I gained over 40 pounds when I was pregnant. I delivered a 9 pound baby (more than a pound bigger than my other two children). I was active during my pregnancy – running strong for much of it and walking when that didn’t feel right. My hope was that I would “bounce back” after the baby was born and return to my fitness pretty quickly and without much trouble.
About 3 weeks before Gus was born my SI (sacroiliac) joint on the right side started to REALLY hurt me. At times so much that I just had to lay in bed. The SI joint is in your lower back/hip area where your sacrum meets your ilium. The pressure and the weight of the baby on my pelvis was too much and with the increased levels of the hormone relaxin surging through me in preparation for childbirth all of my ligaments were loosy-goosy and this was causing pain in my SI joint. I talked to my doctor and to the chiropractor – both of them suggested rest and patience until baby was born. After delivery we would see where I was at with it. Well, I was ok after delivery. Until I started running. Now I have pain in my right hip and it is unsettling. I feel off. My core feels ridiculously weakened. My spirits are low – I want to run so badly right now! To feel fit and STRONG and to SWEAT. To release all that needs to be released emotionally right now. I miss my outlet. I miss running.
Yesterday I went to see Dr. Wong. He is a chiropractor at United Wellness Center which is a great little place not far from where I live. He has worked on my sister Jodi (who had back surgery several years ago and now runs marathons) and on many people I know who run. He runs. He is amazing and he gets me.
I think going to see him yesterday was a really good decision. The first thing he said to me after we discussed everything that is going on with me was “LET GO OF THE NEGATIVITY.” Let it go. I am stronger than I am giving myself credit for and I am smart. My hips are out of whack because I just gave birth 5 1/2 weeks ago and my pelvic floor was traumatized and weakened by my big baby and all the weight I was carrying. Dr. Wong did a light adjustment and discussed with me a plan to get myself running and ready for the 10 miler in 4 weeks as well as ready to begin training for MCM this spring. I am going to work on the reformer at the studio with my sister, rather than doing the mat exercises I have been doing. My core needs to be strengthened – especially my pelvic floor – and working on the reformer will be much safer, smarter and effective as I will have the guidance and assistance from the equipment. Pilates mat is the toughest way to do the exercises because it is up to you to make sure you are doing it right – the apparatus really makes sure you are doing it properly and with my weakened muscles this is a much smarter place to begin. I am going to go back to the basics, start from square one, with my training. I am going to be POSITIVE and believe in myself and be patient on this journey. This experience will make me stronger in more ways than one. I am going to reclaim my body – my strength – my fitness.
Dr. Wong and I talked about my running plan. We decided that I should approach my training for the 10 miler by focusing on minutes run, not miles. This will allow me to just think about my endurance rather than getting all caught up in how many miles I can run. Sounds good to me. So today I am going to head out for a 40 minute run. I will wear my Garmin so I can see how much distance I’m covering, but I’m not going to let it concern me. I will enjoy the weather, the nature all around me, the strength that lies within me. My plan is to build on the time and get myself up to running for 100 minutes by 3 weeks from now (adding 20 minutes to the long run each weekend) with shorter runs 3 days during the week. I’m going to go back to see Dr. Wong on Wednesday and we’ll see how I’m doing. In addition, my sister Jodi is going to have me into the studio 2-3 times a week to work on the reformer. I am so lucky….and so grateful she is going to do that with me.
That’s it. That’s the plan and that is what is going on with me. I’m going to go feed my adorable little baby and then lace up my shoes for the 40 minute run. Heading out on the trails on this gorgeous morning filled with hope, gratitude and a hefty dose of positive thinking.
