How do u deal with the nausea during outdoor running?

[unmaskedhearts]

Hi everybody, very, VERY new to this journey and need help. So one of my first symptoms is nausea and smell sensitivity...go me!! My husband and I try to walk/jog 5 nights a week. I don't make it far or fast (think the tank top "I run like a tortoise through peanut butter but I run") but last night I almost puked on our nightly jog. Ran by a house where people were smoking marijuana outside and almost hurled on their front lawn.

Any tips for dealing with the nausea during runs? (All our gyms are currently closed, so no way of taking my exercise indoors atm). Thanks for any advice, I really don't want to stop this as it's one of the few bonding activities the husband and I share.

 

[xxoceaneyesxx]

@unmaskedhearts If you can stomach it, try a dab of peppermint oil under your nose. It'll block out other smells.

 

[unmaskedhearts]

@xxoceaneyesxx I'm kind of scared trying the peppermint oil. I've just read so many articles about applying it topically causing complications. Is this something I only need to worry about in the last trimester?

 

[rarner]

@unmaskedhearts In college my boyfriend left food in his fridge and stopped paying the electric bill for the summer. We put Vick’s under our nose to get his stuff out without gagging the whole time. Just a suggestion. I’ve never had to run with it on my face so it might suck lol.

 

[unmaskedhearts]

@rarner I'll try the Vics on our next run. Thanks!

 

[jordana]

@unmaskedhearts You can dilute it in some coconut oil and keep it in a lip balm container if that makes you more comfortable! Or even just some vicks vapour rub under your nose works too to block out other smells. But peppermint essential oils are actually recommended by my midwives to help with nausea and headaches in pregnancy. Dont drink the essential oil lol but a drop under your nose or on your tongue is totally fine.

Doterra also has peppermint "beadlets" my sister gave me (I don't know who else does but I've seen them at health food stores on occasion) I used them in my 1st trimester daily. Totally safe. I'd just pop them in my mouth anytime I was going to smell something that I knew would trigger a gag reflex. Couldn't smell anything else and the burning sensation on my tongue was a mild distraction to focus on too.

 

[neodakine]

@unmaskedhearts Can you and your husband swap out for early morning jogs? Running first thing in the morning was the only way I could keep it up. It had the benefit of making me feel less nauseated all day long compared with days I didn't run. Wake up, slam some saltines, put on your shoes, and out the door. No time to think or let the queasiness settle in. If I waited until later, I'd feel terrible and wouldn't make it out. It had to be first thing.

Also, garbage day is now rest day!

 

[unmaskedhearts]

@neodakine Unfortunately him and I both go to work early in the morning. But it might be useful to push forward our runs and hopefully miss the smokers. And I did not even think about garbage day.

 

[ktorres08]

@unmaskedhearts I wish I had a tip for you, but all I can say is you are so awesome for trying to push past the nausea and stay active. I was a slug for all of T1. I appreciated that I was able to bounce back pretty easily when I started feeling better but do wish I had stayed more active because I gained ~10 lbs in T1.

 

[unmaskedhearts]

@ktorres08 Trust me I would love to throw my hands up in the air and refuse all of this, but when we started the trying process I was reading how helpful an active life is for pregnancy and birth, so we both agreed to push me a little when it happens. I'm lucky I haven't been hit with fatigue yet so taking advantage of it while it lasts.

 

[ross_souls]

@unmaskedhearts I would try different times of day. For me, early early morning workouts felt good. Nausea didn’t set in until 7am ish so as long as I got my workout done before then, I was fine. Also, playing around with eating/not eating before or after a run could help. For a while during early pregnancy, I’d take some dried apricots which helped if I felt queasy. Otherwise just know that in all likelihood, these symptoms will pass and eventually you’ll be able to run without nausea.

 

[katrina2017]

@unmaskedhearts I’ve seen other threads where people suggest running with a water bottle in case you do vomit so you can at least add some water to it/disperse the vomit so it isn’t as gross. Like if you manage to puke near a drain you can wash down a little bit off the top into the drain so it isn’t as gross.

 

[tleew64]

@unmaskedhearts There are good suggestions here, so I won't really try to add much. Strongly scented lip balm helped me some (like the original Burt's Bees). So did eating some saltines before I went out for my run. But mostly, during the peak of my morning sickness, I just accepted that I might throw up on my run. Idk... I have a dog who loves to run so she'd be with me most of the time so I could use her poop bags if I needed to get sick. Fortunately the nausea reduced dramatically for me around week 11 and stopped completely around week 14. Hang in there!

 

[unmaskedhearts]

@tleew64 I like the dog poop bag idea. Thanks!

 

[nico12321312321321321]

@unmaskedhearts I would recommend run/walk intervals. I could only handle those during my first trimester, and now at 18 weeks I'm running 3-4 miles 3x a week without walking. I'd try 3 minutes running, 1 min walking. This should keep the nausea impulse down! Listen to your body - if you're feeling like you might throw up, it's likely that you need to peel the intensity back MORE, even if your pace is already reasonable. The intervals will help you do that! Best of luck - you got this!

 

[idontknow07]

@unmaskedhearts I found that if I take a bite of dark chocolate right before a run, it helps my nausea. I assume the caffeine and sugar puts something in my stomach so I’m not running on empty!

 

[michaela57]

@unmaskedhearts I had a daily run streak I kept going when I got pregnant. Nausea hit me baaaaad. I took water bottles with me and kept an eye out for handily placed grates... when I was sick I at least had a plan for dealing with it (although I was only actually sick once, on my Christmas morning run. CHEERS BABY). I really struggled so I feel your pain!! Possible insight into your future: at nine weeks, I spent three runs in a row crying because I felt so sick and was also having some spotting so I just gave myself permission to stop and just did CrossFit instead. I picked running up again at 16 weeks and have carried it on ever since - at 26 weeks now and aiming to make it until at least 30 . You can do this, first trimester is just doing whatever you can even if that is eating bread in your pajamas...

 

[karrington]

@unmaskedhearts Saltine crackers a few minutes before I left the house and then I would try to distract myself on my run. Not a perfect system, but if I got sick it would usually be once I got back home.

Also, I know it's kind of gross, but for me I would throw up while walking around, at work etc and then would take a sip of water, a mint and try to just keep going like it didn't happen ahah. I know kind of gross for your husband, and you might want to wait until you pass the house with people smoking weed outside (haha) but if you are able to keep going, it's not the end of the world if you get sick.

Good luck! I really struggled with nausea/throwing up during my first trimester and now that I am about to start my third I just really hope it doesn't come back. I'm still running, although now I have new complaints related to loose joints! I'm thinking positive thoughts for you too! Happy running!

 

[manutd]

@unmaskedhearts In the first tri, I tried to schedule my runs for when people were not cooking- avoiding early/mid-evening especially. I'd also just take a walking break if the nausea got too bad.

 

[natus]

@unmaskedhearts I just threw up to the side. Or would change my route (I run on an inner harbor & at one point, something was dying out there) to get away from bad smells. When my nausea got so much worse during 2nd tri that I couldn’t stop gagging as I ran, my dr prescribed me generic reglan and zofran so I’d be able to function throughout the day (& keep running).