I have been a lifelong runner spending the last ten years in Asics Gel Kayanos. During this time, I have had 4 pregnancies and I have breastfed each baby, which I calculate to mean I have been pregnant for 3 of those years and breastfeeding 3.5 (and counting). Unfortunately, during this time I have also suffered from chronic running related injuries including ITBFS (ie runners' knee) and ankle tendonitis.
My assumption has always been that a weakened core has been largely to blame (as well as too much too soon on occasion), in addition to the extra post-pregnancy weight my body is carrying when I start running again after each baby arrives exacerbating the weakness and any biomechanical inefficiencies. The reason I have assumed this is because I over-pronate quite severely which is clear from video analysis and, in fact, just by watching me run. More recently, I have come to realise that the pregnancies and breastfeeding have probably contributed to problems in that my body is probably depleted by the baby as I have always continued to run while pregnant and shortly after birth.
So I have conscientiously been doing physio exercises and holding off on training in the hope these injuries will disappear. I am keeping distances short at the moment until I have resolved the problem and running a max of 6-7 miles at a time no more than 2-3 times a week. My post-pregnancy weight is still there but at 5'3" and around 8.5 stone I am, apparently, not overweight (although my usual weight is around 8 stone).
I am also toying with the idea of changing my shoes as I have religiously run in Asics Gel Kayanos for the past ten years but rejected orthotics on the basis I want my body to learn to compensate for its inadequacies. It suddenly occurred to me that the Kayanos are pretty clunky and I may benefit from a more neutral stability shoe.
If anybody has had any similar experiences or thoughts or tips I would be grateful to hear from you so I can focus more proactively on how to banish these niggles and up my running! Thank you for taking the time to read this.
Comments
Due to the Vitamins D, breast feeding is very important feed to your baby health.