My only fear in the race – Alysia,8 ½ months pregnant Olympian

Many pregnant women keep up with a mild and gentle exercise routine
while expecting, but it's doubtful that many would fancy doing an 800m
running race.

However, a five-time U.S. national champion did just that and ran it
in just over two minutes – all while she was 34-weeks pregnant.

Olympian Alysia Montano may have finished last in the race yesterday
at the Hornet Stadium in Sacramento, California, but she said she
enjoyed it and felt 'really good'.

The 28-year-old runner, who received a standing ovation after
completing the race in 2 minutes, 32.13 seconds, said: 'I've been
running throughout my pregnancy and I felt really, really good during
the whole process.'

Her finishing time was 35 seconds slower than her personal best of
1:57.34, which she smashed back in 2010 in a race in Monaco, but is
still a time many recreational runners wouldn't be able to achieve.

Nicknamed the 'flying flower' thanks to always racing with one in her
hair, she joked her biggest fear was being lapped in USATF Outdoor
Championships race.
'I just didn't want to get lapped and be the first person to get
lapped in the 800,' said Montano.

The 28-year-old is expecting her first baby with her husband Louis,
who she married in 2011.
Doctors gave Montano the OK to take part in the race and she hopes it
dispels misconceptions over exercise and pregnancy.
'That took away any fear of what the outside world might think about a
woman running during her pregnancy,' Montano said about getting her
doctor's approval.

Montano has been training and competing since she was a child and was
glad to find there was no reason why she shouldn't continue while
expecting.

'What I found out mostly was that exercising during pregnancy is
actually much better for the mom and the baby…I did all the things I
normally do…I just happened to be pregnant. This is my normal this
year,' she said.
She knew she had no chance of winning or running at her best during
the race, but emphasises that wasn't the point. She wanted to take
part for the joy of racing.
She wrote on her blog that she thinks it's important that people –
whatever their ability – remember that it's taking part in sport that
counts.

'Racing is still very enjoyable for me because I've been able to think
of it like a kid does. They're so innocent – they're wanting to win
but they're having fun, too,' she writes.

'As you get older, it's easy to put importance on things that really
don't matter and then succumb to that pressure; so I don't like to get
myself wrapped up by talking about competitive goals too much.'

Experts say it's safe for women who are used to keeping fit like
Montano to carry on exercising, while pregnant – albeit at a lower
intensity than before.

The pace Montano ran at in the race while pregnant would certainly be
a more leisurely one for her than usual – in the 2012 Olympic Games in
London, she came 5th with a time under two minutes.

It seems likely she will get back into training, when it's safe to do
so after having her baby and she has admitted one of her dreams is to
one day open a personal fitness studio for working parents – where
they can bring their children along to keep fit too.
She said: 'I want to teach people about exercise and fitness and how
it can be really fun, and I want to help parents educate their
children about it, because that's where everything starts.

'Alysia Montano
She's certainly not the first to pull on her jogging shoes while
pregnant and she won't be the last.
Nell McAndrew famously came under fire when she revealed in 2012 that
at 20 weeks pregnant with her second child, she was still running six
miles a day.

Also, Olympic athletes, Paula Radcliffe and Jo Pavey, ran moderately
throughout their pregnancies and went on to have healthy babies, Nell
decreased the intensity as well as length of her runs to alleviate any
risk to herself and her unborn child.

Before she conceived, she had been running 90 miles a week while
training for the London Marathon, so six miles a day was a significant
reduction in mileage.
Yet, despite Nell taking all the precautions recommended by medical
professionals, she still faced criticism from people who accused her
of putting her baby at risk through exercise