Runng while pregnant
Stephaniengarner
Posts: 19
So I know that running is good for you and since my morning sickness has gone away I have started running again but how do you know if you are over doing it ? And what about the heart rate thing something about not going over 140 ?
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I ran through my last pregnancy and am with my current one as well. The key is to listen to your body - some days you feel great, others you feel tired or achy. Don't be afraid of slowing down and definitely walk if you have any pain. If you're feeling good, there's no reason to go easy. My running is very slow and sporadic at the moment (waiting for the second trimester) but when I do run I've lost my ability to run uphill - the power is just not there - so I plod up very slowly and speed up just as soon as I'm back on the flat.
I wouldn't attempt any PBs or push yourself too hard, you're maintaining fitness levels not trying to improve. The 140 heat rate thing has been debunked although I have heard some doctors still spouting it. My obstetrician told me i could keep up my pre-pregnancy level of training (about 50km per week) as long as it was comfortable. I was more worried about overheating in summer and making sure there were enough toilet stops on my longer runs!
The other thing to be aware of is that running often brings on Braxton Hicks later in pregnancy - I was able to run through mine (I could feel the muscles tightening which felt weird but not uncomfortable).0 -
I have kept up running up stairs, I am currently 31+ weeks. During winter I went indoors and started doing stairs at the local mall before hours (great set of stairs 3 flights together in mall, good conditions, I live in Canada and I do not run outdoors with children all year, I'm kind of a wimp that way.) I found running harder for me to try again when weather went nice so I kept running stairs through this whole preg so far. I feel good running them still I have doing better then I hoped for and have new goals for finishing this pregnancy still doing stairs at the end is my hope. I ran with previous pregnancy and did not make out as well as I am in this one. I really listen to my body NOT my HEAD!!! My head plays a lot of games I tell myself to see once I get to 30 (whatever goal) then if I can go 5 more then I do if not I stop/ slow down but again I listen to body not head, my head will tell me it okay to stop at 5 your pregnant take it easy..... it hurts a little (really it is the muscles warming up) as I go over 10 I really feel nothing..... 15 I get bored or hate people watching me.... 20 my kids are bugging me.... 30 am I done or can I do 5 more usually I can do 5 more and that is a good workout!0
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As the others have said, you have to listen to your body. I still use heart rate as a check though as I generally feel pretty comfortable at higher heart rates, but I don't want to push too hard. I generally aim to stay under 160, but I don't panic if I go a little above 160. I generally don't really start to feel uncomfortable until I hit 170. If I hit 170 I generally stop and walk for a bit to get my heart rate back down.
If it's helpful, here's how my pace/distance changed:
Pace: Pre-pregancy I was generally running a 9-10 minute mile (faster if I was racing), first trimester was probably doing 10:30-11:30 mm, second trimester I've been doing an 11-12 mm.
Distance: Pre-pregnancy I was training for a marathon and was up to 14 miles for long runs and 3-6 miles for "normal" runs, first trimester my longest runs were 10-13 miles and normal runs were 3-6 miles, and second trimester I've been doing just 3-6 mile runs and no long runs.0 -
The whole 140bpm thing was an arbitrary number picked by doctors a long time ago that is no longer recommended. If you go to the home page of this pregnancy group, there is a good explanation on that.
Here are a couple of articles that I found helpful:
http://www.runnersworld.com/tag/pregnant-running
http://www.runnersworld.com/running-tips/training-through-pregnancy-what-every-woman-needs-know
I have definitely slowed down a ton without even trying. I went from a 8.5 min mile to a more than 12 min one, which after reading those articles, I didn't feel so bad about! Did you use a heart rate monitor before you got pregnant? I know that pre-pregnancy, my HR on comfortable runs was 160-170bpm. So I have been mostly trying to keep it around there, since I'm not very good at listening to my body. I also run solo, so the whole "keeping up a conversation" test wouldn't really work.
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Thanks all of you this really helps me feel better because I really feel a lot beater when I keep up good cardio so I did not know rhat I would do if I had to stop ! I do not feel as bad about the weight gain if I know that I am keeping everything healthy and fit as I can0
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My doctor just told me to listen to my body. Don't get out of breath. Don't get overheated. Don't forget to hydrate. They gave me the ok to even still go for a half marathon I had been training for at 20 weeks. 0
