For the runner, pregnancy presents an interesting puzzle. Do you drop out for 9 months and pick up your training when your body has been evacuated? Or do you keep up the training and race for two? Every expectant parent wants to do what is best for their child – but is it clear what the ‘best’ is when it comes to running?
Running while pregnant is by no means uncommon: American Amber Miller was in the news recently for completing October’s Chicago Marathon in six and half hours – the same day she gave birth to daughter June. Amber, a veteran marathon runner, kept up her training throughout both of her pregnancies, with the support of her husband Joe. But many female runners are uncertain as to the effects upon their body, their health and above all, the safety of their child.
Emily Antcliffe, young mother-of-one, is a keen long distance runner, who ran four miles the day of daughter Ellen’s birth, and competed in a 10k, two cross countries and a half-marathon during her pregnancy. She says running actively helped her through the pregnancy.
“I found it a really good way to escape and exercise actually helped with the morning sickness and tiredness in the first few months,” she says. “Ellen engaged really early which the midwife thinks is due to my running and consequently helped with labour. My labour was only 4 hours from start to finish and my running almost certainly helped with that.”
In the third trimester, hormones are released to make your joints more pliable and supple than usual, along with a shifted centre of gravity. This can affect the running gait, making it shorter and with less elasticity. Emily says she was able to keep up her regular training for the first two trimesters, but recommends toning down your training in the latter stages of pregnancy.
“Don’t train intensively after 24 weeks (maybe even 20 weeks) – keep running but do so at a slower pace with less pressure on yourself,” she says. “[My midwife] suggested I could run till at least 24 weeks and implied I would know when the time had come to stop. I didn’t listen to my body very well and at a training session at nearly 27 weeks I had a sore back but kept running. Turns out I had pulled a muscle that in turn pulled on my sciatic nerve. Ouch! It was linked to the fact that from 24 weeks your ligaments start to soften and stretch and I pushed them too hard!”
Other changes to your body mean your lungs have less space to expand, making it harder to breathe. Be prepared for more breathlessness and pace yourself accordingly. Lots of water, soft surfaces and stretching well eases the pressure on your joints and keeps your body hydrated. Eating well before and after runs is also important – your little ‘un needs as many nutrients as he or she can get, and you need to keep feeding yourself and child as you expend energy.
The most important thing is to listen to your body as it changes, and pay attention when it tells you to cool down. Body temperature has the most effect on a developing foetus, so it’s important you don’t overheat.
Emily says the most difficult thing was not the exercise or adapting to a new training regime: it was the negative response from those who thought she should stop training.
“I found the attitudes of family and friends the hardest to deal with. Some people’s comments made me feel guilty – like I was damaging my baby by running – but because my midwife, coach and husband were so supportive I felt able to keep going and over time others seemed to accept it. At one point my boss even had a go at me for going for a run!” Fellow runners, on the other hand, seemed behind her. “I got some odd looks in the latter stages but other runners were always really supportive – even as I overtook them!”
So don’t hang up your running shoes just yet; get your kids started early and start running for two!
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