heart rate at 140?

a&b=him&me · January 2010

Hi ladies,

I just found out my fiance and I are expecting out first child on 1/1. I have been traning for a marathon and started reading that I should switch to a walk instead of a run to keep my heart rate at 140 or under.

Can you tell me the reason at keeping the heart rate at 140 and under and if any of you ladies were pregnant and still did a marathon?

Thanks a Million!

drewiekc · January 2010

I answered this on the 1st Tri board, but talk to your OB. Whether or not he/she advises you to continue training for a marathon will really depend on a lot of individual factors. Personally, I did numerous marathons while TTC, but would not do one while pregnant as I am all too familiar with the stress it puts on my body and would not want to risk it. Would this be your first marathon?

a&b=him&me · January 2010

Thank you.

Yea, it's my first marathon. It's in 2 weeks. I have an appointment today so I will be sure to ask my doctor.

Thank you!

jlynns05 · January 2010

Congrats a&b!! The 140 heartrate restriction is really outdated and ACOG (American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology) lifted it several years ago. Most think you should concentrate on perceived effort rather than heartrate. I personally ignored the heartrate and just ran like normal (well, as normal as was possible!). I even ran a half marathon at 27 weeks pregnant. I was training for a marathon when I got pregnant but I'm not a strong enough marathoner yet to get through that kind of training comfortable while being pregnant. My main concern was being on my feet for 4+ hours and knowing how hard my previous 2 marathons were. I know some who have done marathons pregnant but most did them early in their pregnancies. I ran 30 mpw comfortably until about 24 weeks, after 30 weeks it started getting hard to keep up my mileage. Now I'm still running but probably only about 15 mpw. My advice to you would be to continue training and just take it one week at a time until you feel comfortable with your decision one way or another. Also, for what its worth, my ob/gyn ran until she was 34 weeks pregnant and has been super supportive of my running and racing. Good luck!

jlynns05 · January 2010

I just saw that your marathon is in 2 weeks. At this point you have the bulk of your training under your belt and you've most likely completed a long run while you were pregnant. I don't know if this is your first marathon or not or how far along you are but if it were me and I were early in my pregnancy I would go for it but I'd throw any time goals/finishing expectations out the window. Good luck in your decision!

drewiekc · January 2010

I agree with PP, since your race is in 2 weeks, I bet your OB will tell you that you're fine. Now, if you were just starting your training, it would probably be a different story. Just enjoy it, be sure to stay on your nutrition and hydration plan through the race. Good luck!

calico39 · January 2010

As the previous posters said the 140 rule is old. This is what ACOG says now: They suggest don't get so out of breath that you can't carry on a conversation.?

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https://www.acog.org/publications/patient_education/bp119.cfm

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I'm not a marathoner. My doc suggested a heartrate of 160 and under as a precaution against overdoing it. I honestly don't know where he got that number from. It sounds kind of arbitrary, however I've found it works for me.

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Good luck with the pregnancy and the running!

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Jax28 · January 2010

Wow, good for you!! I hope your doctor says you can, all that work training! I'm sure since it's just two weeks away there won't be much of a problem. My doctor told me not to let my heart rate get above 80%, which really makes a difference if you're in shape or not. Let us know what the doc says!

Kelly1109 · January 2010

My dr. said to stay under 160 - which for me is really hard! Even when I was running marathons mine would always be at around 180. I would say since you're already in shape to go for it, but know that it might not be your best time or the time you wanted as you really shouldn't go all out and might need to walk if your hr gets too high!

a&b=him&me · January 2010

Thank you ladies so soooo much! I had mixed emotions (happy about pregnancy, bummed about having to give up all the training and effort)

I just found out that Im 5weeks pregnant, but based on experiences I think that I'm going to go for it - but take it downt o a half marathon, just in case.

YAY!

kirkette · January 2010

Like pp suggested, I don't follow the out dated 140 heart rate advice. I use a breath test instead and avoid dehydration.

I was in the tapering stage of training for my 5th marathon when I found out I was pregnant. I had just completed my 20+ mile long run. That being said, I downgraded to running a 1/2 instead. Just thinking about how I hit the wall at miles 22 -24 made me reconsider running the full.

LO and I ended up running a comfy 1/2, and we've ran 2 more since then.

Best of luck on your race!

Pamiejane · January 2010

the best book I read was by James Clapp - Exercising during pregnancy (or something similar). Well worth the read.

There is no way I would have been able to keep my HR below 140 - it goes there just walking! I also followed the advice if you can talk it is ok and to keep very well hydrated. I did not carry on running as much as I wanted to (pure lazyness though).

Good luck.

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