Happy Mother’s Day everyone!  I have a sister-in-law who is 4 months pregnant and a good friend’s wife who just gave birth to a baby girl.  Both of these women were very active runners, completing marathons and halves, before being pregnant.  I wanted to know how they felt being pregnant effected their running, what their doctors told them about running pregnant, and how difficult it was to not be able to do something that you love such as running.   Here are some tips they gave me to pregnant runners:

1.  Don’t Over Exert: Be very careful when running pregnant not to overexert yourself.  When your pregnant you’re body exerts about 30% more energy than normal when in a rest state, thus you will have less energy when you go running.  Fatigue often sets in after you have exerted yourself so carefully monitor yourself while running.  Be prepared not to perform the same as your non-pregnant levels and try not to push yourself too hard.

2.  Support Your Breasts: I’m a big supporter of breasts; pregnant women should be too.  During pregnancy the breasts become larger and more tender.  Pregnant women should try to wear softer nursing bras or athletic sports bras for the extra support.  Come on guys, be like a bra, support the pregnant women you know!

3.  Short Sprints: Try short sprints instead of running long distances.  This can give you a good cardiovascular work-out while also giving you the need for speed.  Not to mention tracks usually have bathrooms close to them.  Perfect for a pregnant women!

4.  Pile on the Calories: Your not just eating for two, you are eating for a runner and a soon-to-be runner!  Give you and the little runners in your belly the extra calories you two need.

5.  Center of Gravity: Once your body starts changing your center of gravity and balance will change.  Try to run on flat surfaces as much as possible.  Falling will not injury your child but falling is falling; the end result is usually not good.  Unless you are falling in love.  Wait, you’re pregnant.  You should have already fallen in love.  If not, hurry up and do it!  You don’t have much time left!

6.  Maintain: If you are a runner before pregnancy it is fine to continue running as long as you monitor yourself, knowing that you will not be setting new PRs during your pregnancy.  If you didn’t run before being pregnant then this is not the time to start.  Wait until you give birth then you’ll have plenty of time to start running!

I’m not a pregnant runner, but the fact they are doing it, I respect that.  Please add any tips the pregnant runners I know may have missed.  It’s all about spreading information and incresing the population.  We all need all the hands on the farm we can get in an economy like this!