Into and a question

[magpie]

Hi everyone. I've been lurking on this board for a couple of months now and it time I introduced myself. My name is magpie. I'm 32 and have been married for just over two years. I am a librarian, i love running, hiking and tinkering with arts/crafts. I have an old rescue dog who has been my best friend for over ten years now. My h and I have decided that we are ready and I went off the pill about there weeks ago for the first time in 15+ years.

I mentioned that I am a runner, but I'm curious if any other runners have continued training while ttc. I am in the middle of training for my second marathon (13.1 miles scheduled for tomorrow!) and I'm wondering if I ought to stop. Right now, we are waiting for my body to get off the pill, but we are doing it a lot though because is fun :-). I haven't started temping or anything like that. Anyway, I don't really know what to expect with my body, so it is hard to know how "careful" to be with myself. I am feeling weird things that I've never felt before-exactly 14 days after my last period, I had intensely sensitive/sore boobs for about 24 hours, for example. I'm not sure if that means anything or if I should even pay attention to those sorts of feelings. Do you think I ought to stop training? Would distance running mess with ttc?

[winecheery]

Hi and welcome.

I'm only on cycle two myself, so I'll let other impart greater wisdom, but I just wanted to share that fwiw, my aunt is a runner and she ran every morning until she was like 7 mos pregnant!!! I am not recommending that AT ALL. But I guess what I'm saying is, excessive exercise can sometime mess with your cycle/hormones, but I am slowly realizing that almost anything can!

Being sick/sleep deprived/overweight/underweight/etc etc.

It sounds like this kind of exercise isn't new to your body, so I'd guess you're fine. But at the same time, my doc said try to keep my weight stable and not lose any while ttc. (I dance everyday) So if you are dropping excessive weight with these marathons, it could be problematic then.

It's tricky business...this baby making stuff! GL

[tarheels]

A girl on D&R (er, H&G), bunnymendelbaum, is 7 months pg and just ran some sort of distance thing. Maybe hop over there and page her? pandce.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=homegarden&action=display&thread=55598

There's a chapter in this book about athletes and TTC. www.amazon.com/Before-Your-Pregnancy-Couples-Conception/dp/0345518411 Since I am not an athlete, I skipped over it I found the book at my library - I don't think it was enough info to warrant buying the book.

[HoneySpider]

Hi & welcome! I am not a runner so no advice, but good luck!

[runnerjenny]

Hi and welcome. I am a long distance runner. I average about 50 miles a week. We started TTC in August and I am only on my second cycle. My cycles we averaging about 35 days before BCP and are now about 41 days long.

I was wondering the same thing since I kept reading that strenuous exercise was bad for TTC. I started to cut back a bit until I met with my doctor two weeks ago. I had to get my annual exam done anyways, so I told her my concern and she gave me some solid advice.

She said that since my body was so used to this kind of training, it wasn't an issue. She said as long as I was healthy and active, then I should just keep at it. I'm not sure what that would mean for you since you are training for a marathon (ie increasing mileage, tempo runs, etc.) but it sounds like you aren't new to the whole running thing so you should be fine.

She also said it wasn't like I was 200 pounds and trying to start a new rigorous exercise program, in that case she would advise against it (I am a healthy weight and in the lower to mid range for my BMI). She said that it would actually help with my whole pregnancy. I would be fit and healthy throughout it and when it came time for labor, I would be ahead of the game because my body would be used to "punishing itself" and working through pain. And that I would already know how to breath through the pain and pushing would be easier. Makes sense to me.

Oh and she is a runner herself and was in the last week of her pregnancy when I saw her and said she ran a half marathon with both her pregnancies (at 3 months and 2 months respectively). She had just stopped running at about 7 months because it was too uncomfortable, but kept swimming.

Hope this helps!

[magpie]

Thanks for the replies. I will check my library for the book. I'm definitely not dropping a lot of weight. The long runs are a stress on my body in that I, have to take it easy and drink a lot of water and eat lots of food to recover, but my body is somewhat used to it. Maybe I'll try the long run and take it easy if I feel overly exhausted... I definitely plan to run no matter what, I'm a little wary of the long distance training though. I have been running got more than ten years, though only the longer distance for a few years. Thank you for the advice and support!

[thoseareradishes]

Welcome!

[potatopie]

Welcome! I'm no runner but I'm a librarian! ::gives super-cool secret librarian wave::

[magpie]

Sept 29, 2012 4:57:10 GMT -5 potatopie said:

Welcome! I'm no runner but I'm a librarian! ::gives super-cool secret librarian wave::

Thanks! High five back!

Well, I did the run. It was pretty hard! I decided to try and go easy on myself and walked quite a few bits when I was feeling exhausted. I think I'll just play it by ear like that for now.

[Deleted]

I've done a marathon and a few half marathons and ten-milers.... Training for a half right now. I also feel like this is "normal" for me and don't worry too much. I'm not dropping a lot of weight, so I feel like my body is more or less in equilibrium right now.

[rt2008]

Welcome! I am a runner. I only do half-marathons, so not quite as long distance distance as you. But I am continuing to train. I don't have any races coming up, but I run 30 miles a week still. I was pregnant previously and had a miscarriage. I asked this question to my doctor while I was pregnant, and he said as long as I did it previously, it should be fine while pregnant. He just didn't want me to do more than I was used to, while pregnant. (he also said running had nothing to do with my miscarriage, so I am continuing to run as much as I have been).

[FastHands]

Welcome! No advice from personal experience about the running, but I will say that I had SUPER sore boobs my first cycle after coming off of bcp for about 10 years. I never ever experienced that before going on the pill or while on it, and luckily it was just that first cycle. Hoping yours was a one-and-done also!

[luv2rn4fun]

I am a distance athlete as well, having done 3 Ironman tri, 3 half Ironmans, and 7 marathons (recently just qualified for Boston!). I too had the same concerns of continuing to train while TTC.

I went to my MD and his advice was to continue to exercise but take a short break from marathons (maybe just do halfs for now) until I get pregnant. Once I'm pregnant I can continue doing longer runs, although I will probably only run 12-15 miles max. His exact advise was that I am allowed to do whatever my body is comfortable with and I will know when it's too much.

My past experience is that I went off the pill about 6 months before my first 1/2 Ironman and I ended up not having a period for about 8 months (first three months were normal and then 8 months of nothing...wasn't concerned about it at the time). Long distance training does stress our bodies and there is always the potential to delay fertility.

The only advice I can give you is track your cycles and monitor closely. I would also start temping, etc to make sure you are ovulating. If you start to feel concerned that marathon training is affecting your cycle, maybe back off the training or realize that you might have a harder time getting pregnant if you continue.

Good luck with TTC and your marathon!

[magpie]

Thanks for all the advice! I think I'm going to start tracking more closely so that I can start to understand my body. I am dabbling with the idea of dropping to half marathon training, just to be careful. I really enjoy the challenge of the marathon, but out is hard when I am trying to be gentle with myself (it is definitely a stress and challenge on my body).

I guess I'll start tracking and play it by ear. I sort of have to wait until the next cycle to track though, right?

[FastHands]

I started tracking mid-cycle. It makes it harder to draw strong conclusions about patterns, but for me it was just about getting into the routine, especially with temping.

[winecheery]

Oct 1, 2012 16:44:02 GMT -5 FastHands said:

I started tracking mid-cycle. It makes it harder to draw strong conclusions about patterns, but for me it was just about getting into the routine, especially with temping.

Me too

[mcfelix]

Welcome! I am new here too. I am on TTC cycle 10, and am training for my 2nd half marathon. I also CrossFit 4x per week and do hot yoga 2x per week. (I will admit - my training is not where it should be for this half, but whatever...)

Anyway, I am not changing my exercise habits for TTC. I have spoken to my ob-gyn and RE about this, and they said it is completely fine to keep at my routine. Once I am pregnant, I hope to continue everything (except probably not hot yoga) as long as my body feels okay.