Pregnancy and Training

By now some of you realized that I started racing 2017 and then my racing came to a stop early in the year. If you have not heard, Brad and I are pregnant, expecting in January of 2018. So not long now. Over the past few months I have written blogs for my sponsor LIV, and I wanted to share this one with you as it gives you a sense of what's happening in my life over the past few months. Hope you enjoy.

Bike riding: My time trial bike LIV Avow has to wait for some time now before I will use it again. I am riding now my road bike LIV Envie which has more upright position so it is more comfortable for my riding. I was lucky that I was lazy to cut of the top 2cm tube from the front fork when I got my bike and had it fitted. Now thanks to this I could very easy lift up my bars 2cm higher and this makes a big difference in my body position. I am riding even more upright so I feel like I should fit on this bike all the way until the end of my pregnancy.

Some bike who have not integrated bars are also easy to adjust with just buying a stem in a more open angle or you could rotate your bars by 180 deg. (But this would be usable only for a wind trainer session).

As the belly and the baby is getting bigger it is no more protected by my pelvis so it was recommended to me to set my bike on a wind trainer for the last trimester. I don't want to risk any possible problems caused by crashing or hitting the belly and possibly separating the placenta from the baby.

Riding a wind trainer has many positives:

1) It is safe (no traffic, bumpy and bad road surface, punctures...)
2) You will do more work in 1 hour on wind trainer then is 1,5hours riding outdoors
3) You still can set up your wind trainer in your backyard so you get the fresh air and some vitamin D from the sunshine
4) You don't need to worry about fitting in to your tight bike jersey
5) Toilet stops are more comfortable at home :-)
6) You can ride anytime of the day (no rush hour, no darkness...)
7) If it is too hot, use a fan and/or air conditioner to keep you cool. Remember overheating is bad for you!
8) You will never run out of water if riding indoors :-) Drink a lot especially when sweating.
9) You can set up your bike in a even more comfortable position for your belly then when riding outdoors
10) Your family will stop worrying where are you going, when are you back, ride carefully... :

Tip:

My bike bib was too tight so I had to improvise a bit to make my rides comfortable again. I have cut the front part almost all the way down to the chamois so it makes a great space for the belly. (I use now a maternity FITsplint underneath the bib to cover and support the naked belly)

Swimming:

Most comfortable is to wear two piece swimsuit as the belly is bigger and bigger everyday. I love to add kicking with fins in to my swim session as it is another good way how to strengthen and stretch your legs. Don't swim only free style, but do backstroke as a great way how to stretch and strengthen your back muscles.

Running:

At one point I thought I will have to stop running as my belly started getting very tight and sore even after just 2' of easy jog. Then I have tried a maternity belt (FITsplint) to support the belly (in my case the belly is really low so every jump would put a lot of pressure on my bladder) . From the first day I have used the FITsplint I can run with no problems at all again. Maternity belt is also good for hip and pelvic support and also helps to support the belly when having diastasic recti. Use the maternity belt only for your runs or just for some parts of the day as if you would be wearing it the whole day then all your supported muscles (lover back, hip, gluts..) would get “spoiled“ and weak because of no need of engaging them.

Eating:

I feel like I am now less hungry then when at the beginning of my pregnancy. I am ok to go out without a snack in my handbag. But I would still recommend to have a small healthy snack on hand as when you get hungry, then you need to eat something immediately and if you have nothing ready, then you are most likely to eat something not very nutritious .

I still don’t feel like having coffee, so when everyone else is ordering coffee I usually just get water or best coconut water. I guess the body is asking to keep hydrating.

Regular blood tests are important. It is said that the baby is safe as it gets all the nutrients it needs from you. But you are not that safe as if you have (for example) low iron then the baby is taking all your iron and you will have nothing left. You will feel tired…

Gym:

One thing I have planned to do more is working out at gym. Every time I had to choose what sport I will do I would do swim bike or run as this is what I love. But you can't forget about the importance of power! During pregnancy the whole body is more loosen as it is getting ready for the delivery. All your muscles and ligaments are more stretched out. So it is important to do some light work at the gym so you avoid any injuries. It make sure you know what exercises are safe for you in pregnancy before you hit the gym. For example sit ups shouldn't be on your program at all.