Late last week, Alysia Montaño, 28, competed in the U.S. Track and Field Championships in Sacramento, California. Not a big deal for a five-time national champion in the 800 meters, right? Well this time, she was running with some extra cargo: Montaño is 34 weeks pregnant with her first child.
And while she may have finished last in the qualifying heat in 2:32.13—almost 25 seconds behind the next closest finisher and nearly 35 seconds slower than her personal best of 1:57.34 set in 2010—she didn't care. "I just didn't want to get lapped," Montaño told the Associated Press. (She didn't.)
"I've been running throughout my pregnancy and I felt really, really good during the whole process," she said after the heat, in which she wore her signature flower in her hair.
Montaño said her doctor encouraged her to run during her pregnancy and signed off on competing in the race, which is about a half-mile long.
"That took away any fear of what the outside world might think about a woman running during her pregnancy," Montaño said. "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."
Major props to Montaño. Want to keep working out when you're expecting? Make sure you discuss it with your doc.
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