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Click to view dojojenn's profile Amateur
dojojenn
11 posts since
Jul 9, 2007

Jun 12, 2007 2:18 PM

Has anyone raced pregnant?

I am doing my third sprint tri in July and I will be about 10 weeks pregnant. I have already recieved the OK from my doctor. I am looking for info from anyone who has raced pregnant - any advice, how did the race go, would you do it again?
Click to view Joe_H1's profile Community Moderator
Joe_H1
1,041 posts since
Jul 9, 2007
1. Jun 13, 2007 7:14 AM in response to: dojojenn
me personally no
Congrats by the way!

jsut happened to see that the June Trail runner magazine has an article on training while/after pregnancy and said running was ok that the jostling wasn't going to hurt the baby. they went to say that the old rules of keeping HR below 140 really isn't that good of a guideline. and basically just said to use common sense - be careful about overheating and eat right.

hope that helps. good luck on the race and the lil' one(s?)
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Click to view yo-sal's profile Pro
yo-sal
260 posts since
Jul 9, 2007
2. Jun 13, 2007 10:58 AM in response to: dojojenn
Re: Has anyone raced pregnant?
Joe is right.

If you want to read the current position paper on it, go to http:/bjsortmed.com/ "Guidelines of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists for exercise during pregnancy and the postpartum period".

I hope you come home with the hardware on your July sprint. That way, you can tell your baby, you were a winner before you were born!
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Click to view Markata's profile Rookie
Markata
1 posts since
Jul 9, 2007
3. Jun 16, 2007 9:40 AM in response to: dojojenn
Re: Has anyone raced pregnant?
Hi! I know a racing woman, she recently delivered a baby and she also wrote some articles about running and racing during pregnancy. Her name is Vanda Kaderabkova. Please write to behej@behej.com and your message will be handed over.

Good luck! :-)
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Click to view triagain2002's profile Rookie
triagain2002
1 posts since
Jul 9, 2007
4. Jun 18, 2007 5:56 AM in response to: dojojenn
Re: Has anyone raced pregnant?
Ok, I have not raced pregnant but I have raced enough times to know that no one pregnant should be on the bike on a tri. And I am a mother of 2 girls.

Swim/run -- if doc clears thats cool.

But how much can you trust others bike handling skills, especially given all the excitement of the race day. I have seen very sloppy bikers in races that took others down.

I say do a relay, find a biker.. there will be plenty of races where your baby will meet you at the finish line.

Not worth the risk !

My 2 cents
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Click to view sjorunner's profile Rookie
sjorunner
1 posts since
Jul 9, 2007
5. Jun 18, 2007 7:27 AM in response to: dojojenn
Re: Has anyone raced pregnant?
I ran a marathon 4 months pg, in first pregnancy, which was too much and I don't recommend. Than I did several short tris with second pregnancy. Go easy, stay fueled and hydrated, and have fun! Coming into a finish line, this guy was dragging and I said, "C'mon, man - you can't let a pregnant woman bet you!" It lit a fire under him and he thanked me later. Very funny!

I would definitely do it again. It made me feel like myself, and my daughter says she's already done a tri.

Watch yourself on the run, especially if it's hot. You're doing it for fun!
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Click to view bohnster's profile Rookie
bohnster
4 posts since
Jul 9, 2007
6. Jun 18, 2007 10:49 AM in response to: dojojenn
Re: Has anyone raced pregnant?
You have got to be kidding me that you would be so selfish!!! Do you have to compete in that sprint tri so bad that you would risk a crash and the trauma that it would cause? In my opinion, you would be no different than someone who smokes crack while pregnant.
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Click to view CatzTurn's profile Rookie
CatzTurn
6 posts since
Jul 9, 2007
7. Jun 18, 2007 11:00 AM in response to: dojojenn
Re: Has anyone raced pregnant?
Congratulations! Just a quick physical check to consider before the tri:

Are you getting varicose veins? Once they break due to pressure, the don't go away.

Are your legs starting to swell?

I ask these questions because I had a pregnant, type A, friend who had the above and ran with a carrier to hold her belly up. Her veins were literally ready to pop and she didn't head the warnings.

There were some good advices above, except the negative one based on emotion and not information.

Good luck on your decision and make sure you feel good!
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Click to view mommyjill05's profile Rookie
mommyjill05
4 posts since
Jul 9, 2007
8. Jun 18, 2007 11:52 AM in response to: dojojenn
Re: Has anyone raced pregnant?
I did my 2nd sprint triathlon while pregnant - but I didn't even know it! I found out the following week that I was 5 weeks along. I did great and was just fine along with my daughter. =) I would just do it for yourself, I wouldn't actually race. Have fun and good for you!!!!

Jill
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Click to view threesport's profile Rookie
threesport
1 posts since
Jul 9, 2007
9. Jun 18, 2007 11:58 AM in response to: dojojenn
Re: Has anyone raced pregnant?
i raced- all out super high heart rate at a sprint race when i was 3- 4 weeks pregnant. i didn't know i was pregnant. no problems for the baby. but had i known i would not have raced or just did it to finish and kept my heart rate as low as i could. --renee
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Click to view yo-sal's profile Pro
yo-sal
260 posts since
Jul 9, 2007
10. Jun 18, 2007 7:16 PM in response to: dojojenn
Re: Has anyone raced pregnant?
Good grief - selfish? Crack? Come on! She's gathering information - not setting herself up for mean spirited rants - from women who have raced pregnant. Would that be you?

Read what she wrote: she got her doctors' approval; she's experienced in tris so she knows what she's getting into; she's only going to be 10 weeks pregnant at the time of the event. If shaking and falling and bumping could end a healthy pregnancy at that stage, we'd see a lot of female bikers doing centuries on railroad tracks.

I've never raced pregnant, which is why i referred her to ACOG article. Those who work with large numbers of pregnant and post partum athletes is another source of information.
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Click to view helen82's profile Pro
helen82
171 posts since
Jul 9, 2007
11. Jun 18, 2007 8:58 PM in response to: dojojenn
Re: Has anyone raced pregnant?
Whoa, bohnster. That was really unnecessary. I didn't race while pregnant, but I did exercise like a fiend. My son is incredibly healthy. By contrast, I did not exercise in my first pregnancy and my oldest child has a lot of health problems.
My mother smoked marijuana (laced with opium, no less) throughout her pregnancy with me. Now THAT is selfish. Running a triathlon while pregnant (when your doctor has ok'd it)-sorry, those are just not the same things.
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Click to view ae1234's profile Amateur
ae1234
29 posts since
Jul 9, 2007
12. Jun 19, 2007 9:56 AM in response to: dojojenn
Re: Has anyone raced pregnant?
i'm not a woman but it doesn't take a woman to see that it makes sense to keep away from potentially hazardous situations like a flat bicycle tire or tripping while running. it's just not a natural thing, to be riding a bike or running, while pregnant, and while it doesn't seem the same as smoking crack or hash browns or whatever, its definitely putting the fetus in harms way unnecessarily, even if the chance of harm is very remote, like one in a thousand or whatever.
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Click to view ae1234's profile Amateur
ae1234
29 posts since
Jul 9, 2007
13. Jun 19, 2007 10:04 AM in response to: dojojenn
Re: Has anyone raced pregnant?
on the other hand, what do i know? better stick to what yo-sal says. or the doctor.
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Click to view helen82's profile Pro
helen82
171 posts since
Jul 9, 2007
14. Jun 19, 2007 1:28 PM in response to: dojojenn
Re: Has anyone raced pregnant?
Not natural to exercise while pregnant? Pregnant women are not made of glass, you know. She is only 10 weeks pregnant, not 8 months and has done sprint tri's before so she knows what to expect.
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