Training after giving birth

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this is not the place to look for advice.

try either one of these:

http://forums.runnersworld.com/eve/forums/a/frm/f/618106477

http://www.runango.com/forums/board_show.pl?bid=3

you won't find many mid-distance runners, but several threads about training after preg

Dude's right, you'll just get stupied questions like..Are you hot..and crap like that.

Try a different site.

First of all, you have to pst a picture for anyone to help you out. Not a pregnant picture either; preferably something from college while you were on Spring Break. Also, if you don't have a C-section you should be able to jog home. Otherwise you have to wait an extra day. Glad to help!

if it were me, i'd take at least a year off. but i'm a guy

you're an elite female runner. you don't have a coach? training partners? you've not looked this up before? sorry, i just find it hard to believe that an elite female runner hasn't researched this already. distance runners by nature are obsessive compulsive. females can be way freakier than males. you can't be serious with this question . . . ?

Well to determine how fast you can return to training, there are many factors to keep in mind. Will the birth be natural or cesarian? How much weight did you gain while pregnant? Have there been any complications? Did you run while pregnant and if so for how long? How old are you? Your speed of recovery will be a great factor as well as your doctor(s) opinions. Also how you feel after the birth will effect you (will child care tire you out?) My wife, while not a 4:09 1500 runner, is a decent runner (18:17 for 5k at Carlsbad). She gave birth to twins by cesarian delivery. She started training approximately 3 months after giving birth. Slow, short, easy runs at first. 11 months after giving birth she ran a 3:22 marathon doing minimal work (one 2.5 hour run no interval training and very little tempo work. The rest of her long runs were mainly 90-120 minutes). It was mainly a fitness test as opposed to a race. She could have trained harder, but caring for twins made things challenging and she did not to over do it. Good luck to you.

I was once a mid-pack Division I middle-distance runner. I now work full-time and only jog. That said, coming back from pregnancy was much harder than I expected. I had a scheduled C, but that wasn't the problem. The problem is working full-time and caring for a baby, which is really, really exhausting. However I had no help in terms of relatives (none were around) and I'm also well into my mid-30s. I'm 'running' now but much more slowly than before. Obviously somebody like Shayne Culpepper would be somebody good for advice.

Just a long way of saying, prepare for the worst but hope for the best. It might be easy for you.

During childbirth a variety of hormones flood your body. One of their effects is to loosen connective tissue (makes sense).

That looseness does not switch off immediately after childbirth, but seems to linger for some months. Injuries related to that looseness seem to be a particular problem for women who try to return to high-level training. I remember that Mary Decker had trouble with this; didn't Paula, as well?

My son turns 12 weeks old tomorrow, and I've been back running since the second week. The good news is that running has been a fantastic escape from the stresses of caring for a new kid. The bad news is, I'm a LOT slower than before the pregnancy. The first few runs felt like I was running in quicksand with a weight belt on. Totally gave me new respect for people trying to get in shape for the first time. It's a lot better now, but still hard.

I saw an interview with Shayne Culpepper where she mentioned trying to break 30:00 for 5K on her first run back post-kid...and she couldn't do it. Then just a few months later she was back on form...so perhaps there is hope for the rest of us!

Best of luck!

I tried running a mile a week after giving birth...3 days later I was in the hospital for postpartum hemmorrhage, and being chastised by my OB, who had made me promise to stay off my feet for 3 weeks, minimum. I listened the second time and started runs with my little one in the baby jogger when she was about 3 months old. Like an above poster said, these runs felt so shitty I could cry...I also have a new appreciation for people trying to get in shape from nothing. I kept at it, though, and the week my daughter turned a year old, I PRed in my conference meet.

My advice is to take your time, and cut yourself some slack...you'll get there.

I think giving birth helped me become a faster runner but it took a while. I lost a lot of fitness because I did no running for about the last 7 months of the pregnancy so I gained about 40 pounds! This was 20 years ago, but I do remember running 1 mile on the track in 10 minutes one month after my son was born and my obstetrician was impressed! Especially because I was breast feeding my son for 8 months, I was a lot slower and heavier, but I ran about 30 miles per week. I lost a ton of weight once my son stopped nursing and a year after the birth I was running under 40 for 10K and weighed less than before pregnancy. My times just got faster for the next few years after that. No race or track work-out was ever as painful as the birth, but being a runner really helped me get through it and made me a tougher runner afterwards.

Just take it easy for a while. Listen to your body and listen to your doctor. Try running for just a few minutes the first couple times you head out the door. If it hurts, stop and walk. Breastfeeding will help you lose the weight, but it has its drawbacks, too. Try wearing two sportsbras. If there's no reason for you to get back into shape right away (i.e. You're a contracted runner who is scheduled to start racing right away.) then DON'T rush. Plus, you're going to want to focus on your baby. With working and everything, I had a hard time even finding time to shower those first couple weeks. Also, try not to compare your running to others. That can be a huge mistake. Like I said, just listen to your body...