Getting back into running – while pregnant (prep)

So, I was sick for around 12 – 13 weeks. When I say sick I mean lying on the floor and holding on kind of sick. I was also shattered. The type of shattered where my husband would find me passed out asleep only for me to wake up and feel totally ok again. Then we moved to a new house to another country and I started a new job. Not only did running not happen, but it became something that I didn’t think about.

After having a weekend off (birthday weekend as it happens) and two and a half days with my husband (which is a novelty as he works away a lot) the idea of running floated up to the front of my mind again.

I now live in a beautiful area. It’s got mountains, it’s got the beach, it’s got rolling hills and it’s got loads of places where I can do easy loops as I live in a very old village which has lots of interconnecting roads.

My husband is away again next week so I plan on running at least twice. Not going to aim for three times and fail or put myself under pressure, but I am going to aim for two.

To get back into the swing if it I’ll have my running gear set up and ready to go for when I walk through the door after work. I’ll have a small snack before I leave work (peanut butter on rice cakes in case you are interested) and I’ll make sure I hydrate before I head out. I’ll also be taking a back pack with water, empty bottle and Shewee, mobile phone (although getting signal here is often hard) and I’ll be wearing my flashing arm band to make me more visible. You might think I am planning on running 20k, I am not. I may do 5k. By taking all that stuff, being prepared before I head out and ticking all the safety boxes in my head it means that I have removed all the barriers to getting out the door. I can build back up to the days when I’d pop on my trainers, grab my Garmin and head out. Hopefully.

Being pregnant is something I now need to consider, but it’s not something I need to worry about unless I have something to worry about. All the information I have read indicates that being fit and healthy while pregnant is important. It helps the pregnancy, it helps with the birth and it helps recovery.

I heard giving birth being compared to running a marathon and, while I cannot as et comment on the giving birth part, the idea seems sensible. You need to prepare for it, you need to train, you need to eat right, you need the right amount of rest and then on a day (maybe more days) your body is put through what you have been training for. It then needs to recover. Plus, instead of a medal you get a baby…………………… but you know what I mean.

So, this week I am going to get back to training. No training for the ultra as that’s out the window this year, but I am going to train for the next ordeal I am going to put myself through. I’ll be running, doing my pregnancy yoga, doing squats and resting. I will also carry on eating right. Weirdly (considering who the baby’s father is and his addiction to Dairy Milk and cheese burgers) the baby doesn’t like red meat or sweet food. At the moment I want fruit, vegetables, whole grains and cheese. I also like drinking water and am not keen on too much caffeine.

So, bag will get packed, water will be stocked, food will be eaten and the running (maybe jogging) will be had!

I’ll let you know how I get on this week!