Tag Archives: running while pregnant

It’s a…

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These two little sweeties are excited to add a baby brother to the cuddlefest!

These two little sweeties are excited to add a baby brother to the cuddlefest!

It’s a boy! We found out earlier this week we are having another little boy! My husband and I have never had a preference on boy or girl – we both say we’d love a house full of either/or – but we are excited to see the little guy kicking around and looking as healthy as can be.

Last photo of me before my ultrasound revealing baby #3 is a boy!

Last photo of me before my ultrasound revealing baby #3 is a boy!

In awesome, daily-life-changing-news, my nausea has gone away! I can enjoy the tastes of all foods/drinks again and I am not stopped in my tracks to gag while running! The nausea lifted at 17 weeks which is the longest it’s lasted for me during pregnancy. I won’t complain because people go through MUCH worse and I have been able to eat and sleep and function like a normal person for the most part. A text from Ashley described my feelings best – “like a perpetual hangover”. All day every day! Ah! Happy to be feeling better now!

As far as running goes, I’m still chugging along, doing 2-7 miles a day, usually more like 3 miles. I have to laugh at myself because before I got pregnant I was running 70-80 miles a week, at least an hour a day. Then I got pregnant and like usual a switch flipped and I had zero desire to train like an elite runner. I was a half mile into an evening run this week and I was feeling like poo. I decided to do small loops around my house so I could stop at any time. I just wanted to get to 1 mile (I ended up doing 2 miles). I wasn’t sad about it at all. I was just thinking of the countless friends/family members/athletes I’ve coached, who are so proud to run a mile for the first time. A mile is really quite a big deal! And I was happy I got out there.

Bathroom selfie taken at 18 weeks after a 3 mile evening run.

Bathroom selfie taken at 18 weeks after a 3 mile evening run.

I don’t claim know the secrets to life or to a successful pregnancy, but I think this change of mindset during pregnancy is the reason I have been able to run up until the day I gave birth to both of my children. I think it’s easy to say “I’m slowing down” or “running more than 1/2 mile is painful so why even go out there” but I go into my pregnancies totally elated any day I complete any exercise. I don’t try to compete with what I was doing pre-pregnancy or even previous pregnancies because it doesn’t matter. I just do what feels right each day. (That being said, I think it’s fine to completely hang up your running shoes during pregnancy and find some other activity that you enjoy. You don’t have to keep running during pregnancy if it’s not working for you!)

Here is where I have to throw in 3 awesome tidbits I’ve taken from other runners lately:

  • On the RunnersConnect podcast with Carrie Tollefson, she spoke a bit about running while pregnant and adjusting expectations and said something to the effect of “maybe you can’t go 10 miles, but you can go 5.” I highly recommend this podcast for pregnant runners but also for the general public since Carrie talks about having a life beyond running and life balance.
  • On the RunnersConnect podcast with the Hungry Runner Girl, she spoke about how “running will always be there”. She was referring to injury and life circumstances, but since I’m expecting, I related it to pregnancy. It can definitely be seen as a bummer that if you want to have a baby you might have to take 2+ years out of competitive running (getting pregnant, being pregnant, returning to top form), but your running will always be there for you if you want. I understand aging is a factor people worry about but look at examples like Molly, who ran a marathon PR and got an Olympic Trials Qualifying time at the age of 47! Or Catherine, another inspiring masters runner who is killing it. Or the 22, yes 22 masters runners who qualified for the last marathon Olympic Trials. Or countless grannies who are out there just getting their daily miles in, enjoying life!
  • At a talk given by Erin (also known as Jungle Chicken) who is mostly social media-less, but is well known and loved in the running community – she spoke about how running will always be there for you and love you in whatever way it can. Her talk wasn’t about pregnancy at all, but I think back to her talk often now that I’m expecting because my running has changed but it’s still there and I know it will be there (and I have a feeling better than ever) after I’m holding my new little sweetheart in my arms.

All of that being said, I had a REALLY hard time dealing with running in October. As the weather turned perfect for racing and my fall goal marathon got closer and closer (the goal I had before I found out “oh hey, I’ve been feeling so horrible lately because I’m pregnant!”), I felt like I was experiencing a loss of sorts. I wasn’t sad to be pregnant or regretful of any way my life was changing, but I couldn’t stop thinking of the goal I had been working towards since I had my last baby and all the hard work I put in that would never come to fruition. I had 3 almost completely sleepless nights mourning the “loss” and many days where I went through my life feeling a bit bummed out. I asked my husband “what will make this better?!” and he simply responded “time”. He was right. Actually, just talking to him and a few friends made the sadness pass much quicker than I expected. I also thought about the 3 tidbits I shared above and they helped me cope.

What a bummer way to end this post, but I’ll wrap things up now. I always have a goal to update the blog more frequently, let’s see if I accomplish that this time around. Thanks for following along and for all the wonderful comments and messages about baby #3!

A Little Experiment

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29 week pregnant runner

Freshest belly pic, taken last night pre-run, at 29 weeks!

I’m 29 weeks pregnant and still “going strong” (surviving!) with running. We are currently in Seattle for three weeks and the perfect temps (60s, no humidity when I run in the morning) have really helped my running. My first Sunday here, I ran 6.5 miles with the Oiselle group and felt great the whole time. I’ve been doing more like 3 miles a day since then, plus a lot of walking and sightseeing. It’s funny how much of a tourist I become when I’m here even though I lived here for 5 years!

Let me tell you about a little experiment that took place right before we came to Seattle. I’ve had little itches here and there to do some fast running, and I mostly ignore them, other than my strides about a month ago. Still, back when I was about 23 weeks pregnant, I got this idea that I wanted to run a 90 second quarter (400 meters on the track). This has always been sort of a baseline for me no matter what running shape I’m in, I know I can always do a 90 second quarter (400 meters on the track, 6:00/mile pace). It’s like a comeback pace, a way to build confidence for track work after an injury/baby/etc.

After talking with some friends about 5k training, I got a little obsessed with running a 90 second quarter while pregnant. I just wanted to do one, to see how it felt, knowing I could back out at any point. I thought about it every day for about a month, then finally, when I was in the middle of my 27th week of pregnancy, officially in the 3rd trimester, I decided it was “now or never”.

27 week pregnant runner

27 weeks instagram pic, pre-run

27 week pregnant runner

27 week awkward front view!

27 week pregnant belly

27 weeks pregnant belly hanging with my dog nephews.

It was a warm, muggy, day in Amanda, Ohio and my baby belly was feeling pretty happy. I ran about 2.5 miles around town with my husband and told him we needed to stop at the track. My instructions to him were simple: pace me through a 90 second quarter. (He had no idea I’d been stewing over this “workout” for a month.) Within a minute of telling him the plan we were executing it. Honestly, it felt FAST from the start. I optimistically thought we were on pace for something in the low 80s. As we went through the first 100 meters, my husband said 22.5, right on pace! “Ah! Seriously? Ok, keep pushing. And the rest went like that until I finished in 89! Success!

I ran back to the little park where my car was parked, excited to still have some speed despite the growing belly and sore muscles all over that come with pregnancy. I did some good dynamic stretching (don’t skip the details!) and felt a little more proud than necessary for the rest of the day.

Speaking of running fast, did you hear about the new Oiselle Haute Volée team? You can read the blog post here. I’m so thrilled to be a part of this incredible group of speedy ladies! Reading their profiles makes me want to throw on some bunhuggers and get racing! Like I said on Twitter yesterday, I’m so excited to be growing Baby Boy Bigham, but can’t wait to start racing fast again ~ January 2014!

 

Good Days, Bad Days

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I’m 26 weeks and I’ll be honest… exercise is getting hard!

25 weeks pregnant

I’m actually 25 weeks here, even bigger now!

My belly is getting larger, my blood volume is increasing and there are days where I just feel SLOW. I’m at the point where I briefly considered hanging up the running shoes last pregnancy. But, just like last time, I know I won’t. I’m just going through a rough patch and I’m not one to give up when things get rough.

Here’s a little nugget of advice about pregnant running. You aren’t always going to feel great. Some days will most likely feel horrible, and it’s ok to throw in the towel, just walk, call someone to come get you, whatever works. During my first pregnancy, I almost stopped running around 6 months. I was having bad runs every day for more than a week, the baby was always in a bad position, and I just wasn’t comfortable. BUT… I gave it some time, did plenty of walk-jogging, and before long I started feeling great again.

Then, around 7 months, I fell hard onto the asphalt on a run with my dad. I hurt my knee and hand pretty badly (lots of pain and blood) but belly seemed fine. Still, because I fell on my belly too, I went to the hospital. After 4 hours there, the doctor decided no harm was done and I was released. I questioned whether it was all worth it, but that was short lived. I ended up running until the day I went to the hospital to deliver.

The bottom line is, if you really want to run throughout your whole pregnancy and you hit a rough patch, don’t give up! Good days are probably just around the corner! For example- a few weeks ago, I woke at 5am to run before the heat set in. The baby was having none of this and sat in a really strange position for the first mile, to where I was feeling really uncomfortable and just decided to walk home. That meant I logged a mile of running and a mile of walking. The next day, I went 4 miles, and felt amazing. It was truly the best solo run I’ve had during pregnancy. I would have gone longer, but Jeff had to get to work, so I did a few pick-ups instead. Running “fast” felt awesome. The rest of that week I had great runs. Since then, things have been rough again. It’s a roller coaster, but I understand that and am ok with it!

I have a few new developments in baby land at 26 weeks. A few quick general things:

  • Fatigue is actually getting better. I’m finally able to make it through the day without feeling like I need a nap.
  • Belly/boobs getting bigger, rounder, heavier.
  • I’m starting to feel really hot all the time.
  • Belly button, what belly button? Seriously, it changes from completely flat to protruding. (sexy)
  • As far as running goes, I’m getting slower, both because I’m getting bigger and I’m not tolerating heat as well. Some women never notice feeling extra hot during pregnancy, but I become a furnace and have a really hard time dealing with heat.
  • I’ve been doing shorter runs, and taking walk breaks. I run every day, but some days are more walk/jogs and others are pure running. I just do whatever I feel like when I get out there.

For those of you who have been pregnant, when did you hit your rough patches? Were you able to stay active?