Pregnant runners/ exercisers thread!!!

[alfiesmadmother]

Hello!

So I am 4-5 weeks preg, and a runner. I intend to continue running as long as I can with my athletics club and still compete in races as i normally do.

Does anyone want to join me? I really do believe that it will help all aspects of pregnancy labour and birth.

And any tips or advice as i haven't been through this before, I always stopped with pregnancy before ( and become the size of a house!)

Oh wow. Good for you, mousemole!

still aching a week later mind you....

There was a heartbeat!
Planning on swimming the second I'm not feeling the urge to rush home to bed from work! x

Yippee for the heartbeat!

I went for a 15 minute run on the treadmill tonight followed by 30 minute uphill walk.

I'm impressed, mousemole . Did you stay equally fit during your first two pregnancies? Do you mind if I ask how long it took to get back into sports after the births?

Ran twice on the weekend. It was a bit cold and drizzly, I don't think Bavaria is getting a summer this year, but actually I felt quite good, didn't get too hot and ran a little faster than the last few times I've been out. DH came with me and did two laps of the lake in our park and then ran the cool-down with me which was nice.

Last night's session was on the rowing ergo. Much as I love to row, it's starting to get uncomfortable as everything gets a bit squashed up at frontstops.

Great news AmIGoingMad lets hope the tiredness wears off soon.

cardicorgi, no with the other 2 pregnancies I just swam which did nothing for fitness or weight gain - I put on 3 stone with my first 2 ! This time round was a bit more sensible with the eating and kept on running and have only put on a stone and a half with 10 days to go.
Ds1 I had an emergency section and was back running after 6 weeks. Ds2 I had a vbac but with 3rd degree tear and it took 3 months to be able to run again without it feeling like my insides would drop out ! Sorry if TMI !
I found rowing tricky beyond 4 months for the same reasons as you. Running outside in the cool scottish autumn/spring/summer has been easier.

Thanks, no not TMI at all, I'm just going to have to be realistic and work back into things slowly. I'm hoping that I will be fit enough to do a couple of cross-country ski races next season, but we'll just have to see how things go.

Last night cycling. Went fairly well and the only tricky part was when some idiot blow one of the those wretched vuvuzela things at me out of his car window which nearly made me fall of my bike.

yes just take it slowly otherwise you can do harm and really set yourself back. I was too quick to do sit ups after ds1 and ended up with a few issues. Well done on the cycling, great way to stay fit. Bloomin idiot with his vuvuzela- cant bear them, or football to be honest !

How are we all doing or is the heat getting to everyone?
Swam on Saturday, hooray for our local pool - two outdoor pools each of 50m, plus two play pools for anyone who wants to mess around, so we can actually swim in the lanes. There's also an FKK pool, but I've never been into that one.

Sunday, took my mountain bike to cheer DH on in a 10k running race. The upright position is definitely better than the racing bike.

Hello can I join you super fit ladies? I am only 4+5 with my third dc. I ran the London Marathon in April which was the fittest I have ever been and it was such an amazing experience . I have eased off my training since then, as I had a knee niggle and also a dip in motivation . Now I am pg I would love to keep running for as long as I can. The nausea and tiredness arent helping at the moment but I did a 6 mile run this morning and feel much better for it . I also cycle and swim a bit too, but I can imagine it won't be long before DH locks my bike away !

The one big thing I have noticed is feeling breathless during a run, which is odd as my pace has slowed. I presume its my body adjusting to things. I didn't run through my last pregnancies, as my first was very long awaited and I didn't want to risk anything (I wasnt very fit then anyway). My second pregnancy came along quicker than expected so I hadn't started running again by then .

Great thread, I hope you are all well.

Hello, can I join in?

I'm eight weeks in and not doing too much at the mo as I'm just knackered (!) but before getting preg I played Roller Derby and I was training seven hours a week, so I definitely need something to replace that (can't play Roller Derby while preg as it's a full-on contact sport and involves a lot of falling: blitzdames.com )

I just figure everyone's going to have an (unasked for) opinion on everything you do while you're pregnant, and it's proven that women who exercise during pregnancy cope better with labour, recover quicker and often also experience less morning sickness and other side effects. So nuts [:p]

Welcome madasajarofwasps and Diamondback the more, the merrier.

I can see why Roller Derby would be banned. Can you skate laps to keep your fitness up or would that be too boring and is there still a high risk of falling?

I was allowed to carry on cross-country ski-ing at the beginning of my pregnancy as I'm experienced enough to have a good idea of the risks, know when I'm going to fall over, and not crash into things. I don't think my doctor would have advised starting ski-ing at that point though. She did explain that at the beginning the foetus would be well protected, but that if I injured myself the treatment that they could give me would be limited.

Regarding running Madasajar I usually wear a heart rate monitor and found that at the 8 week point I was feeling breathless at about 10 bpm lower than usual. I also suddenly got a lot slower although this drop seems to have been followed by a plateau - at 21 weeks I've not really slowed down any more and the only discomfort is caused by my bladder seeming to have shrunk.

Last night was too hot here to run, so I headed to the pool again. 2000m, mixed crawl and breaststroke and it was so nice to be both outside and in cool water after a day in the office.

Thanks cardi - the swimming sounds great, wish we had an outdoor pool near here!

I do run with with a HRM and have noticed the very same effect, I seem to be working harder at a lower HR. I will just have to get used to it I suppose and not worry about times. Being pg is not the time to be going for pb's!! I was going to do a 10k race in a couple of weeks but won't do it as I am far too competitive to take it easy .

Hi there Diamond I am feeling knackered too hopefully we will perk up soon. I did ride my bike for 30 mins earlier but that's me pooped now!

HiAll

Please can I join? I've been keeping an eye on this thread because my SIL and parents all say not to exercise etc but I just can't go 9 months without exercising and don't want to be a big lump at the end!

Pre-preg I'd run around 5km a day (more at weekends) but now I'm going 3-4 times a week and like Madasajarofwasps I'm getting breathless so soon into it(10wks tomorrow).

BUT I have not suffered with MS, moods or nausea so I think it has a lot to do with the exercise. I have put on 3lbs which I'm disappointed with but my calorie intake has increased - trying to control that now i'm not as famished all the time.

mousemole what an inspiration doing a 10km at 37weeks!! I'm meant to be doing London 10km on 10th July - I thought i'd wait and see what weather is like before i decide if I do it or not....

Hello Lulabel do your relatives have any particular reason to tell you to do no exercise? My mother told me to take it easy, but mainly because that was the advice she was given in the seventies when she was expecting me. I think most people agree that some exercise is a good thing unless of course you have some contraindication (spotting, expecting triplets, incompetent cervix are ones that come to mind). I was doing ski marathons at the point that I became pregnant and my doctor advised me to keep exercising and that when I cut down to do it gradually.

Regarding racing, I think that depends on how competitive you are - can you listen to your own body rather than the runners around you? I did a ski race at 7 weeks but had to strictly tell myself not to chase people up hills, not to let my heart rate get too high and to stop at each feeding station and eat and drink something even if I wasn't hungry or thirsty. I crossed the finish line thinking "that was easy, could have gone much faster" which was probably about right. I did ditch the big race that I would have done at 6 weeks because I knew that for such an important event I would never be able to hang back and watch people overtake me.

Here are a couple of articles www.runnersworld.co.uk/staying-healthy/two-for-the-road/286 www.runnersworld.com/article/0,7120,s6-238-275--1139-0,00

Hi Lulabel - a lot of people do seem to think that you shouldn't exercise during pregnancy at all, but however well meaning they are, they still have the wrong idea - exercise is good for you and for the baby. Tell them the midwife told you to exercise - that should put their minds at rest.

Cardi, I did think about just going to the non-contact practices but, realistically, even when we training and not bouting, I still manage to fall over regularly! One little slip of concentration, you forget you've got wheels strapped to your feet...

I did have a dream last night though that I was watching all my teammates bouting and I so missed skating. Having said that, I just slept ten hours, had my breakfast and then had a nap. Still knackered, Madas, but hoping that post-week-12 energy surge happens, like in the books

Hello, how is everyone doing? It's so hot here, I've moved my bike onto the turbo-trainer in the cellar and have a fan aimed at it, no way can I manage outside. If I can haul myself out of bed I may accompany DH on his 6am run tomorrow, but otherwise the pool looks like being my main form of exercise until it cools down.

Lulabel27 did you do your race and if so how did it go?

Hello, how are we all doing?
I'm still running, much to my surprise. 30min is fine as long as it's not too hot. Alas my poor racing bike is stuck on the turbo-trainer for the rest of the summer because I can get off easily if I feel the need for a break and if it's on the trainer I don't need to bend over the handlebars.

Anyone swimming? The pool is one place where I feel relatively normal, although I'm having to watch out for foot cramps, especially when pushing off from the wall.

Hi DRuners,

Hopefully some of you will check in here again.

I've never been much of a runner but I do weight training (no, no bulging muscles:)), circuits (involves some running) and Ashtanga yoga. I thought it would be nice to do some moderate running in my pregnancy but it keeps making me want to pee! Does any one else experience that? If so, how you overcome the urge? Or there is no hope for me?

Hi all, I'm about 7 weeks ans starting to get breathless more easily. I thought it was just me but apparently not (which is a relief).

I do mostly pilates, yoga and bodycombat though so I need to speak to my instructor when we get home from holiday about keeping up with that.

Also anyone got any views on exercising after a scan shows a tear in the uterine wall? The ob/gyn said it was fine to continue with moderate exercise and I haven't noticed any increased bleeding/cramping but it seems against most medical advice I've read!

RedHeels I found this too. A couple of times I had to stop running and walk and eventually the urge went away. Apart from that I got into the habit of going to the loo right before leaving the house for a run.

ihaveaplan maybe check what your ob/gyn means by "moderate", but I would discuss it with him/her rather than take the advice of a stranger off the internet in such a case.

I'm no longer running. 30 weeks seems like a good time to stop especially as I get a little ligament pain under the bump when I run. I'm still cycling in the cellar and have been out on my mountain bike (only flat paths), so lets hope I can keep this up until the end.