As a mother of soon to be 4, I often get asked for advice on running while pregnant. I wanted to take a minute to tell you my story. I have not always been a runner, nor have I always been a pregnant runner.
 
When I was pregnant with my first child I read a book, The Girlfriend’s Guide to Pregnancy by Vicki Lovine. Mrs. Lovine never worked out while pregnant. For her it wasn’t worth it. She was worried she’d risk the life of her unborn child and asked her readers, could you live with it if it was your fault? I was terrified. I knew nothing about pregnancy and decided to take her advice. So I did nothing. I sat on the couch. I watched TV, I ate, I slept, and I got depressed. My husband was deployed, I had recently moved to the area and was unemployed. Dropping my almost daily gym routine left pretty much nothing for me to do. About 8 weeks after I read her book I was sitting on the couch watching TV and crying.
 
Why was I crying? I missed my husband. I missed my old life. I missed working out. Then I thought, why in the world am I taking one person’s opinion as fact when I haven’t done any research myself? This thought woke me up, and I decided to do my own research and make my own choices.
 
I found a pregnancy exercise class with a certified expert in pregnancy fitness. I joined the class and I was absolutely amazed by the amount of work she expected from pregnant women. I was expecting gentle yoga, and instead we did squats and lunges, lifted weights, cycled, and stepped. I worked out just as hard if not harder in her classes than I had when I wasn’t pregnant! I also did online research for myself, and she gave out a guidebook on pregnancy and postnatal exercise. I didn’t run during my first pregnancy because I didn’t consider myself a runner. I was afraid to fall on my face, but I did lift weights daily and walked the fastest I could on the highest treadmill incline.

When I was pregnant with my second child I had been a runner for a while. Running with a stroller made me not afraid to fall on my face. I figured if I did happen to trip, the stroller would catch me. I learned that the placentas of women who worked out were larger than women who didn’t work out.  A large placenta means there was good blood flow and lots of nutrients to the baby. I learned that women who worked out had quicker postpartum recoveries and had less of the common complaints of pregnancy –the back pain, constipation, etc. I enjoyed being active while pregnant and ran up until the day he was born. I mostly kept my mileage below 6 miles.
 
When I was pregnant with my third child I was able to run a lot! In addition to many 5ks and 10ks, I also did two half marathons (one at 6 months pregnant and one at 7 months pregnant, both while pushing my double stroller) and one triathlon at 37 weeks, 4 days. The military doctors I was seeing were incredibly supportive of my exercise. They knew about every race I ever did and had full confidence in my abilities. One of my doctors commented that she is nervous about a woman who exercises a lot when her weight gain during pregnancy doesn’t keep up with her pregnant peers. I actually gained more weight with my 3rd pregnancy (by 10lbs) even though it was my most active pregnancy. My other doctor (I saw 2 consistently during this pregnancy) said he believed the extra weight gain was because I built more muscle carrying around extra weight while working out.
 
I am currently 8 months pregnant with baby #4. I’m guessing you think I’m running marathons this time? Wrong! I did run a half marathon at 10 weeks pregnant, but this pregnancy has been very different than the others. This time I had to stop running at 6 months due to back, hip and knee pain. It has been mentally challenging to not be able to be as physically active as I’m used to, but I know that God only gave me one body. I have to take care of it if I want it to last me my lifetime (which I do!). There will be plenty of time in the later years for me to get my runs in and I’ll stick to walking for exercise for now.

So, without further ado, these are my golden rules of running while pregnant:

1. Every body is different and every pregnancy is different (even if it’s a pregnancy in the same body!). DO NOT compare yourself to others or even to your prior self. Take every day as it is and make decisions based on how you are feeling now.
2. Hydrate! It is proven that dehydration can cause contractions. We don’t want contractions until your baby is full term. Hydrate, hydrate, hydrate.
3. Talk with your doctor. Make sure you don’t have any of the conditions that would make exercise during your pregnancy unwise and unsafe.
4. During pregnancy, I never try to PR (set a personal record). I do race, but I’m racing for the enjoyment of the experience and to support friends. I don’t push myself as hard as I would not pregnant. I relax, enjoy the experience and “mosie along.”
5. Listen to your body. Take a walk break if you need to. Stop if something doesn’t feel right. Your body is amazing at telling you what is going on with it, you just have to be a good listener.
6. Don’t expect that just because you’ve had one bad run, running is over for you. Your center of gravity is changing so quickly that the next day or even the next week might be better.

 
Have you been able to run through a pregnancy? What are your ‘rules’ for pregnant running?

by Angel

The kindergarten countdown has begun. It’s the countdown to the day when I feel like I can officially ditch the stroller, and run without pushing 75 pounds of weight in front of me. Most days I’m scheming to schedule my run around a time when I don’t have to take that darn thing with me.

Motherhood is bittersweet, though. I’m also thinking about how much I will miss pushing either of my children in the stroller. The hilarious conversations (and the thoughts that in a few short years they might not want to have such free conversations with me) are priceless.

With my oldest child, the transition was easy. She couldn’t wait to get out of the stroller, hated sitting in it. As soon as she could ride a bike, she could join me on runs. Now she is old enough to run on her own, and when she asks to go with me I get a little giddy. This child is moving into the pre-teen stage (cough, choke). The time that she runs with me is precious, because she opens up and has conversations like she did in the days of the stroller. Even more, she amazes me with her determination. I’ll ask, “Should we turn around now?” She replies with a steady breath, “No, I want to go just a little bit further.”  

by Kelly

While a marathon is always 26.2 miles, an ultra marathon could be any number of distances ranging from 50 kilometers to 200 miles. The most popular ultra marathon distances are 50K, 50 miles, 100K, 100 miles and 200 miles. This endurance sport first intrigued me four years ago while I was on a pre-deployment cruise with my 12 month-old daughter and my husband. We watched a special on the weather channel about an ultra race that goes right through the scorching desert with temperatures so hot the soles of runner’s shoes will melt off if they don’t run on the white line of the road.

Back then I was a relatively new Stroller Warrior at Camp Lejeune. My longest run had been 8 miles, of which I was (and still am) immensely proud. A few months later I crossed the finish line of my first marathon. The marathon hadn’t gone as I had envisioned it. I wasn’t proud of my time, I felt my body had failed me, and my husband hadn’t been there to console me (he was forward deployed at the time).

Fast forward four years later and I’ve run more half marathons than I can count, multiple marathons, and two 50k ultra marathons. I’ve even been thinking lately about the 50 mile race. At one point in time my marathon experience led me to believe that I wasn’t cut out to do marathons. Half marathons? Sure, I’d do those any day of the week… but double that distance? No thank you!
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​So what changed? For one, marathons appear to be like childbirth. You forget the pain and want to do it again. Secondly, I have realized that ALL of us are capable of doing anything we set our minds to.

Though in all honesty, my husband signed up for the North Face Endurance Challenge 50k trail race first. We talked about the 50k he had signed up for on one of our family runs. I kept thinking back to the last marathon he trained for alone. I was jealous the whole time he was out running and wished I had been able to train and race with him. It was hard to be home alone watching kids while he was out on his long runs. So I approached him about me doing the 50k too. He is the most supportive husband a wife could ask for and immediately agreed and signed me up. I wouldn’t have known I could be an endurance athlete if it wasn’t for him.

Over the course of our training I learned many things about ultra marathons and wanted to share a few of them with you.

-YOU can be an ultra marathoner (yes, I’m talking to you!)

-Training for a 50k in my opinion is similar to training for a marathon. I've met multiple runners on course who feel the same way!

-You have to have a strong core and strong hips in order to run long distances. One way to test if your hips are strong enough for distance running was told to me by my sister Meg, who is a Doctor of Physical Therapy. To test yourself: Do a side plank (my sister said you can start on your elbow if needed but you should be able to build up to doing it on your hand). While in the side plank raise and lower your top leg 10 times. If you can do 3 sets of 10 fairly easily then your hips are strong enough for distance running (half marathon and more). Switch sides and repeat. Be careful your hips are staying stacked and you’re not dropping a hip back. This is not only a good test, but it is also a good way to strengthen your core and your hips. Incorporate this into your workout.

-Don’t neglect cross training and weight lifting. Working slightly different muscles through cross training and strengthening your body through weight lifting will really help to keep you injury free!

​-Our bodies have an amazing ability to adapt! Training for a 50k made a marathon feel easy.  It sounds crazy, I know! But trust me. Your body will adapt to whatever you ask of it.

-You need to find a nutrition and hydration plan that works for you. If you have ever “hit a wall” during a race, your nutrition or hydration plan wasn’t adequate. When I race or do long runs I eat every 30 minutes or sooner if my body is telling me it needs it. I eat granola bars, fruit, potatoes dipped in salt, and honey stinger (caffeine free) products or homemade gels. I wear a camel back and drink on demand. With this nutrition and hydration plan I have not yet “hit a wall” while racing or on long runs. I still have had aches and pains and injures, but mentally I have been clear and positive. Every body is different so what works for each individual will be different. Test out different hydration and nutrition plans on your long runs and figure out what works well for YOU.

-When there is a will, there is a way. My husband and I were able to train for and complete the 50k with 3 children under the age of 5. We had to stop and breastfeed the baby sometimes, but we were okay with that. Our longest run with strollers (we each pushed one) was 23 miles. Our kids love spending time with us and described the 23 miler to the grandparents as “the best day of my life!” Though that is likely due to the fact that we stopped at a fire house’s open house on the way home. 


Have you run an ultra marathon? Why or Why not?