Running While Pregnant

And no, I most certainly am NOT pregnant. So cross that off your list.

(There exists a lengthy "rainy day" list of blog posts I'm secretly brainstorming all. the. time. about running. A few friends recently have brought up running while pregnant or what it's like to run afterwards, and so this line item comes to fruition.)

Physicians subscribe to a wide range of beliefs about running while pregnant that are terribly confusing for mamas-to-be. My understanding is that there's not a whole lot of research that exists because it would be unethical, beyond things like "People Women who run while pregnant tend to have smarter babies," and the caveat that correlation does not equal causation. The fear of not knowing if running/exercise in general might be bad for baby scares some running moms straight to the couch for 9 months.

I know I am lucky to live in a progressive area with many like-minded physicians. I started a Facebook group for running moms -- @LSTRunnerMamas (we're up to 205 people!) and have confirmed my suspicion that these kinds of doctors are not ubiquitous. So it helps to have a community of women to support each other and provide another source of experiences. We don't give out medical advice!!- but we maybe nudge each other to get a second opinion if something doesn't sound right.

And our conversation about running of course extends well beyond pregnancy. (Training tips? How do you find time? How cold do you bring baby out in? What's the best stroller? MPG = marathon parent guilt, and more! Love my running mamas.)

My very talented, dedicated running friend ran throughout her pregnancy. Even in her 38th? week -- I was still a little bit struggling to keep up at her 8:30/mi pace every Thursday afternoon. (Can you imagine running 8:30s while 9 months pregnant?) At that point baby kept kicking her in the hip bone and the doc suggested maybe it was time to lay low. Baby heard this and decided to make an appearance 4 days later.

Her experience in mind, I set out to run through the 38th week of my pregnancy.

Doctor 1, at Boston Hospital: "You won't feel up to it in your first trimester, and you will be too dehydrated in your second trimester because blood volume increases so rapidly."

(ok, so he was right about the first trimester. ::cough:: But it wasn't because he told me so!!)

Doctor 2, at Brookline OB office: OMG YES PLEASE RUN HOW MUCH CAN YOU RUN RUNNNNNNNN

Unfortunately my first trimester ended in January in a pile of snow and ice. But as spring emerged, I was good as new. I happily ran throughout March, in my 5th/6th month, and would literally fantasize about running, while running. I remember running my favorite route through Beverly approaching my favorite park and thinking, "I'M GOING TO RUN EEEVVERRRYYDAAAYY I LOVE RUNNING!"

And then I fell.

I was wearing a baggy long sleeved shirt, so the car that drove by with their windows down, couldn't see that I was 6 months pregnant as they laughed at me.

Luckily I was only half a mile from home but I'd scraped up my knee, elbow, hand - and hip - pretty badly. I still have scars. What a shit show I was walking home.

Ya ya ya. Everything's cushioned in there and evolution and crap. I hear ya. But what a horrific morning that was until the ER told us (over and over again) that we were good to go.

So that was it. I stopped running. My ridiculously progressive OB said, "Eh. Can't you just run slower?" I glared at her. "I have patients fall getting out of the shower who are fine. One woman was in a car accident and was hit so hard her wedding ring flew off, and the baby was fine. Please run." Ok. Thanks but no thanks.

When I told my runner friend about my fall, she kind of looked at me blankly. "What, was your ego bruised? What's the problem? What do you mean you're stopping??", she said. -- I just couldn't do it.

And so began our 4 mile walks around Beverly (or Boston, if we had a doctor's appointment.) Until some test came back at 30 weeks that a certain fetus was trying to make an early appearance and almost had me on bed rest. So I went from runningallthetime to sittingallthetime and just about lost my mind. My solution was to sign up for a half marathon at 14 weeks postpartum.

Beverly: 26 weeks

Windham NH Rail trail: 28 weeks

Boston: 30 weeks, minutes before they almost put me on bed rest

The original friend in this story was back to running at 4 weeks pp, and I was closer to 6-7, after delivering at 38.5 weeks. It was a relatively unremarkable return aside from balancing lack of sleep with desire for intense physical activity. Long walks with the stroller helped ease the transition.

First postpartum run, on the same day as my postpartum follow-up appointment.

NBPT Half Marathon, 14 weeks pp.
(In training, with hormonal/loose tendons, I immediately got injured. But still managed to run a 2:09.)

Other friends/people on LSTRunnerMamas talk about being sidelined due to bleeding while pregnant, or bad pelvic pain. The same goes for postpartum stories. Lady bits turning inside out etc for long after baby arrives. To be sure-- I think the message here is to find a doctor that aligns with your beliefs from the beginning so you know he/she has your best interests in mind, when push comes to shove. (No pun intended, I swear.) Further, running *after* pregnancy is far more important than running during pregnancy, so if hip damage or loose tendon damage or pelvic damage is concerning... maybe it's time to step back.

But to say that one shouldn't run simply because she's pregnant? Hodge podge. We're not frail. I'm a woman and I like to ride my bicycle. Exercise is good. If it's important to you, find a doctor who feels the same way and is up on their research.

Running in the months/years after baby is a whole other beast. Interestingly I'm finding it harder now that she's older, than when she was a baby. But that's a story for another day. ;) Stay strong mamas!