They say the second trimester is the “honeymoon” phase and I have to say I am really not sure what they mean by that. I was not as tired which was awesome, and I didn’t have to just sit around and rest like I was in the first trimester, but that was about it. Everything else was still the same in terms of working out and running feeling more and more like extra work.

I had previously complained about breathing but it did not really become harder,  which was nice. I just had some moments of feeling breathless and much of that started in the last couple of weeks of the second trimester instead of the beginning. Our last White Rock 9 mile run was tough and I had spots where I had to stand more to catch my breath even at a slow pace.

My pace has dropped again. I was normally around a 9:30 mile runner on average and am now closer to 10:30-11 average, which is hard to swallow sometimes. It’s slow (slow for me, not the world of running.)  I didn’t think it would get that slow, but it has, and mixed in with that slowness is also many breaks.

Towards the middle of the second Trimester I had a pulling feeling in my lower stomach. Some I really can’t explain what they were, but it more or less felt like tightness or soreness at the bottom. I hesitate to call it round ligament pain (I only know about that because I read other people’s horror stories) and what I was experiencing was not horrible, it was just uncomfortable. It mostly would happen if I did runs closer together and would just stay tight for a couple of days. Also with that I had a few runs where I just felt the baby in weird places and stopped running. My belly button has felt bruised and sometimes when running it would feel like he was pushing there so I would stop running. I have also had a few times where I had to walk until he moved or a random pain would go away. It’s just weird to have a human in there doing its own thing while you are running. Most of the time it is fine, but sometimes it is weird and I would just stop and walk until it went away! Not sure what else to do but really my advice, if you wanted it, is just stop!  I think if this was a second baby I would feel differently but having nothing to really compare feelings to it makes me nervous so I just stay cautious, even though I am sure it is fine!

My back HURTS. The last half we ran in California, the back pain started about the 8^th mile and continued for a week… haha

I don’t brave the elements like I would have before. It’s not worth freezing or burning up for any length of time to run a half while growing a human! As a matter of fact we both wussed out of our last half, and what would have been my last half with this baby due to poor weather.

In none running related news I got my trainer back!! I went 13 weeks without my trainer due to him opening a new gym, FIT, but am glad to be back with him and have consistent monitored cross training and weight lifting! It also just mentally makes me feel better. Packing on pounds is required and happens, but it’s not fun to see on the scale and being active really helps with this mental game. I struggle with it a lot and I am sure/wonder/hope I’m not alone in thinking lots of pregnant people do too.

I am ready for the 3^rd trimester and interested to see how much I will be able to keep moving. Many say it’s the most uncomfortable time, which I totally believe; I am not comfortable now but it is important to me to keep moving and do what I can. My plan is to keep running with a goal of 15 miles a week and will most likely not run any longer than 6-9 miles at a time.  No more half marathons until after the baby gets here!

 We really would love to hear from anyone who is or has run while pregnant! It’s nice to hear the stories, different experiences and advice!  Let us know.