Thanks for the thoughts RunBuggy

RunBuggy posted yesterday about breastfeeding and a mother's guilt. This got me thinking a lot about our initial decision to breastfeed and my thoughts about it now. Sam will be 7 months old on the 28th. I'm still breastfeeding and I am just now finally starting to feel like I'm not a human milking machine.

We chose to give breastfeeding a try for the same reasons I imagine any mom & dad do these days. When we were pregnant we heard nothing but how glorious it is and how good it is for baby and mom. Baby gets immune system benefits and mom's milk is perfectly engineered for baby. Mom loses weight easier (this may be true but I think some residual fat hangs around to protect the milk supply) and lowers her risk of several diseases. They barely mention the fact that when this little one is sucking on you it sometimes feels like they are sucking the life out of you at the same time. The only time I cried tears of sadness after having Sam was when I was worn out from feeding her all of the time.

I think I stuck it out because I felt pressure to do so. I felt that "mommy guilt" pretty severly. I didn't want to let my baby down, my husband down or myself down. In the end I am happy with my choice but I really think I might have been as good if not better off mentally if I would have quit. Ironically, now that I'm reaching 7 months I'm starting to feel the pressure to quit. Not from my hubby, more from my friends and family. I get a lot of people asking me when I am going to stop. This is usually hidden by the facade of casual conversation about her teething and how painful it will be to get bitten.

I don't know how much longer I will do this. I know one year is the max. I'm just going to see how it goes. Now that she is starting to eat solid food the amount of nursing is going down.

I must say when I stop I will be glad to see the pump go into storage. I also hope that I can get back to my previous fitness level. All this milk producing seems to wear you out a bit. Not to mention, I think it makes you crave chocolate and other junk 24/7.

Thanks for the post RunBuggy - I'm glad you have found what works for you. Guilt seems to be built into this parenthood deal. I feel it too. Don't worry about it - as you say a happy mommy is the best gift you can give your baby.

Week end Review & My baby girl has teeth!

1/3 - 1/9 Training: Not too bad. The 5 mile run on Wed was the longest I had done in some time and went better than I thought it would. The 6 miler on Saturday was done in the basement at my sisters house on her treadmill. It went pretty well. My foot started hurting pretty badly about 4 miles into it but I got off & walked around for a bit and it felt better. I also spent quite a bit of time on the bike which was great. I didn't get around to doing much strength training and to be honest that was ok with me.



Bike 34.31 Miles in 2h 00m
Run: 13.00 Miles in 2h 17m
Strength: 05m


Sam Update: She has teeth! It is official, her first tooth broke through the gummy confines and is jutting out of her bottom gum! We noticed it on Friday evening. Is it weird that I feel sad that my baby has her first tooth? She is growing up so fast! Last night we tried to feed her some squash. It didn't go well. I think we have a picky eater on our hands. So far she likes oatmeal baby cereal and sweet potatoes. We have to find something else she will eat. I think we might try some peaches or bananas tonight.

Cold Sucks

Ok, living in the Midwest in the winter sucks! There I said it. I'm tired of snow, I'm tired of cold, and mostly I'm tired of the cold North wind blowing all the cold air and snow in my face. Where is Al Gore - I want to talk to him about this global warming thing!

Seriously, it is supposed to me something like 0 for a high for the next couple of days. All the hubby and I can think of is how in the world are we going to train to do the Disney World Goofy (1/2 marathon on Saturday & full marathon on Sunday) next January in this weather! I'm going to get awfully tired of my treadmill.

Other than the weather all I can say is that I hope my hubby finds a new job that he likes & soon. I really don't know what to say, he got the short end of the stick and lost a job he had had for 10 years earlier this year. Now he is working for peanuts doing a job he despises. It makes me sad. I know he is just doing it to support Sam & I. If you are the type who prays for strangers please say a few for him. He is such a great dad and awesome guy and he deserves a rewarding work life as well.

Above is a picture of Travis & Sam trying out our new Kelty backpack. Sam seems to like it.

Running has been going ok so far this week. Today was a rest day and so we headed to Old Chicago to load up on nachos & pizza. I have to have a meal of total crap at least once a week and today was the day. Yesterday I did a 5 mile run on the treadmill. Boring but it was a decent run.

Sam update - she seems like she is growing an inch and a lb. every day. She gives hugs, smiles all of the time and is beginning to entertain herself a little more. She still loves to have you sitting right beside her while she is playing though. Last night every time Travis got up to grab something or do something she started to whimper. One thing that I need to ask if anyone is reading is when do you decide to take your kid in for a cough. She has had a slight cough since around Christmas. She mostly coughs in the morning or after she eats. I haven't heard her cough in the middle of the night yet. Sometimes in the morning there is greenish mucous that comes up but most of the time you can just hear things rattling around a little bit. She doesn't have a fever and seems happy and doesn't appear to be having any difficulty breathing. If anyone has any advice let me know. Or maybe I should just call the doctor tomorrow and see what he says.

On a fun note. Sam helped me make muffins on Sunday & we had a great time. I can't wait until she can help bake cookies and all that fun stuff!

2010 Training Goals

I've never posted or written down training goals for a year but I think I'll start now:

2010 goals
Bike: 1500 Mi (125 miles/month or 28.9/week)
Run: 720 Mi (60 miles/month or 13.9/week)
Swim: 83,200 Meters (6934 meters/month or 1600/week)
Strength: 1040 minutes (20 minutes/week)
Pilates: 1040 minutes (20 minutes/week)
Stretching: 1820 minutes (35 minutes/week or 5 minutes/day)

Races:
1 - 1/2 marathon (spring)
3 - sprint triathlons
1 - olympic triathlon??????
1 - marathon (fall)

Training Plan for First Race of 2010

I've been itching to get started on another training plan. When I'm not in the middle of training for something I get complacent. I also eat too much crap for some reason. I swear I've been living on candy and other junk since I got pregnant. Now that she is six months old that has to stop....it can't be good for me!

Anyway, I've picked my first race for 2010 and it is going to be a half marathon. My second 1/2 ever. It will be in April so there - a serious challenge to prepare for an April race since it is all of 5 degrees out here and probably won't be warm enough to run outside comfortably until mid March. Hopefully, my treadmill doesn't decide to crap out on me. It is 8+ years old and I imagine it is nearing the end of it's useful life.

Here is the training plan I have selected:
1/4
Easy RunDist: 2 mi@11:16
Rest/ XT
Tempo RunDist: 5 mi, incWarm; 3 mi @ 9:39; Cool
Rest/ XT
Rest/ XT
Long RunDist: 6 mi@11:16
Rest/ XT
13 miles

1/11
Easy RunDist: 2 mi@11:16
Rest/ XT
SpeedworkDist: 5 mi, incWarm; 2x1600 in 9:07w/800 jogs; Cool
Rest/ XT
Rest/ XT
Long RunDist: 6 mi@11:16
Rest/ XT
13 miles

1/18
Easy RunDist: 2 mi@11:16
Rest/ XT
Tempo RunDist: 5 mi, incWarm; 3 mi @ 9:39; Cool
Rest/ XT
Rest/ XT
Long RunDist: 7 mi@11:16
Rest/ XT
14 miles

1/25
Easy RunDist: 4 mi@11:16
Rest/ XT
Easy RunDist: 3 mi@11:16
Rest/ XT
Rest/ XT
Easy RunDist: 3 mi@11:16
Rest/ XT
10 miles

2/1
Easy RunDist: 2 mi@11:10
Rest/ XT
Tempo RunDist: 6 mi, incWarm; 4 mi @ 9:39; Cool
Rest/ XT
Rest/ XT
Long RunDist: 7 mi@11:10
Rest/ XT
15 miles

2/8
Easy RunDist: 2 mi@11:10
Rest/ XT
SpeedworkDist: 7 mi, incWarm; 3x1600 in 9:01w/800 jogs; Cool
Rest/ XT
Rest/ XT
Long RunDist: 8 mi@11:10
Rest/ XT
17 miles

2/15
Easy RunDist: 2 mi@11:10
Rest/ XT
Tempo RunDist: 6 mi, incWarm; 4 mi @ 9:39; Cool
Easy RunDist: 2 mi@11:10
Rest/ XT
Long RunDist: 8 mi@11:10
Rest/ XT
18 miles

2/22
Easy RunDist: 4 mi@11:10
Rest/ XT
Easy RunDist: 4 mi@11:10
Rest/ XT
Rest/ XT
Easy RunDist: 4 mi@11:10
Rest/ XT
12 miles

3/1
Easy RunDist: 2 mi@11:03
Rest/ XT
Tempo RunDist: 7 mi, incWarm; 5 mi @ 9:38; Cool
Easy RunDist: 2 mi@11:03
Rest/ XT
Long RunDist: 9 mi@11:03
Rest/ XT
20 miles

3/8
Easy RunDist: 2 mi@11:03
Rest/ XT
SpeedworkDist: 8 mi, incWarm; 4x1600 in 8:56w/800 jogs; Cool
Easy RunDist: 2 mi@11:03
Rest/ XT
Long RunDist: 9 mi@11:03
Rest/ XT
21 miles

3/15
Easy RunDist: 2 mi@11:03
Rest/ XT
Tempo RunDist: 7 mi, incWarm; 5 mi @ 9:38; Cool
Easy RunDist: 2 mi@11:03
Rest/ XT
Long RunDist: 10 mi@11:03
Rest/ XT
21 miles

3/22
Easy RunDist: 5 mi@11:03
Rest/ XT
Easy RunDist: 5 mi@11:03
Rest/ XT
Rest/ XT
Easy RunDist: 5 mi@11:03
Rest/ XT
15 miles

3/29
Easy RunDist: 2 mi@10:56
Rest/ XT
Tempo RunDist: 8 mi, incWarm; 6 mi @ 9:37; Cool
Easy RunDist: 2 mi@10:56
Rest/ XT
Long RunDist: 10 mi@10:56
Rest/ XT
22 miles

4/5
Easy RunDist: 2 mi@10:56
Rest/ XT
SpeedworkDist: 10 mi, incWarm; 5x1600 in 8:50w/800 jogs; Cool
Easy RunDist: 2 mi@10:56
Rest/ XT
Long RunDist: 11 mi@10:56
Rest/ XT
25 miles

4/12
Easy RunDist: 2 mi@10:56
Rest/ XT
Tempo RunDist: 8 mi, incWarm; 6 mi @ 9:37; Cool
Easy RunDist: 2 mi@10:56
Rest/ XT
Long RunDist: 11 mi@10:56
Rest/ XT
23 miles

4/19
Rest/ XT
Easy RunDist: 2 mi@11:16
Rest/ XT
Tempo RunDist: 5 mi, incWarm; 3 mi @ 9:39; Cool
Rest/ XT
Rest/ XT
Race DayDist: Half-Marathon@9:37Time: 2:06:06
20 miles