Relegated to an IronFan..

..for now, anyway. I got to go down to Louisville on Sunday to watch part of the full ironman, which several of my friends were racing (I use the term 'racing' loosely when speaking of such a long race), and it was fun! I definitely got that ol itch, though, and am counting down and looking forward to the next time I can take on that event. I know I'll get back to working out..and doing some sort of racing fairly quickly.. But the distance stuff is really my bread and butter and with a new baby to balance, I know it'll be a bit before I can put the time and energy into training for the longer races. I know that and I'm good with that. I obviously knew that going in to getting pregnant, so it's not like it's a surprise.. But definitely something I'll be looking forward to whenever I can get there! But anyway, this day was not about me, though you'd think I achieved some major feat the way everyone made such a big deal over my being at the race at this point in my pregnancy. It's like..so just how long do you want me to sit around doing nothing? Granted..it was hot..and lots of standing and walking..but come on, folks.. Pregnant, not injured or handicapped.. I'll be fine! So anyway, it was great to get to watch folks coming in off the bike, heading out on the run, and then we caught some at the half way of the run where you either had 13mi left or you were heading for home.. I know to some that seems cruel to have to be so close to the finish when you still have half the run to go, but the full that I did last yr was like that and I didn't mind it at all.. It's not like it's a shock.."I'm not done yet?!".. You know how far you are going, so to me, it wasn't an issue. It was a hot day and folks were covered in dried up salt even just coming off the bike, so you knew it was a rough day out there. Some of those that I knew did great..some had rough days. It was a great reminder of how mental the ironman is, too. I saw a lot of folks come in off the bike/head out to the run just looking defeated. I'm sure they had a tough bike and the heat wore them down..or maybe they had flats or things weren't just 'right', and it's tough to pull out of that funk, but man..26mi is a long way to run(or walk) with a beat down attitude. It reminded me how important it is to be able to shake it off, look for a way to spin it to a positive, and move on to the next thing as best you can. My favorite group of people to see are those that are just psyched to be out there. And I loved getting to see some of the athletes interact with their loved ones/kids/families. I even teared up (probably more than once) at one guy who, as my friend Ashley put it, "pulled a Blunck" and got off his bike to give his wife and kids a kiss and quick hello. You know, it's not much and doesn't take much time, but it means the world to those out there supporting you. Especially a wife/husband who wants some reassurance that you're feeling well and doing ok out there. I just think it's important to remember to acknowledge them and their role in the day, too, you know. I did see some that weren't having a good day or feeling great and it made me so sad to see them blow off their families or stalk past them pouting.. Not cool at all. I'm sorry. Maybe it's rough right now, but pull a little smile, some (false) optimism..something! To give your family some peace of mind and not worry sick about you out there. If it's that bad, go see the medic and drop out.. But if you intend to continue, pull it together for your family's sake! Sorry.. Bit of a rant, but it was sad to watch as the kids tried to get mommy's attention and then gathered helplessly as she stomped off, leaving them wondering what to do. Any who. So it was fun to see part of the race and get to cheer on some of my training buddies. I'm glad I went and I'll be looking forward to the next time that I can be out there with my little support crew..and you better believe they'll be getting smiles, waves, kisses..whatever they need to feel like they are a part of the day.. Because they are a huge reason that we are out there doing what we love.. Ok. What else? Well, in case you hadn't noticed, my early labor was just false stuff. I really thought it was coming..crampy, contractions, felt sick.. Turns out I was just thirsty. You can see how one can mix those two things up.. If you're not so bright, like me, that is.. I suppose it was pretty warm and humid out on Saturday, so even though I felt great during and right after my run.. I probably dehydrated myself a bit.. So. Now I'm hydrated and back to business, as usual. Sunday I just did a little bike cruise around the hood and then a crossfit workout in my basement. Monday was a gym-rat day.. Elliptical and then a row workout. Speaking of, if you row enough, that thing can be quite the full body effort! I did 3k in sets of 500m with a short rest (like a minute) between sets and it made my hammies, arms, back.. Lots of stuff sore! Today was just a short run and then a swim. I was actually able to pull off my first solo run (other than my recent run in the woods, of coarse) in a long while. I was supposed to check out the moon again and take Mason out with me for a 'moon run', but it must be really low this time of yr, or something, because it wasn't out there again.. So I left him alone (still sleeping in bed..and Matt was still home) and took a quick jog on my own. I still feel pretty good out there, so we'll keep it going until it doesn't! The swim was good, too, though nothing spectacular there, as usual.. Mason and I then took off to do all sorts of errands.. I am not a 'crafty' person at all, but we spent well over an hr in Michaels and Hobby Lobby getting things to make/paint/glue/frame for both boys' rooms..here's hoping it all works out! But we had fun. Then hit Babies R Us for a couple things.. I know we probably need more than the swaddling blankets I bought, but I wasn't in the right mind set to do it. We did get a couple of outfits for the little guy, though, and Mason was picking out toys that he can buy him for Christmas..or his first birthday.. Anyway, good stuff!

A lovely trot through the woods

This week has been pretty uneventful.. Matter of fact, when I went to see the doc on Friday, I didn't really have much of anything to report. Yes, the reflux stuff is still there, but I've actually had a bit of a burst of cooking energy and I've had some really great, balanced, veggie-full meals this week, which I had neglected for a while as my appetite sucked. I guess that's sort of something, but I'm gonna go out on a limb and guess that my doc doesn't really need ALL the details when he asks how things are going... So I did us both a favor and left that exciting tidbit out. At the moment, though, I'd be remiss not to mention that with the way I'm feeling..I'm either having a baby very, very soon.. Or I'm just being a big baby.. I'm not sure where the pain came from today. I started the day with a 5k jog in the woods, which was actually quite lovely! Nothing too remarkable about it, but it definitely reminded me of how much I love running trails and that I can't wait to get back to it! I could have done more trail running through this pregnancy. I didn't avoid it because I didn't think it was safe, but more because a)it took more effort to actually drive somewhere to run vs just heading out the door, and b) I didn't want to slow my usual trail running buddies down too much, so I just stuck to solo running in the hood! But anyway, I ran with a friend, we talked the whole way.. I felt great, aside from a couple short walk breaks when I got a slight stomach cramp. But other than that, it was fun! I did get a lot of sideways looks, but for the most part, folks just smiled and/or passed along some encouragement.. I call it a success! I have no idea what our time was.. Probably 40 minutes or so..so slow..and safe.. And that included when Mason insisted on running up the hill for a portion of the run with me! That kid sure does love to run with me. He smiles so big while he flails around and tries to run 'super fast'.. He's smiling.. I'm smiling.. Pretty sure that's what running is all about! I've actually run a bit more frequently this week..mostly because I kept having meetings or appointments to get to that didn't allow my usual gym time, so it was early run, maybe some sort of strength/ crossfit type workout, quick swim and then rush off to do something. We did try out a park workout this week that worked pretty well. We went up to a park close by that has a running path around it.. Mason rode his big wheel and I ran next to him (and had to push him up the hills..nice 'sled push' leg workout there!). He did better with it when we made stops along the way to do exercises.. Pull-ups, dips and push-ups. He loves trying to do that stuff with me! So maybe we'll try that again if the weather cools back down a bit. We've also had a return in the interest for a 'moon run'. We tried the other day and went out when it was still plenty dark.. Saw some stars, but darn it all, the moon was nowhere to be found?! Very strange. Now he tells me every night before he goes to bed 'make sure the moon is out there before you wake me up'. You got it, little guy. I think that about brings us up to speed here. I'm hoping to go down to Louisville with some friends tomorrow to watch some of the Ironman, so that should be good (though I need to get some sleep tonight! And make sure these contractions are just the 'false labor' type and not the real deal). In completely other news, I made it through my first week of scheduled cleaning! It went quite well, I must say.. I've never felt so accomplished (at maintaining house) and you can definitely tell its cleaner.. At least I can. I'm actually ahead of the laundry, which never, ever happens.. So I think we'll try to keep it up! I know.. Super exciting stuff right there.. You're welcome.. And also, no more teaching gymnastics for me until after I'm all healed up from having the baby, which came at just about the right time. It's fun work, and not hard, but man was it wearing me out these days! AND that's all I've got for now!

I've created a Monster..

..and he'll be the first in our family to be a barefoot runner.. This morning, not only was I woken up by our 4 yr old and immediately encouraged to go for a run and take him with me (kid won't let me run alone these days!), but then he wanted in on the fun, too! I told him I was planning to just run a short bit and we would stop 3x for some walking lunges. I thought maybe he would bail at the thought of waiting for me to do lunges, but he was up for it. Matter of fact, he asked if he could do the lunges with me. Of coarse, like any good mom, I said he could. So at our 3 stops, he got out of the stroller and did these big, slow step walk things..always having to stay ahead of me, of coarse, because he needs to 'win'..while I did my lunges. We did probably at least 800-1000m run with about 200m of lunges x3 wih a cool down jog at the end. After all those lunges, Mason said he wanted to run the rest of the way with me?! Oh, boy.. Of coarse, again, I obliged..and he did pretty well! Had to slow to walk a couple times, but overall, he had a blast and would NOT give in and get back in the stroller. All this, mind you, was before the sun had fully come up on a lovely Sunday morning. I need to make him wear a shirt or a sign that says 'I actually asked to do this'.. Or maybe 'no, my mommy isn't punishing me'.. But whatever. We had fun! So I guess my bad cramp during my run a couple days ago WAS a fluke..good thing.. Because my runs on sat and today both felt pretty good! Wanna know what else we did today?..we cleaned! For hours.. Our house really needed it. Turns out I'd gotten a little lax with my housekeeping lately. We keep it 'tidy' and it always looks clean enough, but it needed some scrubbin. Matt is always trying to get me to hire a cleaning person, but I just can't do it.. So. Today. For the first time ever. I made myself a cleaning schedule. So grown up of me, right? We'll see how well I can stick to it..but I'm hopeful! Of coarse, this is probably just a part of that over-zealous 'nesting' period.. But I'm gonna give it the old college try! Exciting, I know.. We also went to play at the pool today. It's getting to where it's actually not so super hot out, so going to the pool isn't quite as refreshing..perhaps a little chilly at times.. But I like to take advantage of the smaller crowds and get the most out of it before it closes up on us! So that's about it. Heading in to another week.. Nothing too exciting planned, but let's hope it's a good one!

Can't win 'em all

Do you ever feel like you've taken crazy pills or something? Sometimes I just don't get why I'm not being understood in certain things.. I know that's a bit cryptic, but I couldn't elaborate even if I wanted to.. I'm still trying to figure it out myself.. Anyway. I had my first unsuccessful run that I can remember since those crazy back issues a while back. My back has been fine and even the low cramping/need to pee feeling can usually be either controlled with some muscle squeezing, or worked through after a few short minutes.. But yesterday I set out for a jog with the stroller and I had a pretty bad cramp up high on my right side of my belly..so I had to walk it out for a bit. After some walking (and a pep talk from Mason), I did eventually feel better and got to pick the pace back up to my current state of 'jogging'..so it was ok, but definitely a concern.. So we'll see if it was a fluke, or if, perhaps..maybe just maybe running at 37+ weeks pregnant while pushing my 4 yr old in a stroller might be a bit much? We'll see. He's really enjoying going on runs with me, so I hope we don't have to stop.. But sharp pains can't be ignored. I got some good pool time in this week, though MAN am I slow! But I still feel pretty good.. Other than the reflux issue, which refuses to go away.. Today I did some elliptical and then launched in to a crossfit workout of 100 calorie row (took me 10 minutes..slowwwww), 80 'gamer' or 'hand release' push ups (took me forever! But I got 'em done), 60 Kb swings, 40 step ups and 20 'strict' (no kipping) pull-ups (I used the assist machine with the lowest amount of wt support).. I have no idea how long it took, but with the slow row and push ups, it felt like it took forever! But it was a good workout and I felt strong. Cooled it down with a little swim action(just pulling and kicking).. So not a bad day of working out.. Mason wanted me to pick him up from school today with the jogging stroller and go for a run, but it's about 80 degrees out, which is much cooler than it had been, but still a bit warm for a jog. Guess we'll stick with the bike and trailer! Maybe it will cool down a bit more next week and we can go for a run.. Little dude loves it when I work out! As for other things that weren't winners? So I have been reading some random blogs lately.. I usually stumble across them from links of other blogs that I read.. It all started with Hillary Biscay, pro triathlete..and then it's spun out of control from there.. Anyway, a lot of times there will be recipes.. Seems these blog gals are obsessed with pancakes with as few ingredients as possible. I had posted a recipe that I found a little while back, but after making them a few times, I gave up because I could never make it right, not burn it, etc.. Well, lately I've used just a packet of oatmeal mixed with an egg..let it sit for 30 min (in the fridge), then cook it. So far it works pretty well, though you have to be careful not to burn it. BUT, I had seen a gal or 2 talk about this 'banana soft serve' which was supposed to be blended frozen bananas that supposedly taste 'just' like soft serve ice cream.. Well, I don't know what the heck I did wrong, but it was awful! Just blended, mushy banana!? And to make it worse, I had hyped it up to poor Mason, who watched and helped me make it in great anticipation.. We topped it all up with treats, just like we would with frozen yogurt.. Poor guy ate a few bites, but then had to concede that he didn't like it.. I laughed and told him I didn't either, so now it's a big joke between us.. 'hey, if you're good, mommy will make some more of that delicious treat!' Again, maybe I did something wrong, but if this is actually what those gals are making and telling themselves it's delicious? I feel very sorry for them.. Just enjoy the real thing, ladies! Not a winning recipe, for sure, but at least I can still use it in a smoothie. That's all I have to say about that.. Next week is my last week of teaching gymnastics for a while! I enjoy teaching, but I've been so worn out lately.. I'm ready to be done with pregnant teaching.. Getting closer to 'go' time!

The Good Stuff

After some pretty rough times with my little guy and his attitudes, I thought it might be good if I wrote down some of the good times so I can remember them..the next time we're having a rough day.. So yesterday was the first full day in a while (that I can remember) that we didn't have any fits, no time outs, and Mason genuinely listened and did what was asked of him all day.. And he was proud of it! He was excited to tell his dad about what a good boy he was for his mommy. It felt good! For all of us, I think.. On Saturday, I was heading out for my last bit of coaching for the steelhead tri team.. It was going to be a shorter workout, so I planned to join in for most, if not all of it.. But some last minute changes with Matt's work schedule left us both working and no one to hang out with Mason. After our few babysitting options were contacted, with no one free for such a last minute thing, one of us was going to need to take him with us while we worked.. Matt's work for the day involved a lot of driving, which would have been boring for Mason, and tough to maneuver with a child's seat and all, so that left me. We changed out my bike, which was loaded up in the car, from my tri bike to the mt bike, and loaded up the trailer and that was the plan. Mason was actually really excited about this.. He loves riding in the trailer these days, and also likes to "go where ever you go" with me, so he thought coming to help coach was an important thing and a big deal, which, of coarse made having to bring him along much easier.. Not to mention that we were heading out the door around 6am.. But with snacks and toys and the bike trailer, he was a happy guy. Now, usually when we ride, it's pretty short.. Probably a half hr at most.. But for coaching, we rode with the team for an hr (don't worry, they aren't that slow and I wasn't that fast..they did some hill repeats and intervals while I either caught up or circled around with them) and then had to ride the 5k while they ran. After the hr ride, Mason was ready to be done, but he rallied and did great.. Then he was even looking forward to helping me load the bike and trailer back in the car.. Which was tough to do and required some helping hands, but Mason was patient and helpful the whole time. As if that wasn't enough, I then had to give a nutrition talk to another TNT tri group! Luckily one of the gals on the team offered to stick around and entertain him while I talked, but again, he did really well. Even listened to me when it was time to leave the park, which we visited as reward for his helpful behavior that morning after I was all done with my stuff for the day. It was a really great morning. I even had asked him after he got tired of riding if maybe next time he wouldn't want to come coach with mommy, but he just smiled and said "I'm going to coach with you every time". What a trooper! One more thing and then I'll be done with this gushy mommy love-fest (if you can't tell, I really, really needed these good times.. I was starting to wonder where the hell I had gone wrong and could I really do this again?!) Last Thursday, we had planned to go to the pool. We did our usual routine of mom swimming laps while Mason went to the playroom (child watch), then we go to get subway sandwiches for our 'picnic', then back to the pool to be there right when it opens to get the most out of pool time before we have to head home to get naps. It was a cloudy, kinda chilly day, so we were the ONLY ones playing in the pool?! Other than a few campers and some of the older 'pool walker' gals that were still around from the morning.. But mostly it was just us..and we had a great time. We played, then had our picnic, where Mason kept showering me with snuggles and 'I love you''s. It was just a really nice mom/son play day.. And I want to remember those times, rather than the times where I wonder what happened to my sweet little guy. It's easy to focus on the negatives some times.. As for 'training'..it's getting less and less these days, though I still squeak out a decent workout here and there. Sunday, after my long, hilly mt bike trailer ride from saturday, I did a run/park crossfit workout that I felt pretty good about. It was roughly (I don't wear a garmin or anything to measure distances, but I've been running in my 'hood for long enough, I have a pretty good idea of how far to go) running 1200/1000/800/600 with step ups and push ups between each run (1st set was 10 of each, then 20,30,40) and then a run home to cool down. Not too much, but it felt like a decent workout. Yesterday was a 'gym rat' day with some elliptical, wts and a little stationary bike to finish it all off. Today was another run/crossfit workout.. Then I was going to swim, but Mason wanted to run..and I didn't feel totally motivated to drive over to the gym to swim on this cloudy, kinda dreary day.. So run again, it was! Running is a very relative term at this point..especially when I'm pushing the stroller..but we're out there! Gettin it done.. Or something like that. I must admit, if I'm being honest, that it seems like my motivation for working out is down a bit this week. The mornings are officially dark again..and running and biking inside is not much fun for me these days (hurts more than the outdoor version)..and I'm more tired this week.. I'll take it as my body's cue to start chilling things down a bit, maybe do some nesting and start really getting ready for the new arrival..and what I'm sure is going to be a huge change for all of us.. So I'd better rest up some and get ready for this!

The elder folk love me..well..most of 'em

It's a fact; older ladies love to talk to pregnant ladies about their own pregnancies of long ago..even when I'm clearly in the middle of a workout and tuned out to my music.. I don't mind it, though. I'm typically not in a huge rush when I'm up in the gym at the Y, and the ladies are all very sweet. They seem to waver between concern for what I'm doing (squats..either on 1 leg or just regular air squats..not weighted.. Well, not any extra weight other than what I'm packin here in the belly!) and desire to share their own stories of how they exercised in their own pregnancy (uh..37 or more years ago! It is good to know, though, that ladies were active throughout pregnancy years ago, too, and not everyone thinks you need to lay down with your feet up for 40 weeks when you find out you have a perfectly healthy, low risk pregnancy). The other day while I was doing a slow Y 'Fran' workout (thrusters..which is a squat to a shoulder press.. I used 55#, so I guess some of my squats are weighted.. And pull-ups), I was stopped by two lovely ladies that wanted to chat..and chat about my workout and pregnancy. Another lady stopped me while I was on the stationary bike to compliment me on my balance?! I was very confused until she clarified that she had seen me doing pistols (1 legged squats) earlier and that was what she was referencing..not the stationary bike.. Made more sense.. But ya know who isn't impressed with a pregnant lady working out? Dudes. Dudes probably about my age or a little older seem very disturbed by my workouts and I even heard one guy criticize my pull-ups as being "those crossfit pull-ups" in a negative tone, as though they weren't good enough or something.. Sheesh. Sorry, fella, if my form upsets you.. This is part of why I don't love working out at the gym..such a critical place..so 'judgey'. But I'll put up with it for a bit until I can get back to my regular triathlon, trail running, crossfitting style of exercise that I prefer. What else.. Not much going on. I had a great time body marking and cheering at the tri on Sunday and I'm hopeful that if the weather is good, I can make it down to Louiseville in a couple of weeks to cheer some friends on at the IM. I'm still having a rough time with the 'spit ups'..reflux, I guess, would be the term? UGh. SO sick of not being able to eat anything without feeling crappy afterwards. 1 more month, though, right? I can do it.. And then there will be a whole new slew of things to figure out! Man...can I really handle a new baby? I can't even figure out how not to make myself spit up?! Oh, boy.. We'll have to work through it together, little guy! Help a mama out..

A 'dirt bike', trailer pulling backwards Brick..

Thats how my weekend started! I went out early to get as much of a run in as I could. Running has gone fine this week, but I've also cut back even more on the distances and frequency, so that's probably why I feel better. I'm using that brace, keeping it short and slow, and always always have cold water to try to keep from over heating..seems to be working, so I won't bag running altogether just yet.. I think this week I've done 2 20-ish min runs and then a little longer today, so not a whole lot. But anyway, so I took off with a plan to do a little running mixed with a little crossfit style action.. which has been another way I have mixed up my runs to make things more tolerable..maybe I'll explain what I mean by that.. I guess since my tolerance for distance is down, it helps to mix my runs with some strength work, either part way through the run, or spread throughout, vs just heading out for any sort of 'long' run.. So the plan for today was to run about a mile to loosen up, then start 5 rounds of 50 air squats followed by about 4-5 min of running until I got to the next decent spot for me to squat. It went pretty well, I think.. I felt good and then as I was heading home, I got the idea to kind of 'warm down' on my bike for a bit. But as I was getting suited up for the bike, my little guy 'caught me' and then wanted to join me.. I don't know if it's because I've been heading out slightly later in the mornings or what, but Mason has gotten up a couple times now this week and wanted to 'go where ever you go'..so I've had to figure out a way to include him. Earlier this week that meant I was out there pushing the running stroller while we went for an early run.. Today it meant I switched up my plan to ride my tri bike, and instead, hooked up the trailer to my mt 'dirt' bike and we went for a spin. It worked out fine and Mason loves that darn trailer (his 'special chair' as he calls it), so it was a win /win, I guess! Other workouts his week.. Monday I did some elliptical and then a push-up and squat workout at the gym..it was 21/15/9 pushups with double the amount for the squats each round.. Tuesday was a jog to the park to do some tabata exercises (20 seconds of work with 10 seconds rest for 8 rounds). I did Burpees, step ups and squats, but for the squats, my 'rest' was holding the squat for those 10 seconds.. Wednesday..another workout at the Y..did sets of 20.. I think I did 'knees to whatever' (supposed to get your knees up to your elbows while you hang on a bar, but with this belly..they get to where ever they can get), step ups, overhead squats (with just 55# because I didn't want to scare anyone too bad) and pull-ups.. I feel like I'm forgetting something, but can't remember.. Anyway, I'm boring myself with this recap, so I'll stop it there.. My point was to help me remember what workouts I did to not repeat the same things over and over and also to share some ideas of workout options.. But. Turns out that's pretty dull. So other than lots of time in the gym..freaking old school thinking folks out with my crazy pull-upping, squatting ways, I've been trying to get out into the pool as much as possible before it closes, so that's been good. I was out there 4 days this week, just doing my thing! It's been a challenging week with my young'un. He seems determined to wear me down and establish his power over me.. I may be pregnant and tired, but I will not give up. I realize that these struggles are fairly normal and I just need to suck it up, but man is it frustrating. But I know it's worth it in the long run for me to stick with my guns and not let him turn into a complete mess if he just got everything he wants.. So I'll keep fighting the good fight and hopefully we'll figure it out..some day. I'm looking forward to volunteering and then cheering on my friends at 'tri Indy' tomorrow. I guess I better get some good sleep tonight because I have an early morning of body marking to look forward to! Should be fun. I really wanted to volunteer at more races this year, but the heat and my feeling sick all the time kind of put a damper on that. Hopefully tomorrow works out and I feel well enough to stick around for a bit. Speaking of feeling ill, after another rough weekend of spitting up and not being able to eat much or do much, I decided to actually try something to see if I could make it a little better.. So I'm off dairy/lactose for now..so far with no success, but we'll see how it goes. I hooked myself up with some soy and coconut milks and yogurts..we'll give it the old college try! I don't feel like I eat many acidic foods, so I dont think that's the problem.. and I can't think of anything else to eliminate, but I don't want to go the next 5 weeks on pretzels and crackers alone, so I have to figure out what foods can work for me. Anyway. That's all I've got for now. Good talk!