Running While Pregnant; Everything I've Learned To Run While Growing Human(s)
- amandajeren
- Aug 8
- 10 min read
As many of you know, running is my passion. What calls for an amazing day is waking up to beautiful weather and lacing up my running shoes for a 5-6 miler outside. With coffee and 30 grams of carbs in my system, I set off for the unknown (who am I kidding I know this route very well, lol!). On this glorious run, I listen to Two Friends as they mash up some of our favorite pop classics we all know and love. My running shoes feel springy but supportive. And I am going faster than I should be, but why slow down when you feel so in-to this moment?!
These kind of runs are what I live for; and there was no doubt I'd be trying to mimic this same feeling during pregnancy. I know the benefits of both weight lifting and cardio while pregnant and I had a plan to engage in both; not so much to excel by all means, but to keep some sort of normalcy and fitness in my belt.
Well, I hate to bust your bubble as a reader who is probably pregnant and looking for hope. Yes, I was able to run through most of my pregnancy (I am writing this at almost 26 weeks, with more weeks to go with running in my view). But, to find that runner's high again... well, that's been missing since I conceived. Each trimester has brought new changes to my body and my energy, and I am hear to prepare you for the greatest news but also the hardest. Nothing will be the same as it was during this time, but that's OK. Your mindset plays a huge part in how you view success. Intead of viewing success as "crushing your run with a PR", success is now lacing up and getting out the door. While pregnant, your body is prioritizing much more than just pumping blood through your heart and lungs. Remember that!
Weeks 1-6
During this time, many of you may not even know you're pregnant. As someone who was tracking weeks and ovulation, I myself didn't even know until I was 4 weeks along. But I can tell you these weeks are.... pretty similar to pre-conception. I felt zero energy drops and body changes. I was able to run long runs (60+ minutes) and keep a good pace even during my easy runs. This is not to say that first trimester rules don't apply... they do, but, I don't feel it's extremely necessary to place those rules in this section of the blog post. Again, half of you won't know you're pregnant, and if your "heart rate goes above 150", I am very confident nothing is going to happen to your lil babe inside of you, due to that reason.
Weeks 6-12
My Running Experience
This is when the dreaded fatigue set in. This was the absolute biggest change to my running (and life) during these weeks. Now take my experience with a grain of salt, I get up at 4 am to work clients out, I am pregnant with twins, and I am naturally a busy-body. My fatigue may have been heightened because I do not slow down. But almost instantly, during week six, I cut my running down, both mileage and pace. For context, my easy pace is 10 min/mile. This pace usually allows me to chat, go on for hours, and be pretty good to continue my day. My pace slowed during this time to around 10:45-11 min/mile. Outside running felt better than indoor... I don't know why, but I felt more energized running on pavement than I did on the treadmill. And lastly, almost every run was around 3-3.5 miles before I felt wiped out. I did maintain a long run once a week of 6 miles, but I would be misleading you if I said it was easy.
I did run a Quarter Marathon during this time (I think I was 10 weeks). I remember waking up in the morning and praying I'd have energy to do this. I ate sourdough bread and cream cheese/jelly for carbs. I did not drink coffee because that was making me nauseous at this point. I also did not fuel during this run, more becasue of my diabetes management and less of running reasons.
Based on my experience during this time, I'd tell you to listen to your body. Your easy pace isn't actually a pace, it's a feeling. If "easy" becomes a minute or two slower than your normal pace, remember the goal is to search for that all-day-pace feeling.
Running Rules, Changes, and Recommendations
Start every run by properly warming up with a walk. I am the queen of starting to run right when I put my shoes on; but while your heart is working extra hard to grow your embryo, you need to be cautious of easing into more vigorous movement like running. I like to start each run with 5 minutes of brisk walking.
Long ago, it was recommended to keep your heart rate under 140 throughout pregnancy. As someone who has failed at that almost every single day of being pregnant, I think I'm on board with the newer recommendations of using the RPE scale. Rate of precieved exertion is normally a scale of 1-10, with 1 being resting and 10 being your max effort. Keeping your cardio around a 6 (max) is a great goal. This might feel like every run is an "easy" effort.. not necessarily. You will have days that feel tough, outside of just the run. Be prepared to modify and adapt your training to these new exhausts and changes.
Fuel more than you did pre-conception. I kid you not, this was a game changer for me. Pre-pregnancy, I could do most of my runs fasted, especially my easy runs. It truly is just easier for a type one diabetic to not have insulin on board. But while pregnant, many doctors recommend not going long periods of time without food. I don't know the specific reasoning behind this, but I can 100% agree that long periods without food PLUS cardio is a recipe for feeling terrible. For first trimester, I stuck with hard boiled eggs and a slice of toast. This worked for me as I had some protein and carbs. But you should decide what works best for you and don't overthink the calorie surplus (you'll need this anyways!).
Be OK with not being OK. I've also trained runers who took their whole first trimester off then picked it up when they got more energy in their second trimester. Although I don't recommend doing nothing... I don't believe you have to run to maintain some edge of fitness. Find what works for you during this time, whether that be cross training, walking, or simply doing pre-natal yoga.
Weeks 13-20
My Running Experience
Now, my experience during these weeks might be skewed a bit because I am currently pregnant with twins. I started showing early, around 11 weeks. So during the first weeks of second trimester, I was absolutely starting to feel "uncomfy" in my body. I wasn't huge by all means, but it was the first signs of feeling like I have a belly and I was being stretched. This intial feeling created running discomfort physically and mentally. Physically, I felt the sides of my abdomen "stretch" during the first few minutes of my run. I don't know if that's what was actually going on, but it was definitely a feeling I had not experienced before. Mentally, I approached every run as "this one might be my last". Little did I know that my love for running will carry me much past 13 weeks. However, every few weeks I grew a little bigger and ran a little slower. This naturally happened due to my growing body and wanting to keep these runs fairly easy. Be OKAY with this change! And don't let it fool you that you're loosing fitness. You are growing a human and demanding a lot from your body physically! I also started to wear maternity shorts. They became way more comfortable to workout in compared to squeezing into my normal size. I'd recommend having some maternity running gear ready by week 15, to ensure that this isn't a road block stopping you from completing your runs.
Running Rules, Changes, And Recommendations:
As mentioned in my personal experience, be prepared for your body to change during this time. Maternity workout clothes and chaffing butter became my best friend! My favorite brands for maternity wear is Vitality and Vuori. Vuori doesn't actually keep maternity lines, but their running shorts (linked here) fit my growing belly.
If you run with a running group, be prepared to not keep up with your normal crowd. Again, as you grow and put on weight, your running friends will probably maintain their fitness and run much faster at an easier effort. Be prepared to have a conversation with them that now, you'll continue to run but have to slow down as your pregnancy progresses.
If you're running in the heat, try to run in the earlier hours or the later evening. As you grow, your heat tolerance will decline. You don't want to be stuck in a position of dehydration, low blood sugar, or heat exhaust!
Swelling of your hands and feet are signs of poor circulation. If this becomes an issue, stop running and alert your doctor. Preeclampsia can occur around week 20 and on- which will halt all over your running ventures.
Another hormone that is released around week 20 is relaxin. This hormone is meant to prepare your body to relax and stretch/grow. It's extremely important during delivery as relaxin is at is highest. Around this time, you may want to opt out of foam rolling and begin to do warm ups that involve movement, such as a brisk walk, band work, shuffles, butt kicks and high knees. Foam rolling can become "too much" when your body is trying to relax (this can actually cause bruising, too!).
Weeks 21-30
My Running Experience
My goal was to run to week 30. Being mid-way through week 25, I don't see why this isn't possible (and maybe even past this!). But I did have to make major changes during these weeks to ensure healthy and safe running. First and foremost.. I hung up the towel of running outside. This is due to the risk of falling. I have fallen during runs countless times and broken many bones; now, I risk much more than just a fracture. It's not worth it to me to have a good run but sacrifice the safety of my babies. Now, I run on the treadmill between 2-4 miles, and I call it a day. I also completely folded and put away any clothes that caused irritation while running; there is no point in suffering during or after your run when you can be prepared with new gear for this phase of your life. Lastly, I picked up cross training as I find that running every other day is more suitable to my joints and muscles with other days including the stairmaster or elliptical. Both of these cross training methods keep my cardiovascular fitness in check and are easy on my joints. I recover much easier from runs now and don't feel quite as exhausted from running the day before.
There are many times during these weeks I thought would be my last. But instead of hanging up my shoes, I took note of this feeling and decided that the next day should be an off day. Listening to your body and being more flexible with your training schedule will serve you well during this time. Typically.... I don't normally need much time off to recover. But during pregnancy, my body requires a bit more TLC. This allows me to approach my next runs with more strength and energy, ultimately changing my mind that I would continue to run.
Running Rules, Changes, And Recommendations:
Running can help decrease your insulin resistance, which naturally will go up during pregnancy. Gestational diabetes is no joke; and it's common especially for those who do not exercise. If you are currently running, know that this is a benefit to your sport; you will have more "insulin sensitivity" which will decrease the risk of developing gestational diabetes.
Physcially, you may notice changes like stretch marks, varicose or spider veins, or linea nigra. All of these marks on your body are different and running may play a role in each:
stretch marks: unfortunately, there is no definitive way to prevent this. Stretch marks most often occur when putting on weight at a rapid/quick pace. Running can help with this as it will help you not gain weight as quickly.
varicose veins: occurs when blood begins to pool in your veins from the weakened valves. Although this may look unattractive, running can help decrease this as running improves blood circulation.
linea nigra: occurs in many women, due to the increase in hormones. This appears as a dark lining running vertically either under the belly buttom or on both ends. This will fade after pregnancy. Running doesn't do much for this physical change.
Safety Check: it's time to ask yourself how safe your current running route and enviroment is. With a growing body, you may notice that landing a certain way doens't feel as good as it once was. Start asking yourself the following questions to get a better understanding of your risk vs. reward in terms of where and how you are running: A) Would you be able to run away from someone to safety? B) If a car veered towards you, would you be able to run off road and land appropriately? C) When running on uneven surfaces, are you able to modify your step and adjust accordingly? D) Have you fallen in the past due to dragging your feet or tripping? Does this get worse during your pregnancy? E) Has your cadence slowed and cause a slower turnover? All of these questions could lead you to an answer that isn't ideal, but safety is most important.
Belly bouncing is a thing! Be open to core support, like belly wraps. Truth be told, I purchased one from Bala Band and have yet to use it. But it's a security blanket in case my weight starts to become uncomfortable to my core and back.
Foot/leg discomfort... you might begin to experience swelling or pain, especially at night. If this isn't out of the ordinary and doctors say you can presume exercise, know that running and cardio can be helpful to increase/improve circulation. Be sure to end every evening stretching your legs; this can also help with cramping.
Change your shoes to accomodate your new feet / weight. During this trimester, I had to change my shoes to new, more supportive shoe. I didn't go from neutral to stability; this would require a chnage in valgus/varus hip/knee support. But, I did have to change my shoes to a more bouncy version, supporting the additional weight I am carrying. I knew I needed new shoes when I strted experiencing inner groin pain. After a few days off from running and therapy exercises, I noticed it would only come back if I ran in my shoes. So, I purchased new ones and have not experienced the discomfort since.
I cannot wait to write a following blog post discussing post partum/return to running after delilvery. Of course, every runner wants to get back to the sport they love quickly. I am approaching this realistically, and if I give birth vaginally with no tears, hope to be back to a walk/run by 4 weeks PP. Now, c-sections and tears can increase this goal for up to 8 weeks. This can be challenging to a new mother who may feel a little lost in their identity; but know that once healed and recovered, you'll feel so proud of yourself that you kept running through pregnancy and will be shocked at how easy running is post partum. Whatever my story is... I can't wait to accept the amazing moments and challenges head on!
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