Author Archives: Bev

9 Weeks – 7th August 2011

I have huge anxiety about this first entry. Not only am I pregnant at the age of 44, but I had a miscarriage 8 months ago and don’t want to tempt fate. In reality, however, there’s little more I can do to influence a positive outcome. I’m fit and healthy, I look after myself, I’m dutifully taking folic acid and pregnancy multi-vits, I’ve cut down on caffeine, cut out alcohol completely and I have never smoked. That said, perhaps I’ll wait a few weeks before going public with my blog, so there may be a flurry of information.

7th August 2011

I’m guessing that one of the first questions for a dedicated (obsessed) runner when they fall pregnant (females only – obviously) is “can I still run?”  That’s certainly how it was for me.

I have been pregnant 3 times. My son was born 7 years ago, when I was aged 37; I had a miscarriage 8 months ago at the age of 43; and I’m presently 9 weeks pregnant at the ripe old age of 44. So far, none of my pregnancies have stopped me running, although they may have slowed my running down and given me a different focus.

Paula Radcliffe very publicly continued to run throughout both of her pregnancies. During her second pregnancy she trained with American athlete Kara Goucher. Both of them found that they had to cut down their running in terms of time, distance, and intensity. Neither of them were immune to the usual pregnancy symptoms such as morning sickness and fatigue, and they both enjoyed their running in a different way. Significantly, they both gave birth to healthy babies and returned to competitive running pretty quickly.

The basic advice that is generally given is that you can continue to run whilst pregnant if you are already a runner, but that pregnancy isn’t a time to take up running. Pregnant runners are also advised to monitor their rate of exertion – either by measuring heart rate or using a perceived rate of exertion. The recommendation used to be “keep the heart rate under 140 BPM” but some women (me included) would feel frustrated that they wouldn’t get a sufficient work out using that particular constraint. An alternative would be to keep your effort in the “slightly to moderately hard” range, or at a pace where conversation remains possible. It is also advisable to stay well hydrated and to keep cool as overheating could cause problems for the baby.

As a competitive runner it can be hard to think about slowing down, but in my experience pregnancy simply takes over. I recently went from running significant PB’s to getting breathless going upstairs virtually overnight. This pregnancy was something of a surprise, but once I’d worked out the cause of my sudden lack of form I was more able to accept my limitations and was instinctively cautious every time I went out for a run.

8th August 2011

I woke up today convinced that something was wrong. My impressive new bust (so very inconvenient for running!) wasn’t as sore as it has been. Rather than feeling pleased, I spent the best part of the day worrying. How relieved I was when my ‘afternoon sickness’ finally made an appearance!

I didn’t run yesterday. I cycled instead, but it never seems as virtuous or as satisfying as a run. So, feeling a bit guilty and  having been reassured by my post-lunch queasiness, I decided that it would be ok to go for a run this evening. Now, I’ve had some REALLY rubbish runs since I became pregnant, but this one wasn’t too bad. I only had one loo stop for a start – usually it’s two, and I felt like I was running on my own legs for a change and not an ill fitting pair I’d borrowed from the world’s most uncoordinated donkey. Anyway – it was reasonable! The minute I got home, however, my anxieties pounced. Should I have gone running? Did I run too hard? Have I damaged the baby?

I remember all this from the first time round. My son, now 7, was quite the acrobat in utero! After a run, however, he was always really still and, rather than enjoy the peace, I’d worry until he woke up and started somersaulting again. Thinking about it, not much has changed since he was born – perhaps I’m just the anxious type.

Snowdon International Mountain Race – 22nd July 2011

My pregnancy was a bit of a surprise. A woman of my age has about 0.5% chance of conceiving naturally if she’s trying hard, and after a distressing miscarriage over New Year I’d conceded that I was past my best, in the baby producing sense, and had thrown myself into my running. I ran Paris Marathon in April with a bit of a knee injury and amazed myself with a 3.16 finish. In May and June I tried some shorter distances, including a few track races, and set quite a few PB’s. Then I experienced a real drop off in form. I still had speed but couldn’t sustain it and had 2 really poor performances over 10k. The first inkling I had that I might be pregnant was after a 15 mile off-road race. I’d not expected to perform brilliantly as my training had been lacking in the long run department, but I just didn’t feel right and finished behind a few people I should have beaten comfortably. A 16 miler the next week was even worse, and after 2 complete rest days I crawled around a regular 5 mile route and the penny finally dropped. I figured I was almost 6 weeks pregnant. Stunned!

About 10 days later I was due to run the International Snowdon Race - a tough 10 mile fell race, straight up and down a 3500 ft mountain. I’d won my age category 2 years ago and then bettered my time last year despite a bad fall. Snowdon preparation had been a focus of my training since Paris. Bum!

Obviously, pregnancy is no time for racing (especially up and down mountains) so I thought about ‘doing it easy’. What a ridiculous idea!! I struggle to take it easy at the best of times, and nothing about Snowdon is ‘easy’! I wasn’t worried about myself, but I was very worried about the little life inside me, and battled with myself right up until the gun. I set off steadily, still uncertain, and didn’t feel too bad for the first part of the climb. It was a hot day, however, and it didn’t take long for me to get very hot. They say that overheating is bad for the baby, so I decided there and then that I was going to walk the steep climbs. I’m good at that, and I still managed to overtake people all the way to the top. In fact, I reached the summit in 1.08 which is not too shoddy.

Coming down was always a worry. I’m very good at descending normally, but last year I’d had a bad fall which had been playing on my mind all the way up. The mountain was busy with regular climbers which added to the risk, and I was wearing relatively untested shoes. Anyway, to cut a long story short, I had a very good descent – 33 minutes and some seconds. I think the key was being relaxed about my time and more focussed on staying upright. As usual, my legs turned to jelly when I hit the flat ground, so I lost about 30 seconds to the person in front, but I really didn’t care. I’d taken it easy, stayed in one piece, and earned my t-shirt (which is potentially an excellent maternity top)!

17th August 2011

According to a recent scan, I am 10 weeks + 3 days pregnant. Although my first trimester isn’t over I’ve been looking forward to the 2nd trimester (the so-called ‘honeymoon of pregnancy’) for some time. I guess that’s the same for most women – the first trimester can be an anxious time, and unpleasant pregnancy symptoms seem to reach a peak between weeks 6 and 10.

Although I’ve continued to run, it hasn’t been easy. All my runs seem hard – no matter how easy I try to make them. I get particularly breathless going up anything that remotely resembles a hill and my legs feel that they have been borrowed from somebody else. My (very) sore chest is a huge (literally) inconvenience when it comes to running, and despite the scales telling me otherwise, I feel much heavier than normal. Getting out for a run hasn’t been easy either. To say I’m exhausted is an understatement, so it’s very tempting to put my feet up after work and do nothing. So far, that hasn’t happened, but I have substituted my long run with a long bike ride. My weekly mileage has dropped from 45 miles to about 30 (in a good week), and my easy paced runs (i.e. all of them) are 7.45 – 8 min mile pace, (although I’ve stopped wearing a watch to take the pressure off!) I did manage a sub 34 min 5 miles at 7 weeks, but that was all downhill. Actually, it’s been quite literally downhill since then.

29th August 2011 – The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

On Monday, I managed to keep my 4.5 mile run at well under 8 minute miles (Good). I’m not quite sure how or why, and by contrast Tuesday’s run was a very pedestrian 4 miles over the fields. I’m noticing that inclines are particularly challenging (Bad). I coached at the track on Wednesday so just joined in the warm up and cool down, and Thursday’s run was a 4 mile run at 8 minute mile pace (Neither Good nor Bad).

We had our Nuchal Translucency Scan on Thursday too, and everything looked extremely positive (Very Good)!!  We also went on holiday to Wales, so the end of the week was very good indeed.

I managed some challenging runs along the Pembrokeshire Coastal Path over the weekend and didn’t worry about the pace. So far, there was more ‘Good’ than ‘Bad’ in the week (although my all day sickness is still pretty Bad). So, what about the Ugly?

The phonecall came on Tuesday morning. I was expecting a call – I knew the fact that I was ancient would make me ‘high risk’ for chromasomal abnormalities, despite the positive scan. My blood results had come back with a lower risk than expected for Down Syndrome (Good) but a 1 in 10 risk for Edwards Syndrome (very Ugly!!) The NHS class anything higher than 1 in 250 as ‘high risk’, so this seemed extremely high to me. I wasn’t prepared for that at all, in fact I hadn’t heard of Edwards Syndrome before. My heart sank as the nurse on the other end of the phone explained the condition. If the baby survived pregnancy he/she probably wouldn’t live for long after birth. I felt sick to the core, and spent a few minutes composing myself (not very well) before heading inside to break the news.

8th September – 13 weeks + 4

Somehow, we managed to get through the remainder of our holiday and enjoy it. I think having my son with us helped – we had to keep a lid on emotions for his sake. Not having access to the internet was a blessing too as my anxieties soon started to rise when I got home and asked Mr Google what he knew about Edwards Syndrome and the risks of chromasomal disorders at the age of 44.

Monday was the day of our CVS testing at Kings College Hospital. Before the dreaded needle we had a very lengthy (and very thorough) scan. I couldn’t get excited about this one, however. The baby looked so perfect to me – it was hard to consider that he/she might have something fundamentally wrong. As time went on, I began to relax a little. So far, they hadn’t found anything to worry about. The nuchal thickness was 1.6 – pretty normal, the heart was functioning, the blood flow to the kidneys was good, all measurements were ‘within normal range’, etc etc. Then, another Dr was called into the room and there was mention of an ‘extra’ toe! After persuading ‘the wriggler’ to remain still for a nano second, they found the feet. I held my breath whilst they counted the toes. There was definitely an extra toe on the left foot – I saw if for myself. All of a sudden I felt crushed again. Some reassurance was given about polydactyly (extra digits) being pretty common, but I knew from my obsessive conversations with Mr Google that extra digits were common signs of a Chromasomal abnormality. I was also preoccupied with the nasal bone, which hadn’t been seen clearly on this occasion.

Anyway, we went to wait (for what seemed like an age) for the dreaded CVS – a procedure which involves taking a sample of placental tissue via a (very long) needle through the abdomen. The Doctor who was undertaking the ‘needling’ was a nice Spanish chap called Jesus! I found that strangely reassuring. I couldn’t watch the stabbing on the screen, and kept my eyes tightly shut throughout. Nevertheless, I’m pretty sure they used a javelin to remove the tiniest amount of placenta. Ouch!! Now began the long wait…..

Although the whole thing was an ordeal in one way, the staff at Kings made it as good an experience as it could possibly have been – without exception. I have to thank them for that.

…….but not necessarily when running!

25th September 2011

Well, it’s been almost 3 weeks since the CVS test. We had the preliminary results in less than 48 hours. My heart stopped beating, I’m sure, when the phone finally rang at 4:30pm on 7th September. I’d been waiting for the call all day, but suddenly I didn’t want to take it. I could hardly breath as Alison, one of the Midwives from Kings, told me (in an agonisingly drawn out way) that it was good news!!! The results had come back negative for Down, Edward’s, and Pateau’s Syndromes, X Chromosome disorders and Cystic Fibrosis. Phew, phew and phew again!! We had to wait another 2 weeks for final results, but anything else would be very rare. 

Running has continued to be variable. Sometimes I feel very slow but at other times I feel ok. Interestingly, the longer runs seem much easier – I feel much better running 7 or 8 miles than 4 or 5. I did the Great North Run last week, a half marathon, and felt fine throughout. Perhaps my body takes much longer to warm up. Motivation to get out is the main problem. By the time I get home from work I am exhausted and the ever-present evening sickness sets in. I can usually force myself to go for a run and, invariably, I feel much better when I’ve done it. Pace hasn’t taken too much of a hit. Sometimes I run naked (i.e. without a watch) but most of my timed runs are around 8 min mile pace. My half marathon time last week was 1.44, a bit quicker than 8 minute mile pace, and I had 2 leisurely loo breaks within that time. I do miss racing and training hard, but it’s also nice to see the world at a more leisurely pace.

4th November 2011

This week has been hard. After a week off work for half term, a week back at work tested my resolve. I’ve been denied my daily afternoon nap and running has been restricted to evenings which, due to daylight saving, are currently dark, damp, and miserable in the UK. It’s hard to drag myself outside for a run if I’m having to go solo, but much easier if I have company. I enjoyed a midweek evening run along the sea-front with my husband – a favourite route of ours, and went along to the running club time trial on Thursday. I ran the opposite way round to everyone else to ensure that I didn’t get caught up in racing!! I still find ‘taking it easy’ a mental challenge, but my body imposes it’s own helpful limits. This week I have managed my usual 25 – 30 miles and an ultrasound scan on Friday indicated that all was well with the baby. The sonographer commented on the amount of movement, which is a good sign – but hopefully not indicative of activity levels after birth. There is certainly a great deal going on in there, but I find being beaten up from the inside very reassuring.