Anyone still running in 3rd trimester?

[WhoahThereCrazyHorse]

I jogged about 2 miles last night and felt pretty good so am not planning on stopping just yet - have always done a bit of running so didn't feel there was any problem with carrying on through pregnancy. I'm just coming up to 28 weeks though and am not sure how long it's recommended to carry on. Is/has anyone run at this stage?

I should clarify that I am running very slowly, and stop and walk if anything hurts.

No but I just wanted to post how impressed I am! I'm 28 weeks and can't even imagine the pain that letting all my bits thump up and down during a jog would cause! You're obviously in far better shape than I...

Ha ha - same and same Fluffy! Well done you Whoah

I also have to post to tell you you're amazing! I haven't done any real aerobic exercise since about week 16 and now at week 29 and a flight of stairs near kills me so I'm both impressed and jealous as I miss running!
I think the main thing to be aware of is that you don't lose your balance... which used to happen to me before I got pregnant so I dread to think what I'd be like now!

Thanks for the inspiration. I'm first trimester and really want to keep my running up.

I am still running. I am 30 weeks. I am only doing 5/6 k and if I get a stitch in the bump then I walk through it. Some days I do, some days not. I am trying to do it regularly as I feel like it would only take a week or so of not running to want to stop altogether.
I want to continue as long as I can, though my bump has grown loads this week, so not sure how much longer I've got.
I get some funny looks though!!

I ran til 37 weeks with #1 and around 35 weeks with #2 - bit more of a shuffle than a run by the end though! I had ELCS both times by choice but had fantastic recoveries and was back out running 5 weeks after birth both times. Both pregnancies were pretty much problem free too and I put on very little weight. Had 2 lovely healthy babies that love to run too!!!

Will carry on then! I'm doing the same, walking through any stitches (which seem to appear at the bottom of my bump) and taking it very easy. I must stress again to those who are impressed - it really is an incredibly slow pace - 'shuffle' definitely describes it! And I'm still really struggling with the stairs at work too. Am just hoping that if I can keep it up a few more weeks it might help with weight gain now , as well as recovery and muscle tone after the birth. as dd is 18mo and I have never quite managed to stop eating the vast quantities of cake I thought I was entitled to during my very brief stint of breast feeding

Wow that really is great crazy horse......I've been running for the last 3 years, and only this week found out I'm pregnant, so this has been on my mind about keeping up my running, I had been doing 10k races in the last few weeks, but went out for a 5k slow run with my running partner the last evening and found it really hard going??? Is it the hormones or what, felt so sluggish and had to stop half way around (much to my partners surprise, I usually HATE stopping for anything!) came back very despondent from my run and feel like not going back out.......should I keep going, I dont know what to do, its a bit early to be telling people so I'll have to have a long list of excuses for not going out, as we usually do about 3 to 4 times a week????

Frankly

Frankly I think it's pretty normal to feel like this early on - for the first trimester when lots of people feel really shite, it's very difficult to do anything. I felt absolutely dreadful for 16 weeks, so for that period of time I basically did no running - spent most of my time eating crap food and just trying to get through it! Then when it all lifted and I started feeling lots better I started running again, but made sure to be a bit more careful as I was coming back after a break. It actually felt extra good to get out there again after having felt so horrid. So don't worry if you struggle with it now, you could maybe try something different for a bit? I went out on my bike a few times and did some spinning classes which I seemed to find easier, you just have to listen to your body and not get stressed if it's telling you to rest and eat some crisps!

I had a gym partner and both pregnancies I ended up making excuses - think I said that work was so difficult that I was doing extra hours and would have to lay off the gym for a few weeks. Felt bad doing it, but I'd previously miscarried so wasn't ready to tell her the real reason.

Congrats on your pregnancy!

My stitches are always in the bottom of my bump too.
I was in India for most of the first trimester so if I made it down the beach for a run I could then just lie on the sand for the rest of the day so it's not a fair comparison with having to go to work and then do some exercise. I think it's normal to feel totally shattered in the first 3 months.
But I definitely remember getting more energy at about 14/15 weeks. And I still feel ok now and I am sure the exercise helps with that if you do manage to get your energy levels back frankly.

Frankly -I found it useful to have an 'injury' (I chose Piriformis) so people excused my wimping out etc before pregnancy was public.

I'm still waddling after my two other DC - does that count?

Seriously. I'm impressed! Keep it up - I bet your birth goes better than most, given how active you've been (you must post again and tell us!)

I didn't keep up running but I did keep up climbing until 36 weeks. Well I say climbing, turn up to the wall and hug it for a bit. I also went up some munros at 6 months pg. I stopped cycling at 7 months as the bus would beat me, so I switched to that that bastard hill wasn't worth it

As you say you just naturally down pace yourself accordingly. Enjoy while you can :)

My trainer has taken me off high impact exercise like running and put me onto pre-natal pilates. I'm not joking when I say that my legs hurt more than after an hour of this than a 10km run. If you can find a class at your local gym I'd definitely recommend it, as it specifically targets areas you need to keep strong to help with the birth, and lifting the baby.

As an aside my sister kept running through all but one of her pregnancies. She miscarried every time, except for the pregnancy where my mum went to stay with her and stopped her running. It is perfectly safe for many people, but just be a bit careful. I wish my mum had intervened earlier for her, as she put herself through hell.

I'm sorry to hear about your sister panicnotanymore.

All the research I have done says that as long as you are sensible (ie not pushing yourself, not getting too hot, heart rate too high) then running is a great way to keep up your fitness. Oh, as long as you are already a runner of course.

Running and pilates do different things I believe. Running is cardiovascular fitness, pilates is about strength - do correct me if I am wrong someone! I also do reformer pilates to strengthen my hips and thighs for labour but running is good for my head as well as for my fitness I hope.

I am just an enthusiastic amateur though, so I can only say what feels right for me.

Hi I think keeping up with exercise is a really good idea. I am not very good at running though (too many sprained ankles) but I do horseride regularly. I'm quite experienced and I've stopped the 'dangerous' stuff like jumping (tbh I've hardly done any lately as so tired and feeling sick) but I plan to carry on as long as pos. Lots of people have opinions on this, but overall i think keeping up with exercise is better than not. Also a friend told me that women who exercise will improve the cardiac output of the baby, which is all good and surely it must make the birth easier??

Hi again Ladies,

Thanks for the advice, I think its the tiredness at the mo that's even preventing me from wanting to do anything...although today its quite nice out and I'm thinking ohhh it'd be nice for a little run.......but I think I'll just do some walking over the next few weeks until the energy comes back, don't want to push anything, especially as I'm relatively new to the running malarkey too......I am a bit paranoid about overheating..........Good one Hybrid theory, I think I'll be having 'knee' bother now for the next while.....although the last run I did, I actually did feel a bit funny on the knees....Its my SIL that I run with, and she's very tuned in, shall I say, so I'll have to be very good with the excuses as they've been keeping an 'eye' on me for the last few years wanting to know if I'll be providing anymore nephews/nieces for them!!! Jeez, all this pretending would wear ya out! As if the TTC wasn't hard enough work! Anyway it'll be walking for me for the next few weeks sooo, and lots of napping! Will def check out the pilates/yoga as well, its great for the posture and keeping the limbs stretched, I found its really improved my running as well ;-)

Frankly

I wish I was still running in the 3rd trimester. I did manage to run till around 18 weeks but then I kept getting a stitch/Brixton hicks and thought it was best to stop. I tried to keep my heart rate below 140 so got slower and slower as I progressed. Now I am nearly 38 weeks I am doing an antenatal DVD twice a week and swimming twice a week with lots of walking but would love to be out running and cycling!

Panicnotanymore- sorry about your sisters mc s - I had a mc with my 1st pregnancy, then a very early mc before this one. The 1st time I really cut down my exercise, and it all went wrong - i did spend slot of time looking into whether it could have been from exercise but couldn't find any evidence. this time I was so stressed about it going wrong again running and going to the gym helped me to relax. Having said that my MIL had multiple mc s when she was a professional tennis player and her 1st successful pg was when she stopped playing.

I have found that exercising all the way through as helped keep me healthy and active and I have had a stress free pregnancy. The only thing that has worried the midwives is that I have a small bump but the baby is perfect size on ultrasound and slightly above average but my tummy muscles are holding her in well

I think exercise is very important during pregnancy and everyone is different, so should go with how they feel and adjust what they do accordingly. My sister was very unlucky and lost 8 pregnancies, so I would assume was in a high risk category to start with. I personally am not running as I had a severe bleed after training, before I knew I was pregnant.

As well as pilates once a week, I walk every day, and swim regularly so I am keeping up low impact aerobic exercise. That seems to suit my body better.

Running alone is very linear so it is always a good idea to mix it with some form of lateral exercise to keep all muscle strong and stretched.

I think the key is to listen to you body - I took the stitch on the bump and braxton hicks as a sign to stop running and to stick to other things. But if you can run and it feels comfortable do it but take it easier especially now the weather is better