Eat Run & Be Mary

I am 5 weeks into my return to run postpartum & I’m still waiting for running to feel ✨ good ✨ again. It’s truly been the worst body feeling return to run I’ve gone through and I’ve had 4 previously (BSI in metatarsal in college in 2008 on crutches/boot for 3 months with only some pool running towards the end, 6 years off during law school and becoming a lawyer 👩‍⚖️ no cardio fitness at all in returning in 2015, labrum tear in 2022 with 6 weeks off no XT full rest, low grade hamstring tear in 2025 with a month off and some XT towards the end but mostly full rest).

So my point is, I’ve been totally unfit and rebuilt myself. I’ve been injured and rebuilt myself. This one hits so different bc you’re doing it while hormonally unstable, nutritionally not in an ideal place bc your baby took it all from you (as they should - love you Alice 💕) + birth (bye ferritin, hemoglobin, hematocrit and all the other things you need for oxygen transport ☠️ as an endurance athlete) you’re in a body that was stretched out over 10 months, center of gravity is so off balance, and once your baby is born you’re extremely sleep deprived for months.

Some days I feel so stiff, locked in my body and like the tinman in my joints. ⚙️ Other days I feel like Gumby and like I could roll an ankle every step I take like my tendons and ligaments are all floppy. My first few trail runs I felt uncoordinated and clumsy like I was going to fall over - it’s gotten gradually better each week. I can’t run downhill and it’s like my form and posture still thinks I’m pregnant. My first postpartum period was so wildly heavy for 13 days it sent me to the ER.

So, why do you do it? How do you do it?

Because I love running and I know it WILL feel good again. I will be the runner I once was, and hold optimism I will be even stronger & faster ahead.

Cautious. Deliberate. Patient. Adaptable. Positive thinking. Keep getting out the door. Keep putting one foot in front of the other. 💜 🏃🏼‍♀️

1 year until I am back in Chamonix to race around these beautiful mountains. 🏔️ Being here 2 months postpartum and only a few weeks into my return to run has been both humbling and inspiring.

Humbling because I am barely running and it feels like I am at the bottom of my personal fitness barrel 🗑️ with a long way to go to continue rehabbing and rebuilding my PP body and get back to the athlete I was before. Without question the “4th trimester” has been the hardest for me. It feels like I am learning how to run again in a different body than I’ve ever had waiting for running to actually feel good as I remember it did.

But also inspiring ✨ being here and seeing teammates and friends get ready for their respective races in their peak form and being in this specific race atmosphere really did something for me right now.

My fire is lit to do the work I love ahead. 🏃🏼‍♀️I can’t wait to be back here a year from now in a totally different place of fitness lining up to race the best in the world.

📸 Miguel Rúa Photo

2 months of Alice 🌹 our lil babe is growing fast. Our nature loving girl who enjoys her PM walks on trails out our back door & loves to hang with us as we work from home 👩‍💻👨‍💻 is now smiling at as us we drink our morning coffee together. 🥰 Our sleep is so broken and many nights nonexistent 😆 but our hearts are so full.

This past month we learned a lot about roadtripping 🚗 with a baby and swipe to the end to see our next adventure as a family of 3 ahead 👀 ✈️

First run back together 🏃🏻‍♂️ 🏃‍♀️ made even more special by joining our local run group CO-74 for shared miles. We love living here and this community is so awesome. ⛰️ 🫶🏼

Thanks Grammy for watching Alice so we could join the fun together. 😊

Like mother, like daughter. 😎 🤭

1 month of Alice 🌹 went…fast(!?) Cherishing every moment and little milestone with our girl. She has brightened our days 🫶🏼 (and nights 🕯️ 😂) filled our hearts with more love than we ever thought possible, and is clearly wearing it better. 😎

Alice Rose Daniels  💜 June 16th, 8:08am, 7 pounds & 6 ounces of love and snuggles. We are so in love. 😍 Everyone is healthy, happy, and recovering well.

39 weeks/full term. 🥹 We can’t wait to meet our daughter so soon. 💕

📸

9 months and still running....😮😍 How much running is left ahead for me in my very pregnant form? Limited because my days of pregnancy are limited too - countdown is really on now! 👶 ⏱️

So, I don’t know. But I have said that the entire time 🤷‍♀️ because I’ve seen how individually variable this experience can be. I came into pregnancy with no expectations nor goals for myself as a runner and I’ve continued to surprise myself. I have felt safe & supported this entire time by my OB, pelvic floor PT, coach & partner, and brands to continue to do this sport how best fits my personal experience of pregnancy combined with my personal running history.

I am not making it very far these days but gosh it does feel good to still move outside regularly. 🌲 💜 🏃‍♀️

We closed on our dream house today! 🎉 A long term shared dream of living higher up in the mountains of Colorado became a reality today for us. 🏠 😍

We cannot thank and .agent enough. It ended up being an incredibly smooth process despite navigating multiple contingencies in selling a home & buying the right new one on a short timeline with baby girl due in June. ⏰ It would have been impossible without their expertise, guidance, and attention to details.

Off to the mountains we go! ⛰️

Sun’s out ☀️ 3rd trimester bump’s out 🤰

We still out here. 🏃‍♀️ Still feeling good. Still doing little uphill interval workouts (I noticed they felt best starting back in February over flat & my paces are trending closer to my old easy uphill paces but heart rate/effort says I am working 🔨 and reps are progressively shorter with extra recovery) and long runs by time (shorter distance as I continue to gradually slow more ☺️). Neither bothers me because I am just so proud of my body & I had no expectations for myself running while pregnant. Whatever this trimester ahead needs to look like, I am ready for it as I have been with the 2 before it. 💜 I’ve coached probably 20 women through pregnancy over the years so I know how variable of an experience it can be.

I actually think the shirt does a better job of showing the size of my bump 🏀 but it did feel good to get some sun 🌞 on it since it’s been 80 degrees here in Colorado already. 🤪

📸 (baby daddy & coach expertly guiding me through all chapters of my running journey 💘)