pregnancy and running

If TexasMPGal doesn't chime in, check out her training log. She gave birth ~3 weeks ago and looks like she was very active right up until.

I ran up until I was about 34 weeks pregnant, although "ran" might be a more accurate description at that point.  I definitely have had some right hip pain post-pregnancy like one of the women in the article describes.  I know I need to work on my core strength.

her labor "race" report is awesome! wow, just wow

Sorry if this is a "no dudes allowed" kind of conversation , but my wife has experienced those very pains.

She was a consistent runner for the couple of years leading up to her first pregnancy and had no injury trouble whatsoever. She took some time off when she was pregnant (mostly because she had, right before previously getting pregnant, had not been running consistently and was nervous about that and the summer Texas heat) and then came back to running within two months after delivery. She was training for a half marathon and on her last long run prior to race, she felt significant hip pain. She went to a doctor who prescribed PT (who had her do many of the exercises described in the article) and it seemed to help, but has not gone 100% away over the last year of experiencing the pain. Fortunately for her, she was never a racer (meaning, she never had to be motivated by a race to get out there and run regularly...unlike me who has to train for something). She just liked the way running made her feel/look so she still gets out there and adds in a lot of walking intervals which has also helped a lot on the pain scale.

I had the dubious honor of writing a journal article regarding the musculoskeletal changes in pregnancy a few years ago.  Since I am niether and OB/GYN nor a mom  (I am an orthopedist) I felt rather unqualified to write on this topic but it is what it is.  The bulk of the work that has been done in this area has been by Dr. James Clapp out of Case Western in Cleveland.  There is a lot of fear of doing ANYTHING with a pregnant person because of possible injury to the fetus.  Ther have been some anecdotal case reports of elite marathoners running thru their pregnancies ith no ill effects to mother or baby.  In general its a good thing for both.  They worry about increased body temp in the first trimester as that can cause nueral tube defects.  More and more they are loosening the restrictions in healthy normal pregnancies.  Please consult with your OB/GYN regarding the current guidelines for exercise in pregnancy and discuss your plans with your doc. 

I ran up to about 6 months with this pregnancy (biked up to 7.5ish months.) (I'm due in a little under three weeks now.)

Stopped running when it started hurting my back too much and I was too tired all the time, stopped biking when it became uncomfortable.

I was very active right up to about a month and a half before I got pregnant. Got pregnant while still recovering from my IM, so the first trimester wasn't easy.

One weird thing I noted is that right off the bat, my HR was all wacky. like too high for the level of effort.

The one thing I got from that article is do your kegels!!!

What I wouldn`t give right now to be able to go for a nice long run and not be pregnant! I think I`m craving a nice long run as much as a glass of wine at this point!!!

I am 39 weeks & 5 days right now and just did a 5km run at the beginning of the week, albeit a much slower pace them i'm used to but it's still faster then a walk! . I got prego 6 weeks after IM and have continued to run & bike the entire time. After about 6-7 months though I cut back the distance to under 10km every time and started to go by time to try and get in 30-50 min when I would go. .... I was finding it was getting to be a bit much to recover from the longer distances ....I also walk up hills to save the HR from skyrocketing

I run with a belly support band as I do get some ligament pain, my midwife suggested trying the band rather then stopping and it helps! I limit it to at most 2 runs a/week and 2/ bikes a week, should always have a rest day in between. With my first child I had to stop running at 28 weeks as she was on my bladder the entire time and it wasn't fun to stop every 5 min on the tready to pee! lol With my second child I have been lucky he's been off my bladder the entire time so I never have a need to stop!

For biking I stick to the trainer as I don't trust my self on my road bike & not falling- the last few weeks my knees hit my belly so I'll do standing sprints & for hills/easy pace I'll sit up and just spin....It's not ideal but definitely better then nothing and gets a good sweat going! I'll also hit up the mountain bike as well which is a lot more comfy then the road bike! lol

I just listen to my body and since training & doing IM I know what it can / can not handle. biggest thing I found from my first pregnancy is the more active you stay the quicker the labor and quicker recovery! Good luck!