Thursday, May 26, 2016

Running for Two - Second Trimester

Weeks 13-27
The second trimester is when a lot of women report having more energy!! I felt that around 15-16 weeks, my runs felt better, I felt more energetic during the day...and was able to stop my lunch break naps (for the most part).

Fairly early in my second trimester (14/15 weeks) I ran a 1/2 Marathon.  I finished 1:48, about 4 minutes slower than my PR.  I was very happy with that time.  The first half of the race I ran on track to finish in 1:40, however, by about the halfway mark I sort of freaked out about somehow causing damage to the baby.  At mile 9/10 when I stopped at the porta john, I noticed a small amount of blood - not bright red...the old stuff...and continued to freak out.  I do want to point out that my doctor told me that was a very real possibility.  That often vigorous physical activity will cause that to happen and it's not harming the little one...That didn't stop me from slowing way down for the last 3 or so miles.  I finished comfortably, just not strong.  I checked in with my doc afterward, she said that it's nothing to worry about.  Whew.

After that race, I decided that I am way too competitive to race pregnant.  I freak out that I am going to fast, slow down, and I just don't enjoy racing if I'm not doing it to PR...or win... So, I didn't sign up for any more races from then on.  Late in the 2nd trimester I started to get the racing bug and signed up for a half marathon scheduled to be about 3 months after baby's birth day.  I'm toying with the idea of doing a triathlon before that, but I think I am going to wait to see what life throws at us before I sign up.

It wasn't until the end of this trimester that I noticed a big difference in my running times.  I noticed my pace dropped dramatically...from 7:30/8min miles down to 10:30/11 min miles.  Also, my endurance was decreasing pretty rapidly.  My 10 mi long runs turned into 7, then 6, then 5... But if I didn't respect my body and tried to overdo it I got excruciating headaches that lasted for 2 days.  So, I cut back.

Total weight gain: 15lbs (from pre-pregnancy weight)  This trimester made me realize just how quickly the weight will pile on.  See picture...the first one is 22 weeks...The second is 27 weeks.  Oh my!


Belly: Visible at around 20 weeks...to the naked eye...That is when I finally told work as well.  Again, for reference - see the picture... The girls were getting huge too.

Running clothes: Between weeks 18 and 20 I started wearing almost exclusively the Oiselle seamless shorts and capris (Long Flyte shorts, Endorphin capris) and got myself a pair of the Long Rogas sized up from a 6 to an 8.  For tops until week 20 I could wear just about anything, after the belly got too big, I stuck with stretchier options.  Some that work well: Oiselle's Flyte tank sized up 1, Oiselle's In the Fold tank (it's flowy), and Lululemon's Cool Racerback (the older style)  I recommend flowy tanks if you live in a hot climate.  Tighter tanks made me feel like I was gonna overheat...the flowy ones let air in as I ran.

Running: I started noticing that my belly was heavy in this trimester.  It sat pretty hard on my bladder and pulled on my round ligaments.  So I started wearing my Amphipod hip belt to help provide some support.  That worked really well.  From about week 20 on, I felt like I'd have to pee for the first mile of my run, but that would go away the further into my run I got.  My long runs diminished greatly, and I really got into yoga during this time.  I highly recommend going to yoga classes or even using a download (I like www.jasyoga.com).  Near the end -  weeks 27-28 my legs started feeling like they were burning every time I ran.  Turns out - I was low on iron...more on that in the third trimester update.  

That's all for now, I'll have a third trimester update soon!



 

3 comments:

  1. Congrats!! I was just checking your twitter page to ask you how old your dog was when you started running with her. My weim is 8 months and I take him running 1.5 miles a few times per week. I want to take him further but everyone has me paranoid about his developing joints.

    Anyway, congrats on your baby!!

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    1. Thanks!! We're having a lot of fun with the little guy...it's probably time for an update...
      Quinn is 5 and we gradually worked up from walking and run-walk starting as soon as we got her, running 3 mi by 6 mo and by the time she was a year running 5 mile stretches and running about 7 mi per day if we did 2 runs. We did a lot of offleash running where we could find a safe area and always at her pace (til she got too fast). I talked to her vet and he said she was developing fine so we kept at it. I do use joint supplements as a precaution...which does a lot to make me feel better.

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  2. Thank you so much! And for your comment on my blog. That made me feel so much better. I should probably have Remy checked by his vet just to make sure he's developing fine (for my own peace of mind, probably a waste of $70) and a joint supplement would probably make me feel better too.

    Can't wait to see an update of you running with a stroller and a dog! :)

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