In 2017, the flying mom, Theresa Marie Pitts, along with her team formed by her littlest 3 children, Evan, Anders and Avrielle, has beaten 3 world record in three months on the distances of half marathon and marathon, pushing a triple stroller (the records were broken by other US moms in 2018). Now she has a big announcement for the Babyrun friends: the family is expanding, and a new member of the “dream team” is about to face these races !!
Hi Theresa, we let you some months ago with 3 stroller running world records and 8 children. Now you have big news to share with your friends and it is not about stroller running…
Well … We are expecting another little friend to come join our team! Baby #9 is on its way!! God has blessed us greatly and we are simply overjoyed. Everyone is so excited and the kids are having fun coming up with possible names to give their new baby brother or sister. We already love this baby so much and cannot wait to meet our newest little angel (and stroller running buddy)!
How is this pregnancy from a sporty point of view? Have you planned to run during the pregnancy or to do something else, maybe softer, like walking, swimming?
I have tried to stay as active as possible although I’ve had to adjust my training goals as I’ve been dealing with difficult morning sickness, and it is also currently summer break for the children so any extra time we have outside of our busy work schedule is spent enjoying this time together as a family.
Given these factors I have not been doing quite as much long-distance running or high-intensity exercise, but it has been replaced by lots of swimming, hiking, biking, dancing, rafting, playing baseball, basketball, and soccer, and walks to the park with the children, which is alright by me! We even got to experience a Spartan obstacle race made just for kids, which was so much fun! It has been a nice change of pace, but once the older kids are back in school and I am starting to feel better I plan on doing a lot more running (which will most likely include the youngest ones in tow)!
What about the previous pregnancies: did you continue to run or play sports? If yes, how and for how long time?
I have always tried to maintain a strong and healthy body throughout each of my pregnancies, not just for myself but for the health of the baby. And so with each pregnancy I have continued to be active and exercise as my body would allow, along with eating healthy and nutritious foods.
I’ve done everything from running to swimming to dragon boat racing while pregnant! Unless her doctor cautions against it, there’s no reason why an expectant woman needs to stop her exercise routine. I try to stay in tune with my body, and while the intensity of my workouts always tend to soften as the pregnancy progresses, it still feels great to move and get my heart pumping, even in the last trimester.
If something ever feels like it’s too much, I simply back off. I believe eating right and maintaining my fitness have been contributing factors to the relatively smooth and uncomplicated deliveries, plus fast post-birth recovery I have been blessed with.
And after the baby birth? When will you start your training again and how?
As I always do when starting up a new training regimen or going after a goal, I make an assessment of where I’m at, and then step forward from that point. Once I have the baby, I will determine where my level of fitness is at, and go from there. If I find I am out of breath and my knee starts to hurt after 400 meters of running I am obviously not going to start out by doing daily 10ks.
I will start slow and work up to longer distances and faster paces as my body adapts and redevelops its strength and ability to handle the demands of running. I’ve learned the hard way that If I push too hard too fast, that is when injuries happen; and then I am derailed for much longer periods than had if I just been patient and slowly worked to build up my strength and endurance.
Have you already planned your participation to some races for the next year?
In the past I have been able to bounce back fairly quickly after each pregnancy which has been a great blessing. So, if all goes well, I plan on easing back into my regular workouts and training within a month or two after I give birth. I would love to start training for some shorter-distance events, plus another marathon if circumstances allow.
If there is ever an opportunity to do so I would love to travel to Italy to race with my Babyrun friends one day!
What about a new stroller running world record in the next future, maybe with your littlest baby as a member of the team?
Haha, my little team and I had such an amazing experience achieving the Guinness world records, but I have little interest in going after another record! I am very satisfied with the three! Records are made to be broken after all and while we had a great time, I now enjoy watching others have fun with the challenge, and we have even become great friends.
I shared tips with a few triple-stroller-running mamas who were inspired by my story and have gone after the same record!
Although it’s funny you ask because since I have announced my latest pregnancy, my friends have asked me if I would ever dare do what I did with four children in a quadruple stroller. I must say I do enjoy a good challenge so I could see myself doing it just for kicks if I found a stroller that would accommodate such a venture!
… But for now my goal is simple: to keep moving with my children!
If you liked this article, you may also be interested in:
Theresa Marie Pitts: the fastest mom in the world (english version)
Leave a Reply