Monday, July 22, 2013

Running Preggers

I'm writing this as requested by Nannoor, a fellow blogger ( I have just started to follow your blog :D ) who asked me of my running routine while pregnant. Takdela routine sangat sebab by the end of the pregnancy dah caca marba  Hurhur.
I hope my experiences will somehow be of good use to other runners getting through their pregnancies.Tak pun untuk bahan seronok-seronok baca tentang pompuan boyot menggagahi diri nak exercise. Ngehngeh.
So, here goes.

1st Trimester (1st-3rd month)

Nothing in my running routine changed , really. I still ran 4-5 times a week as I was still training for my last 10K race so everything was going pretty much dandy.

But I did a lot of reading about running while pregnant because this was my first time running with a baby in my belly. And most articles stated that the baby will be really small in the first trimester so running a lot at your normal speed wouldn't affect the baby much.

I did my easy pace at my normal easy pace and my tempo pace at my normal tempo pace but I refueled more to avoid dehydration. I ate what I ate normally and I took my vitamins as instructed, daily doses of folic acids, vitamin Cs, haematinics and calcium tablets since I'm allergic to milk.

When I went for my first antenatal checkup, the nurses were concerned of my low blood pressure, sometimes going down to 90/60 mmHg, but I reassured them this was normal to me. Still, they referred me to a doctor, a fresh faced boy just out of his housemanship who instructed me to take daily BP readings for a week. A week later, with the results still the same, fresh faced doctor eyed me carefully and said, " I guess it's okay for an athlete. You're a sports person, yes?". And suddenly I had this chilling suspicion that this guy may read my blog. ( Perasan tak?).
 Did I ever told you guys that I get terribly embarrassed if I knew any one of my colleagues reads Runningigi. Once, a senior of mine told me he liked my blog and I almost died.

 Anyway, come race day of my 10k at Taiping International marathon, I was at my 3rd month and was starting to show. I didn't look properly pregnant and I guess looking at my tummy, people would assume either I wasn't proportionate or had a little too much baked beans the previous night.
 I wanted to push it because I felt I can, but had to refrain myself. You can read all about the race here. Other than having side stitches, there were no other issues. And it was one of the best races I had so far. I ran pregnant without tergolek cam nangka busuk.


2nd Trimester ( 4th - 6th month)

Running still went on as usual. I even registered for another race at Padang Rengas because it was surely an easy podium. No, I'm not bragging. Ada less than 10 women registered. Agaknya jalan kengkang-kengkang pun boleh dapat placing punya lah. But still, I wasn't very familiar with Padang Rengas and the running route so I opted out the last minute. Memang nasib baik pun, because when WW got back from the race , he told me it was half road and half trail and I don't do well on trails. Nak-nak bila jadi mak buyung.

My pace followed the growth of my tummy. The larger I got, the slower I ran. A friend suggested running with a support belt but I malas to go and buy one.
I'm a runner but I guess I'm not that hardcore.

My easy pace deteriorated to 14:00 minute/mile. Takpe, takpe, I thought. Apa nak kalut, bukan training pun.
Best thing was, every time I ran, my baby was doing somersaults in the womb. I guess, she enjoyed running as much as I did. Running  still commenced 3- 4 times weekly for 30 minutes although my daughter commented I ran like a duck.

Fatigue was an issue. I would get too tired to run after work so I had to paksa myself a bit. But on days when I was too tired to even move my eyelids, I skipped running. But I made sure I took the stairs everyday.
My staff were forever holding the elevator door open for me but I would smile , shrug and stubbornly walk up, no, waddle up the stairs.
Stairs, good. Elevator, evil.

3rd Trimester ( 7th month to D-Day)

I only ran 3 times a week up to my 7th month. Then I was getting ridiculously big and the side stitches were unbearable so I stopped running on the treadmill altogether.

But to make up for not running, I did  weights and walking aerobics for 3-4 times a week for 30 minutes till the 37th week. Anything without side stitches is good for me.

By the 38th week, ready to meletup bila-bila masa je lagi, I caught a fever of 40 degrees Celsius and was hospitalized for a week. After that, all exercises went down the drain and I stayed dormant till my delivery.


So there you have it, Nannoor, my running routine while pregnant. By doing all this, I pretty much kept my weight according to plan. Overall I gained 15 kgs, which was pretty much recommended by the doctor. I'm happy that almost 4 months after delivery, I have now only 2 kgs to blast to reach my pre pregnancy weight. Alhamdulillah..

Do keep in mind every pregnant woman is different and you have to adjust your workouts according to your needs and ability.

Don't be intimidated to read some other pregnant orangputeh's blog and see that her easy running pace at her 8th month is still 8 minute/mile (4:59 min/km). Dia tu gila.
Kidding.

POST-NATAL

So how am I doing so far when it comes to running? Well, these days running depends solely on my baby's mood.

I'm like, " Little baby, can mommy run today for at least 20 minutes while you watch quietly in your carry cot?"

" Waaaa, waaa, waaa"

Alrightey then, no run today.

Then I go, " Darling, just 10 minutes today, please?"

" Waaaa, waaa, waaa"

Okay, it's a no then.

Did I tell you she has a built in timer? If I pasang niat to run 20 minutes while she's having her nap, she'll wake at exactly 20 minutes after. If I say to myself , just run 10 minutes and see how things go, she'll wake up at exactly 10 minutes after that. Cheeky little sweet pea.

So now, I make do with what I can. If she doesn't allow me to go on the treadmill on some days, I'll carry her and do lunges, squats and lateral lunges. She pretty much enjoys that. Macam naik buaian ( which I banned). I'd start my routine and she'll instantly go to sleep 5 minutes after, in my arms.
Like I said, I make the most with what I can, even though it means I'll eventually end up with gorilla arms.

You can suggest waking up at 4 in the morning to run while my baby's fast asleep.
But like I said before, I love running.
But I'm not that hardcore.

To Nannoor, persevere.
And bear in mind, kalau JJ yang pemalas ni pun boleh run while preggers, sape-sape pun boleh buat jugak.
Cheers ;) 


19 comments:

  1. Lepas ni, siap terus pasang niat 2jam bukan 10min Doc. Nyenyak dia tido 2jam and you can run more than 21K. ngeh ngeh

    OMG Doc JJ pemalas????

    Then, I am an absolute sloth la, compared to you.

    Neways, an informative read. Ada ramai mak buyung runners sekarang ni. :-)

    ReplyDelete
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    1. Fuh, Lina ni cam Formula 1. Rasanya baru je tekan 'publish' button. Hehe

      Nope , her timer don't work for niats more than 30 minutes. Amat bertuah kalau dia nap more than 2 hours at a time.

      Eee, sloth apa kalau rajin lari pusing2 at your place punya parking. Gigih is the word, tau.

      Delete
    2. Dan dengan F1 speed nyer I bagitau the geng your post neh. Ahaha

      Do you know how fast (or slow) I pusing itu parking? ;P

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    3. Nevermindlah fast or slow as long as you're up for it.
      I pernah merasa running around the parking lot at my hub's apartment. Aduiii, kena psaiko diri betul tau.
      tambah orang dok stare lagi.

      So I mmg salute you Lina. Lina the Gigihs :D

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  2. Waah. I abandoned all exercises during pregnancy. ..only jalan laju2 wherever I go. I focused on eating (bad) because that's the only time i don't care about weight gain. Tapi sebab dari sekolah pun bersukan, I jumped on the elliptical 2 mths after giving birth to my first. I remembered dozing off while doing ab crunches. Sbb mlm je sempat exercise.

    But I only took up long distance running after my 4th child. You are so dedicated. Sbb tu boleh laju & podium. I am a lazy runner and the condition is getting serious :-/

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    Replies
    1. No lah, I only took up serious running after my 2nd baby. Sebelum tu kirim salam la nak lari masa preggers because I had placenta previa.

      At least you found time to excercise at night. I'm in bed by 9.15 pm. Melampau, kan?

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  3. TQTQTQTQ so much docjulin for this blog post! AWESOME kuasa 658x.
    it really clear a lot of thing yang selalu bermain diminda..
    tqtq again.

    *okay now baru lega nak register PNM :P


    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Amboi Nannoor. Terus semangat. ekeke

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    2. It's my pleasure, Nanoor :)

      So, you're pregnant then? If so, congrats.
      But do take caution during PNM. It's really hot and humid during the race, made worse by the rolling mini hills. Hydrate yourself well, okay? And listen to your body.

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    3. Whoops, sorry. Just read your last comment in my previous post.
      Takpe, congrats in advance.
      Selamat mencuba. Berusahalah ! haha

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  4. This is ohsemm.. tq for asking this Nannoor.. and tq for write this docjulin!
    Truly Inspired!!
    Nak apply to my pregnancy this time tapi kene tgk dulu condition camana like u said do it according to masing-masing punye need and condition..
    Thx for the tips! I love running too..

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Wah , another pregnant runner also. What's in the water these days? haha.

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    2. I shall not drink that water. Hehe. .
      *nyampuk pulak*

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    3. ahahahhahhaaaa. kak millie funny!!!
      takut ya ngeh ngeh ngehhhh

      i nak berjangkit dgn bet ni cepat sikit pls. hahahha
      btw doc, sory la kami ambush your comment space. haha

      Delete
    4. Kalau berjangkit pon apesalahnye kakmillie.. ur welcome! mihmihmih...

      Nannoor: ku doakan moga cpt2 join.. ko still preggy n running jgk nnt .. aku caye..

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    5. Nno pretty sekarang, tak sempat nak buat FM at MWM in 2014! Huahuahua

      Doc, you plan to do MWM? :-)

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    6. Yes, I plan to do MWM. Tahun apa je lagi taktau huhu

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  5. Takpe Millie, bulan posa. Hehheh
    No probs Nannor. Lama dah comment space tak meriah cenggini

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  6. doc julin.
    cud never thank you enough. i find myself reading this blog post over and over again.
    now i'm at 8weeks and i still run!! much to disapproval of many but i know and aware of my decision.
    setakat pace 8-9 apa lah yg lajunya.
    at the same time,i take extra alert on my body during the run, lagi cepat penat, so bila heart rate max-i brisk walk, and i felt a lil bit of pressure down under, but overall, all is ok.
    i must say, running keeps my heartburn and constipation manageable. same goes to my mood swings and nafsu makan. masih terkawal. :)

    ReplyDelete