running while pregnant?

[jennypenny]

How many of you run while pregnant? I think I'm pregnant, but I'm not testing yet so I don't get a false negative. Plus, I'm giving hubby some time to deal with the idea, because (drumroll) I'm about to turn 45 and we're quite surprised. (OK, I'm surprised, DH might throw out some different adjectives)

I haven't always been a runner, and I don't remember the rules for exercise from my other pregnancies (they were during the last century for crying out loud!). I was running 45-50 miles per week up until the princess half. Took 3 weeks off, and now I'm doing about 25-30 miles per week but doing more speed work and hill work because I want to try the full in January and don't want to run for 5 1/2-6 hours. (I guess I'm not running in January if I'm pregnant, but whatever.)

Any advice? I'm not sure how far or how hard to run this week.

 

[halvnorsk]

I ran through four pregnancies. We're about the same age, so I'm assuming we were running pregnant in the same era. My doctor told me to go for it. He basically told me that if was running before I was pregnant, I could run during. He was less concerned with my heart rate and body temp and more concerned with my balance as my center of gravity changed and ligaments loosened during the pregnancy. But I think he was in the minority as far as medical advice at that time. He was a very hands off, let nature take it's course, au naturel kind of guy. I loved him. Hopefully, times have changed and doctors realize the benefits of running during pregnancy. It kept my weight gain under control, kept me fit so I could hold up during labor and probably sped up my post delivery recovery. I was running about 12 to 15 miles a week with no speed work - strictly fitness at that time.

 

[Sarah_Rose]

Congrats on your surprise!

I ran through my pregnancy to 35 weeks. I ran the Goofy at 12 weeks, and then I finished off with a half marathon at week 35, and then stopped running until 3 weeks post-partum. Three things:

Stay below your anaerobic threshold. If you don't run with a heart rate monitor now is the time to buy one. I go anaerobic at 167 bpm so I set an alert to beat at 165... it meant slowing down considerably and taking walking intervals.

Be kind to your joints. You're much more likely to have joints pop out while pregnant, so you have to be really careful, especially on uneven surfaces. I dislocated my knee while strolling on uneven sidewalk and had to wear a knee brace to run for the rest of my pregnancy.

And, HYDRATE!!! Braxton hicks contractions and preterm labor are a risk if you're not properly hydrated, particularly if you're still running in your third trimester. I started carrying water on all runs, even if it was cooler out and I was only going 2-3 miles.

If you do end up being pregnant, make sure to talk to your doctor and don't be afraid to get a second opinion if you don't like what the first one says. Many doctors, particularly older ones, will say that running is never safe while pregnant... this is not true, particularly if you're having a healthy pregnancy and have been running consistently for awhile (and if you were running 45-50 miles a week before the Princess, you definitely fit into that!). Some other doctors will give you an arbitrary heart rate to stay below (150 is commonly given) but that also makes no sense, because everyone will have different normal and safe heart rates - 150 would be too low for some, and dangerously high for others. My own doctor educated me on the warning signs to look for and evaluated me to make sure it was safe for me to continue running, particularly in my 3rd trimester.

for the outcome that you want, no matter what that is!

 

[FFigawi]

I'm not pregnant, nor did I stay at a Holiday Inn last night, but several of my running friends have been pregnant recently. They all ran throughout their pregnancies. A few stopped running a month before they delivered, but two others were still running 6-8 miles a day, three days a week, up until the week before they delivered. They went more slowly than they normally would, but say that the running and exercise and yoga is what helped make their deliveries so easy and their recovery so much quicker.

 

[rubato]

I ran through the first 7 months of my pregnancy. Like others have said, you'll just need to slow it down a little the farther along you get. I just got sooooo big towards the end of my pregnancy, that it was way too much effort to run. You have a great base right now, so it should be no problem.

And, by the way, congratulations if you are! More power to you!

 

[jennypenny]

I talked to my GYN today (who is a runner). After he stopped laughing (and reminding me that he had warned that I was no where near menopause) he told me to run but keep it below race pace. He was more concerned about rolling my ankle or getting light-headed than my heart rate. He thought that I've trained so much during the past 12 months that my heart rate probably wouldn't venture too high.

He said the chances of carrying the pregnancy to term were unfortunately not that good, so he thought I should just do my thing. If I'm still pregnant by 13 weeks than I have a much higher success rate. He did say that being a runner meant I was in great shape and my body was much better equiped to sustain a pregnancy.

 

[cryssi]

I ran, well,wogged, throughout my pregnancy. I did the dl half at 34 weeks! Everyone had given good advice. Stay hydrated and clear it with the doc. Also, since you are already a runner, all the more reason not to stop.

 

[jennypenny]

Stay below your anaerobic threshold. If you don't run with a heart rate monitor now is the time to buy one. I go anaerobic at 167 bpm so I set an alert to beat at 165... it meant slowing down considerably and taking walking intervals.

How do I know when I go anaerobic? I've never really thought about it. I've been trying to stay below 150 beats per minute. I seem to cross that at around 30 minutes, so I've been taking a 2 minute walk break every 25 minutes. And I've slowed it down a little (although I ran into the front of the treadmill twice so far )

 

[Sarah_Rose]

The most accurate way is to find out your maximum heart rate through a test... mine was done on a treadmill set to maximum incline and increasing by 1 mph every minute until you just can't possibly run any more. The highest your heart rate hits at that point is your maximum heart rate, and then that is used to calculate your target heart rate zones. I don't think anyone would recommend that while pregnant, though.

Failing that, you can use a calculator to figure out your maximum and your anaerobic threshold. This site gives a good explanation and has a simple calculator. Your resting heart rate goes up when pregnant (mine went from 60 to 90!) so you want to use your pregnant resting heart rate for the calculation. Your anaerobic threshold will be 80% of your maximum heart rate.

Lots of people say that heart rate doesn't matter so much, but it gave me peace of mind to know that I wasn't taking oxygen from my baby while running. And your target heart rate zones are just generally good to know for training... you will get maximum benefit from your training if your long runs are below the anaerobic threshold. It is beneficial to push harder during speed or hill work, but in general you want to do most of your runs at around 70% of your maximum heart rate.

 

[SKWDW]

How many of you run while pregnant? I think I'm pregnant, but I'm not testing yet so I don't get a false negative. Plus, I'm giving hubby some time to deal with the idea, because (drumroll) I'm about to turn 45 and we're quite surprised. (OK, I'm surprised, DH might throw out some different adjectives)

I haven't always been a runner, and I don't remember the rules for exercise from my other pregnancies (they were during the last century for crying out loud!). I was running 45-50 miles per week up until the princess half. Took 3 weeks off, and now I'm doing about 25-30 miles per week but doing more speed work and hill work because I want to try the full in January and don't want to run for 5 1/2-6 hours. (I guess I'm not running in January if I'm pregnant, but whatever.)

Any advice? I'm not sure how far or how hard to run this week.

First, congrats! Next, check out what Barbara Galloway (Jeff's wife) has to say on running during pregnancy. She has alot of good information to share on the topic.