On Thanksgiving, I raced a turkey trot with my husband, David. “This will be a different experience for us,” I told him, “because I have no competitive intentions.” I was 20 weeks pregnant. This is what I mean these days when I say I am “well-rounded.”
My plan that morning was to run easy and enjoy the experience. But then I saw people doing active stretches and wearing supershoes. I was immersed in a field of more than 1,100 runners wearing technical fabrics. It felt like coming home. On the start line, I mumbled to David that maybe I would just see what I could do.
Eight kilometers later, I greeted him at the finish line, beaming. Little child number three claimed his first victory and was inaugurated into a family tradition — taking turkey trots far too seriously. And I learned that, even when your competitive ceiling is lower, it is still fun to push hard within your means. It is edifying, and I love it.
A victory for Sabrina Little at the 2024 Turkey Trot in Jackson, Mississippi, while 20 weeks pregnant. All photos courtesy of Sabrina Little.
Running While Pregnant
If you have never run while pregnant, here are a few rough comparisons. It feels like running on Jupiter, where the gravity is stronger. It feels like a nine month “Transformers” movie, where your body morphs into Santa’s body by the end of it. Pregnant running is like an extended training montage, except you grow less fit throughout.
In the early days of pregnancy (for me, roughly the first half), I felt slow many days, mixed with periods of relatively normal training. I maintained the same basic training structure of simple workouts, base miles, and a long run each week. Now that I am a few days shy of 38 weeks pregnant — on the homestretch — all of my running is slow and casual. That is fine. My energy levels — which are usually comparable to an industrial-strength vacuum cleaner — are now more like an uncharged dust buster.
Usually, I write my iRunFar column along philosophical themes. But this baby is imminent, and I am unable to think about anything else. So, this month I have compiled my best advice for running while pregnant.
1. Set Low Expectations
When I was pregnant with my first child, I had two good friends, who were also professional trail runners, who were pregnant at the same time. All three of us became pregnant while training hard and racing well. Yet our experiences vastly differed in terms of whether we could keep running while pregnant and how quickly we returned to training postpartum.
I want to mention this because sometimes people tell me that pregnancy must come easy to me because I run. I am sure some baseline level of health can support a strong pregnancy, all other variables held constant. But, based on the experiences of my trail running friends, how someone’s body adjusts to pregnant running seems not to be meritocratic. Continuing to run consistently while pregnant involves a considerable degree of luck.
On these grounds, my recommendation is to set low expectations and modest goals for pregnant running. Prepare your heart for the absolute worst-case training scenario. Then if things go well, you will be presently surprised.
The author at the track with her daughter, Lucy, during her second pregnancy.
2. Run For Time, Not For Miles
In ordinary life, I quantify training by recording miles. But while pregnant, counting miles is stressful to me. I end up comparing myself to my former self. So, instead I run for time.
As I slow down across the months, I cover fewer miles during these time blocks. I pay more attention to how I feel each day and adjust my pacing, rather than forcing mileage goals. Running for time means I can maintain the habit of being outside daily, so I still feel like myself. But I am less set on meeting objectives that are more suitable to the higher mileage version of me, rather than the version of me who is playing taxi for a baby.
3. Be Democritus, Not Goethe
Democritus (born 460 BCE) was an atomist; he broke things down into their smallest indivisible units. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (born in 1749) saw the world as “wholes,” resisting the reductionist accounts of natural sciences of his day.
“Be like Democritus, not Goethe” has long been a catchphrase of mine in ultrarunning. This is because, sometimes when I start a 100-mile race, I can feel overwhelmed by the enormity of the task. One hundred miles is far. But if I take it one mile at a time — or mark my progress one aid station to the next — the task feels much more manageable.
Pregnancy is the same. Nine months sounds like forever. But I can manage the difficulty one day at a time, mentally breaking it up. I can practice being grateful for each day and what it offers, rather than submitting myself to long-term plans and ambitions. Suddenly, months have passed. The enormity of the big effort becomes a series of small, manageable efforts.
4. Find Some Way to Stay Involved
If you are anything like me, then many of your friendships are sustained in the context of shared miles. This means that, when you withdraw from training (for pregnancy, an injury, or otherwise), a consequence is the loss of community — feeling removed from friends in the sport.
One way I overcome this is to find some way to remain present. This can mean volunteering or supporting friends at races, whenever feasible. It can mean showing up to group runs, then going your own way. For me, maintaining a sense of continuity and presence in the sport sometimes happens through writing. I can hopefully contribute to the sport, even if not through racing performances.
The author adjusting to a different pace, during the latter stages of pregnancy.
Final Thoughts
Pregnant running is an odd time. At the beginning, I felt like a lion on runs. I still feel like a lion while running. But now it’s more like a sea lion. However, this is just a short season. It is worth it to me, and I know I will be back training soon enough.
Call for Comments
- Have you run during pregnancy?
- How was your experience?
