When I was first pregnant, I saw an ad for Vacation Races. I had never heard of them, but immediately loved the idea. If you’re not familiar, Vacation Races basically plans races in epic locations (Iceland, Yellowstone, Yosemite, and other National Parks).

The Yosemite race was 6 months after my due date AND on my birthday. Perfect! I’ll have this baby then 6 weeks later start my half-marathon training plan and I’ll get to go to a new national park.

LOL.

12 weeks postpartum I still couldn’t sit down without pain, much less start a running plan. I’m starting to feel better, but now I’m trying to figure out what a new realistic goal is. There is a local race that I’ve loved participating in the past in October. Should I try a 5K then or could I do a half marathon? Are there other 5K options sooner where I can test the waters? What about a sprint triathlon?

Lots of ideas sound fun, but the reality is I just don’t know what is a reasonable timeline for my body to recover and train. I’m thinking maybe 3-5 months to train for a 5K safely. As someone who used to “always be trained enough to run a half marathon” this sounds crazy, but I’m in a new season of life now and want to take care of myself.

Any other moms have experience coming back to sports after pregnancy? I’d love your thoughts.