! 🙏

If you haven’t done it, I’d really recommend seeing a women’s health physio for a check up before you go too far.

Pregnancy makes all sorts of changes to how you instinctively move your body that don’t always change back after your baby arrives. I had to do a couple of months with a post partum PT to get my body to stop moving like I was still pregnant (and causing me injury).

I started C25k 6m after a tough pregnancy and birth and took 5m to complete it. One year after starting I did my first HM. It just sort of grew as I went rather than being an initial goal!

Be aware that (especually if BFing) that there can be more relaxin in the joints and overstretching and injury risk can be higher than usual.

Building stamina at a gentle pace before pushing speed is generally a good approach. Aiming to complete a spring HM would be plenty of time to build up gently and maybe add in more workout runs if that feels comfortable.

It's also worth having a good strength routine to support running and general health. Little and often tends to work well with a young family. I try to build strength into my post-run stretch.