Beth and I ran our first half marathon in 7 months yesterday and this was obviously the first while simultaneously growing a human. I am currently at 15 weeks just so you have a reference of time and how long I have actually been running pregnant.

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Running has been interesting and I have been asked tons of questions about how it is going, so we figured I could update you guys on how that is going and if anyone else is in the same boat or maybe will be in the same boat it might be helpful.  Also even though I have been a runner for a while now and run tons of races, I still had/have a lot of fear about running even though the doctor has cleared me to run, even at longer distances, and that I see women do it all the time. It’s almost like a switch changes when it’s your kid in your body. I went to Google and that just scared the crap out of me, so here is what I have experienced, and have done, and so far this baby is doing perfectly well and I have had no issues *now finds every piece of wood around to knock on*

Here is how the first trimester has gone:

• I was scared to dehydrate so I only now run with water or where I know I can get water every other mile or so. I was NOT good at this before but also never had problems. We have pretty much taken all of our runs to White Rock where there is tons of water available.

• I have avoided the heat as much as possible and am glad the majority of this pregnancy will be in the winter. I did not run when it was too hot and actually stopped all my hot yoga as well.

• I eat during the run way more than I did before. Typically every 3-4 miles.

• I wear out much faster, it’s harder to breathe in even though this baby is small there is a lot more blood to move around and it really does feel like it when you are running. At first it just felt like I was out of shape, which I knew was not possible and now I know why it’s like that and am pretty prepared for that to get worse.

• I take more breaks and I don’t beat myself up for them. I have to stop and walk or stand even for just a minute or so or I won’t make it. During my ½ this weekend I walked every single water station and took water at all of them, which I never did before at all. I also walked about .5 of a mile to eat.

• I was never one to be blessed in the boob area and never really thought twice about that ever being an issue. I thought that “those” came later in pregnancy and quickly learned that that is not the case AT all. This change happened around 8 weeks and that long run left me in so much pain. Invest in good bras!! I have not really had a problem since, but no one really told me about that so early and I never expected the pain that comes with not being prepared for that. I could barely roll over and I called my mom convinced I might be having a heart attack! Ha.  So far I have not had to wear anything around my stomach. That might change soon!

• Exhaustion in the first couple of months is just stupid. It’s an exhaustion I have never really experienced before, and you can’t shake at all. I had to cut myself A LOT of slack when it came to running. I couldn’t stay awake passed like 7:30 at night, was napping all the time, and didn’t want to do ANYTHING.  My husband jokes that I haven’t lifted a finger… I didn’t want to move let alone but on shoes and run alone outside.  I cut running during the week for a while until that total exhaustion phase went away and now I rest when I need to.

• I cannot do this without Beth. I wouldn’t run at all. She has been there for all my long runs and if she wasn’t I wouldn’t do it. You need a running buddy for sure, and one that won’t want to kill you when you have to do all the aforementioned things during your runs. She is training for a marathon and has stuck with me! I catch her on the last half of her run so hopefully she is worn out a little and it seems to be working!  I also do not run alone anymore unless it is like 3 or less miles in the daylight by my house.

• My motivation level has changed more toward just being careful then getting a PR or running fast. I have not and will not push my stride speed at all passed what I have done this entire pregnancy. I have lowered my pace somewhere between thirty seconds to a minute and a half a mile, and am fully prepared to either not start a race based on how I feel or DNF if I need to.

I am running still because I love it and my pregnancy is healthy. I have been cleared from my doctor to run all the way up until I give birth. I am a super worry wart so this might seem like madness to some of you but I do have fear, so I am super careful and have more or less decided I will do this as long as it feels good. I want to stay healthy and in shape to prepare for delivery and carrying a baby all the way through. Running can help this and working out does as well.

I’ll keep you posted about how the second trimester goes with running. We do have Dallas Scheduled for December 8^th and that race will hit at start of week 20, and also a race about 6 weeks after that.  Happy Running!