Baby on board: does pregnancy mean that you have to quit sports?
Becoming a mother is definitely a positive, life-changing event and there is nothing like enjoying the sight of your baby being healthy and smiling. For a female athlete though, motherhood also means taking a break from sports for 10 to 12 months, or at least slowing down markedly. The good news is that if all goes well and if done carefully, it is possible to manage everything without skipping your athletic training. You can forget talking about running only in the past tense once you have given birth!
Are you putting off having a baby? Perhaps after reading this article you will stop postponing it as I did, when, just like many other moms, I came to believe that having a baby meant a few years without running or struggling with a poor physique.
Not only have Paula Radcliffe, Norway?s Ingrid Kristiansen, and Katka Neumannová managed great comebacks after giving birth, but also many other, less well-known mothers were able to return to the race track. Another good example is Australia?s Suzy Cole, the world champion in the masters? division (above 35) in the 2,000 meter hurdles and a mother of six. She did not attend races during pregnancy and breastfeeding but she would go for an occasional jog to keep up her fitness. Now at the age of 40, she has made a new personal record in her best distance, 800 meters, finishing in 2:11; a time good enough to score in the top Czech athletics league.
Runners and other female athletes are able to continue with their physical activities during pregnancy by simply reducing the intensity of their workout according to the needs of their body and the baby. They are able to maintain good physical shape, put on fewer kilograms, and lose them sooner after child birth. Overall, it is very important for athletes to maintain some level of their training for their psychological well-being. A baby is able to sense when the mother feels good because she has just finished her running routine or feels bad because ?she can?t run now?. Please note however that RUNNING IN PREGNANCY CAN ONLY BE DONE UNDER ONE CONDITION: EVERYTHING MUST TAKE PLACE IN AN ABSOLUTELY PHYSIOLOGICALLY SOUND MANNER, AND THE EXPECTANT MOTHER/CURRENT RUNNER MUST KNOW THE RISKS AND HOW TO ELIMINATE THEM. In other words, you need to follow the signals of your body, adjust your activities accordingly, and slow down if needed. Less is more sometimes.
Women are often worried about shock waves, but the fetus is well protected by amniotic fluid. Jogging is possible over appropriate terrain with a minimum of gravity fluctuations and at a pace that gets slower with the passing weeks, until only walking is possible. However, you should avoid takeoffs, sprints, downhill runs and everything that could cause a fall. Also, be very careful once your baby has rotated to the head down position and doesn?t have much space for free movement.
More dangerous than shocks ? and this we may not be aware of ? is the lack of oxygen and possibility of dehydration. If you start running and over-use your muscles, the baby could potentially suffer from a lack of oxygen. During pregnancy, a woman only has one heart and one stable (even though temporarily higher) volume of blood which is distributed throughout the body. The heart, brain and kidneys always take their fair share, and when muscles are active they need much more oxygen which causes the body to save on where it is ?needed less?. This includes the digestive system and the uterus and placenta which are sustaining your baby. Getting enough fluids is absolutely a necessity. Always have something to drink on hand, even if going for a short distance. Naturally, a worse situation is if the heart rate gets too high. The recommended bpm is around 140 and for the first half of pregnancy it is a very low rate. Exceeding the anaerobic threshold however is forbidden! If you have to catch your breath, just imagine what the little one must be going through!
Also, you should watch your balance carefully, especially as your belly grows bigger. Your center of gravity moves and you may ultimately fall. In the second half of your pregnancy, the relaxing hormone begins to be released and it helps to open up the birth canal. Ensure not to push too hard when stretching or musculoskeletal injuries may occur. You can avoid back pain if you walk (and do pretty much anything) with your pelvis tipped backwards. With your torso muscles maintaining balance, the belly won?t spill out and will regain its natural shape after child birth.
Overheating may also be very dangerous, especially in the first few weeks (when you may not even know about your pregnancy). The baby?s organs are being developed in the first two months and development defects may occur. A miscarriage is also a threat in the first trimester.
Race ? just a social event
With the baby inside you can attend a race if you can?t be without the competitive atmosphere and the people around you. Your pace, however, should not be competitive. You don?t want to be a greyhound; on the contrary ? you should be like a snail running at the end of the starting field prepared to withdraw at any time. Let your usual opponents disappear. They may also be in your position one day. Watch the reactions of your body carefully and check that your heart rate is not rising too high; overall, insure that you do not fall. The risk is very high and grows with the passing weeks. If you start feeling pain it might be too late.
Who should avoid running during pregnancy?
If you have not been running regularly it is not advised that you start with a baby on the way as part of your mission to ?live a healthy life?. Your body is not used to being exposed to such stress. You can move in a very slow jog only if everything feels fine and your body accepts it without any problem.
MY EXPERIENCE:
I didn?t know about my son for the first three months. So I improved my personal best at multiple distances and even completed a marathon (in the 10th week). Not for a moment did I think I would stop running. I managed the traditional Kunratice Race and Christmas Run and continued practicing and guiding my training group until the very last moment. I gradually reduced my pace and from about the 6th month I only walked when going uphill and took time to warm up so I would not be out of breath (therefore stabilizing my circulatory system and steady blood flow ? see above). I had no problem though to even complete 20 kilometers and later, the Hervis Prague Half Marathon. I took a different approach to this ?matter of the heart?. I enjoyed running at the end of the starting field; I moved slowly but surely forward and finished smiling in a time almost one hour slower than usual. By that time I had adopted a shock-eliminating ?duck jogging? style and with approximately six weeks left of pregnancy I slowed to a brisk walk with my arms in the running position. Another matter close to my heart is the Volkswagen Prague Marathon in May, but since it took place when I was two weeks away from giving birth I only walked its tenth ? the Volkswagen Family Minimarathon ? and completed it at a brisk walking pace. I did not skip the marathon that year however, and was able to run it the autumn after I gave birth.
TRAINING TIP:
In preparation for the May marathon (no longer with the baby) reduce the number of kilometers (your longest run should be about a month prior the race, and no later than 3 weeks before) and alternate faster and slower pace trainings with the aim to just get moving a bit and leave the body ?eager? for D-day. Make sure that you eat the best combination of foods and drink enough fluids, and ensure you consume enough complex carbohydrates to build the glycogen that is needed during the race. Since these glycogen stocks only last an hour and a half, which is not enough for the entire duration of the race, you will need to practice burning fat in long, slow-pace runs as it will also be your main source of fuel.
