Mom on the Run: Meg from Henning Love

Welcome to “Mom on the Run!” A blog feature that shares a mom-on-the-run and her story of running during and after pregnancy. My hope is to provide a resource for women who are thinking about running during pregnancy. The overarching theme: everyone is different. No two pregnancies are the same and of course no two stories of running during pregnancy are the same. In this series you will find a wide range of experiences that both inspire and comfort runners who are pregnant or have recently given birth. To read about other “Moms on the Run” click HERE.

Today, I’m welcoming Meg from Henning Love over to chat about her journey through pregnancy and how running played a party. Meg is mom to Caleb, who just turned one last month!

Tell me a little bit about your pregnancy and your little ones: We decided last March to start trying to become parents not knowing how long it would take and just let nature takes it course. Then in May, I started having strange cravings like a Sonic cherry limeade and I hadn’t had one of those in years and steak, I couldn’t eat enough steak. After a few days of what is going on, I took a test only to read those sweet words a few minutes later, pregnant (I highly recommend the word pregnancy tests, single or double lines are too confusing:).

Did you run through your pregnancy? If not why not? My goal during my pregnancy was to be healthy, which meant continuing to run 5 days a week for at least 5 miles each run. During my first trimester, when my morning sickness lasted through week 15. I would run right after I woke up before the waves of nausea would hit me. I paced myself and allow myself to walk during my run when necessary. I would remind myself that exercising during my pregnancy was for the health of myself and my baby and this became my motivation when I felt tired.

As the pregnancy continued, running became easier especially during the second trimester when all the energy returned. The third trimester with the bigger belly made running awkward at times but I am proud to say I completed a 5K during week 30. During the 5K, my dad and I ran together the whole time.

Once you found out you were expecting did your running change? Did you consciously drop mileage or ease back on pace? I stopped running every day during my pregnancy around week 34 because my husband was admitted to the hospital with viral meningitis and taking care of him and working full-time so I did a walk/run combination or a few times on the treadmill at the gym.

What was your return to running like postpartum? How soon did you start running and did you feel your attitude towards running was different? I returned to running at 6 weeks postpartum and it was because I have been running since my senior year of high school. I am now 30. It is a daily part of who I am and my routine plus I wanted to set a good example to my son. It was challenging that first run back, I am not gonna lie and say it was easy. But every day I would try and go a little bit further, pushing myself. Now I am back to what I was running what I was prior to getting pregnant.

What advice do you have for running during pregnancy? Listen to your body for sure, if you need to walk during a run then walk. This isn’t a time to start training for a marathon but to make sure exercise continues to be apart of your daily life. There will be time for training for a marathon later. Your body is doing amazing things while growing a human being and you can help your body handle pregnancy, the birthing process and recovery better by continuing to maintain running while pregnant 🙂

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-Sarah

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