Thankfully, the weather here this year is decidedly mild. I say this because while I don’t mind running in the snow, I have a terrible fear of running on ice and slipping and falling and dying. My husband used to toy with me over this ice issue until I started working in the ER and know what I saw? Broken bones, bruises and yes, death. So today I went out for my long run (which at this point in my pregnancy is more like a walk/run) and I was thinking about all the weird things I do because I am so super pregnant and running. If you are at all like me, you’ll already have googled and collected scores of information about running while pregnant and you know things like hydration is important and listening to your body. So I’m not going to say those very valid points because you can find them on numerous sources. Instead, I’m going to tell you 5 weird things I changed while running pregnant.
5 Unusual Tips for Running while Pregnant
- Change your route- I changed up my route from my quite hilly challenging fairly long run for two main reasons. The first, is because it is quite challenging and lugging an extra 25 lbs on this route was proving a little too much and it took me too long to recover. The second, slightly more important reason is because it is sort of along a country road and there is positively no bathrooms. For those of you good healthy pregnant women out there who maintain your hydration, this is important when junior is bouncing around on your bladder. Pick routes that are manageable for your own level of fitness as well as has bathrooms within reasonable distance. Remember the goal at least near the end of your pregnancy is maintenance. Your body is already working double time growing a human.
- Change Your Shoes- Again, a weird pregnancy thing is that often times, your feet actually grow! This doesn’t happen all the time but if you notice that your runners are a little on the tight side, pay attention! This didn’t seem to happen much with my eldest son and maybe its because I only made it to 33 weeks including 3 weeks of hospitalized bed rest but with my second son, I had to buy a whole new set of shoes! If your shoes start feeling snug but you cant figure out why, this might be it!
- Wear a pad- Ah the joys of pregnancy! A couple runs ago, I another runner jogged near to me then passed me with a smug look on her face and honestly, my first thought was “go ahead, I’ll just hang back here and try my hardest not to pee myself” So much pressure plus your body getting ready for delivery equals…sometimes a little spillage. Also if you sneeze or cough during your run…yeah. Nothing to be embarrassed about but when I go for runs now days, I don’t worry about it if I’ve got a small pad in.
- Don’t look at your times- I’m a highly competitive person and I like numbers! This one was tough for me. To see your self slowing down despite the same effort was intensely discouraging for me at first. But then, my wise husband sat me down and reminded me that my body is seriously multitasking here and not to stress about times. Admittedly, I still glance down horrified that it took me almost 40 minutes to run 5km but then I get over it thinking how much I’ll cream that runner while pushing my newest sweet little love and smile smugly.
- Layers- This is another weird thing (for me at least) because I am usually freezing! However, the extra hormones have been really getting to me lately (or maybe the extra *ahem* padding) and I have been so cooking hot! Watch your temps carefully!! Especially important during your first trimester. I live in the Okanagan and during my first trimester, I could not run very often because it was almost 45 degrees every single day (Thats 113 degrees f if you want to know) I live in a desert. Now that winter is upon us, running is actually more manageable. I need to dress in layers however because I start out quite cold but warm up very quickly! So gauge your temp for where you live and dress appropriately. If it’s too hot, don’t run. Remember that as much you crave that and want your body back after baby, you are growing another human so show your body respect.
So there you are. A few weird pregnancy related things to change for running. What sorts of weird things do you do to maintain your fitness during your pregnancy? Post in the comments below!
