Category Archives: Running Pregnancy

Thoughts During Pregnancy – Fear

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I’ll start with a few belly shots from this morning. Jeff took the first one, Currie took the second. I think Currie’s pic is more flattering, actually!

23 weeks pregnant

23 weeks, ready for a run! Photo by Jeff.

23 weeks pregnant

23 weeks, ready for a run! Photo by Currie, 3 years old.

Let’s get down to business. I can easily say the feeling I have most when pregnant is fear. Things that never bother me usually can really get me panicked during these 9 months.

I worry about running on my everyday routes:

  • “Is someone hiding in the bushes on the trails, ready to snatch me up?”
  • “Will a car come around the curve on a country road and hit me?”
  • “Am I going to find a place to pee where no one will see me?”

I worry about my daily choices:

  • “Did I get enough sleep last night to provide for my little guy?”
  • “Is that cup of coffee a day going to hurt him, give me a horrible sleeper, etc?”
  • “If I let Currie have the iPad for 45 minutes while I nap, am I ruining her?”

I worry about the baby’s development:

  • “Is he growing the right amount?”
  • “Is he healthy?”
  • “Will he make it full-term?”
  • “Is my diet providing enough nutrients for him?”

I worry about petty things:

  • “Can I escape stretch marks, varicose veins, and other pregnancy woes?”
  • “Will I have a quick labor?”
  • “Will I be able to deliver without drugs?” (I don’t care either way. Had an epidural with Currie and would gladly do that again, but would like to try without too.)

And of course, I worry about future running. I worry about my life after having the baby. With Jeff starting a new job, I wonder if I will have time to do all the training I want to do. Will I have the energy with a toddler and a newborn? Will I have the motivation? Will I have the speed?

Most of the time, I think I will come back faster and stronger than ever. But some of the time, I let doubt enter my mind. I just read a Runner’s World interview with Desi Davila and they asked if she ever lost faith about coming back while she was healing from her stress fracture. Her response was basically that yes, she lost a little faith when there was so much uncertainty. Now she’s getting ready to toe the line for her first race since the Olympic Marathon and she’s super excited. Pregnancy is definitely a blessing and not an injury, but my running life changes a lot, just like during a long, painful injury. Speed is a thing of the past, aches and pains are a daily occurrence, center of gravity is off and I just feel really clumsy. It’s easy to feel really far removed from my former running self.

I think it’s good and healthy to have doubts, have the tools to squash those doubts and put them in their place. I CAN say that my first real speed session after having Currie was the best run of my life. I still remember, 3 years later, so many details about the run. I felt so free, so fast, like I was truly flying. The pain of the run felt so real and so right. And I knew I was going to do something special with it. Every time I wonder if I can do it, I think of how far I’ve come, all I still want to do and all the improvements I know I can make.

How do you handle fear?

Do you experience fear during down time from running: injury, pregnancy, forced time off?

 

Feeling Good & It’s a…

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Wow, I’m 21 weeks pregnant, and just had the best week of running. Right after my last post, the round ligament pain went away almost completely (still wearing support belt every run) and I’ve been feeling so wonderful. I mean, I’m not breaking any records, but I’m just feeling so good and energetic on my runs. I’ve been doing about 5 miles a day this week. Then I follow that with no belly pain at night. All great stuff!

21 Weeks photo, taken right before a fun run! These are my newest larger Oiselle roga shorts (have gone from XS to Medium) and an old Oiselle tank.

In other news, after having to reschedule and rearrange (we’ve been out of town a lot) we finally had our gender ultrasound. We found out Baby Bigham #2 is a BOY! He’s a crazy little guy who moves around all day and night. I’m not sleeping much because he moves so much and because I’m not supposed to sleep on my back anymore (after 16 weeks it’s recommended to sleep on your side, preferably left side). Normally, I sleep flat on my back, no pillow, arms down at my side or crossed over my ribs. I usually don’t move all night. Now I toss and turn thanks to the uncomfortable side sleeping position and baby kicking. I could do without the side sleeping, but I wouldn’t change the baby movements. I love feeling him move!

I’ll end there for tonight, but thinking my next few posts will be on some or all of these topics:

Inner dialogue while pregnant – What will running be like after I give birth…again? – Motivation – All my running friends are rocking it – Looking back through old training & improvements – Running history – Marathon history – Future racing – Some cool new (or new to me) running blogs

How’s your week (running or otherwise) going?

Anything you want to read about while I’m pregnant and not talking speedy, frequent, racing? 

Halfway!

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Just how winter temps quickly transitioned to summer here in Upstate NY (85 and humid here!), my body has gone through some major transformations in the blink of an eye. I can’t go anywhere without someone asking “when are you due?” I completely skipped the “are you expecting?” phase, I guess. (Which is fine, because it’s fun to talk about being pregnant.) I’m now 20 weeks, halfway through this pregnancy!

18 weeks!

19 weeks!

20 weeks!

I started wearing my maternity support belt at 18 weeks. Do you wonder why I wear this? Let me tell you, the baby isn’t going anywhere when I run. My belly is a hard ball, it doesn’t shake or jiggle, and the baby is packed in nice and snug. Some women never run with the support belts. I started using them later in my pregnancy with Currie and think they are lifesavers for round ligament pain and general muscle soreness in my lower belly and back. I’ve found round ligament pain to be MUCH worse and happen MUCH earlier this time around. If I wear the support belt it’s better, but I still have some soreness in the evening.

*****If you are interested, I have 2 maternity support belts that I wore last pregnancy and am using this time around too. Check the very bottom of this post to read more.

I’m still running every day. In the first trimester I was just trying to stay awake, get the energy to run, deal with the food/poop/real baby, and not gag every second of my run. Now I’m feeling much better, have more energy (but am still pretty tired!) but I’m dealing with the round ligament pain so I’m taking it really easy and rarely doing over 4 miles.

A few “notable” things:

  • I’m breathing heavily from the second I step out the door and I’m running at least a minute per mile slower than my usual “easy” pace. Pregnancy breathing is like that. I even breathe heavy when sitting in bed reading (and no, I’m not reading Fifty Shades of Grey).
  • I’m peeing all the time when running. A 4 mile run sometimes requires 3 squats.
  • I’m not having as many “food baby” or “poop baby” problems. See image and text in this post.
  • This baby is much more active than Currie was in my belly. I don’t feel fetal movement when running, but pretty much any time I sit down, I feel kicks, flips and turns.
A few pieces of advice:
  • Enjoy the easy running time. My wish for all pregnant athletes is that they still enjoy their sport, but appreciate the time off. I know I’ll be ROCKING workouts someday very soon! I’m thoroughly enjoying these easy runs. (On the other hand, I definitely have days where my legs are twitching, just begging for some speed. My lungs are also yearning for some prolonged burning. All in time!)
  • Wear clothing that fits! This is always true for running comfort, but especially during pregnancy when you are already uncomfortable. I tried to run in my pre-pregnancy Roga shorts the other day. Here’s what happened – I got incredibly HORRIBLE CHAFING from shorts that have never once bothered me. Big bloody scabs. Not fun! I also got 12 pictures of me with MAJOR CAMEL TOE! Yes, Jeff took 12 pictures before telling me, “um, you kind of have camel toe in all these pictures.” HA! I would share the pictures because they are THAT FUNNY but it would be too embarrassing for everyone. Seriously.

Here’s a bathroom selfie where I haven’t quite reached camel toe status, but am about to bust out of the shirt.

  • Along that same line… pre-pregnancy swimsuits aren’t appropriate during pregnancy after you’ve gained more than 10 pounds. You might think you are still tiny, but swimsuits will show you otherwise. I brought a one piece and a bikini to our hotel a few weekends ago and let me tell you, both suits were ridiculous. Little “extras” hanging out everywhere. I need new swimsuits pronto!
  • If you try to take pictures of yourself on the treadmill while you are RUNNING, they will end up blurry.

Pretty good hotel gym, so I thought I’d take a picture. This one is crystal clear compared to the other 2!

Overall, the first 20 weeks have been great! I recommend trying to stay active as long as possible. Even with little aches/pains/annoyances this time around, I feel like I’m much more comfortable and happy running (and walking) while pregnant as opposed to doing nothing.

I have an ultrasound this week to find out the baby’s sex! Any guesses?!

Did you wear a maternity support belt?

Have a good camel toe pic?

*****Maternity support belt info below!

http://www.fitmaternity.com/maternity-clothes/ga003.html

I honestly got this because Runners World recommended it and it was reasonably priced. I was a size 4 or 27 in jeans at the time and ordered a small. I wished I had a medium. I started this pregnancy a size 0 or 25 in jeans and it fits great.

The maternity support belt I will wear (while running) for most of my pregnancy.

Based on an online search, I also got this one:

http://www.figure8maternity.com/viewItem.cfm?pid=110980

I ordered a small for this one too and it wasn’t supportive enough until my last few months of my first pregnancy.

Another Big Decision

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Three and a half years ago we moved to Rochester, NY, bought our first home, and had our first child all within a month. We apparently like to make big decisions all at once. So, with news of a baby on the way, it’s time to share that we will be moving again – to Pittsburgh. Jeff landed his dream job and we will be moving sometime this summer / early fall.

rochester house

New house, new baby, 2010.

I’m obsessed with Rochester and sing its praises to everyone I meet. I never could have imagined what a wonderful city it would be for me and my family. The people in Rochester are the nicest people in country! Activities for families are fun and plentiful. The running scene from people to races to trails – unbelievable! Our home is beautiful, affordable, in a great location. I’ve already shed quite a few tears over leaving this city and I’m sure there are more tears to come (this has been exaggerated by the pregnancy)! But, it’s time to move on, and I’m excited about all that Pittsburgh has to offer us.

I’m already scheming a possible marathon comeback after baby arrives, maybe May 2014. The Pittsburgh Marathon is in early May. That will give me almost 7 months to train after having new baby Bigham. (Actually, I plan to take a month off running after giving birth like I did with Currie, so it would give me almost 6 months to train.) It would be a good way to jump into my new local running community and maybe meet some training partners! Then I can race another marathon in the Fall, hoping for an even speedier time. This is all pregnancy daydreaming right now. We will see how delivery/recovery/life is going at that point.

There’s the next big reveal. Sorry it wasn’t “I’m having twins!” :)

Have you made more than one big life decision at once? How did it go?

Any words of wisdom about PIttsburgh? Running or otherwise? 

 

 

 

Running During Pregnancy – 15 Weeks

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Thanks to everyone for all the kind words on my pregnancy IRL, email, text, twitter, instagram, facebook, etc! It’s an exciting time and I’m so thankful for your thoughtfulness!

A few things about running this pregnancy:

  • I’m exhausted pretty much all the time. If a run doesn’t happen in the morning, it’s really hard to get done. I have the most energy in the morning. I’m down to maybe a half cup of coffee a day (because I can’t stomach it and anyway, caffeine isn’t exactly a great thing to have during pregnancy). I sometimes drink one cup of tea instead. Just not the same…
tea at pamelas diner in pittsburgh

Tea is fine, but coffee is my first love!

  • I have to pee even more while on the run. My daily “fun-yet-somewhat-needed” outside pee has become a total necessity. Sometimes I go more than once in just 4-5 miles!
  • Food Baby + Poop Baby + Real Baby = Uncomfortable! Did you realize digestion slows WAAAAAY down during pregnancy? Let’s start with Food Baby. I have a hard time running on an empty stomach and always eat breakfast the second I wake. Usually, I can start a run within 15 minutes of chowing down an almond butter chia seed sandwich. Now, that breakfast requires at least 60 minutes to get to the point where I’m ok to run. And even then, I feel like I’m carrying a food baby the whole run. Not the most comfortable. Next, Poop Baby. Guess what else happens when digestion slows?! That’s right, the normal poop schedule goes out the window! Long gone are the days when a little breakfast and a hot cup of joe was all my body needed to clear out the pipes. Everything kind of hangs out in the bowels for awhile. Add that poop baby to the uncomfortable equation. Finally, don’t forget there’s a REAL BABY growing in there! Three “babies” competing for space in a little body (though it’s not so little anymore).
pregnant runner

Fantastic diagram for your viewing pleasure.

  • I get (needlessly) nervous about every run with others. I love running with other people, but something about being pregnant and getting winded so easily makes me so nervous! My first friend-run of this pregnancy was with Matt and it’s a good thing I was given exactly 5 minutes warning that we were running together and I was still in my pajamas at the time so most of my thought process was spent wondering what the temperature was and what I was going to wear. Matt is a speedy dude and I was sure the run would be a disaster for me. But, I made it through 7 miles alive. In fact, he kept it at my pace. Thanks Matt! The next friend-run was last weekend with my husband and our friend Josh. I was equally nervous, because Jeff and Josh are both speedy dudes as well, but they were also kind enough to keep the pace super easy. Thanks guys! Finally, today I ran with Hollie and Laura and was once again nervous. I was actually happy a friend came over last night and suggested we eat pasta because I wanted to carb load. :) We were going to run 10-12 miles which is the most I’ve done this pregnancy, but they said we’d keep the pace easy and we did. Thanks ladies! The run went by so quickly!
rochester neighborhood run

Already sporting the baby bump on my run with Matt, but still fit in my running clothes. And this was about 6 weeks ago!

  • Big boobs. Whoa, things have changed in the chest region. My little chest that fit my little running body so well has expanded just as quickly as my belly. They aren’t knocking me in the face or anything, but I have to laugh every day when I can literally feel the extra weight (and jiggle) when I run.

Those are the main running differences I’ve had the first 15 weeks. I promise I will post a pic of me and my growing belly headed out for a run soon. I surprisingly haven’t taken any pictures this pregnancy. With my Currie pregnancy, I took pictures almost daily. “And here are my 15 weeks, 2 days pictures! And here are my 15 weeks, 5 days pictures!” This pregnancy seems to be flying by and I haven’t taken a single belly pic!

What were some of the biggest changes you noticed the first 15 weeks of pregnancy? Do you get nervous to run with others (due to pregnancy or something else)?

In Case You Were Wondering…

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Hello! Long time no talk…

I’ve been busy (haven’t we all). I’ve made a list more than 20 races I really want to run this year. I’ve already missed a handful of them… And I’m going to miss the remainder of them in 2013, because I’ve been working on something else –

 

GROWING A NEW LITTLE HUMAN!

 

That’s right, we are adding baby #2 to the mix this October and couldn’t be more excited!

 

3 positive pregnancy tests in a row

Everyone takes 3 tests in 3 consecutive days just to “make sure”, right?

You probably know from this blog and Twitter (@jenbigham) that I’m obsessed with running. But more than that, I’m obsessed with having a family. And if I was told I had to choose between having children and running, I would choose children without hesitation. Thankfully, I’ve been blessed with both. The running just takes a seat on the back burner for now.

Does this mean I’ve stopped running?! No way! I ran every day of my pregnancy with my daughter, until I left for the hospital to give birth and I intend to do the same with this little one. Does it mean I’m done racing? Well, I believe my best racing days are still to come but I’m done racing for 2013. I have an “in it to win it” mentality and racing serves no purpose for me right now. I think it’s great when other women race through their pregnancies, but it’s just not for me. I’m completely happy with my training runs (most days 4-5 miles, occasionally more or less), all much slower than usual. It’s relaxing. It’s time to dream of the future. It’s time to recharge. It’s time to obsess about something other than running. It’s healthy.

I’m out of the first trimester, feeling good and have seen the baby chilling in my belly on the ultrasound. I’ll spare you the pictures of my uterus and fetus, but believe me when I say they are both pretty cute (ha)!

Some pregnancy info: I was sick my first trimester. Not “toss cookies” sick, but all day nausea, major food aversions, and a need to eat unhealthy food constantly to combat those symptoms. I couldn’t stand the smell, and therefore taste, of any nut butter which is something I eat at almost every meal. I also couldn’t stomach another favorite food, avocados. I was surviving on bagels and cream cheese, lo mein, pancakes and spaghetti for many weeks. Baby likes a runner diet already! I’ve been pretty exhausted and very emotional. I’m usually not a crier, but I will cry about almost anything now. Kids singing, even a totally happy song – I’m going to cry. Someone accomplishes a goal, even someone on a tv show – it’s going to bring me to tears.

I’ll end this post with a few of my favorite reactions from my siblings:

  • “Not to steal your thunder but I already knew.” – My younger brother. This is totally something I would say.
  • “AHHHHHH!!! I’m so excited!” *proceeds to kiss and talk to my belly* -My sister
  • “One of your sisters is pregnant” -mom informing older brother “Well, it better be Jen because she has some training (running) to do. -My older brother, referring to training for the Oly Trials, but knowing I wanted to have another child first. This was my favorite response so far.

There’s my big secret, one reason I haven’t been blogging and the main reason I’ve been a little MIA on social media in general lately. I have one more big announcement to make sometime soon (and it’s not related to baby).

 Any big news for you? Did you (or would you) run/race through pregnancy?