Obviously, you should consult your doctor and let him know what your plan is. I think as long as you are having your normal cycle and your workouts aren't creating any weirdness for you (everyone is different) you should be fine trying now. I know that I've always been told once I was pregnant you can continue your workouts as long as you don't get overheated, dehydrated, or allow you heart rate to go too high. If this is your first child it's hard to say how easy or difficult it may be for you to get pregnant and to stay that way. For me, it was very easy (Fortunatly) but for many it's not so easy and it may be that your body requires more rest in order to perform that amazing feat. Just because women have been having babies for thousands of years does not mean that it's a piece of cake. You will just have to try it out with your doctor's counsel and see what it's like for you. The best non-professional advice I can give you as active mother of four is listen to your body. It will tell you if you are pushing it too far and asking too much of it. As a final note, if you do end up missing the marathon this year there is always another one and having kids doesn't necessarily slow you down. In fact, My sister (mother of two) and I just won our age groups in a triathlon yesterday!! I hope it all works out for you. Good Luck.

I planned on getting pregnant right after running an Ocotber marathon, but instead i was pregnant just before it. (did not know until after the race). I went off the pill in June or July thinking that it might take a few months to "detox" and then I think I did no birth control what so ever that last month or so - not expecting to get pregnant before the race. I did fine, in fact I did my regular pre, during, and post run doses of ibuprofen (a big no no while pregnant) but my doctor said as long as I didn't take any more that the baby would be ok. She turned out just fine. I ran most of my pregnancy with her and just listened to my body. She is 2 now and loves going running with me (in the jogger) and runs around like crazy. Now i'm pregnant again. The longest race i'd do pregnant again is a 10K (planning one in November when I am 37 weeks along...we'll see how much of it I run) however, early in this pregnancy I did run a lot of 7 milers during my regular weekly runs, cut back to 4 in the hot AZ summer and am back up to 5 now (granted it takes over an hour to run 5) Just listen to your body more than ever. If you feel like walking, then walk. If you start getting side cramps from your body stretching out then get one of those bands for your belly at Motherhood Maternity. Drink lots and lots of water as well. Oh, one last thing. Depending on how hard you are training, you could stop ovulating during your training (if you body fat gets to low). That is one thing my doctor told me could keep me from getting pregnant while training. I love food too much, and while I am a small person, my body fat never got too low to ovulate...obviously. Everyone is different so check with your doctor. Everything did turn out Ok, but if I were in that situation again I would not stop the Birth Control until after the race. It took a few months for me to get pregnant the second time and then I had a miscarrage (not running induced) and then a few months after that to get pregnant again. It is not so bad having to wait a few extra months to get pregnant. It is bad wondering if you caused something to go wrong in your pregnancy. 26.2 takes a lot out of your body. Final note...

Beerpace,

That was a good one.