I ran last year while expecting a kid - huge PR, too.  My wife did complain a little that being a pregnant spectator was tough, but I managed to soldier through and not let her pregnancy disrupt my training too much!   !http://www.coolrunning.com/forums/wink.gif|src=http://www.coolrunning.com/forums/wink.gif|border=0!

Good luck - I would check with some experts (including your doctor) about how much exertion you can handle.  I've heard about women running marathons while pregnant and it's definitely doable, but I doubt they were going at their full-out pace.

Yep - ask your doctor.  It probably all depends on your history during your last 2 pregnancies. And be prepared to play it all by ear.  If it is 80 degrees on April 16, you probably shouldn't do it.  I can't remember exactly what my OB told me during my pregnancies, but I believe the key is that you do not want your body temp to rise too much during exercise.  So racing is most likely out.  But running it easy, stopping at every aid station, etc., may be doable.  Good luck and congrats on the baby!!!!

Hi there.  Just wanted to add my $0.02.  I found out I was pregnant and was just starting to taper for a December marathon.  When I went to see my OB at my 6wk appointment, I asked her about my upcoming marathon and she said to do whatever was comfortable, but not to overdo it. I made sure she understood that this meant running 26.2miles while 8 weeks pregnant.  She was totally fine with it, although I'm not sure all OBs would be.  I was feeling great and had very little morning sickness and so I did end up running that marathon while 8wk pregnant but wore a heartrate monitor to keep in check.  Since I was early on, my pace had not slowed that much (and I actually requalified for Boston).  The other aspect is that the temps were cool so little risk of overheating (unlike Boston where the temps can soar into the 70s-80s if you're unlucky). 

You say you just found out you're pregnant, so I'm guessing you will be around 11-12wk or so pregnant at the time of Boston.  I found that my pace dropped dramatically as the pregnancy weeks passed, and running a marathon now while in my 2nd trimester would be completely out of the question, even with walking.  If you're 11-12wk along, I would say this is still early enough to be doable, but obviously not to race it.  Check with your OB, but realize that he/she may have differing opinions.

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Originally posted by mayfield:

And as for stress hormones...that's what this baby is going to be made of! Don't worry, I don't plan on taking any legitimate risks...that's why I'm researching it as much as possible as is my ob since she isn't a runner.

Thanks again all!

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mayfield
I'm not sure what your comment about your baby being made of stress hormones means - seems sort of cavalier to me, but hopefully I'm misreading that. What I was talking about is the fact that your body can produce very high levels of cortisol when your glycogen reserves get low during a marathon and that recent studies show cortisol may cause damage to a fetus in addition to depressing your immune system. Not something to dismiss so lightly.

Unfortunately while all research shows running in general is basically very good for everyone, that doesn't seem to be the case for marathons. There's evidence of heart damage in marathoners, major risks of electrolyte imbalance, elevated body temperature, dehydration, etc., and sometimes those can happen without your being aware of it. Is that good for a child you are carrying with you? Somehow I doubt it. Better to err on the side of caution when it's not your body alone to consider.

One other serious consideration. Will you be aware if you need to stop? Once the race starts there's that tendancy to ignore everything else - that why so many end up in med tents. Will you really stop at mile 23 or 24 if you are overheating, in order to protect your baby, or will you be so focused on finishing those last few miles that you won't even be aware that your temp is too high? My own temp goes up 2-3 degrees duing a long run and I wasn't aware of it at all until I checked my temp after one run just to see.

If you do need to stop what will you do? What if you are miles from a medical tent?  It may not be a big problem for your health, but will a long wait hurt your baby if you're not close to a med tent?  I' ve heard several horror stories about long delays on the course in getting back to where friends can pick you up. 

Right now no one knows for sure how much the stress put on your body will harm your baby. It just seems to me that when there are such obvious risks as elevated body temperature (even in cool weather), electrolyte imbalance, excess stress hormone production, dehydration, etc., and there haven't been enough studies to know how much if any the stress you are putting on your own body might harm your baby, the wisest course would be to avoid doing something that might hurt your baby, rather than run Boston anyway.  There's always another Boston, not another chance for your baby if you or your doc guess wrong.

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Since this is an opinion forum and you asked, I'll give you my opinion. You would be both foolish and selfish to run/walk a marathon in April.Why take the risk? Can you live with the consequences if something goes terribly wrong? I agree with Mary, what are you thinking?

Maybe you should invest in a HR monitor.  That way, you can start training with it now and learn the ranges at which you are comfortable.  Several guidelines I have seen recommend not going over 75% MHR during pregnancy.  If you learn where you feel safe (HR wise) now, you can rely on that info during the race too.  I would expect it to be tough to gauge your effort subjectively (w/o HR monitor) during the race with nervous energy and the excitement of all the spectators.  Good luck in Boston.  I'll be there too!

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