Editor’s note: As we collectively wind down from a chaotic 2020, the blog team thought we’d close the year by focusing on a bright spot as part of the club’s history: Welcoming the newest members of the PPTC family! We spoke with three of PPTC’s new parents about how their bundles of joy have impacted their running, and how they plan to incorporate both into their schedules going forward.

PPTC Member: Wallis Finger
Newest PPTC member: Ike, 10 months

How old are your kid(s)? My daughter, Annie, is almost four, and my son, Ike, is 10 months old.

What's the biggest running challenge you've faced since welcoming your first (or newest) family member? After my daughter was born, I suffered a sacral stress fracture that took seven months to heal. It was awful. I wouldn't wish that injury on anyone. There was some thought that my injury was due to bone density issues from pregnancy and nursing, although my sports med doc and my endocrinologist never came to a firm conclusion on that. Thankfully, and knock on wood, this postpartum return to running has been injury free so far, and I hope it continues to be!

Did you take a break from running during pregnancy/after giving birth? If so, how long was it? With my daughter I ran until 32 weeks, and with my son, I ran until about 24 weeks. With both pregnancies, I never had a medical reason that necessitated that I stop running. Rather, it just got unpleasant and unenjoyable. With both pregnancies, I returned to running in a very conservative manner (lots of run/walk and pelvic floor physical therapy) around 6-8 weeks postpartum.

Did you incorporate any cross training into your fitness routine? I do Peloton digital bike workouts twice a week, and I work with a coach, Neely Gracey, who has me doing strength and core work three times a week. Also, I endeavor to do pelvic floor physical therapy on a daily basis.

How do you anticipate your training and/or running goals to change now that you've added to your parenting duties? Having kids has meant that I have had no choice but to become an early morning runner. Otherwise, the run just doesn't happen because I'm way too tired after all of the bedtime shenanigans are done for the night. Also, my daughter has really come to love "running with the ladies," meaning my Denver-based running club teammates. It's been fun to include her in my training and introduce her to all kinds of strong female role models. Also, bribing her with a pastry and playground time helps as well.

What club do you belong to now that you’re no longer in PPTC? Denver Distance Project. I was heavily involved when we moved to Denver in January 2015, and I was so sad to leave PPTC. It's funny, I've actually made connections in Denver through people in PPTC (hi Kate and Efren!) and PPTC still plays a big role in my life. We're back in NYC about once a year (barring COVID, obviously) so I try and do a Goldstein race or connect up with some of my PPTC friends. I hope to run the NYC Marathon one of those years (I've run the marathon twice but never in my PPTC singlet) and run past the cheer station at 4th and Union. Sending lots of love to my PPTC family.

PPTC Member: Chloe Free-Nozil
Newest PPTC Member: Paul, 3 months

How old are your kid(s)? Paul, 3 months.

What's the biggest running challenge you've faced since welcoming your first (or newest) family member? Lack of sleep /energy and trying to plan out breastfeeding before going running! The number of hours I'm lying down in bed might not have changed much — I love & appreciate the benefits of good sleep SO much, and target at least 8 a night if possible) — but it's the fact that the sleep is fragmented now that makes it harder! We can't complain though: Paul is getting on board, and doing much better in the past few weeks!

Did you take a break from running during pregnancy/after giving birth? If so, how long was it? I was lucky to be able to run up until the day before Paul was born, and did more run/walk intervals as things progressed: I actually did many pregnant miles with Mariela Quintana, which were so much fun! Then, I took 6 weeks off of running after having Paul.

Running was probably the hardest for me in the first trimester before I even looked pregnant. Overall I had much lower energy then, a weird appetite, and the feeling that I was slogging through mud and couldn't breathe effectively or something! Then the second trimester things got better, and by the third trimester things started to get a little more physically uncomfortable for sure, but Paul was born at 37 weeks so I never got to the reallllly uncomfortable part I don't think!

Did you incorporate any cross training into your fitness routine? Cross-training with swims would have been my plan this summer while pregnant, but COVID…so I mostly ran and walked and did some body weight pelvic floor type exercises. Since Paul was born, I have been doing more strength work including PT for a piriformis strain that I’ve had for over a year now (and actually got better while I was pregnant), but is threatening to come back. And lots of long stroller walks! We just have a regular walking stroller, but we plan to get the Thule Urban Glide jogging stroller for when Paul is bigger.

How do you anticipate your training and/or running goals to change now that you've added to your parenting duties? I go back to work full time in January (in person) and so I’m hopeful to keep running as much as possible while not totally neglecting sleep, making progress with the piroformis situation, helping Yves get out to run also, being present for my patients, and most of all still having lots of time to enjoy Paul! So my goals are to be grateful for any and all miles, and just focus on fun, health and mental benefits. I anticipate I will need to be far more flexible from now on as well - speed and distance goals are on hold for now! To stay grounded, I don’t use any meditation apps: I really feel grounded just by getting outside in nature, and also via podcasts with very uplifting/grounding hosts and messages.

PPTC Member: Lillian Park
Newest PPTC Member: Elliot, 3 months

How old are your kid(s)? I gave birth last September, so my son, Elliot, is 3 months old now.

What's the biggest running challenge you've faced since welcoming your first (or newest) family member? I am still not running. I'm taking time off from running and enjoying my time with Elliot.

Did you take a break from running during pregnancy/after giving birth? If so, how long was it? I stopped running when the pandemic started. As soon as I got pregnant (and before I confirmed the pregnancy), running felt off. My legs felt heavy immediately and I fatigued very easily; I was exhausted after a couple of miles, even though I was running slowly. Running was becoming a chore, and I wasn't having fun most of the time. I developed round ligament pain in the first trimester and running became painful.

The last run where I truly had a good time was the Atlantic Half Marathon in late February that I ran with Hilary Pauli. Once the pandemic arrived, I decided to stop running, because running was becoming painful...and running with a mask seemed like it would be even less fun. For exercise, I went on long walks instead.

I still haven't picked up running again: I'm really enjoying this long extended break. From 2017 to 2019 I had been intensely training to qualify for Boston, and am a bit burned out from doing one long training cycle after another. When I feel like running again, I'll run. Until then, I'll continue going on long walks in Prospect Park.

Did you incorporate any cross training into your fitness routine? No.

How do you anticipate your training and/or running goals to change now that you've added to your parenting duties? I don't plan on having another big goal race for another year at least. When I restart running, I plan on running for fun and general fitness, so I'll be running fewer miles and spending less time running than when I was heavily training. Obviously running will have to be scheduled around child care, but I'm fortunate that my husband, Ben, is supportive of running and will take care of our baby whenever I need to go out. Elliot doesn’t fit into the PPTC onesie anymore (and I don’t fit into my PPTC clothes either right now)!

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PPTC is a diverse and supportive team. We want to showcase and celebrate the diversity of our club and membership, and encourage everyone to share your stories with us.

text and photos: Wallis Finger, Chloe Free-Nozil, Lillian Park
edits: Alison Kotch
produced by: Alison Kotch

PPTC’s Baby Boom