Running Pregnant, What I’ve Learned and Running Goals Post Baby 

Good morning from my lovely bagel and I. Landon, also known as the worlds greatest husband, surprised me by buying me (and baby T) a bagel for breakfast today. He knows one of the ways to my heart 😉 

On a side note: don’t you just love my extremely unpractical and long title? I think it’s a work of art.

While I was pondering what to share with you today, I thoughtI would  share what my pregnancy has taught me about running, my goals for running through pregnancy, and my goals with running post baby T! 

I’m going to be honest, running pregnant can be discouraging, it can be hard, and it can be down right frustrating. But, it can also be wonderful. 

I entered this pregnancy with a solid running base, so I was prepared for running through my prenancy. What I wasn’t prepared for was my need to change my goals with running. 

My goals with running usually involve staying healthy/toned, breaking my PRs, training for a race, etc. However, since getting pregnant, I’ve learned my goals need to shape into things like: keeping me and baby T healthy, avoid excess weight gain, and prepare my body for labor. 

Once I decided to change my goals with running during my pregnancy, running became a lot more fun and a lot less discouraging. 

Here are a few tips that I’ve learned through the last six months. 

1. Don’t stress about time or distance. I can be a very competitive person (with myself specifically!) I love to crush my PRs (personal records) and distance records. While pregnant though, I’ve learned to be content with a three mile run, a slower mile, etc. 
2. Run where there are plenty of public restrooms nearby. Baby on bladder + running = no fun. 
3. Stay hydrated! 
4. Stretch to prevent injuries. 
5. If you feel like you are over-spent, stop and walk for a bit.

And just in case you want to know my goals for post baby running, I’ll share with you. 

1. Get back into my pre-baby running shape. 
2. Increase mileage slowly and surely.
3. Run half marathon in the spring! 
4. Decrease mile time

I’m so thankful to be able to continue running. I would love to run up until baby T arrives (which is the goal), but we shall see what the Lord has for the next three months. So until I have to take time off, I’m going to to savor every run, love each mile, and praise the Lord for every challenge along the way. 

Happy running friends!

Your Turn: 

1. For moms out there: did you run through your pregnancy? What did you learn?
2. How do you enjoy exercising? 
3. Do you have any goals for running this summer?