Pregnant runners' club

Help - just returned from Milan Half Marathon last weekend and found out yesterday that I'm 10-weeks pregnant! No wonder I wasn't feeling 100%.
What sort of distances / mileage are you ladies managing in training as the weeks go by?

Go Martini - First of all: congratulations!

Am sure you will get lots of good advice here - I didn't manage to run much during my pregnancy due to high blood pressure, but there are lots of other ladies on here who have and continue to run right through their pregnancies.

Best of luck
Hegs x

First of all congrats Go Martini, if you look through this thread you will see its all very individual, some of us managed to run till 37 weeks !!!!!! (amazing) and some of us gave up after about 3 months, just depends on your pregnancy. I am 14 weeks at the moment and have not been running that much, had a bad cold early on in pregnancy so that knackered my running for alomst a month (as cold went into my chest so no running). Now i am managing 2 or 3 times a week but just about 30 mins and am noticeabley slower already but not sure if thats just due to tiredness i suffered up until now, maybe i will get some more energy back now i'm moving into second trimester.

And for everyone else, my scan went fine on friday afternoon, the doc who did the scan was happy that everything looked fine and looked to be developing normally and the expected size it should be etc etc. They reckonned my edd was 2 days later than the clinic so we're not far out with dates. It was amazing to see how much he/she was moving about and kicking her/his wee legs, quite an expereince, hubby was pretty amazed as well !!!

mrs o that is FANTASTIC news!! Congratulations and so glad that all went well for you on Friday - as you know, we were all thinking of you (our positive vibes must have helped ;o))

My little fella has just found his feet and is DESPERATE to walk - keeps pulling up on everything and whinges if we won't be on hand 24/7 to lend a hand (literally - he holds our hands to stand up and try to walk). Time goes so fast! He'll be 1
next month - time for number 2 perhaps???

Hegs x

mrs o - that's great news. you must be relieved and ecstatic! are you telling everyone at work and all your friends now??

go martini - congratulations! if you are feeling fine, then just carry on running as normal. make sure that you don't overheat and that you don't overdo it, but your body will soon let you know if you are doing either of those things (or mine does!). marijke (one of the ladies who posts on here) ran a half at 30 weeks and was still running at 37, as mrs o said. i am now 27 weeks and was running until last week (maximum of about 6 miles, 3 or 4 times a week) but started getting really excrutiating stomach pains (and associated bottom problems!) on every run, so i have now reluctantly abandoned my running shoes and swapped them for my swimming costume. it would be a good idea to try to keep up some form of cross-training, either in the gym or in the pool, so that if you do have to stop running for any reason, you have another type of exercise which your body is used to.

the thing to do is just to keep an open mind about your running. you are obviously doing fine and haven't been feeling TOO bad if you have managed a half at 10 weeks, as most of us were corpsed with morning (all-day!) sickness at that point. this should stand you in good stead for keeping going during the second trimester, but do expect it to be very uncomfortable on your bladder, to feel the baby bouncing around (which a lot of people don't like the feel of) and to feel very sluggish.

i hope you will join us permanently - we chat most days about things (mostly NOT to do with running, actually!), and we've got a great mixture of people who have had their babies and are back running again, some of us who are pregnant (and some still running, but not all of us), and a few ladies who are trying to conceive...

hegs - how is your FLM preparation going? are you enjoying the taper now?

Mrs O - I am so pleased your scan went well. It is amazing to see your baby for the first time at the 12 weeks scan.

Martini - Congrtulations!!! How great that you have breezed through the 1st 10 weeks and completed your half marathon. As all have said, there is a real mix. I was unable to run during my 1st pregnancy (Sadie now 2) and due to some complications, I stopped running at 12 weeks this time (now 20).

Mac is right, the most important thing is to stay hydrated, don't over heat and to listen to your body. My pace automatically slowed and I just went with it. Since I have not made it passed the 12 week stage running, there is not much I can add, but am happy to share my experiences about getting back into running post birth.

In the meantime stay in touch, as Mac says we are often chatting about all sorts here!

Mrs O - congratulations - hope all continues to go well for you.
Martini - congratulations to you as well, especially for running that half!

Oh I forgot to mention, I bought one of those swiss ball chairs at the weekend.

I am working from home a lot at the moment and was finding my usual office chair uncomfortable and my posture suffering and even more so since pregnant.

So at the weekend, I tried a pallosit chair, a swiss ball mounted in a chair frame. You can only sit on it for limited periods and build it up over time.

It is so comfy and really makes you think about your posture when sitting. Also I find when pregnant, my coccyx or bum goes really numb. Sitting on a soft ball has certainly helped :-)

Any way sales pitch over!- have a great day :-)

I used a swiss ball a lot in the later stages of pregnancy so can reiterate Clare's comments above!

Caramel - thanks for asking - marathon training has gone OK - not done as many long runs as I would have liked, but under the circumstances I think i'm in OK shape (no major injuries anyway which is a significant thing for me!). Am on the taper now, but getting that horrible panic that comes with it - why does the taper always feel like your losing your race-fitness??

Hegs x

Thank you ladies - your support here is wonderful. I am reading through and will reply properly later. I've not told work yet - or my family.
Thanks again - so much
GMx

clare - how are you feeling now? when is your 20wk scan? it must be soon?

i bought a swiss ball (not a chair, but just a swiss ball) to sit and drape myself on at home, and i have been sitting on it at my desk, and have been amazed at how comfy it is! i've always had a slightly tight lower back (even when not pregnant) and, amazingly, that's gone since i've been sitting on it! so it's obviously all to do with posture at desk.

hegs - i take inspiration from the fact that you have even managed to train for FLM with your full-time working, commuting, and child raising schedule. i've deferred my place for this year, so i hope to be doing the same next year, although i'm only planning to go back to work part-time due to the fact i work away from home a lot.

Hi CM, I what with easter and a few client committments, I do not have my 20 weeks scan until 24th April. They will also assess the bleeding then and I will have a follow up with the Obs on Friday.

I have been feeling more positive, the bleeding has stopped for again and I have been feeling the baby moving fairly regularly. I just want the scan over with so I can see how much better or worse things are!

I have a swiss ball too, but found it too low for my desk - I am quite tall. So my swiss ball as been relegated to the sitting room for lounging.

Sorry to hear about your troubles below - I hope the swimming keeps you going!

GM - we are a lovely bunch (even if i do say so myself), and you will always get support and advice whatever your question (and however stupid it is).

if you read back through the thread, you will find we talk about all topics, including boobs, sex, poo-ing, peeing and even, occasionally, running.

have you been to the GP yet? you should get a booking in appointment with a midwife and, possibly - depending on the policy in your area - a 12 week dating scan. (not every area does those though).

also - not sure how much research you have done yet or how old you are, but if you are worried about the risk of downs and other chromosomal disorders, you can get a scan done at about 11weeks (i think they can do it up to 14 weeks, but in my area they prefer to do it as close as poss to 11) called the nuchal translucency scan. in my area you have to pay for this (it costs about 140 quid for the scan and the blood test), and it gives you a risk factor for having a baby with downs or 2 other disorders by looking at the amount of fluid at the back of the baby's neck, and also by looking at the level of certain hormones in your blood.

you will be offered a blood test for downs etc on the NHS at about 16 weeks or so, and lots of people just opt for that, but it's generally thought to be quite unreliable and give lots of false positives, and several of my friends have had high risk readings from these blood tests and have ended up having to have an amniocentesis (which carries a 1% risk of miscarriage). in all cases, the result was negative, but there was a whole lot of stress and worry and waiting involved to find out. with the nuchal scan, they give you a rating there and then, and confirm it more accurately when the bloods come back about a week later. and it's much earlier in pregnancy (ie 11 weeks rather than 16-17 or so for the NHS tests).

it's probably a bit much to think about at this stage (and you will be overwhelmed with everything else if you have only just found out you are pregnant!), but if you DO think you will worry about the risk of downs, i would heartily recommend the nuchal scan if you can afford it... your midwife should be able to tell you if/where you can have it down, and in some areas it's offered routinely on the NHS (although not in mine).

Hi there...another newbie here..I've just found this forum recently and have been silently reading away...its a great forum I have to say !
I'm 20wks at mo..(same as Clare I think)and my running days are defo over..my bladder didnt seem to like beeing jigged about anymore..so I have started walking 3 miles 4 times a week so it feels good to be moving..but it obviously doesnt compare to running :-(

Does anyone else experience really really sharp pains in their side(alternates between left and right) when they go to the lo? or is it just me..also feeling really really exhausted..dizzy..etc Just wondering is this normal/not..worth mentioning to m-wife ?
I was one of the lucky ones who didnt really suffer morning sickness...so maybe my time is coming now? :-(

Any suggestions would be helpful..Thanks

hello mrs t! and welcome and congratulations!

i can't help re: the sharp pains when going to the loo. but i do know that it's very very common to get pains as the uterus grows, so it may be down to that. but probably best to mention it to your midwife when you see her next. if the pains are when you wee, it *could* be an infection (although probably not if it's not getting any worse), so it's a good idea to get it checked out.

as for feeling exhausted and dizzy - it *could* be your iron levels. these take quite a hammering from the middle of your pregnancy onwards, and can cause the symptoms you describe. worth getting your iron levels checked if you think it might be that. the other thing it could be is low blood pressure, particularly if you feel dizzy when standing up after sitting or lying for a while. this is also very common in the middle of your pregnancy, because you suddenly get a LOT more blood for your heart to pump round your body, and it takes a while for your blood pressure to stabilise.

it's great to keep active and moving - so even though you've stopped running (as have I now), it's good to keep walking or doing other less strenuous and jolting activities! i have been for ANOTHER swim - that's 120 lengths in the last 2 days! - and it's absolutely NOT the same as running, but it'll just have to do!

i'm hoping to stave off the dreaded swollen ankles etc by staying mobile!

Thanks CM..fantastic advice..will mention pains, iron level to m-w when I see her next. I suppose I can try to get some spinach into me in the meantime..and a nice juicy steak..
Yeah I miss running so much too..the walking just isnt the same is it

Whew! Lots to catch up with here since the last time I dropped in!

Firstly, BIG congratulations to Mitchie Moo - must have been a helluva shock though! No wonder you have been feeling so poorly. In some ways I'd love to have twins - it would get it all over with in one hit - but they don't run in either of our families so probably fairly unlikely unless we end up having to have fertility treatment.

Hegs, had to laugh at your account of a maternity pad in a thong! Reminded me of one of my friends who's just had a baby. She had to have an emergency c-section and only had a couple of pairs of knickers with her. She sent hubby home to get her some more and he arrived at the hospital with one of her strings - typical man! Really made me laugh though.

Is this really mean? Hubby and I have only had sex once since my last period, and that was about 2 days after it when I was unlikely to be ovulating. I really didn't want to risk getting pregnant with less than a month to go before the marathon - told hubby we could take precautions but he wasn't impressed, so it seems to have been abstinence. A couple of times he's said (half-jokingly - I think) that he's "not allowed" near me this month, but I do feel really cruel! Trouble is cycle can be anything up to 40 days so I've had to factor in a big "off limits" period to make sure I've covered all possible fertile days. I don't actually think it's that much to ask given that I've spent 4 months training for this and would have been prepared to give up at any point if I got pregnant, but to have to give up when I can almost smell the Deep Heat is just a bridge too far. Am I being selfish?

Caramel, had to laugh too at your 'poo stories'. God help me when it's my turn - I could write a book of my own 'toilet tales' and that's without being pregnant. In fact, last occasion was Sunday, fortunately in the middle of rural Wales, but ended up bunny-hopping round the field I'd stopped in with my running tights round my ankles to find a handful of grass long enough to clean up afterwards! Got some odd looks from curious sheep but fortunately nothing worse. I have personally had one 'accident' so know how horrible it can be - had had a stomach upset and was about 500 metres from home but just couldn't hang on. Not a pleasant experience!

Hey Minks - good to hear from you again. I must admit that when I found out I was pregnant it was the day after a fantastic 18 mile training run for NYC Marathon and I was totally GUTTED! My GP said that I could try and do the marathon, but to be honest I was so riddled with morning sickness etc it would have been impossible and actually as it turned out I already had problems with my BP so wouldn't have been able to fly (I would have been 11 weeks pregnant on the day of the marathon). Having said that, clearly the first week or so of pregnancy really improved my performance (the 18 mile run) and I have heard that elsewhere too - but I am with you on not wanting to try this month, as I have invested such a lot of time in my training too.

Mrs T - hate to be basic about things but are your pains due to constipation?? I honestly thought that I was having a miscarriage once due to the sharp pains in my stomach but actually it was down to the old pregnant women's curse of constipation ;o) Still worth checking with the m/wife or GP though. Also, a lot of the pregnancy vitamin supplements contain iron if it does turn out that you are a bit anaemic - I took pregnacare from 18 weeks (I had fainted on the train) at the advice of my midwife.

Hegs x

MrsT - yes, i hadn't thought about constipation (i haven't had it - yet - fortunately), but i know that a lot of people are PLAGUED with it during pregnancy, and one of my friends ended up in hospital with a suspected ectopic pregnancy due to intense pain, and it ended up being constipation!

one word of caution on iron - if you *are* anaemic, you need to be careful when you take iron supplements. you will get advice from your doctor/midwife anyway, but you must make sure that you don't take the supplement with any dairy products or with caffeine - and a lot of people take their tablets with a cup of tea which is no good. this is because dairy and caffeine are thought to inhibit the absorption of iron. it's best to take the tablet with vitamin c - eg a glass of orange juice or a glass of water and a piece of fruit - as this helps it be absorbed.

oh - and if you do take iron supplements, they can also cause constipation (!), so if you GP prescribes you iron, you can ask for a prescription for some gel type stuff (can't remember the name of it, sorry!), which you can take to prevent you getting constipation.