Pregnant runners' club

First of all Marijke, well done on your PB, you must be chuffed. Hope all the other bumps, babies and mums and mums to be are doing well.

My running is going the opposite direction so here i am again looking for advice. Am 10 weeks gone now and been feeling very tired over the past weeks. Before and up until i was 6 weeks gone, i have been running regularly, usually about 3-5 miles 3 times a week. At 6 weeks pregnant i got a nasty cold and took ages to get rid of the chesty cough, so didn't run for about 3 weeks. Last week i felt really tired, could honestly have had a lunchtime nap if there was some quiet corner at work and every evening i came in from work and had a snooze on the sofa for at least 30 mins. Felt a bit energetic on wednesday lunchtime and tried a run, managed almost 3 miles in 30 mins and did feel the benefit for an hour or two after, then back to feeling really tired. Meant to try another run on friday, but honestly i was too tired and just didn't have the energy even to get changed into my running gear. Anyway my question is, if i continue to be very tired for the rest of the first trimester and don't run say for about 4 to 6 weeks, will it be alright to start running again in my second trimester if i bloom and have loads of energy as the books suggest after a break of 4 to 6 weeks ?? or is that my running over till after the baby is born ??

This is the thread I've been looking for! Hubby and I are thinking about joining the family club and I want to know about running in the very early stages. I know it may sound a bit silly, but can running in the first few weeks "shake" the egg loose and lose the baby? Or am I just being very naive? We haven't started trying yet and I don't even know if it will work for me, but I don't want to take any unnecessary risks once we start trying. How long before a baby's due do you have to give up? How soon after the birth can you get back to running?

marijke - congratuations on your PB. and i stand by my original assessment. you ARE superwoman!!

mrs o - i reckon you will be fine to pick up your running - very very slowly obviously - once you start feeling better. if you can, try getting out for some walks even when you are tired now, as that will help to keep the blood flowing. but if you really are feeling too awful, then just rest. if you belong to a gym, you could try doing some cross training (elliptical trainer, static bike etc) once you start feeling a bit better and then start some gentle trotting after that. but given that you've been running for a long time, a break of 4 weeks or so will do you no harm.

we had a very busy weekend again. decided to start stripping the WOODCHIP wallpaper off in the nursery this weekend. it took both of us ALL WEEKEND!!!! and that was with a steamer!!! i officially hate woodchip and anyone who ever puts it up should be shot. anyway, it's nearly all off now - i gave up trying to work out how to get it off from under the bottom of the radiator because i was tired, couldn't move my hands properly by that stage and kept skinning my knuckles.

of course, in removing the woodchip, we also managed to remove the plaster in a couple of places, so now we have to get a plasterer in. ho hum!

i forced myself out for a 5 mile run yesterday afternoon as a break from stripping wallpaper, and could hardly move my legs at all to start off with (very sore from all the crouching, bending etc), but by the end i was bouncing along like a bunny (well, i'm sure i wasn't, but that's what it felt like).

viks

welcome to the thread!

how long have you been running for? general conventional medical wisdom (ie not your granny but the doctor/midwife) says that, as long as you've been running for a while (usually more than 6 months), it's fine to continue while you are trying and also while you are pregnant. so no need to stop at all, as long as everything goes well and you feel fine.

if you are running lots of miles or are very underweight, you may not be ovulating. but assuming you are not underweight or overtraining, you should be fine.

as for 'shaking the egg lose' - there's no evidence to suggest that runners have any higher an occurrence of ectopic pregnancies, miscarriages, implantations outside the womb than the general non-running population. the egg is absolutely tiny and burrows itself very deeply into the lining of the womb, and once it's there, it won't be shaken lose by the impact of your running. therefore, unless there are other complications, all the books i've read have said that you will not be putting yourself at a greater risk of miscarriage by continuing to run, as long as you feel well.

several of us on here were running quite long distances in the very early days of our pregnancies (before we even knew we were pregnant), and everything was fine. i did an 18 mile run one weekend and a half marathon race the following weekend and then found out i was pregnant 10 days or so after that, so my 18 mile run must have been the weekend i actually got pregnant.

you may find that once you are pregnant, you feel too grim to carry on running, but you'll just have to see how it goes.

good luck anyway, and pop in and see us again!

Viks, as long as you are a regular runner already then there is no reason you shouldn't keep running, maybe just don't overdo it, keep up the fitness you've got, don't go pushing it or trying to improve you're speed etc. Running will not 'shake' the egg loose. If it is properly fertilised and developing properly then its going nowhere, they're hardy wee blighters once they're in there. If anything does go wrong then it is because the embryo isn't developing properly and highly unlikely to be becasue of your running. I actually had fertility treatment to get pregnant and the fertility clinic were happy for me to keep running. If anyone was going to be over cautious it would be a fertility clinic, so hopefully this should reassure you and good luck with the baby making !!!

oh and - you can carry on running for as long as you feel well during your pregnancy. marijke (otherwise known as superwoman!) ran until week 37 and her baby was born in week 39 (i think). others stopped around 16 weeks or so when they started to feel their babies bounce around.

i'm 23 weeks now and still running, well plodding slowly... i'm determined to keep going for as long as i can.

as for when you start again - that will depend again on you. some people start back within about 4 weeks; others take a few months off. but generally you can be guided by what your body tells you! and it will tell you - loud and clear.

Thanks for all the advice. It's made me feel much better. We're on the threshold of starting to try and I'm determined to minimise the risks. However, I've been running for about 5 years and have run 2 marathons, so I reckon I should be ok. Although I'll probably put off the marathon running for a while! I'm down to do a half marathon soon. That will be ok, won't it? I'm very impressed by anyone who can continue running at 37 weeks pregnant, and so are all the mums and mums-to-be that I have told!

you'll be fine to do your HM. i conceived 2 weeks after completing my first marathon, and, as i posted above, ran a half marathon a week or so after conceiving.

in fact, one of the books i read said that it's probably better for you to carry on training at the same intensity as before while you are 'trying' because your body is used to it. unless you are very underweight or overtraining, your body will just do its normal stuff more effectively if you do the same amount of training you normally do.

if you haven't already, do start taking folic acid, stop smoking (if you smoke), and cut back on the alcohol. i didn't cut it out completely until i found out i was pregnant, but i had cut back drastically... if you are a regular social drinker (and i definitely was!), it can be tricky to cut it out completely while you are trying to conceive, because you get awkward questions. but going out on big benders is probably not a good idea.

good luck! and keep posting...

Sorry to moan again gals, but is it normal to feel this tired/knackered ?? I'm 10 weeks and today i feel sick (never actually been sick so far), got sore head, stuffy nose and generally feeling knackered and feels like a bit of a struggle at work today (even though i'm just sitting at my desk doing paperwork) looking forward to 4pm when i can go home. Went up two flights of stairs and felt knackered and a bit short of breath. I even feel like i'm walking slower than normal, no spring in my step. Have absolutely no energy or inclination to go running and worried i'm going to turn into a big blob !!!

mrs o

yes it's absolutely normal.

i didn't suffer with it, but it's common for people to be so tired that they fall asleep with their head on the toilet roll sitting on the loo at work!

the shortness of breath thing is also normal. by quite early on in pregnancy, your body is diverting a lot of its cardio-vascular function to the baby. your heart is working much harder because you have about 30% more blood to pump around your body.

the stuffy nose thing is also normal apparently, and are headaches.

the only good thing about it is that you are obviously pumping out lots of good pregnancy hormones, which is a positive and encouraging sign.

hopefully you will start feeling a bit better in 3 or 4 weeks' time. my sickness only really declined at about 20 weeks, though, and even now certain things make me heave...

there's nothing much we can do about turning into big blobs, unfortunately. i think it's bound to happen!

Thanks for that Caramel, despite feeling like sh*t, good to know its normal and means everything is working ok !!! Just really feeling guilty and blobby for not getting out running, may go for a walk after my lunch instead and at least get some fresh air.

Oh Mrs O! You sound just like I was during my pregnancy - it's not much fun is it? As Caramel says though, it's meant to be a great sign as it means all the hormones are doing their thing :o) (No consolation though!)
I must admit that I had a grotty pregnancy (even taking the whole high BP/ pre-eclampsia thing out of the equation) - terrible morning sickness and nausea, feeling totally knackered for the first 4 months, short of breath & heavy legs, backache, rotten headaches.... Pregnancy is NOT necessarily fun, but so worhtwhile in the end.

The only good thing I noticed was that my skin was much better when I was pregnant (have always been a bit spot-prone) - and people kept telling me I looked really well & glowing when in fact I was very UNwell!

So big sympathy & big hugs mrs o - hopefully around 20 weeks or so you'll take a turn for the better :o)

Hegs x

Thanks for that Hegs, i'm probably just moaning, doesn't sound like i had it as bad as you and others, one of my friends lost about a stone in the first two months as she was so sick and could hardly keep even a cup of tea down. Haven't actually been sick and no backache so far (better keep up the yoga) and only really felt like this the past week or two, up until then i probably could have been out running if i hadn't had that blooming cold and chesty cough. Hoping i take a turn for the better sooner than 20 weeks, we're off to Egypt for a weeks holiday on 26th march !!!! Yeah pregnany hasn't been too much fun so far, best bits are knowing the wonder of a new life growing inside you and the happiness in telling folks, but physical side of it ain't much fun so far !!!

((mrs o))

being pregnant is hard work.

but there are funny sides to it. like this morning, when i woke up, and i had been lying on my side, and the bump had shifted across, so that one side of my stomach was flat and soft, and the other side was all triangular and hard. it was hilarious!

your holiday will do you good anyway, because you will be able to rest and relax!

Can I ask how long you all waited to do a test when period was due. Its day 30, and wondering when to go for it. I'm normally 28 days give or take a day or two. I have just had a bad gastric flu bug though so wondering if thats why period is a bit late. Any advice? very nervous given last pregnancy lasted 12 weeks.
Thanks.

Hi Mitchie Moo

God I know how you must feel - I also lost a baby a 12 weeks before falling pregnant with my second child recently. It is an anxious time anyway, when you have miscarried before it just makes it so much more difficult. The only advice I can give there is take it one day at a time. Also the chances of it happening again are very small.

It is a hard one about the test and I have agonized over this before too. The test are very good and should be able to tell the day you are due. I used to eventually come down on the side test sooner rather that later - to put end and to that am I arent I cycle in my head :-). If the results are negative but you still have no period try perhaps try again in a few days. I have also had a negative before and then tested postive a few days later!

GOOD LUCK!!!!!

Probably not much help, i tested when i was one day late, however i was on fertility treatment and my periods had arrived like clockwork in the past two cycles so knew exactly when it should have started. If you reckon you're already a few days late then it would be worth doing a test. If i was you i don't think i could wait much longer than a day or two, good luck with the test, i know how nerve wracking it can be. Remember also false negatives can be common if you test a wee bit early because the pregnancy homrone levels aren't high enough yet, however false positives are rare. Good luck.

hello, thank you for congratulations, still buzzing a bit (not too much as it makes my hips wobble..) Not superwoman, just very glad to be able to run. I did feel a bit of a superwoman when I was pregnant, as I was so wel, I didn't know I was pregnant for 9 weeks and ran my usual mileage, including PB half marathon at 8 weeks so you should be fine Viks. I did slow down lots as soon as I knew I was pregnant!! I did 'run' to 37 weeks but very much like a turkey at the end!! My sister was also unspeakably tired mrs o, it got better after 12 weeks. good luck all

mitchie moo - i tested on day 29, but then my periods are normally every 26-27 days, so by the time i got to 28 days i was already suspicious.

i can only imagine how tough it must be for you. as clare said, there's every chance that, if you are pregnant, everything will be fine this time. i've read in several books that even if you have had 3 miscarriages, it's apparently considered 'statistically normal' and your risk of having future miscarriages is not considered to be higher.

thinking of you...

Mitchie Moo, did you do the test? Fingers crossed for you ...

Thanks to all of you who posted in response to my earlier message. I have been really busy at work over the past week or so and have not had much chance to post.

I had a good chat with my mum about things last week and she provided much-needed reassurance too. I feel a lot more positive and have decided not to think too much about it all until after the marathon ... assuming I can still run it as I have also managed to tear my hamstring insertion which has been a pain (literally!)

I've also made an appointment to see my GP in a couple of weeks' time, so will see what he has to say. If nothing else, I feel I've taken a positive step towards doing something about it, even if he doesn't offer me/us any tests at this stage.