THANK YOU!!! I am 12 weeks pregnant, combing the Internet for testimonials on workouts + pregnancy for female (pregnant) triathletes.
What about information on duration of workout length and intensity? I am still concerned about internal overheating issues for the baby.

emintaipei - I also posted this on the tri forum, something I've not done before but given the topic I thought it appropriate. You might check there occasionally as there have been a half dozen responses. And, if you have a moment, I did a three part series on the Female Athlete on my blog that might be of benefit as well.

John

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John H. Post, III, MD
Orthopedic Surgeon
Charlottesville, VA

You could call it the female athlete triad!

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maybe she's born with it, maybe it's chlorine
If you're injured and need some sympathy, PM me and I'm very happy to write back.
disclaimer: PhD not MD

TG - I could, but I believe that's already taken. Femoral anteversion,...........etc.

Nice try, though.

John

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John H. Post, III, MD
Orthopedic Surgeon
Charlottesville, VA

It was a joke...you have THREE articles about female athletes. Female athlete triad is the combination of amenhorrhea (sp.?), osteoporosis, and an eating disorder.

---

maybe she's born with it, maybe it's chlorine
If you're injured and need some sympathy, PM me and I'm very happy to write back.
disclaimer: PhD not MD

Yep, I knew that. Just trying to see if you were on your toes up there.

Thanks.

John

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John H. Post, III, MD
Orthopedic Surgeon
Charlottesville, VA

@johnpostmd
I enjoyed reading the 3 Part Female Athlete post, thank you.
My concern for internal overheating and heat dissipation techniques in pregnancy is due to the fact that I live in Asia (Taiwan) where humidity reaches up to 95% and temperatures hit 40 C in the summertime. Although I have trained and raced in this climate for 5+ years (thus my body has acclimated to the summer heat) - Naturally I am still concerned for the baby's safety. I will take extra precaution - Any advice on efficient body cooling techniques?
Thank you for the reminder on your blog post. Much appreciated.

I also posted this in the Tri Forum.

Just adding my personal training routine so far. I'm 12 weeks pregnant, have been racing in marathons, triathlons, duathlons and cycling races for 5 years in Asia.

So far, I have continued my run / swim training regimen, with less intensity & at a slower pace. I no longer push myself, due to fear of stressing my body too much, lack of oxygen for baby or getting dehydrated. I have also started to force myself to walk 5min every 20min to avoid internal overheating. I have completely cut out outdoors cycling. Personally, I'd have been OK with it, I have never fallen off my bike in training or competition (besides learning how to use my clips when I first got them!) - but my husband is more concerned for me & baby - so out of mutual decision, I am no longer cycling outdoors. I despite cycling indoors, but I will have to force myself to use the trainer now :).

So far: I cancelled 2 half marathons during my 1st Trimester, but will pick it up again as I head into the 2nd Tri. (I was too nauseas and fatigued from wk5 - wk11). Next week, @ 13 wks, I will be doing a 51.5 relay with my husband (I will swim/run, he'll bike). I do not plan to race competitively for PR or time, only to finish while enjoying my favorite sport.

Hope this helps any other pregnant women out there!

My husband and I are looking to start a family soon but just wanted to ask why did you cancel? If things go well, I will be up the duff in April or May and am wondering if I should pay the fees for the June/July races I am interested in. Like you, hot and humid area - I'm in Japan - and I always get hot and sweaty as it is. Hear it is worse when preggo so... a little worried. Any links or whatnot? I expect the doctors here to tell me to stop everything and sit at home - are the Taiwan women as lazy as the Japanese when it comes to do nothing let alone pregnant or not?? - as they pretty much say do nothing for the full nine months. I know I can't and won't sit at home so need to find some decent sites to help me out.

Thanks!

hi genkigirl1,

So, to share some more: I had raced in Ironman 70.3 Taiwan in November 2011, then we started planning to have a baby :) luckily, I conceived in January, which was quite sooner than I had expected. :)
From my heavy training, I had gotten very lean, but after Nov, I decided to ease the training in order for my body to be less stressed, relaxed, and regain a bit more fat. There's no medical substance to that decision; it was a personal feeling I had towards my body, menstrual cycle and preparation for pregnancy.

After I was pregnant, I became VERY tired. All I wanted to do was sleep. I didn't have morning sickness, but quite a lot of nausea, motion sickness, hyper-sensitivity to smells, major fatigue. Remember, your body is focusing all its energies on adjusting to a new life being formed inside your body!! That became my first priority: To give my body enough rest and respond / adjust to the pregnancy. The reason I cancelled my 2 1/2 marathons, was because I felt too tired to properly run through the distance. I also know myself; I wouldn't be happy running a less-than-mediocre time, and I would start to compete / push too hard in the race. Also, the 1st trimester can be a tricky period of time; It has the highest rate of miscarriage. I didn't want to push myself too hard and risk a bigger consequence. In the end, I downgraded to comfortable 10k distances with manageable intensity. I have been doing TONS of research online. Nothing on webmd, mayoclinic or babycenter. But, reading blogs, reports, and the slow twitch forum on pregnancy and exercise has been helpful with my personal decisions. OH - in terms of heat & humidity -- do keep aware that we need to be cautious about dehydration and internal overheating. Sweating is fine, but replace w proper electrolytes and nutrition. I also try to keep my HR under 170bpm. These are all personal decisions with what I feel most comfortable with my body and experience in training.

I don't know your personal background on competition, but if you are like a typical triathlete, our internal engine just wants to keep competing! :) So, keep in mind the adjustment and change one makes, mentally, emotionally and physically when you start carrying another life. Pregnancy does NOT mean disability! (And yes, typical Asian traditional mindsets are to rest, and be overtly cautious to movement and stress.)

Just to let you know -- Now I am onto 13/14 weeks. This past Sunday, my husband and I competed in a LAVA 51.5 relay triathlon. I swam, he biked, I ran. We placed 3rd in Relay Teams. I like to think our baby had fun. :)

Congrats on the 3rd place and thanks for the info. I just started tris last year - only did two actually - so not full on like some others! I just get tired of the whole "you're pregnant so you shouldn't do anything" attitude that seems to be prevalent in Asia and with some of my family and friends. I do worry about the heat and humdity on the bets of days - after 11 years I still just hate it so was wondering about racing in July when it is hot as heck and the humidity is hellish! Thanks for the info. ST has been wonderful in helping me come to terms with what it may be like if we have a baby. I am terrified of it all - more so because in Japan all the women seem to become "mommies" and stop working and being an individual, let alone a sporty one!

If you need any support, feel free to message me in the future. Good luck and happy training on the course and in bed ;)

Thanks!! I am sure I will be PMing you in the future!

Hi, I'm a triathlete in training, and also a mom. Just wanted to give my experience on the 1st trimester--both times I have been through it I have been more exhausted and sick than I could have imagined (it's amazing how you forget about it after you have the kid!). Other friends of mine were fine. So you should give yourself permission to do exactly what you want to do. If you feel great and want to compete, go for it. But if paying for entry fees and then being too sick and tired to participate will make you miserable, then maybe don't pay them and try to enter at the last minute if you're up for it. Also remember that getting and staying pregnant is is unpredictable (I've had both situations), and training while trying to conceive can be a really healthy thing to take you focus off any lack of success. My advice is to not count on getting pregnant quickly and continue to train as you like, and then, again, give yourself permission to train or not train and race or not race once you see how you feel.

Thanks for the advice! Yes, I've had some friend who no problems their first trimester while others lost a whole lost of weight because they couldn't keep anything down and suffered horribly - funny, they all have one child only! ;)