At the beginning of my pregnancy, I always said I was going to run as much as I could (within reason) and as far through my pregnancy as possible.
Soon I will be at 5.5 months pregnant, and so far I have been averaging 30-50 miles per week and have completed three races, which included two half-marathons.
I knew there was always the chance I might have unforeseen complications that would put a halt on my running. And while I am not giving up all hope, I am a little worried/frustrated that I wasn’t able to run at all this past week.
After the half-marathon last Saturday, I was really, really sore. I felt like I had just run a marathon and given birth—at the same time. (Okay, so that’s an exaggeration, but Craig says you have to stretch the truth in order for your audience to sympathize with you.) Anyway, this soreness lasted all week and I am still not feeling 100%. I need to get in to see the doctor to be checked out that there isn’t anything serious going on.
I can tell it takes my body a lot longer to recover from runs since its first priority is developing a baby. To help my body heal, I did very little working out this past week. I figured it was a good time to lay low for a week since I haven’t taken a break in 8 months. (My last break was after the marathon at the end of September last year.) I spent my extra time this week walking Sadie, working on my blog, and helping my coaching clients.
Here’s a recap of the little fitness I did do during the week ~ June 23 – 29:
Monday
1 mile + 25 minute walk with the pooch
Tuesday
30 minute walk with Sadie
Wednesday
off
Thursday
75 minute Deep Stretch yoga class
Friday
20 minute dog walk
Saturday
1 mile + 30 minute walk with the dog
Sunday
off
Total: 2 miles
Up until this last week, running during my pregnancy had been going quite well. I continued to do track workouts, tempo runs, and hill workouts (although the hills got to be pretty tough!), but I still did what I could. I really haven’t felt my average pace drop too much yet on my easy/moderate training runs. I definitely have slowed down when it comes to faster workouts though.
I haven’t been that concerned about my heart rate while running but instead listen to my body. I was wearing a heart rate monitor at the beginning of my pregnancy but then stopped when I developed a rash around my chest. I’m still not sure if the rash was from the heart rate monitor strap or not, but I haven’t gone back to wearing it too often. When I do the heart rate monitor, I find my heart rate will get close to 180 beats/minute if I am pushing hard, but I haven’t seen anything over that.
I really want to continue to run through the rest of my pregnant and am going to try again tomorrow since I feel a little bit better each day. I also plan on purchasing a maternity support belt like the one pictured below since I think that will help with the jostling while running and prevent lower abdominal discomfort, which is what I have been experiencing all week.
Does anyone have a recommendations/suggestions for a support belt while running?
If for some reason I am not able to continue running, I know I will still stay active by swimming, using the elliptical, weight lifting, going for walks, and practicing yoga. However, none of those will be able to replace my running, that’s for sure. Good thing pregnancy is only a temporary thing.
Yes! Get the belt. It really helps. But slow down girl. And you’ll run until the end
I quit playing soccer at about 5 months pregnant each time, which also coincided with when my belly started thumping up and down. Sorry, no recommendations for belly support from me,
I know that my tendons started feeling weird everywhere, and still do while I’m nursing. So I’d have to be careful with that- everything loosens up with pregnancy/post partum hormones, so hopefully that’s all you have going on and it’s nothing that prevents you from getting your workouts in!
I love the new layout!
I agree with a Ruby. Get the belt and slow your pace. Track workouts and hill repeats are definitely not necessary. They just exhaust your body when your body is already doing a lot (growing a baby). You won’t lose fitness if you slow your pace and decrease your mileage. But I am super happy to see that you took the time off after your race since you haven’t been feeling 100%. It will get harder and harder to recover from harder workouts because baby will get bigger and take up space and the added weight.
During my pregnancy, I was able to run to the end. I did one hard workout a week and it was normally a tempo run or short intervals (400s or fartleks) with a long run of 8-10 miles. Those long runs got shortened to 6-8 and then 6.
Thanks for sharing. I knew I would have to slow my pace down, but I honestly did not realize that it would take longer to recover from harder runs.
I think you did great at the 1/2 marathon and I know you are taking good care of your body and baby while still trying to stay fit. Hang in there…October 23 is just around the corner. Kelly