First Post Birth (solo) parkrun

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I did it! It was a lovely morning and fab to catch up with so many of my Sisters at the start. I set off in the middle of the pack and nervously trotted - I really wasn't sure about the pace and was glad to see Duncan, from Farsley Flyers, who ran with me for a bit. We chatted about the underlying features of successful new running clubs. Running for fun, rather than promoting competition seemed to be our conclusion.

Our pace was comfortable but by the last 1KM I was feeling it. My husband and little ones were cheering me on and that kept me going...apart from when the toddler started to get upset that I was running away from her, again! I just about kept up the pace and dug in for the last hill, ending in a sprint finish and time of a bit over 27 mins. I was delighted! I'd run the whole way and not struggled with 'shoulds' and "I used to do...", blah, blah!

I was elated for the rest of the morning and still proud 4 days after.

On reflection, I had been worried that I'd get comments about the way I looked and the time I'd do. I had practised my responses - "Thanks!", "I've eased up on the cake", and "Not as fast as I used to run" but none of these felt right. Luckily no one said anything about my size or 'bouncing back'. For me the biggest achievement after having a baby is keeping sane in the months afterwards.