silly question - running while pregnant?

[jobell]

DH and I are talking about TTC later this year. I was thinking of running a half in January, but don't know if I'll be pg by then or not. This would be my first, so I have no idea about anything when it comes to this stuff. Do you need to cut back on running in the first trimester?

Or flying, for that matter? (I'm thinking of doing the Tinkerbell half).

[libfish825]

The general rule of thumb is that it's "safe" to continue on running at the level that you were before getting pregnant.

That being said, it's always smart to check with your doctor about your plans for working out while pg.

Plus... every single pregnancy is different. It's important to remember that the pregnancy is the priority and not to get too bent on race times (or even completions) if your body is telling you to slow down.

I don't remember anything about flight restrictions until later in pregnancy (when they don't want to deal with baby goo all over their seats, lol).

[jobell]

Jun 12, 2012 15:03:06 GMT -5 libfish825 said:

Plus... every single pregnancy is different. It's important to remember that the pregnancy is the priority and not to get too bent on race times (or even completions) if your body is telling you to slow down.

Obviously the pregnancy would be the priority. It's just so weird to be starting to take this stuff into consideration when I have no idea if it'll even happen!

[fivemutts]

Talk to your doctor at that time. They may be more wary if it is your first half. I ran one at five months pregnant but I had been running distances for a year and a half prior and this was not my first half.

I definitely recommend starting as active a you safely can, it made me feel a lot better and I think really helped in the delivery room!

[libfish825]

Jun 12, 2012 15:08:12 GMT -5 jobell said:

Plus... every single pregnancy is different. It's important to remember that the pregnancy is the priority and not to get too bent on race times (or even completions) if your body is telling you to slow down.

Haha yeah, I remember the whole thing being so surreal before I had my daughter. It's great that you're thinking ahead, though! Like pp said, it really does make a difference in the delivery room!

[flex1102]

I ran until two week before I had DS - I have been running for years. We are currently TTC and I have a half in July Aug Sept that I plan to run, as long as everything is fine. Good luck TTC.

[juliahenry]

The general advice is that you can continue with what you're doing. However my personal experience was that one pg was fine and I could have done anything (with certain modifications for the belly, ligament pain etc). The other pg had a siginficant and almost instantaneous effect on my blood pressure (it dropped, which happens if you're in good shape and prone to low BP). I had to switch from running etc to an elliptical workout worthy of my (non-exercising) 70 yo mom :-( Yeah, that pretty much sucked.

[jillybean222]

You can continue with what you were doing prior to pregnancy, but you may not want to. Or maybe you will. Who knows? Kids tend to surprise you more after they are here than in the 9 months before they arrive. Keep on doing what you're doing and see how it plays out.

[moonstone523]

Everyone is different. I don't think you should stop your life when TTC. I got pregnant in December of 2011 and ran a half in February 2012. Having that half on my calendar kept me motivated to drag myself out of bed when all I wanted to do was crawl in a dark hole and sleep for days. I felt so strong and accomplished when I finished that half. My first Tri was hard. I've never experienced anything like first Tri fatigue. It is no joke the biggest energy zapper I've ever had in my life. My training was obviously modified but I did it. You can read my blog post "running for two" for more insight.

I did stop running at 23 weeks, though ran once at 26 weeks because of back pain. The pain has gone away, but I'm so scared of it coming back that I'll stop running. I am swimming and spinning and doing yoga now and able to exercise 6 days a week!

Good luck! You can do anything you want and that your body lets you. I feel like the " listen to your body" rule means more now thAN ever.

[moonstone523]

Also re:flying. I've been flying this whole pregnancy (I'm 26 weeks). I am flying until 7 months pg. I have four trips in the next month - San Fran, Texas, Cancun, Rhode Island. I did buy a first class ticket to San Fran though; I couldn't risk not getting upgraded on a red eye.

Airlines don't have restrictions I believe but if you look ready to pop they could deny you boarding. Its safe to have a doctors note with you in later months (so the pregtastic episode says )

[agrippa]

Like others have said, you can run while pregnant. I had always heard that you should generally stay at your current level and not increase intensity/distance, but others with more experience probably know best. In all honesty, I wasn't able to keep up with running either pregnancy. It seemed to make my morning sickness 10x worse. Even short 3 milers would have me home puking for the rest of the night. By the time morning sickness was over for me, I was 20 weeks pregnant, and running gave me cramping. So, I took up swimming as my major form of exercise for both pregnancies.

ETA: You can fly pretty late. I think the ccutoff is something like 34 weeks? I flew at 27 weeks PG with Ds and had no problems.

[breezy8407]

Yeah- nothing new or more intense than pre-pregnancy while pregnant. I ran 20-30 miles per week in 2011, so I kept up mileage but didn't do any speed work or tempo runs. I ran with twins until 21 weeks.

[dragonfly08]

Definitely a question for your doctor. My OB/GYN is fine with her patients continuing to run if they were doing so pre-PG, but recommends shorter distances.

I planned to keep up with my running when I conceived #2. I was doing about 15-18 mi/week at the time. But m/s hit at 6 weeks and I just couldn't. By the time I felt better at around 13 weeks I'd been away from running just long enough that I wasn't comfortable starting up again so I did other forms of exercise instead - walking and a pregnancy cardio and yoga video mostly.

Good luck!