TOKYO (AP) Sometimes, her workouts on an exercise machine were cut short when Zoe started crying.

Baby steps, U.S. marathoner Aliphine Tuliamuk reminded herself.

Sometimes, she stayed up late when Zoe was fussy, even though she had an early morning run.

Baby steps, she told herself.

By taking it slow and steady advice from other long-distance running moms Tuliamuk worked her way back after giving birth in January. All the way back to where she will be Saturday the starting line for the womens marathon in Sapporo for the Tokyo Games.

She was cleared to have a cheerleader, too nearly 7-month-old Zoe Cherotich Gannon (she has a visa). This after helping push organizers to allow breastfeeding mothers to be allowed to take their babies to the Olympics.

Baby steps, indeed.

It worked out, Tuliamuk said, perfectly.

The original plan was to start a family after the Tokyo Olympics in 2020. But when the Summer Games were postponed by the pandemic, the 32-year-old Tuliamuk and her fianc, Tim Gannon, decided not to wait. She had a spot on the team thanks to her win at the U.S. marathon trials on Feb. 29, 2020, just days before the coronavirus shut things down.