Sunday Runday: First Trimester Running

As I mentioned last week, this pregnancy has been very different for me in terms of running.

The first pregnancy running was easy.  Well, easy is a bit of an overstatement.  When I ran the Arizona Rock 'n Roll Half Marathon I had an inkling I was pregnant, because I was so thirsty, had to stop for port-a-potty breaks, and was generally slower than the half I had run just 5 months earlier.  But really, the only noticeable difference in the first trimester was that I was really thirsty when running. 

This time I have not had the same experience.  On September 7 I ran a 5k in 27:29.  I became pregnant shortly after.  On September 20, when I was about a minute pregnant I had no problem running at normal speed for the Beat the Blerch Virtual race.  And yet, by October 11, when I went to do 10 miles with my running friends, I was already feeling the effects of the pregnancy.  I was already slower and having difficulty breathing.  It was easy to convince my friends that I was getting over an upper respiratory infection, which caused me to lag behind.  And I continued to do so.  During our weekend runs, I would turn back early, because it took the same time for me to run 7 miles as it did for them to run 10. 

Luckily, I was able to keep running, because my amazing running friends didn't mind me slowing them down, or trailing behind.  And I continued to slow.  By the time I ran the Fit Foodie 5k in November, my 5k time had already slowed to 31:42.  On top of all that, I've been struck with nausea and fatigue, neither of which reared their faces last time.  I had hoped that maybe the running would help with one or both of them.  It didn't.

The second trimester has so far been kinder.  The breathing has been much easier to deal with.  Although the speed remains my biggest impediment.  I'll do a full second trimester update, once I'm through with the second trimester!