Laying down the Bricks...

I did my first brick preggo! It felt amazing! Training while pregnant is the best decision I have made for myself so far. I feel better, I have more energy, and women who exercise have easier labors! Can't beat that.

I have been getting in the pool two days a week, and running and cycling the other days, with at least one day of recovery a week! My workouts have been consistent and well planned thanks to my awesome coaches at MPI! The biggest challenge I have faced so far, has been pacing myself and not hesitating to take a day off when my body says rest.

Being an RN I have a fetish for facts and great information and research on healthy living. I have found some great resources I would love to share: Train ON!

Here are the facts about pregnancy and exercise:

• If you have already been active and exercising before you became pregnant, you should be good to keep exercising. But, be sure you get your doctor’s OK to continue your exercise, just to be on the safe side.
• Your body undergoes several physiological changes during pregnancy that you will want to keep in mind. The American College of Gynecology (ACOG) recommends that pregnant women should avoid getting their core temp too high because the fetus does not have the ability to cool itself. Also, be sure to drink even MORE water than you would normally to ensure both you and your unborn child stay hydrated.
• You also need to be aware of your exertion levels and DO NOT train to fatigue. I know…that can be very challenging for those of you that are competitive. Not only do you hate to back off, but you love the thrill of knowing you are giving it your all. But, for this very short period of your life…just enjoy the movement and keep the intensity lower. Focus on form and technique on the swim and bike and keep the heart rate and effort lower on the run. Don’t worry about ‘losing fitness’, your body will come out of this time even stronger and more fit than ever (but, not the week after giving birth….you gotta give it time!)
• You will also experience changes as your body releases a hormone to allow your ligaments and joints to loosen up and allow the expansion and changes in your body to accommodate the growing fetus and prepare for childbirth. That would be one of the reasons our hips seem to expand without our permission and we can’t do a darn thing about it! So…don’t worry…just keep moving and enjoying the journey!
• Don’t give up on strength training during this time! It is important that you keep your muscles (especially your core musculature) strong and ready to not only play a huge part in the birth of your child…but, it will also pay off big time AFTER the baby is born to help with recovery and enjoy a quicker return to pre-pregnancy fitness! Just be careful to avoid any core work done on your back during the last few months of your pregnancy (it puts too much pressure on the fetus when you do that!)
• Finally, keep your nutrition as clean and as high quality as possible during this time! Not only do you need the nutrients, but so does your baby! If you are eating poorly, the minimal nutrients that are going into your body will go to your unborn baby first, and then to you. So, be sure to take good care of yourself and eat the highest quality food and eat enough of it to keep you and your unborn baby healthy and happy!

ref

I have found some other great articles about training while pregnant that have been a wealth of information for me! Here are the links:

The Pregnant Triathlete

Pregnant Triathlete

I embarked on the dream of being an Iron Woman. Discovered a coach or two, established a group of people to support my dream, began my training, and found out I was pregnant. At first, what felt like the loss of a dream stopped me in my tracks and made me question everything I had worked so hard for. In searching for reassurance to continue on with my dream I came across a lot of people who said, “you can’t, that’s impossible, you shouldn’t, how could you”.... but even more impressive I unearthed a handful of people who said, “believe, re-work your dream, keep going, this IS going to come true.”

Woman. Wife. Mother. Professional. Triathlete. IronMan in training...and now Mother again. It is tough enough to battle a warm bed, and a busy schedule for time to train, but now I am battling nausea too. Ugh. All I could think was, ‘This wasn’t in my five year plan;’ and in response one of my coaches said, “We are going to see you, an ironman, with your medal and your baby. How cool is that?” With those words the training vision of me navigating the finish was re-born, being handed my Ironman medal, and my baby. That is a cool dream. What if I could do this, what if I could train the right way, use this time to build my endurance. Not a road block; but a great stepping stone to seeing myself cross that finish line. Push myself to go slower, more often; force myself to listen to my body every second, feed myself and my baby with the best fuels, use these three trimesters to peak my performance.

With the blessing and guidance of my doctor, the endorsement of my family, and the cheers of my coaches; my five year plan has changed, my dream reworked, my training revamped. Not only can I be a triathlete, but I can be a great mother, and in fact those two worlds go gracefully together. I am setting out to prove to myself that this can be done, and that I can be a stronger, healthier, and a more committed mother and athlete than ever before. This blog is a way to offer that out to the rest of the tri-world, encouraging other women and moms, and the people in our crazy triathlete lives to keep believing, keep encouraging, and keep training especially during pregnancy. Adventures await... swim, bike, or run towards them.

Jerirose

triathlete and mom