Running while pregnant

[lousylear]

I started running 16 months ago, ct5k done, Parkrun every week plus training runs of up to 10 miles. 10k races regularly. Now my dilemma is I am trying to conceive #4, #1 with new partner and since running. I think I may actually be pg as I'm late and showing all the signs but anyway. I am really struggling these last 2 weeks to run the distances I used to. Barely managing 6 miles on a long run and that's with walking breaks. I have a half marathon booked in 7 weeks time. Do I walk/run it or just forget it? Should I carry on running while pregnant, assuming I am? Should I just walk instead? Has anyone on here run whilst pregnant?

Ran until was approx 22 weeks when I then got really bad pelvis pain (physio said was not necessarily related). All advice I got was keep up any exercise you're already doing and be led by your body. No reason you can't do half marathon. Just avoid getting too hot or increasing heart rate too much (so you should be able to talk whilst you run I.e. not completely stretched)

I ran until 39 wks.
I'm sure it's individual. Keep hydrated & cool & listen to your body.

I ran from before conception until 25 weeks, when it started to hurt. I remember trying to find advice at the time on whether I should run but couldn't find much out there. My rule of thumb was, if I feel ok, I shall run. If I don't, I won't feel guilty if I have to stop.

Everyone is different, so there is no one right answer. If you are an experienced runner already with no other health complications, I have not seen any medical advice that you should stop just because you are pregnant.

However it is very important that you listen to your body - if you can only manage 6 miles, that's fine. Don't push yourself to do more. You can always drop out of the race/mid race if you are not feeling great that day.

Good luck! I hope its good news for you.

I'm 7 months and still running. Although I'm slower and only doing shorter runs now.

It definitely went in peaks and troughs from when I got pregnant - at about 4 weeks I was doing my fastest ever times, between 6-12 weeks I struggled a bit with morning sickness and felt tired, but running actually helped the nausea. By 15-20 weeks i was doing 6-9miles relatively comfortably and wasn't far off my normal pace. After that I started to slow, a lot, and felt like I needed to cut down the distance, as I feel a bit sapped of energy now.

In a normal healthy pregnancy, you should continue to exercise as you did before until later into the pregnancy. Exercise is important. There are studies which say running in pregnancy is good for both the mum (fitness, strength, controlling weight gain, mental health) and the baby (stronger heart, which can last until the child is 6, healthier fat levels at birth and in childhood, and apparently the motion rocks the baby to sleep).

Just listen to your body; try and keep your heart rate below 165 and don't overheat.

And if you are pregnant, congrats

I ran until 40 weeks but did run slower. I found the first trimester so hard to keep going but it was well worth it to still be running through the rest. I had a hm booked when I was 22weeks but because I'd had to reduce my distance in the first trimester there was no way I could have run it all, planned to run/walk it but the weather was hideous and it was November so I wussed out! Good luck with your running and pregnancy