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My Running Diary: Running with Patience is Key!

By Mandi Mellen

Posted on February 6, 2017

I’ve definitely needed patience these past few weeks to help me on my running journey. Being pregnant has taken a toll on my lower back, but no matter where you are at physically, running with patience is key!

Diary of a Running Chick: February 6th, 2017

My plan throughout my whole pregnancy has been to run right up until I give birth. That is my plan, but I must be patient with myself. I’d love this accomplishment because I love running and I love the way it makes me feel! But a few weeks ago I legit had so much pressure on my sciatica (lower back) that it was too much to run. I took my cardio indoors while the pain persisted. I definitely would have preferred to go running outside, but I needed to be patient with myself.

I knew that for me to get back to running outside, I needed to run with patience. I needed to take baby steps, so one day I decided I would go out there and try to run as much as possible. I started running and still felt so much pressure in my back. The pain was not like before, but I needed more time to heal. This bummed me out at first, but then I reminded myself that my body is changing. I’ve never been pregnant before and my body needs to adjust. I needed to be patient.

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My second attempt to get back outside running went much better. I started running on the downhill and could still feel some pain, but it wasn’t overwhelming. I was running with my man and we decided that we would run for a bit, then walk. We’d do intervals and keep dialing it back when the pressure flared up. It was great and we did it the whole run! Every time I needed to slow down, we did. I knew that if I continued to do this, then I would be able to get back to running completely.

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This strategy excited me, but I reminded myself again to be patient. For the next few runs I walked and I ran, alternating along with how my body was feeling. I was careful not to run the uphill, because I was nervous that the pressure would be overwhelming. Each time I ran, though, I felt better and better. I actually wanted to be like “Okay, I’m going back to running what I ran before.” But my man reminded me to patient with my body and to let it get stronger. It was great to have that reminder so I didn’t worsen myself.

Finally, last week I decided I was going to push myself and see if I could run a version of my old route without stopping or walking. It was a shorter version of what I’d been running pre-pregnancy, but I knew that if I started out with that, I could then work my way back up. This route is 4.5 miles, so even if I don’t work all the way up to my 5.5 miles, it’s okay because I’ll get there after the baby is born. I ran those 4.5 miles and felt so great! My legs were sore later in the day and the next day I was back inside due to rain, but I overcame the hurdle!

Running with patience allowed me to get back to running! I was warned to not get my hopes up and that maybe I would just have to continue with my indoor cardio throughout the rest of my pregnancy, but I knew that I could do it. All I needed was patience. I knew that my body would once again feel up to it! I’ll still be patient with my running, because I know the third trimester of pregnancy can bring a lot of changes, but I’m so glad I’m back out there and running!

Mandi Mellen is Lead Editor, Staff Writer, and Featured Vlogger at BuzzChomp. She’s an actress, writer, and producer. Get lost in her youtube comedy channel PillowTalk TV. Follow her on Twitter, Facebook, Google+, or Instagram