Beginner Tri Baby

Crunch

2012-02-17T21:30:00.000-06:00

Today I left work for a lunch date with the hubby. I was excited. I never ever leave the building for lunch. I was headed to Old Chicago for some tasty pizza when I took my eyes off of the car in front of me for a second and then......crunch! The car in front of me came to an abrupt stop and when I looked back from my one second glance away I tried to stop but couldn't. Dang it anyway! Turned out the car in front of the girl I hit had to come to a sudden stop, the car in front of me was able to stop but I was not. My hood crinkled and the car I hit lost it's rear bumper. No one was hurt at all. I was going slow when I hit her. It didn't even really feel like I hit anything to be honest. I am sure there is thousands of dollars worth of damage though. Man, that $500 lunch wasn't worth it!

I got back to the office and my boss told me to leave early. I left at a little after 4 pm and came home to get in a little workout. 2 miles on the treadmill at a heart rate of approx 135. I'm trying out the Maffetone Method so my heart rate monitor and I are going to become close friends. After the run I lifted some weights. I need to stick with the regular strength training especially since I'm getting older.

We made some gnocchi (ick) and hung out with the kiddos. Tomorrow we will spend some time with my mom and sist and her family. It should be fun!

Is Everyone a Swimmer??

2012-02-15T20:39:00.001-06:00

We are at the beginning part of our Ironman 70.3 training and I am slowly warming up to swimming again. I loathe swimming but it isn't the actual swimming part that I hate so much. It is the prep (get the suit on, throw some clothes over top, get the car warmed up, drive to the gym, go get a locker and get dressed down to the suit then walk out to the pool only to find out I have to circle swim) that irritates the heck out of me! Are you kidding me! I'm not good enough to circle swim! Why are there so many freakin' people swimming? It's a pain in the arse and if i didn't have to do it to prevent myself from drowning in a race I would only done a suit at a beach or while on vacation. Seriously, people don't swim 36 laps for fun do they?

Other than the swimming, training has been going ok. Running was seeming hard and so I backed off a little in intensity and now I feel slow but I'm not hitting the wall during every run. Biking is all indoors at this time of the year. We usually hit a spin class once a week to try and spice it up a bit.

I also started lifting weights after 2 of my easy lunch runs during the week. It has been going well but man do I feel like a weakling. We are thinking about running a half marathon in April.

Work has been crazy busy and life is flying by. Sam is 2 1/2 and continues to amaze us every day. She graduated to big girl panties a few weeks ago and has been doing amazing. We have still been putting her in a diaper at night but tonight she really protested. I told her we would try no diaper at night this weekend. She started tumbling classes at a gymnastics and dance studio in town and she loves it! They do all sorts of fun stuff: forward rolls, balance beams, rings, parallel bars, uneven bars and more. She's a pretty strong little stinker too!

Brett is 5 months old and is such a happy guy. He is starting to really grasp things and of course once he gets them in his hands they find their way to his mouth. He's been fighting repeat ear infections and some bronchialitis and we had to give him a round of steroids, antibiotics and we are now the proud owners of a nebulizer. He is also starting to roll over on purpose.

Other than that, not much is new. We need to spend some more time with family. We haven't been over to visit my sister since Brett was born. We need to change that soon. Life is so busy and we need to carve out some time with the important people in our lives. We need a non prompted priority shift. Maybe this weekend or next?

Going back to work soon

2011-11-17T21:40:00.001-06:00

So my little man is now 11 weeks old. Wow, does time fly. He is getting so big and we are enjoying him so much. I will be sad to not spend every moment of my day with him but I am a little excited to return to work too. I'm getting a little bored at home. Oh, who am I kidding I'm not bored but I do need to stop eating all of the M&M's we have which are supposed to be reserved for rewarding Sam for going potty!

My mom was here all of last week and I enjoyed spending time with her and being able to hand Brett over to her for a little while so I could get some things done. He clearly enjoys spending time with her and she has an ability to put him to sleep that I lack! If I'm holding him I better be feeding him or chances are pretty good that he is going to be screaming at me!

Wish me luck on the 28th. I hope I won't be in tears after dropping the kiddos off together at day care for the first time. Oh and writing that big weekly check! :-(

Sam Update: She is so stinking cute and so smart! I'm sure all parents say that about their kids but she just continues to amaze us every day. She is getting too tall for her 2T pants and we are working on potty training. She had been doing great until about a month ago and then she decided to go on a potty chair strike. We have managed to make it interesting for her again by telling her she can wear a dress and her princess shoes after she gets home from day care every day if she uses the potty. We've been doing that for about a week now and it seems to be helping. I'm keeping my fingers crossed!

Other than that the only thing monumental is that she has been waking up at night this week. I think I brought this on myself though. I used to put her in her bed while she was still awake. Our routine was this: read 3 stories, say our prayers, listen to one song and then go to bed. It morphed into this over the past few weeks (probably since we brought Brett home from the hospital and I felt like I needed to comfort her more): read 3-4 stories, say our prayers, listen to as many songs as it takes for her to fall asleep or seem like she is very close to falling asleep. I was enjoying the cuddle time but I think that is making her reliant on me to fall asleep. Monday night she got up crying at 9:45pm and we put her back in bed. I think she got up again at 10:00pm and then Travis decided to lay on her floor until she fell asleep. She then woke up again around 2am and Travis put her back in bed. Then she was up for the day at 5:30am or so. The next night I put her in bed awake and she must have stayed there about a minute before she opened up her door crying. I put her back in bed and told her I loved her but it was time to sleep. She came out of her room crying at least 4 more times in the next ten minutes. I repeated the steps of putting her back to bed, giving her a kiss, saying I love you and it is time for sleep. She made it until about 4am and woke up again and left her room. We put her back in bed. She woke up again at 5:30am and we put her back in bed. She was up for the day at 5:45am. Tonight has gone a little better so far (I hope I'm not jinxing myself). We got her a new night light (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0036Z3DDC/ref=oh_o00_s00_i00_details) which she seems to like. She is sleeping with it in her bed right now. I told her that she needed to stay in her bed and sleep until it is light outside or until mommy or daddy come to get her. I told her we love her very much and that she is safe and that Jesus will keep her safe through the night. I reminded her that she is not alone. We are in the other room and we will be there all night and we will take care of her. She said ok several times. I gave her a kiss and put her in bed. I'm crossing my fingers.....

Brett Update: He is growing like a weed. At his two month appointment he was 11 lbs 6 oz and 23 inches long. He handled his vaccinations pretty well. He was really fussy last week and I was convinced he had an ear infection. I took him to the doctor and he said his ears look perfect but that he could have reflux. He prescribed Zantac and asked me to lay off of the dairy. It appears to be working. It could have just been that he was constipated too. I was working on preparing him for daycare and I pumped a few times to give him bottles. I mixed a few of them with some Similac Sensitve formula and I think it may have plugged him up. He usually poops 4+ times a day and for two days he only pooped once and it was tiny. A day after going back to nursing and no formula he pooped the biggest poop I have ever seen for a baby. It look like someone had dumped an entire large bottle of mustard in his diaper! Sorry for that visual!

Training: We have signed up for the Ironman 70.3 Racine which is on 7/15 next year. I know we can do it. I'm nervous about the swim. It is going to be long and worse than that it is going to be in Lake Michigan so it is going to be cold. Cold water makes me hyperventilate. I need to work on that. I have a sleeveless wetsuit and I'm thinking I might need to buy one with full sleves.

We have a cross country run on Saturday which we are doing with my sister and brother in law. It should be fun!

I also bought inserts for my shoes. I think I have plantar fascitis and I hope this works. Sometimes my heel even hurts when I am sleeping.

Well that is about it. I have to run.....gotta pump and feed my little man and then hit the sack!

The picture above is Sam & Brett with their cousins on Travis' side of the family.

I'm Having a Baby Today!

2011-09-01T07:06:00.001-05:00

It all started at about 1am. I rolled over in bed (no small feat at 9 months pregnant) and felt a little leakage. The question was....is it just me peeing myself for the 3,000th time since becoming pregnant or was it my water breaking. Then around 3 am I got up to pee and noticed pinkish colored fluid coming out of me. I also noticed my normal Braxton Hicks contractions were morphing into something much more uncomfortable. I went back to the bedroom and asked Travis if he was ready for his middle of the night labor journey to start. Shortly after we were both up and getting ready to head to L&D. I called my sister and she said she was on her way.

About 40 minutes later we were on our way out the door. When we were taken to a room they hooked me up to the contraction and baby heart rate monitor. My contractions were about 5 minutes apart. The nurse also checked dilation (I was at 3cm and approx 80% effaced). She also grabbed some fluid to do a check for amniotic fluid. That test came back negative but she really thought I had a leak so she had me lay on my side for approx 10 minutes. Then she came back in and used the speculum to check for pooling fluid. She found some and it tested positive. Since we weren't sure exactly when I had sprung a leak they wanted to start me on pitocin. I also needed antibiotics because my GBS test was positive.

They started the pitocin at a 1 at around 6 am. She just bumped it up to a 2 at 6:55am.

The rest of this post was finished on 9/2/2011

They broke my water around 7am. There was meconium in it. So of course I got a little nervous. The doctor tried to reassure me. This happens regularly. Don't worry about it. They will take care of him if needed. There will be a NICU nurse in the room just in case. I got an epidural at around 8am. By this point I was at 6 cm. I actually rolled around the idea of not getting one for a while. The contractions I had been experiencing to that point, while certainly painful, were not even close to as bad as the ones I had with Sam. I made my decision based on the fact that they were certain to only get worse and I know that sometimes pain is necessary and sometimes it's not. This wasn't one of those times. The epidural worked wonderfully with the exception of the fact that I totally lost control of my left leg again. I could wiggle my toes and lift my right leg but my left was worthless. I really hate that feeling.

2 hours later I started to feel some pressure. I thought I just needed to up the epidural dosage so I told our awesome nurse my thoughts. She agreed initially and gave me the little dose trigger so I could control my dosage (within their already preset parameters). She also said she was going to check me really quick. Then she said, "well we could increase your dosage or we could just have a baby. What do you want to do?". Uhhh, no brainer here....let's have this baby. She started having me do some controlled pushing to get the baby in place. I got a little nervous because I was watching the baby's heart rate and seeing the decelerations that corresponded with my contractions. I started to worry about a possible c-section. She assured me everything was going just fine. The baby's head was being squished when I contracted but that he was not in any danger. A few minutes later she called the troops in. I probably ended up pushing about 10 times and then there he was. At first he was a little blue and not crying so I started to get nervous again. They grabbed the little suction ball and suctioned some stuff out and a few moments later he was screaming. Is there anything better than a newborn screaming his/her arrival into this great big world?

They didn't have to take him to the nursery or to NICU for any special attention. They will watch him closely for GBS. He is doing great. He is breastfeeding like a champ. He just got back from being circumcised. He weighed in at 7 lbs 5 oz and is 21 inches long! We named him Brett Ryan - there is no rhyme or reason to the name. We just like it. Big sister came to visit last night and she seems to like him. We should be headed home by noon tomorrow!

Ironman 70.3 Wisconsin Next Summer am I CRAZY?

2011-07-23T21:31:00.000-05:00

So watching tris has been fun this summer but it has left me with a serious desire to race. Now I've got a wild hair up my butt to bust out my first 1/2 Ironman next summer. Am I nuts? Sam will be 3 and baby #2 will be under 1. Is it even possible? Part of me says heck yeah. I trained for the Goofy Challenge last winter...how much worse is training for a 70.3?

Moving on, yesterday was my birthday. I celebrated by taking the day off and spending most of it by myself. I did grocery and baby shopping. Then made some chocolate chunk frosted brownies. Last night Travis and I did a bit more baby shopping then went to Buffalo Wild Wings. I had some naked tenders and we shared some fries and fried dill pickle chips. I haven't had fried food in an eternity and those pickle chips were amazing!

My birthday presents were awesome too! Travis spoiled me with some new carbon aero bars and some Newton Gravity running shoes! I can't wait to use them!

Today has been busy. We went to spin class and I did some light weight lifting before class. I swear I got the stink eye stare from an older lady. Some people have such a huge problem with seeing pregnant people work out that it is ridiculous! Yesterday I took the dog for a jog and I about made a guy have a wreck when he saw me....33 weeks pregnant and running my dog in the pouring rain! I just chuckled to myself!

After spin we went and bought a new rug for the dining room and another for Sam's room. Then we had some lunch. Right now I'm trying to get a tired 2 year old to take a nap. I've been trying for 45 minutes so far with no luck!

Travis is going to Babies R Us to pick up our new crib & dresser. Then we are going to move Sam's stuff to her new room and get the nursery ready for #2. Oh, and I'm doing a bunch of laundry too!

Week 33 Has Arrived!!!

2011-07-18T21:33:00.003-05:00

So I have finally arrived at week 33 of pregnancy #2. On the one hand it is amazing how fast the time has gone but when I think about the fact that I still have 7 weeks left it seems like an eternity until it will be done. As I type this he is kicking around like crazy! My belly looks like some sort of a contortionist is stuck in there desperately trying to get out. This is one amazingly active little one. I've been feeling pretty good and I've been as active as ever. Today I did a 3.2 mile jog over lunch (1 mile jog, .1 mile walk repeated 3 times then .2 jog to finish it off). Tonight I went to spin class with the hubby. 58 minutes and 22 miles......those spin bikes are hard for me to figure out. It will say I burned diddly squat as far as calories goes but it says I rode 22 miles? Something is seriously wrong with that....it does not compute!

In other news, Travis went to his parents this weekend to help out on the far and my mom came over and stayed with Sam and I. We spent a lot of time with my sister and her girls and mom is still here. She is headed home tomorrow. I am so glad she came over and Sam loves her sooooo much!

Sam update: she turned two! I can't believe it! She was so cute! I made her a Cat in the Hat cake which turned out pretty good. She also came down with her first post tubes ear infection and I think this one has bothered her more than the ones she used to get when she was smaller. She was rubbing it and her head. I had to call the pediatrician and get a prescription on Sunday. Why do kids always get sick on the weekend? She seems like she is feeling better now.

I also have been fighting a sinus issue for several weeks. Ive never been more stuffed up in my life and the one thing my doctor told me to take....Tylenol sinus....isn't being made currently. What is up with Tylenol these days? I finally got a prescription for a zpac last week and I feel a lot better but today is the last day of pills and I don't feel 100% yet. I think the zpac continues to work for days after the last dose.....I hope so!

I also watched The Ironman World Championship feature that was on NBC on Sunday and I've started yearning for my first race post baby. I need to look for a run I can do yet this fall but I'm triathlon dreaming for 2012 right now. I'm trying to talk my sister-in-law and hubby into a 1/2 Ironman next fall. Am I crazy? Is this doable with a baby and a two year old and a full time job?

Anyway, I better sign off. Night-night!

3 Hour Glucose Test....it's GO time and I hope I kick your butt!!

2011-05-24T08:42:00.002-05:00

I'm at the doctors office right now doing the three hour glucose test. So far so good. My fasting blood sugar was 67 and they want it to be below 95. I then downed 100 g of glucose and now I sit and wait. Blood draw #2 is in 31 minutes!

Side note, I've eaten asparagus three times this week and I'm loving it but I swear I'm giving off an asparagus odor right now. I've heard that it makes your pee smell funny and it has done that too but should you be able to smell it coming out my pores? Odd!

Blood draw #2 was a success as well. 146 and they want it to be below 180.

Blood draw #3 was a success also. 113 and they want it to be below 155. I'm outta here an hour early! No finger pricking for me!

Now I know I am going to eat way too much sugar today though!

Irritating!

2011-05-20T21:30:00.001-05:00

I had my 24 week doctor appointment on Wednesday and it included the standard gestational diabetes screening test. Well, I failed! For those not familiar with the test they have you drink a high glucose drink and then check your blood sugar an hour later. They want you blood sugar reading to be less than 140 at that time. Mine was 162! This is so irritating to me! I exercise and eat healthy 90% of the time and I fail. What gives! I failed the one hour test when I was pregnant with Sam and passed the three hour. I'm doing the three hour next Tuesday morning. Hopefully I pass his time too.

Exercising is still going pretty well. I've started retaining a little fluid in my legs though. I ordered some Zoot compression socks and some CWX compression tights and so far they have been amazing! I really have noticed less swelling and my legs feel more fresh when I run. I've actually bumped my running mileage and backed off the biking because running has felt so good. I hope this continues!

We are also working on summer vacation plans. Travis signed up for a sprint tri in Boulder, CO at the end of June. That should be fun. Hopefully the car ride out there will be tolerable for me and hopefully I will be able to hike at 7 months pregnant. We shall see!

Tomorrow my mom, little sister and I are going to see Pirates. My mom loves Johnny Depp. I'm excited to see it too! This is the first movie I've been excited to go see in a long time. I hope it doesn't disappoint!

Almost 20 weeks along...still spinning and running and feeling good!

2011-04-15T22:00:00.000-05:00

We had a second level ultrasound last Thursday and things looked great. We found out the sex of baby #2 but we are keeping it a secret for the time being. We'll reveal it to my side of the family next weekend and to the hubby's side at the beginning of May. We want to do it in person and we have some fun planned - not a full blown Gender Reveal Party like some people have. If you've never heard of it, google it and check out how elaborate some of these events get! Anyway, we are super excited as the reason we did the second level ultrasound was because we did the first trimester screen for Down Syndrome and the odds came back at 1/170. The odds based on my age alone are 1/95 (so the doctor tells me but everywhere I look that would make me really old and I'm only moderately old so I really don't know where they came up with that figure). The test didn't put my mind at ease so we did the second level ultrasound to check for any soft markers for DS. The doctor said the baby looks great and was actually measuring about a week ahead of my due date. I don't think I will get another ultrasound so that may be the last time we get to see the little one until he/she comes screaming into this great big world.

Running and biking (via spin class, indoor trainer and even an occasional easy ride outside) are still going pretty good. I feel much larger than I did at this stage with Sam but I haven't taken a belly picture yet to compare. I don't know if I'm going to....looking at the ones from when I was pregnant with Sam kind of creeps me out! Last night a friend I used to work with went to spin with me. It was her first ever class and she did great. I forgot to check in on her today to see how she was feeling. I need to call her tomorrow.

Sam update - she will be 22 months old at the end of this month and is so much fun. She talks up a storm and can keep herself somewhat entertained now and I'm loving this age. I finally don't feel like I have a kid strapped to my hip 24/7 - but that will soon start all over again. I took some great pictures of her last weekend and the weekend before that and I've posted a few here.

Mom update - she finished radiation on Wednesday!!!! Now it is hormone therapy and lifestyle management and hopes and prayers that the cancer never ever returns. I still talk to her every day and Sam and I pray for her every night. She has a pretty bad radiation burn in her left armpit area. Hopefully now that treatment is over, it will start to heal nicely.

Well, gotta run. The hubby has been in PA for training and I need to go pick him up at the airport. Take care!

Cookie Ministry

2011-03-20T22:06:00.000-05:00

I am officially going to start utilizing my love of baking for a good purpose and since I am pregnant and can't eat raw cookie dough my figure shouldn't suffer too much. I signed up for the "Cookie Ministry" at church. We make cookies and they get delivered in a variety of ways to the community throughout the month. Some are put in meals they hand out to the homeless. Some are delivered to local patient care centers such as those for pregnant teens. This should be fun but it is a lot of cookies. They ask for six dozen once a month. I need to buy some cooling racks. I've always just sat my cookies to cool on foil on my counter top. The hubby thinks it is time to upgrade a bit.

I think these will be my first batch which I stumbled across on this blog: http://www.mybakingaddiction.com/chocolate-chip-cookiesa-must-make/

Exercise update. Last week looked like this:

Bike: 70.95 Mi - 4h 15m Pace: 17.08 Mi/hr

Run: 11.00 Mi - 1h 54m

I also spent about 20 minutes lifting some weights and a little bit of time on the elliptical. I didn't run as much as I would have liked but I did put in 4 days of running. It is difficult to have any mile accumulation when I'm really only doing 3 miles per session.

Today I ran outside with Travis & Sam right after church. It was about 65 degrees and we had a break in rain showers so we decided to take advantage of it. We ran 3.62 miles and Sam fell asleep about 20 minutes into it so while I was done running after the 3.62 we did walk for a total of around 5.5 miles. It was nice. Now if I could just stop peeing myself when I run I would be a happy camper. TMI I know but hey it is one of the crappy things about being pregnant and it is what I am dealing with every time I run so I figured I may as well share - sorry!

Hotel Gyms

2011-03-16T21:24:00.000-05:00

I travel about once a month for work. I try to just be gone overnight but sometimes I have to make a longer trip. This week is one of those longer trips and I hate it! I miss Travis, Sam and Dakota like crazy. I can't relax an sleep at night. An I hate workin out in the hotel gym! It is always full of work out wanna-bees. I feel bad typing that because at least they are making some effort, but when they impact my workout it drives me crazy!

I hav spent around an hour in the gym every day and since becoming pregnant I rarely just do one activity per workout. I like to run a couple of miles then jump on the bike or elliptical then hit the treadmill again and repeat the cycle. Well every night someone has grabbed the bike about a minute before I was ready to make the switch. Thank goodness they don't work out for long....the longest I have waited is 10 minutes but it still drives me crazy! Maybe I'm just being mean or maybe it is the hormones!

Today I cut back just a little and did 20 minutes on the treadmill and 20 on the bike. My heel hurts! I know I need some new running shoes but I think this might be more than that. I don't want to say plantar fasciitis but I'm a little concerned here.

I am loving the bike though and I've been doing a lot of that.

Today I ate a few of my favorites...Jimmy John's #1 with no cheese or mayo (and for those wondering I did heat the ham to steaming first), salt and vinegar chips for lunch and a chicken burrito bowl from Chipolte for dinner. I'm getting hungry again and would love some M&M's but I think I will force myself to eat some yogurt and All Bran.

Sam update, she ran into a fence at daycare today and cut her lip with her teeth. Travis sent me a pic and her little lip is so swollen. Poor baby. They said she cried a little bit but cried more because she dropped her popsicle. Now that sounds like my little girl!

Spin class while pregnant - good idea????

2011-02-28T20:47:00.000-06:00

So I am now 13 weeks pregnant with #2. I went for the NT test today and got to see the little bean on ultrasound. He/she was being a little stubborn but so cute. The tech was trying to get a good profile to look at the fluid behind the neck but little one was jumping from facing us and waving to a total 180 with it's little butt side pointing at us. After a half hour we got one second of the perfect position and the ultrasound lady captured it perfectly. Everything looked good. They took some blood from me and we will have the results in 7-10 days.

Exercise-wise I've been hitting spin class at the gym with the hubby almost twice a week. I'm sure some people who have been to spin are probably freaking out right now. Spin is HARD they will say and I agree it isn't easy but I'm not quite following the instructors direction (I tend to back off a few gears and RPM's). I sweat a bit but my heart rate never gets up there very high. Not even close to what it does when I run. I think I average about 125 BPM so I think I am ok. I'm just wondering how many dirty looks I will get walking in visibly pregnant. Or maybe by then I won't dare to enter. We shall see.

Since today is the last day of the month it is now time to post my time and mileage for Feb:

Bike: 9h 52m - 166.29 Mi

Run: 9h 03m 30s - 51.44 Mi

Strength: 1h 05m

Elliptical Training: 2h 35m

Walking: 3h 02m

I'm feeling good. The only problem I've had has to do with needing to pee every 5 seconds while running and the simple truth that sometimes I don't make it to the bathroom before some leaks out. Disgusting I know but I want to hear from a pregnant woman who has never wet her pants!

Mom update: She started radiation today! I know it makes her nervous. I pray every night for God to bless her and the doctors and nurses and let him know that she is in his hands. That's all we can really do but I really hope that radiation isn't too hard on her and she can relax soon and not feel so anxious.

Sam update: Weekends are tough. I think it is because she is sooooo stimulated at day care with other kids and all that she gets bored with just Travis and I. Nap time is ridiculous. It has come to me having to rock her and then hold her while she sleeps. She won't fall asleep for Travis any more. Yesterday he was trying to get her to sleep and she wouldn't go so we decided to put her in her crib and see if she would calm herself down and take a nap. About 2 minutes later we heard a thud and then she came running into the living room. No cries, no whimpers, nothing but somehow she climbed out of the crib and must have landed on her feet and took off. Needless to say after we made sure she was ok I had to rock and hold her while she slept. I vow baby #2 will be different. Baby #2 will nap in the crib. Yeah - we'll see how that works out.

Oh, one other thing. I made a monkey cake for my niece's birthday. This is my first attempt at decorating a cake. It turned out ok. Still not sure how it tastes. The littlest niece got sick so we had to postpone the party to next weekend. Hopefully it keeps in the freezer.

Bun #2 is in the Oven - due 9/7/2011

2011-02-21T22:14:00.000-06:00

So I thought I would announce it today. Samantha is going to have a little baby brother or sister. Estimated date of arrival is 9/7/2011. We are sooooooo excited and yet a little tiny bit terrified at the same time. I think that is normal or at least I hope it is normal. Sam will be 2 years and approximately 3 months old by the time the baby arrives. Terrible 2's and a newborn.....I must be loony!

So far things have been going good. I'm not sure but I think I am up a couple of lbs but it feels like much more. We haven't taken any pictures but I'm pretty sure I look much more pregnant at this point in time then I did at the same time with Sam. I've had terrible constipation and switched to Flintstones, a DHA supplement and a bowl of Total cereal every other day. It seems to have helped a little bit. I've been doing good keeping up the workouts. Here is what last week looked like:

Weekly totals & Avgs
Biking (indoor trainer and spin classes) 53.14 Mi - 3h 12m Pace: 16.62 Mi/hr
Running 12.00 Mi - 2h 04m Pace: 10m 20s /Mi
Other (walking and elliptical) 1.67 hours
Strength 15 minutes

So far I've been managing an average of 12 miles running per week and approx 30 miles of biking. I'm looking to keep that average pretty much where it is.

I am also secretly glad I won't be able to compete in any triathlons this summer because that means I don't have to swim! I really don't like swimming! I love triathlon but I HATE swimming!

I also need to get this diet thing figured out. I try to be soooooo good and then I end up craving sweets. I think I need a nutritionist to review what I'm doing. Actually, I think I need to do some BMR testing after this pregnancy is over with to figure out where I need to be so I can plan my day accordingly. I'm probably not eating enough on most days and then my body knows it needs the nutrients so I have cravings to fill that need. Someday I'll get this figured out. Today I had some frosting off of some chocolate cake and I just had to down a bowl of Total because I just felt hungry.

Side note and update on the family. Mom of course finished chemo mid January and now it is on to radiation which she starts this week. 36 sessions and then hopefully she is cancer free forever. Love You Mom! I know it has been hard. Today she had a little scare. She hasn't been feeling the best - has had some odd upper right quadrant pain since about 1/2 way through chemo and she has been forgetful. Really forgetful. This afternoon she was doing some stuff around the house and got faint. Did I mention her blood sugar has been a bit off lately too. I think the change of not being on all of the chemo drugs is playing a little number on her diabetes treatment plan. Anyway, she called 911 because she thought she was going to pass out and was scared. She spent the normal 4-5 hours at the hospital in the ER and they did all sorts of tests. All of the scans show nothing (PET Scan, CT Scan, Ultrasound of her abdomen, liver, pancreas and gallbladder, etc., etc) thankfully but it is a bummer when you can't figure out why you feel the way you do. She also has a history of acid reflux and has had a few bouts of nausea and has thrown up a few times. Odd, she made it through chemo without too much nausea and I don't think she even threw up once but now that she is done she is having problems. All I can say is keep fighting through it mom and take it easy. I think you need to rest! We love you!

Last day of chemotherapy for mom

2011-01-14T13:19:00.004-06:00

Today I am sitting with mom & Julee while mom gets her last chemotherapy treatment. It is a big day! After this she has reconstruction and then radiation. Then she is done with treatment and we pray that she is cancer free forever! We had a big cookie made for all of the nurses, admins, doctors, etc., etc. that mom has gotten to know very well over the last 5 months. They have done an amazing job over the past several months!

In running news, we just got home yesterday from Disney World. Travis, my brother-in-law and I completed the Goofy Challenge and it was hard. I don't advise anyone to do their first marathon the day after running a half marathon. I hit the wall or something like that at mile 22 although I don't know if it was a typical wall hitting experience. I couldn't catch my breath and started to cry. I walked for a bit and thought I was ok....I wasn't. My hubby made me walk for three miles. We ran the last one. I'm glad I did it but I really don't think I will run another. I will stick to halfs and triathlons!

Marathon Taper Has Begun!!!

2010-12-28T20:43:00.004-06:00

We are two weeks from race day and are in full taper mode. Partially by design, and partially because we are sick. Both of us. I think the 20 mile long runs have caught up to us. I'm seriously thinking that another marathon is not in my future. I bet everyone feels that way two weeks before the race and maybe my thoughts will change but right now I don't see how.

On a very good note I passed the 1,000 mile mark for running in 2010. This is a pretty big accomplishment for me. I can't say as I ever thought I would run that far!

I hope everyone had a good Christmas. Ours was good - rather eventful but still good. We spent Christmas day with my mom, sisters and their families for the first time since I don't know when. Mom has always worked on holidays - it is good for the extra pay but since she isn't working right now we took advantage of it. We all went to church on Friday night and then came back to our house for soup and the plan was to decorate cookies for Santa and then maybe play a few games. Then we would track Santa for a bit and hit the hay. Well, it didn't turn out that way. After we got home from church my 4 year old nephew and his sister were pretty wound up. My nephew ended up slipping and hitting his forehead on the coffee table which opened up a decent sized gash in his head. My sister and I took him to the ER to get glued back up. Santa was at the hospital when we were there and visited him. He got four presents!!!! He did so good - and was so brave.

After we got home my sister and I decorated the cookies and had a glass of wine. It was fun.

On Christmas day we headed to my other sister's house for lunch and present opening. The food was great and we got to take a few good pictures. When we got home Travis started feeling a little crappy. He was running a fever and just feeling rotten in general. He didn't eat or really drink anything the rest of the day. At about 11:45pm I decided to head to bed and woke him up (he had been snoozing on the couch). He got up and followed me to the bedroom and went into the bathroom. I jumped into bed. A few seconds later he opened the door and then I heard a horrific thud. He passed out and was laying on the floor with his eyes open but he wasn't responding to me. It seemed like an eternity but I'm sure it was no longer than 30 seconds. When I first got over there it looked like he had blood coming out of his ear. That made me nervous. Then I noticed the blood was actually coming from his chin. He must have hit the foot board of the bed on his way down. The gash was decent sized and I knew we needed to go to the ER. He just wanted me to put a butterfly Band-Aid on it (he is such a manly man you know). I called the Ask A Nurse line and they said that yes he did need to go to the ER.

I got Travis up and out into the car and then went to get Sam. She looked a little dazed and confused but she did great the whole time we were there. She sat on my lap and played with her doll and then ate some cheese crackers. We were there until around 2:30am and Travis got 7 stitches. But that isn't the end of the story.

On Sunday night he thought it was swelling a bit and by Monday after work he decided he needed to go to the doctor. His wound had started seeping pus and blood. Ick! He is now on antibiotics and had to stay home from work today. The doctor told him he should call the hospital and complain about the fact that he developed an infection. Now that we think about it, I don't know that they even washed the cut out before they sewed him up. I know they wiped the blood away but I don't think they cleaned it out. That is disturbing. To add to things I have a sinus infection and until about 4 hours ago I was feeling pretty crappy as well. Thank goodness for antibiotics!

Sam Update: Our baby girl is now 18 months old. I can't believe it! She is so much fun now. She is learning so much every day and is so excited to share her knowledge with us. She is also very generous with hugs and kisses and is so sweet most of the time.

Mom Update: She is doing well. She has 3 more taxol treatments and then will get her spacers taken out and her implants put in. Then she has 12 weeks of radiation. Hopefully the radiation won't damage the implants too much. I also want to put her in a bubble to protect her from all of the illness that is around her right now. My sister's entire family went through or is going through some sort of a stomach bug complete with a low grade fever. Mom has a sinus infection and got some antibiotics for it on Sunday. Hopefully those help her out. Keep her in your prayers.

I'm sure I won't post again before Saturday so HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!

Toddler Menu

2010-12-06T18:41:00.000-06:00

Bread, corn & peaches. That is pretty much it for the little one. I think she is on a hunger strike right now. Oh wait, I can get her to eat organic graham cracker bunnies on occasion as well. I wonder how long this is going to last?

Nearing Year End Thoughts

2010-12-01T21:36:00.000-06:00

Wow - another year is almost done! I've always thought that time went by too quickly but since I've become a mom I think someone put the clock in super speed mode. Really, can we just slow it down a little bit! In many ways 2010 has not been a good year (mom diagnosed with BC, Travis still not loving (who am I kidding......I should say not even remotely close to liking and simply tolerating because it is the right thing to do and he is a great guy) his job, my company deciding to close it's doors and being lucky to still be employed but not doing a job that I would have hand picked for myself, Travis' dad having multiple surgeries, etc., etc.

But I can't be all gloom and doom. The things I am thankful for are plentiful as well. Mom is doing pretty well & we are praying every day that she is healthy and that she, the medicine, and doctors do what they need to do to keep her that way. Please God, bless her and our family with health and happiness. Please bless her with continued employment as well! I am still employed and did get a promotion and I really enjoy the people I am working with. Sam is growing like crazy and is a huge blessing in our lives every single day! My older sister and her family moved to town this fall. My hubby is amazing! I have a great vacation coming up in January! And did I mention my hubby is amazing???????

It has been a busy year of training as well. I did two triathlons this year, a few 5Ks, and I trained for a half marathon and a 20K that I didn't end up running at the last minute do to illness. I am in the home stretch of training for the Goofy at Disney in January. Looking back at 2010 here are my training stats so far. I'm hoping to get to 1,000 miles running by the end of the year!

2010 totals through the end of November

Bike: 64h 46m 03s - 1064.34 Mi

Run: 149h 46m 59s - 883.57 Mi

Swim: 6h 38m 38s - 14000 M

We spent Thanksgiving with Travis' family and took some great pictures of Sam outside. It is hard to believe that the temp was 55 degrees on Saturday.

This weekend we are planning on a 10 mile run on Friday and a 18-20 mile run on Saturday. It is time to get ready for the back to back that will be the Disney Half and Disney Marathon. Wish me luck - hopefully I'll be relaxing on Saturday night basking in a Big XII Championship for my beloved Huskers! GO BIG RED!

My Toenails Are Going to Fall Off

2010-11-22T21:30:00.001-06:00

So about a month ago I did an 18 mile long run with toenails that were slightly too long. BAD IDEA!!!! Now both of the toenails on my big toes are turning colors. Other than the fact that they are turning colors they have been a little tender but nothing too major.

Tonight I ran 7 on the treadmill at a pretty good clip and my right big toe is starting to swell a little and it feels warm. The funky color of the nail now looks more purplish. I don't need toe issues with six weeks of training left before the Goofy! Does anyone know how to speed up the healing process of your toes??????

I'm keeping my fingers crossed that the toenails either fall off quickly or heal quickly. Either way, I promise not to share any more icky foot stories.

Happy Running!

Trader Joe's has arrived

2010-11-11T20:17:00.000-06:00

I've read so much about Trader Joe's and I was so excited when I heard one would be opening in my area in November. It opened about a week ago and I hadn't gone until today.

I had today off for Veteran's Day and I made the most of it. I got up and took Sam to day care (I always feel guilty taking her to day care when I have the day off). Then I put in 8 miles on the treadmill. After my run, I cleaned my bathrooms, scrubbed my floors and did some light dusting. Then I headed out for a hair cut. After that it was time for a quick lunch - Subway turkey & ham with apples. Then I headed to TJ's. The place was a mad house. I bought a few things such as organic chicken breast, organic wheat bread, lobster ravioli, sprouted wheat bread, some greek yogurt and some fresh salsa. The experience wasn't that great - way too many people. I didn't have time to really look around. I'm happy they are here though. The prices for the organic stuff were cheaper than what I am used to paying. Hopefully this will spur some more competitive pricing.

For dinner I decided it was time to really cook. I was hungry for Mexican and found a recipe online for Mexican Chicken Casserole from Cooking Light. I have never cooked anything from Cooking Light that has turned out worth a darn but this stuff was awesome. It took me an hour to prepare (which is why I don't cook much) but in the end it was worth it. I topped it with some of the Trader Joe's fresh salsa, which was outstanding, and a little light sour cream. The picture above is from myrecipes and it actually looked like that when it was done. That never happens to me!

Twenty Miler......I Survived!

2010-11-06T21:12:00.000-05:00

Wow you marathon runners are amazing. We did our 1st ever 20 mile run this morning and I am mentally drained! My feet are some too and my legs were really tight. Now they are starting to swell up a bit. I woner if the leg poofiness is normal. I hate the Michelin Man feeling.

The first several miles were hard. It was 24 degrees when we started running and my lower half wasn't dressed appropriately. My buns and thighs went numb and stayed that way until mile 10. 10-15 went ok and after that things got progressively worse. The last two were tough but we made it! I'm proud of my hubby too!!!

In two weeks we go 22. Two weeks after that is 24 the 26 and we are good to go.

20 miles tomorrow - I'm nervous

2010-11-05T12:12:00.000-05:00

Tomorrow we have a 20 mile long run and I'm feeling anxious. Butterflies in my tummy before a race nervous. Is that normal. I also feel a cold coming on. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it doesn't get worse.

I'm also in Cedar Rapids sitting with my mom & sister while mom gets Taxol. We met with the oncologist this morning and she is so nice. Mom is doing well. She may have a touch of Hand and Foot Syndrome from the previous chemo drugs. WBC count was good.

Is it time to break out the crockpot?

2010-11-01T21:20:00.001-05:00

Fall has arrived and right along with it I can hear my crock pot calling my name. What is better than coming home to a nice hot bowl of chili or some roast and veggies. I love it, but I rarely take the time to get it ready to cook so instead I end up throwing some frozen tortellini in some boiling water, topping with a little marinara sauce and some easy fruit for dessert. I'm trying to break the pasta habit. We really need to start rocking the crock. This week my goal is to find some delicious veggie filled recipes I can throw together in the morning and then let it cook to perfection all day. Training for a marathon as the days grow shorter and colder is tough. Finding time to eat and feed a 16 month old before 7pm is even tougher. I hope the crock pot is the answer to my problems.

Running has been going ok. Saturday will be my very first 20 mile long run. I wish I could run faster so it wouldn't take up so much of my day but that isn't going to happen and now is certainly not the time to try and push it.

Sam update - she is 16 months and is running now. She is repeating almost everything we say and is able to identify body parts. She also is developing a love of baby dolls. She likes to get a dish towel out of the kitchen and cover them up and then pick them up and pat them on the back. It is so cute.

Yesterday was Halloween and we didn't do much Trick-Or-Treating but she did put on her costume while we were at Travis' sister's house this weekend. My nephew only lasted a few minutes in his frog costume before he flipped out a bit. Sam did ok - she had a cute Tinkerbell costume. I wish the cute shoes I bought to match would have fit!

One thing they were talking about on the radio this morning is how many neighborhoods have "Trick-Or-Drinking" for the adults who are taking their kids around. Is this a weird Iowa thing or do other areas do this as well?

Mom Update: She had her first round of Taxol last Friday and it doesn't appear to be nearly as toxic (at least short term) as the A/C. Mom is concerned about neuropothy though and that is a longer term side effect. I think there are also some heart related side effects to watch out for. I've done a lot of digging around on the internet and this appears to be the common course of treatment and it is scheduled to continue for another 11 weeks. Then there is a short break before radiation is scheduled to begin. Mom isn't too excited about radiation and she is seriously thinking about not doing it. The doctor wants her to take the treatments. We'll see what happens. Sam and I are headed over there on Friday. I want to sit with her through her treatment and then her birthday is Sunday so we will have some fun.

I'll sign off for now - I need to start recipe hunting! Oh and one last thing - GO BIG RED! My beloved Huskers played a great game on Saturday afternoon. It was a beautiful day with a beautiful result on the football field - you can't ask for much more than that. Now it is time to beat up on the Clones!

18 Miles - Down

2010-10-23T21:20:00.000-05:00

Today I ran the longest long run of my life. 18 miles. Wow. Who would have thunk it.

Travis and I hit the trail late this morning and it took forever but we got it done. I really didn't feel too bad. Travis cramped up pretty bad and could hardly walk for a few hours after we finished. We didn't set ourselves up very well....we didn't eat anything before we started even though it was almost lunch time. We took some Chomps with us but that probably wasn't enough.

My sister and family watched Sam for us while we ran. Having family around is so awesome.

We are kicking back now watching a little football after running to Jimmy John's for a sandwich. I've been eating really well lately, mostly organic and such but JJ is a treat for us and always tastes great after a long run!

Sam Update: I was out of town for 4 days and when I picked her up from daycare yesterday afternoon I swear she looked like she had changed. They grow so stinking fast it is unbelievable. This morning she wanted to color so I put her in her highchair, got out some crayons and a coloring book and let her go to town. She scribbled allover her tray as well (no biggie - it washes off) and took a small bite or two out of the colors but she had fun.

This weekend we were supposed to go to the zoo for trick or treating. I bought Sam a Tinkerbell costume this week along with some really cute jellies. Well, we ended up not going. My sister & her family and my mom didn't come to town because mom is still not feeling well. She has a cough now. I talked them into going to the doctor yesterday morning and her WBC count is really low (something like 800 if that makes any sense) and they could hear some wheezing and rattling in one of her lungs. She has no fever but I'm wondering if her body will even let her get a fever since her count is so low. They gave her some antibiotics and said if she gets a fever or starts coughing up greenish or yellow stuff she needs to call them. My sister said she sounded better today - it appears the wheezing may be dissipating. Please keep her in your prayers.

Well, I have to go, I need to kick my feet up and watch a little football before we hit the sack. My Huskers won today so all is good.

Goodnight!

Why does the baby always get sick when one of us is traveling

2010-10-21T17:50:00.000-05:00

I'm on my first work related trip in years. I am also not home to rock my 16 month old baby girl to sleep for the first time since the day she was born. I'm doing OK. I miss her and my incredibly awesome hubby like crazy but I'm managing. I talked to her on the phone last night. I said "Hi, baby" and I swear she said "Hi, baby" right back. It was so cute.

All isn't rosy with her though. She has come down with a bug of some sort. Daycare called yesterday at noon and Travis had to go pick her up. She has a slight fever and seems a little tired but other than that she seems OK. She got her 15 month vaccinations last Friday so I wonder if she is having a reaction to one of them. I think the MMR shot often has a delayed reaction. I really want to drive home right now but I can't. My older sister is taking care of her today & hopefully she can go back to day care tomorrow. I can't wait to see her and Travis tomorrow night.

Mom update: She did complete her A/C chemo last Thursday. She hasn't been feeling well this week though. She thinks she is fighting a little bit of a cold (my niece and nephew have both had fevers lately and she lives with them). Yesterday she felt good enough to go out for breakfast with a friend but ate some greasier food and she said her tummy hasn't felt very good since then. Hopefully she gets better quickly.

Goofy training has been going pretty well. I have not done this much running in my life but since I haven't run a marathon before I guess that is to be expected. I just wish I ran a little faster so it didn't take me so long to do my runs. Oh well, I know I'm not fast and never will be so that is what I get when adding on the miles. This weekend is my first 18 mile long run. I'm looking forward to it. Saturday is going to fly by....18 mile run in the morning, Nebraska football game on TV in the afternoon and a trip to the zoo for trick or treating in the late afternoon/early evening. My mom, sister & family are planning on coming over too. I'm going to be beat by Sunday morning!

Gotta run.....the Mall of America is calling my name!

This one will bring tears to your eyes

2010-10-20T22:16:00.002-05:00

I do not think I have posted the link to Baby Khloe Sassman's story on here yet. She is from a town near me and some of my work friends know her family. Read the journal when you have some time....it is a long story brimming with amazing faith and love. I think it will touch your heart! www.caringbridge.org/visit/khloesassman/journal

Mom is done with A/C Chemo

2010-10-14T22:29:00.000-05:00

Mom finished her 8 week course of A/C Chemo today. She has done great. I have been super paranoid that she was going to get sick & still am. I want to put her in a bubble but I know you can't do that. She needs to live her life and get out when she feels she needs to.

She still isn't working and I'm getting a little nervous that she will eventually lose her job and her benefits. I'm not sure what we would do then. She was working part time as an LPN. Right now she just doesn't have the energy to care for patients. She can last an hour or two before she needs some rest. That just doesn't work in the nursing environment. She has a little chemo brain going on as well but not really too bad. Her WBC count has been low at least once and it was then that she was thinking about going back to work. The doctor put the kibosh on that quickly. She has applied for SS - Disability and possibly early retirement. Does anyone know how health insurance works if you are on Social Security/Disability?

Sam & I visited her this weekend while Travis headed to help his dad with harvest. We went to the pumpkin farm with mom, my sister & her family. We got to celebrate my nephew's birthday too. It was a great weekend. The weather was perfect. I'm including some pictures from the weekend in this post.

Now on to marathon (to be more accurate "Goofy" training). Last week looked like this. Monday - 3 miles at 5-10K pace, Tuesday 3 miles, Wednesday - 5 miles, Thursday - off, Friday - 3 miles, Saturday - 15 miles (which I did on the treadmill in my sister's basement. Thank goodness for college football even though the Michigan vs. Michigan State game wasn't that great). I felt pretty good all week. The program I am following has you running really long every other weekend. For some reason I feel really drained the week after the long run. I think I'm still working hard to build endurance. Next weekend is an 18 mile long run. I've never even seriously thought about running that far. WOW!

I can't wait to get to Disney in January. We are going to have such a great time. The runs will be fun and then we are going to relax. I'm not going to let anything bother me.

In my last post I mentioned that I had bought a few books. I've been reading Master Your Metabolism and Anti Cancer and it is surprising to me how much they support each other in their teaching. I may be a sucker but I am gradually buying into their philosophy....implementing it is hard though. I crave sugar. I don't know why but I do. I really shouldn't because I eat a lot of fruit and you would think that would curb my craving for candy but for some reason it doesn't. Sugar is one of the things both books say to avoid. I'm a work in progress.

I Bought Two New Books Today - I never buy books!

2010-09-26T21:01:00.000-05:00

I went to Barnes & Noble this afternoon with my sister and actually bought two books - wait, I bought three books! I've been a library goer and anti book buying for years now so this really is monumental day for me. I bought Jillian Michaels - Master Your Metabolism, David Servan-Schreiber - AntiCancer a New Way of Life and I bought "Just Like Daddy" - a kid's book about a border collie and his puppy. I bought the last one for my hubby. Our soon to be 14 year old dog is a border collie and we love her so much! I had never seen a kid book with a border collie in it so I had to buy it!

Regarding the other books, I'm trying to figure out why in the world so many people are getting cancer. I also wanted something I could give my mom that would help her try and take some control over her body in this fight she is in with this ugly disease. I read bits and pieces of AntiCancer on Amazon and decided it was worth shelling out some bucks to purchase it. I'll let you know what I think as I make my way through it. As for the Jillian Michaels book, it just intrigues me and I was in the buying mood so it now lives at my house.

Mom had a CBC done on Friday as she was on the schedule to return to work on Monday. Needless to say she won't be performing her nursing job on Monday as her WBC count was low. I also came down with a sore throat on Thursday and Sam had a bit of a snotty nose. We were planning on going over to see her but I called and talked to her nurse and she advised we postpone our visit. I'm so scared I'm going to make her sick. Will I ever get over that? We'll see if she is good to go for her next round of chemo on Thursday.

Training for the Goofy is coming along. Saturday was a 12 miler which I ended up running on the treadmill at the Y. ICK! It was raining and about 52 degrees out. Travis ran the whole thing outside but I'm not that tough. I think we do 14 next Saturday. I got some new shoes about a week ago and I can really tell the difference. My legs feel so much better now.

Quick Sam update, she really started walking this week and she is everywhere. It is amazing how quickly they go from just a few steps to full speed non stop all throughout the house! I like that I don't have to carry her everywhere and she seems to have stopped shoveling every little speck of dirt she sees on the floor into her mouth so that is nice as well. She has started throwing a little temper tantrum or two though. She will just lay down on the floor and kick her legs. I try not to laugh but it is rather funny to watch.

I have a Habitat for Humanity build tomorrow so I get one more day of not doing my day job - gotta love that! I think I'll be doing some interior painting which should be fun.

Fall is Awesome

2010-09-16T20:39:00.009-05:00

I love this time of year! The crisp mornings, low humidity, leaves turning colors, everything about it is great except one thing.....it means winter is coming! :-(

Marathon training is going ok. I was sick for about a week and a half. I finally went to the doctor after a week of horrible sinus issues and a productive cough. He told me I had bronchitis and sent me home with an antibiotic. 24 hours later I was feeling 100% better & today for the first time in 2 weeks I didn't need to blow my nose thousands of times a day. One health related remotely disgusting fact to share....towards the tail end of the illness I was blowing out Tang colored snot. That is disgusting!

I did my second tri of the season the last weekend of August. I didn't do as well as I did in the July race but I still finished 6th out of 31 in my age group which isn't too bad. My run was horrible though and I killed myself on the bike course. For some reason I refused to shift into my smaller chain ring until the third and final lap. If I would have done so during the first lap I would have finished the bike quicker and probably saved my legs for the run. One of the really frustrating things was that I could not find my spot when I came into T2. Seriously, I spent an extra minute just trying to find my spot on the rack. My sister-in-law joined us in the race and completed her first tri. Nice job Kris.

Sam is doing great. I should take her in for a weight check. Something tells me she is nudging her way up on the the weight percentile charts. She is eating everything in sight and feels like she is packing on the pounds. She is talking more and says "hi, bye, mama, dada, puppy, and her newest thing is no-no". The no-no comes complete with the index finger wagging. The first time she did it was after I told her "no biting". We have never said no-no and wagged a finger at her though. She must have picked this up from daycare. It was hilarious. I managed to get a video of it and posted it on FaceBook.
My mom is doing good. She had her second chemo treatment today. The first one wasn't too bad. She had a little bit of a queasy stomach but never threw up. She had her first round on a Thursday as well and she felt ok that day, pretty good the next day, totally wiped out Saturday and then gradually started to gain back some energy. We expect the same this time around. She gets a shot the day after chemo to help keep her white blood cell count up. They did blood work this morning and her counts were a little low but not low enough to postpone chemo today. They expect the shot tomorrow to help out. So far her hair is still attached to her head but they tell her to expect it to start falling out soon. She says she won't cry when it does. I told her if she did that was ok. Since I've been sick I haven't been able to go see her. I'm paranoid I will make her sick. I think I'm probably being too concerned. I wanted to go over today for her treatment but she doesn't want me taking time off work to come over now. She wants me to save my time until she needs me. I want to hang out with her some while she feels good though.

Thanks to all who have posted concerns about me and what my mom is going through. You are all awesome and I appreciate it soooooo much.

I noticed some people posting "a day in the life". I think I should do that too. Thanks to MomRunningFromCancer for tagging me for the Cherry on Top Award. I really don't have time to see who I could tag who hasn't already been tagged but I will answer question # 1.

1) Answer this question: if you had the chance to go back and change one thing in your life, would you and what would it be? I would know more about what I wanted to be when I grew up when I entered college. I started out as a pre-physical therapy major, which I think I would have loved if I could have handled the chemistry courses. I don't get chemistry and I gave up too easy. I changed to dietetics but hit the science problem again and then changed to advertising. I now work in banking & finance. How did I get here? I make too much money to quit and go back to school and I'm good at what I do but to be honest I don't think it is my "passion". I would love to work in public health and wellness. I would really like to work in a medical setting helping people who have chronic diseases such as heart disease or diabetes and even cancer make changes to their diet and exercise. We need to get people in this country to take control of their own health! Our kids are becoming diabetic everywhere we turn. This shouldn't be happening. We are smart people. We need to fix this!!!!! We need a way for this to be affordable. I'm not saying it should be covered by insurance but if mental illness is covered couldn't health and wellness guidance be covered as well. I don't know but I do know that what we are doing now isn't working.

Mom's Boyfriend Visits the Hospital

2010-08-20T22:44:00.007-05:00

River, Sam & Mom

Mom is still in the hospital recovering from an infection in her left breast. She's been there since Tuesday evening and as long as things go well, she should be headed home tomorrow.

When talking to my sister on Friday morning, she mentioned how drab mom's room was. There were no flowers (it drives mom crazy that people spend money on flowers) and it seemed do dull. I started wracking my brain, what could add a little color to the room and make mom smile whenever she looked at it. What does she like???? Then Johnny Depp popped into my head. I thought about a Pirates of the Caribbean poster. He is one of her favorites - particularly in that movie. We could have a movie night at the hospital on Friday night. Then I thought some more, a poster just wouldn't cut it....where could I find a life size cardboard cut out of Captain Jack Sparrow in an hour and a half. Thank you to "The Theatrical Shop" in town. I called, they had it and I immediately left work. It was approx 6 foot tall and folded over once. It barely fit in the trunk.

Assembly Time

When we got to the hospital, my sister and her family met us in the parking garage. We carried Jack to the family room on the 4th floor where we assembled him. Then we headed to mom's room. Travis hung back with Captain Jack. I had the theme from Pirates ready to play on my cell. Sam and I walked into the room and gave mom a hug and a kiss and made a little small talk. She then asked where Travis was. We told her he had stopped off at the bathroom. I headed out into the hall to "let him know what room we where in". I told him we were ready & to give me 30 seconds to get the song rolling and my camera ready.

I started the song and got out the camera and mom just looked at me funny. Then Travis made his entrance with Captain Jack leading the way. Here are some pictures of mom's reaction.

With all of the stuff we have had going on, I've still managed to squeeze in workouts but I'm not following my training plan. We'll see how much I suffer for this next weekend.

Sam Update: She fed herself with a spoon on Thursday night. She still isn't walking but she also doesn't want to crawl much anymore. She likes to grunt until you get up and walk with her holding onto your hands. It is fun but tiring!

We also picked mom some wild flowers on our run this morning. I'm sure some of them are actually weeds but oh well they looked pretty.

Spin Class

2010-08-17T20:58:00.003-05:00

Travis & I did another spin class at the YMCA tonight. Wow - these things are tough. We did a flat road warm up then did sprints first and then did steady hills. She had us ride at 200 watts for 5 min, 4 min, 3 min, 2 min, & 1 min with one minute recovery between each pedaling at 120 RPM on the recovery. I was sweating bullets and my hubby was barely breathing hard. Actually, he said he got in a good workout but he looked much better at the end than I did. He rode the hills at 250 watts. He is the shiznit!

Does anyone out there use spin classes as part of their tri training? It seems like it would make me a stronger biker but when I googled it most of the info I found was negative. They say the intensity is too high. I figure it is a speed workout that I don't normally do so it should be good but then again, what do I know.

We took Sam to the child watch area when we got to the Y and she has stranger danger pretty bad right now. About a half hour into our class one of the day care ladies came up to get me saying she wouldn't stop crying. I immediately got irritated. I didn't believe that she was having that tough of a time. I didn't say a word to the lady. I led the way down to the room and when I opened the door she wasn't crying and she didn't look like she had been crying. She was sitting with another lady and whimpered a bit but when I made eye contact with that lady she nodded her head and said she seemed fine now. I went back upstairs and finished the workout. When it was over we made a beeline for the child watch room. Sam was on the floor playing with toys. I asked the lady who was with her if she had been upset and hard to deal with and she said not really, she wasn't really crying, she had no tears and was just whimpering a bit on and off. Once she acclimated (which took her about a half hour) she was willing to play and she was fine. I feel guilty dropping her off at child watch after she has been at daycare all day but it does let us get a solid workout in and we don't have to alternate which seems to take all night. Has anyone taken their child to child watch at the gym? It is the only way we can get in a good bike ride right now.

Mom Update: She met with the oncologist this afternoon. The great news is there was nothing on the CT scan that looked suspicious. The bad news is that they sent her to the hospital because she has an infection in her left breast (the side that had the tumor). She is in the hospital to get intravenous antibiotics and to see if a drain tube needs to be put in. I think this has to be wearing on her a bit, it certainly would be if it were me. If you are the praying type please keep praying and thanking God for healing her. She was supposed to start chemo this week but had to have the surgery last week to remove some dying skin. Now she has the infection. Chemo plans may be on hold again but healing of the breast tissues is the most important thing right now. Keep plugging away mom - we love ya lots!!!!!

Sam Update: She moved up to the young toddler room at day care on Monday. She seems to like it but it is wearing her out. They have a nap schedule now and she is so busy all day long. She has come home with more bumps and scrapes over the past 2 days then she had in the past 13 months in the baby room. I guess that is what happens as they grow. We bought her some blocks this weekend and she loves them. She still isn't walking but now she doesn't seem to want to crawl. Whenever she wants to go somewhere she grabs your hands and grunts until you stand up and walk with her - it is wearing me out!!!!

Blogging via my Droid

2010-08-16T15:52:00.002-05:00

It works! Sort of. And I can upload pictures too! Look out!!!!!! The picture above is Sam showing her excitement over the tiny stick she has in her hand! Aren't kids awesome!

Surgery #2

2010-08-10T13:21:00.005-05:00

River, Julee, Mom, Logan (in front), Sam & Me

First off, thank you all for your very supportive comments to my last post. It is so great to hear stories of survivors! The past month has been incredibly busy. Mom lives with my sister is two hours away but I have been trying to make it to some of the doctor appointments and we were also there a few weekends ago so I haven't had much time to write any updates. I've been trying to post via my iPod & via my Droid but neither one lets me do anything except create a title. If anyone knows if there is a way to make it work on the iPod or Droid let me know.

The mastectomy went pretty well. The pathology confirmed the cancer had spread to 5 of the 17 lymph nodes they removed. I was really upset for a while. I called my hubby and he got in the car and drove over then we both took the next day off and spent some time at my sisters. Mom did great. She was pretty sore for a few days but her demeanor has been great. She is my hero! Oh, and my sister's day care didn't charge me for the 2 days Sam spent there. That was awesome. Just when you start to think there aren't any caring people out there something like that happens and it just makes you feel so good.

Mom's sisters flew in two weeks ago and are going home tomorrow. They have kept her really busy so I hope she does well when they leave. I know she could stand to catch up on some sleep. It was great seeing them and I hope they can come out again soon.

Aunt Bobbi, Aunt Jeannie, Mom, Sam, Me, Logan, Julee & River

Mom had surgery this past Tuesday afternoon to clean up some dying skin where her incisions are. I had never heard of such a thing but apparently it happens from time to time. If she wasn't going to start chemo soon they probably would have just let it heal on its own but they want to expedite the healing process and apparently removing the dying tissue does just that. Surgery went well (although it was scheduled for 3pm and didn't start until 5:30pm). She was in recovery by 7pm and then in the car headed for home by 8:30pm. I drove home and was in bed shortly after 11pm. It was a long but good day. I took mom scotcharoos (one of her favorite treats) which she appreciated! She meets with the oncologist on Tuesday afternoon when they will review the CT scan she had so please keep us in your prayers!

My little sister has been amazing throughout this whole thing. I love you Julee & you are doing a great job!

One of the good things I see happening is the time we are spending with mom, Julee, Marty & my niece and nephew. On Tuesday at the hospital my niece actually came to me for a hug and a kiss. She is two and has never done that before. I'm really thankful for this, I just wish we would have done it under better circumstances.

Now, on to working out and tri training. I've been plugging away. Normally I follow a training plan to a "T". That hasn't been happening lately. I've given myself some leeway to get the workouts in whenever and in whatever order I can. We also joined the YMCA this week. I really want to work as a fitness/nutrition advisor to senior citizens when I retire (and maybe before that if the finances would work out) and I want to take as many classes and get as much training as I can. My short term goal is to teach a spinning class.

Speaking of spinning class..........oh my goodness!!!!! I've heard people call these classes "sufferfests" and now I understand why. I took two classes last week and boy were they tough. I think I threw up a little in my mouth during the last class. Sorry if that grossed anyone out! My sister tells me I need to try a kickboxing class. Travis is going with me to spinning tomorrow morning. I told him how tough it is. I'm sure he'll breeze through it and I will look like a wimp. Oh well.

Sam update: She is doing well. At her 1 year check up she had dropped to the 8th percentile for weight. The doctor still isn't too concerned but said to keep giving her formula and add an extra scoop. She eats well, sometimes I swear she eats more than I do, but it doesn't seem to stick. Oh and she absolutely loves watermelon. We made the mistake of feeding her a bit too much with dinner two nights this week and paid for it the next morning. She was soaked, her pj's were soaked, and her sheets were wet. Two emergency morning baths followed. She didn't seem to mind though.

Today was her last day in the baby room at daycare. She had been spending a lot of time in the toddler room lately anyway and she loves it so I am sure she will do great.

Sam giving Uncle Marty some love!

Waiting.....waiting......waiting......I don't like waiting

2010-07-26T10:54:00.003-05:00

I'm sitting in room 22 at Mercy Hospital right beside my mom. She is having a double mastectomy with reconstruction today at noon. I've only cried 3 times this morning so far. She seems fine, I need to get fine as well. My younger sister is here as well.

I've prayed more in the past 2.5 weeks than I ever have in my life. I hope God is listening. I know he is listening. We are listening to her new iPod touch here is what is playing........"My Savior, he can move the mountains, my god is mighty to save he is mighty to save. Forever, author of salvation, he rose and conquered the grave, Jesus conquered the grave. Shine your light and let the whole world see, singing for the glory of the risen king". My sister just walked back in from going the bathroom and started dancing. We will not ever be gloom and doom - I'm not gloom and doom, I'm just scared of the unknown. I have faith. He is going to take care of mom, she is in his hands.

We took Sam to the daycare my niece and nephew go to. Julee just called to check on her and she is doing fine. She was having some Cheerios for a snack.

Pray for us now if you have a moment. I'll post more later!

3rd in my division....I got a medal......but more importantly, if you pray I really could use a few words sent this way

2010-07-11T15:33:00.007-05:00

Today was my first tri of the season. After months of preparing to run a half marathon that I didn't end up running I finally finished my first real race of the year. I know it is almost the middle of July but hey what can I say.

The day started early, as tri mornings always do. We were up at 5am and had Sam at my friend's house by 5:40am. Then we had to stop and buy some rain gear (a trash bag was the only thing we could find) because it was raining. I know, I know, you get wet doing a tri so what difference does it make. Well I don't like being wet when I don't have to be so I rocked the trash bag this morning!

Five minutes before transition closed I donned my wetsuit and headed to the water and I'm glad I did. They said it was 78 degrees but it felt much cooler than that. I put my face in and started to hyperventilate. I only got to swim for about 20 meters but those were precious meters. It calmed me down and anything that calms me down before a swim is heaven sent.

The gun went off and I started at the back and away from the buoys. It was bumpy for about 3/4 of the swim but I made it out of the 400 meter swim in roughly 8:30. On to the bike....my favorite part of the race. I was came up behind a 41 year old and passed her, then she passed me, then I passed her, then she passed me. I decided I was done playing this game and that she must really be a decent rider so I hung back and off to the wind side (to make sure I wasn't drafting). I rode behind her at a good clip until I had a half mile left then I blew by. I finished the 12.5 mile bike averaging 20.6 mph. My best ride time ever.

On the run, I felt drained but then that same 41 year old passed me again. I kept pace and started chatting with her. Then I did the same thing as I did on the bike. I ran behind her until she slowed to get a drink at the 2 mile mark. I had made up my mind that I wasn't going to pass her in the finish as I had on the bike but since she walked all bets were off. I passed her and then just set my own pace. I finished the 5K in 26:10 or so. Not fast by many other people's standards but my fastest tri run to date.

Throughout the day I ran on the edge of puking. My legs were burning less than two miles into the bike and I was gasping for air during most of the run. I had motivation though. You see my mom called me on Wednesday night and said she has a large lump in her breast. One that by Friday they were pretty sure is malignant. She will know for sure tomorrow. My mom.....my mom........my mom........please God not my mom. I know she is strong of faith, I know the doctors are good, I know that she will be fine. As for me, I obviously need some help. I'm willing to bargain with God at this point. If you are reading this mom, we (Travis, Sam, and I) love you sooooooo much. I know you know that and I know I tell you all of the time but I wanted to say it again, and again, and again. You are such an amazing person to me.

I'm crying.

I have to stop now......or not.

Anyway, when the going got tough during the race today I got angry. @%$& you cancer! I screamed to myself through my self induced pain. I am not friends with you & I want you to leave me and those I love the hell alone!

That is really all I have to say. I finished is 1:17 something. I got 3rd place in my age group and I got a medal. If my mom does have cancer, when she beats the pants off of it, I'm giving it to her.......she has earned it!

LOVE YOU LOTS MOM!

Sam's Spots, First Birthday, Vacation & It is Tri Time

2010-07-05T21:19:00.009-05:00

This post is really long because we have been really busy since my last post. I'll work this through in chrono order.....

First, on Saturday, 6/12 we were supposed to have Sam's first birthday party with my side of the family in conjunction with my niece's 2nd birthday. We were going to go out of town and go to the zoo. Turned out the weather was horrible, half of the family couldn't make it and we cancelled our reservations. My sister and her family came to our house. My dad picked up the cakes my aunt had made and we had the party at our house. Then we went to the zoo. The party was great - Sam got great gifts and the cake was awesome!

On Friday, 6/18 daycare called me at work at 8:10 saying Sam had spots all over her body and I needed to pick her up. We had noticed a slight red spot on her cheek that morning but nothing alarming. I made a doctor appointment for 9:10am and went to pick her up. Her normal ped was on vacation so we saw a different doctor and one that I don't care much for. He said she had hives and must have either been exposed to something she is allergic to (either food, detergent, etc., etc or it could be caused by a virus of some sort. She did have a runny nose and kind of a barky cough since Wednesday night. She had no fever and seemed happy and he said her ears looked good - that was odd - her ears have never looked good. He said she wasn't contagious and she could go back to day care so I took her back. That night Travis left to go to his parent's house (4 hours away) and my mom came over to stay with Sam and I for the weekend. Sam was also scheduled to get tubes in her ears on Monday (6/21).

Saturday morning Sam still had spots and had a bit more on her cheeks. As the day went on they were spreading. The doctor had said they may cover most of her body before they went away and she was proving him to be right. I was still scratching my head wondering what could be causing this. Finally, I decided to strip her down and let her run around in her diaper to see if maybe the laundry detergent had a role to play. I hadn't changed the brand but you never know - maybe they tweaked the formula. The only other thing I could think of is that she had some pretty good cradle cap and on Thursday night I rubbed a generous amount of baby oil on her head and then scrubbed off the flakes when we gave her a bath. Maybe sitting in that caused some sort of allergic reaction. She also had an egg on Thursday, but she had eaten an egg before and didn't have any issues. Then I made the mistake of googling "allergy to baby oil" and read some really horrific stories about children ingesting baby oil and dying a slow death by suffocating. Don't google it.....it almost made me sick to my stomach. Then I started wondering if the same could be happening to her. Her cough was getting a little worse....why did I put that much oil on her head.....why did I let her sit in the bathtub in the water I used to wash it off....could it be....I would never forgive myself. It is amazing how far you let your thinking take you when you don't know what is going on.

Saturday around 6:30pm I put her in her highchair for dinner. She was eating fine, as always and humming the whole time (she is a noisy eater but it is sooooo cute). Then I looked at her fingers and they looked blue. Then I looked at her toes and they looked blue. She wasn't having any trouble breathing but why was she turning blue. I asked my mom, who is an LPN, what she thought. She thought they were blue. That was it we were going to the emergency room. I wasn't a total wreck but I wasn't calm either. On the way to the hospital I called the ask a nurse line to get directions to the children's hospital. The nurse I talked to convinced me to pull over and do an assessment before taking her to the ER. She walked me through a bunch of things and said that her hands and toes being blue was probably related to her being cold - could be by the time we had gotten her into her car seat they were normal looking again. We had the AC in the house set at 74 degrees. The nurse said as long as her mouth and lip area were not turning blue she was getting enough oxygen. She also walked me through the hives and said they sounded normal. I could give her Benedryl (which was something the Dr. had told me on Friday and I had been doing). She wanted me to skip the ER but to take her to a walk in clinic. It was 7:40 and the clinic closed at 8pm. We needed to be there in 10 minutes to be seen. She would call and tell them we were coming. We got there about ten minutes before 8pm and we sat for 45 minutes to see the doctor. In the last 5 minutes we were sitting in the waiting room her right foot started swelling. It was almost twice the normal size, was red and hot. Now I started to get really concerned. It was bothering her too. She didn't want you to touch it and she was getting fussy. What in the world was wrong with my baby!

The doctor came in and took one look at her foot and her hives and said "You are going downtown". He listened to her lungs and said they sounded fine but that the hives were not your normal hives and the foot swelling was a concern. She also had developed a low grade fever. He wanted her to be seen by a pediatric doctor right away. He said he would call and tell them we were coming then he walked us to the front desk. Along the way, he asked his nurse to call the hospital and tell them we were on our way. He then told the front desk lady he would not charge us for the visit - it should be documented as triage. Now I was more scared.

I called Travis even though mom thought I should wait. No one answered the phone. He didn't answer his cell. Now I was getting upset. I left a message on his parents home phone and he called me back about 10 minutes later. He would be headed home right away. When we got to the hospital they said they had heard we were coming. Everyone who looked at her foot cringed. We saw the triage nurse right away and then she sent us to the waiting room. The ER wasn't too busy but we weren't the only ones waiting. Less than 5 minutes later they were taking us to a room. Other people were still waiting, what was going on????? All of my fears were eased about 30 seconds after the doctor walked in the room. She said Sam had "hives on steroids" and that we should continue to give her Benedryl & Motrin. When we asked about the foot swelling she sensed our concern and went to get the attending physician. Oh and she had a really bad ear infection. Remember what I said about not liking the doctor she saw on Friday....how is it that he missed that.

The attending physician came in and put us at ease immediately. She said Sam had Erythema Multiforme which is basically hives on steroids. The lesions develop into what looks like a target and the inside starts out flesh colored then often turns purple/blue like a bruise. She said the foot swelling is normal with this and that her hands may swell as well. She said her son had the same thing about 5 years ago when he was 2 years old. She brought in a picture and sure enough he looked exactly like Sam. She said that as long as she didn't act sick she was fine and it would go away gradually. It may take 6 weeks for it to be totally gone. What a big sigh of relief I breathed then. Thank you God! And mom was right I probably should have waited to call Travis.

The lesions got worse and on Sunday night she looked bruised all over but by Monday morning she looked a log better. She got the ear tubes put in on Monday morning and did really well. The doctors there were great. She was quite cranky in the recovery room but by noon she was pretty much normal just a little tired. Fluid/pus drained from her ears for a little over a week and it was pretty disgusting but now they look great and she is talking like crazy. It has been so funny to watch her. It seems like she can hear sounds for the first time. She has been looking around like crazy - the other day we were walking through the store and she kept looking up in the air to see where the music over the speakers was coming from.

Then we went on vacation. It started with a few days at Travis' parents house and a small birthday party for Sam. Then we went to Colorado with Travis' sister, her hubby and their 9 month old. We left for CO at 4am in order to let the monkeys sleep for most of the 8 hour drive. They did great. While in CO we spent 2 days in Colorado Springs. We hiked a few trails. The first day was good but the second day not so much. Sam had a minor melt down about half way into a 7 mile hike and we had to take her out of the pack and put her in the Baby Bjorn. She calmed down and we were able to finish the hike. We went swimming every day (Sam loves swimming) and the only minor problem we had was that Sam decided not to sleep through the night. She was in a crib provided by the hotel and woke up both nights and would not calm down until she got into bed with us. Of course then I couldn't sleep because she had never ever slept with us. It was fine but I was still nervous the whole time.

We spent Tuesday night with Travis' sister and her family in Aurora.

We spent Wednesday - Friday in Estes Park. That place was awesome. We hiked some really cool trails, found a really cool little shop to eat at and in the end wished we would have spent the entire week there. Next year I think we will....there are so many more trails we could have explored.

On Saturday morning we headed home. We left Denver at 7am mountain time and rolled into the drive way at home around 9pm CST. It was a long day. Sam did great until about 2 hours from home when she started crying almost non stop. Finally, we rearranged all of the stuff and I sat in the back seat with her. A few minutes later after I couldn't really get her to calm down I tried to shift her around a bit because she didn't look very comfortable and saw stuff leak out of her diaper. Wow, what a mess. No wonder she wasn't a happy camper. We pulled over, pulled her out and changed her, removed her soiled pants and the top padding of the car seat - ick! The last hour and a half of the ride home was good though.

Regarding Sam turning one.....we can't believe it! She is such a little miracle. I think I have posted on our troubles getting pregnant, in essence giving up and deciding to adopt only to be blessed with this beautiful baby girl of our own. We love her so much as I know most parents do but it is really beyond words. Sam, if you read this someday, you really are the apple of our eyes and you are so loved. I hope you grow up always knowing this and that you can share this amazing experience with your own children some day. We look forward to spending the rest of our lives with you!

As for training, I didn't do any formal tri training for a week solid but spent a lot of time hiking & in the pool with Sam. I need to hit it pretty hard this week and my first tri of the season is on Sunday. I'll post more hopefully later this week. Until then, happy training & parenting.

The 20K That Wasn't

2010-06-06T20:06:00.006-05:00

First off - we did run a 5K on 5/23. I pushed Sam and we got 1st place for my age & 7th in my age group and we ran slow. I guess this was a race for recreational run/walkers or something. Still, it is the first race we have ever placed in as a team. Yeah Baby!

Travis & Tracy did the 1/2 marathon and did great - it was so hot!

I was supposed to run a 20K on Saturday morning but a # of events took place that meant it wasn't to be. First my head started feeling all stuffed up Thursday night. Since I am still nursing I didn't take any meds and slept all of 4 hours. Friday I didn't feel too bad during the day but started feeling worse that night. I broke down and took a Claritin. Claritin doesn't do squat for my stuffiness but it is safe to take while breastfeeding.

Once again I couldn't sleep. Stuffed up like crazy and it hurt to swallow. At around 2:30am Sam's Angel Monitor alarm went off. We had family staying at the house so our bedroom door was shut - usually it is wide open. Anyway, when the alarm went off I jumped out of bed and bolted to Sam's room. I forgot about the door and ran right into it. I'm sure it was comical - I felt like an idiot and I bent my big toenail backwards and took a couple chunks of skin off of my foot. I also bruised my knee and scared the crap out of our houseguests.

I got out of bed (I was going to say that I woke up - but that would have required me to sleep) at 4:30 am and felt worse but thought it might get better after I got up and around. I put on my running gear & turned on the TV. It was raining out and more rain was headed our way. Then I took my temp - 99.2. Not much of a temp but about 2 degrees above my norm. I rode downtown with the hubby and my brother-in-law (who was also running the race) not sure if I would get out of the car or not. I chose not to. I was bummed but it was probably for the best. I've now been training since January for a half marathon which I have not run and probably won't until fall now.

My brother-in-law ran well, I still went downtown and hung out with the family. I took some Motrin and stated feeling better almost right away. I should have done that on Friday. Saturday afternoon I did go to the pool with my sister-in-law who says she wants to do a tri. Then before bed I took some Benadryl. Not the best thing if you are breastfeeding but I slept.

This morning, Travis competed in his first sprint tri of the season. He did great. My brother-in-law who ran the 20K on Saturday also signed up and did his first ever tri with absolutely no tri training. The swim was tough but he finished. Travis did great and the weather was awesome. Then this afternoon I did a 16 mile bike followed by a 1.75 mile run. I forgot how funky the legs feel after riding hard on the bike.

Now it is on to tri training. My first tri of the season will be July 11th. I'm excited! Watching Travis' race yesterday got my blood flowing faster. Here is the training schedule for this week.

6/7 - Off

6/8 - Swim: WU - 250, Drills - 6x25, Intervals 10x100, Kick Set - 4x25, CD - 200 (1,700)

6/9 - Cycle: Tempo - 24 minutes at threshold intensity, ride for a total of 1 hour & 5 minutes.

6/10 - Run: Tempo run - 18 minutes at threshold intensity, run for a total of 38 minutes

6/11 - Swim: WU - 250, Drills - 6x25, Intervals 7x75 with 45 sec rest, Kick Set - 6x25, CD - 250

6/12 - Cycle: Foundation Ride - 1hr 15min steady ride at moderate intensity.

6/13 - Run: Foundation Run - 45 minutes at moderate intensity.

Sam Update: She crawled on all fours for the first time yesterday afternoon. She is also learning to purse her lips when she gives kisses and she loves giving kisses. She also has been picking things up and then trying to give whatever it is to you. Travis also swears she told the day care ladies "bye-bye" today. We haven't been able to get her to repeat it though. She gets tubes in her ears on the 21st. We went to the ENT last week and he said they are still full of fluid - I think they have been full of fluid since her first well baby appointment at 2 months old. I really can't believe she will be one at the end of the month. We love watching her learn new things and explore the world and it is amazing how fast time flies.

5K Race This Weekend & Day Care Nutrition

2010-05-20T21:50:00.004-05:00

I'm gearing up for a 5K race this weekend which I will be running with my sister-in-law. The hubby and brother-in-law are doing a 1/2 marathon but someone has to watch Sam so I'm pushing her in the BOB for 3.1. Call me lazy but I'm not going to sign up for 13.1 pushing a jogging stroller. This week has been a pretty light training week. Travis & I were both sick on Tuesday and I've been taking it pretty easy since then.

Last weekend we headed to my in-laws and we got in a run together while Papa & Grandma watched Sam. It's always great to go on a run with my hubby! We also took some really cute pictures of Sam.

Now for the second subject in my title line. I read the post by misszippy about unhealthy America and it brought to light a struggle that I am having right now. Sam will be 11 months old next week and is pretty much ready to give up baby food. So yesterday I asked for a menu from day care of the table food they feed the kids and it is horrible. Here is a week of afternoon snacks just to give you a picture:

Monday: Banana Bread & Milk

Tuesday: Chips & Salsa with Water - infants & tods get Cookies & Milk

Wednesday: Vanilla Wafers & Juice

Thursday: Dill Pickles & Saltines (seriously - could you get any more sodium squeezed in. This is after a lunch of sausage links, hashbrown casserole, pears & milk) - infants & tods get Animal Crackers & Juice

Friday: Goldfish & Raisins with Water - infants & tods get juice instead of raisins

I don't really want her eating most of this crap. Where are the fruits (I haven't given her juice and I don't want to start), veggies & lean protein?????

Can I have her bring her own lunch and will they feed it to her? Will they think I am crazy - probably - but do I care.

HELP!!!!

Running & Mother's Day Actually Applies to Me?????

2010-05-07T21:49:00.003-05:00

Hey all, Happy Mother's Day to all of you moms out there! It still seems surreal that the title "mom" applies to me! Congrats to all of you for being the best mom you can be and still trying to find the time to run, bike, swim, or whatever it is you love to do!

Tonight I finished another 13.1 mile run. I've got a 20K race on the horizon and I want to continue to build on the fitness I have from training for the 1/2 marathon I ran on 4/24. My question is will running 13.1 ever get easier. After every long run of that distance I feel nauseous and totally worn out. I recover pretty quickly but how in the world am I ever going to make it another 13.1?

It didn't help matters any that I ran the entire run on the treadmill. I normally like treadmill running but 13.1 is too much time to spend literally running in place. BORING with a capital "B"! I made it through though then finished up feeding Sam and headed to Jimmy John's for a ham and swiss sandwich. I know the nutrient value isn't too high but it is always what I crave after a long run.

Sam Update: She has another ear infection. I think we are on #5 or #6 since she was born. This time she had a fever too and I had to take her to a quick care clinic on Saturday evening. I have to make a follow up appointment with her pediatrician for next week. I think she is too young to talk about tubes yet but I'm starting to wonder how good it is for her to be on antibiotics so often.

She still isn't crawling but she is everywhere and wow does she get dirty now. We used to be able to get two wearings out of her pants but not any more. She spends so much time army crawling that our floors and the floor at day care should be clean enough to eat off of.

Today day care had a Mother's Day luncheon. I got to go spend my lunch with my favorite little girl - it was awesome!

I still can't get over the fact that I am a mom - how long does that take to sink in! Again, Happy Mother's Day to everyone and to my mom, if you are reading this, a very special Happy Mother's Day to you. Thank you so much for coming over this weekend to stay with Sam and I while Travis was out of town. You are the best mom ever and we love you lots!

13.1 Done

2010-04-24T16:03:00.005-05:00

Today was my 2nd ever 1/2 marathon. 13.1 at 10 minute pace. Slow, I know, but good for me. My legs (calves mostly) felt sore immediately after so when I was done I sat on the floor and played with Sam and ran "The Stick" over my legs. Then I started getting a massive headache and a few chills. I didn't eat much before I ran and I didn't eat much after I got done either. I popped an ibuprofen and started feeling better shortly thereafter.

I'm glad I ran a 1/2 this morning & the people who run this race are fast. Last year the winner finished in 1:08, middle of the pack was 1:52 and the bottom 1/4 still posted a time of 2:04. Based on last year's results I finished 830 out of 943 runners. I know it doesn't really matter, I don't run to beat other people. This is just another one of my odd personality traits!

Sam update: She still isn't officially crawling but she gets around fast! She is starting to wave now too which is pretty cool. I still can't believe that after 5+ years of trying to have a baby she is here and she is soooooooo amazing! My wonderful sister-in-law is a budding professional photographer and took some awesome pictures of Sam last weekend. I have included a few of them here. We also took Sam to the zoo this weekend and I have included a picture of Travis & Tracy hanging out at the gate.

Well better run, I need to pump (yes, I'm still breast feeding) and Sam should be waking up from her afternoon nap shortly. Catch you all later. HAPPY RUNNING!

I can't commit

2010-04-14T21:27:00.006-05:00

I've been training for a half marathon on 4/24 but I'm questioning why. I'm doing the training plan to a "T" but for some reason I wish I wasn't doing it. I think I'm scared. I also think I'm out of my comfort zone a bit. I like to run long but I'm not good at it.....I'm horribly slow. I hate finishing in the lower 1/2 at a race and I checked last years results for the race I was planning on running on the 24th and 75% of the finishers finished in under 2 hours. That is intimidating. It would be different if there were thousands of entrants but there are less than 1,000. I don't think I can do it. So now I have to adjust my training. I'm shooting for a 20K on 6/5 now. This race has thousands of entrants normally and a lot of first time runners. I can handle this.

After that, I'm planning on a sprint tri in July, another sprint in August, and maybe an Olympic after that. Then it is time for my first full Marathon in October.

I'm starting to think I'm meant to be a triathlete & 5K runner. I usually finish in the top 20% of my age group in these and sometimes I break into the top ten. After I get through the Disney World Goofy next January, I'm going to focus on tri's and really try to get better. I love the environment at tri's. The people are amazing. So encouraging. Hanging out after the race is awesome. I love everything about it. I even secretly like the swim even though always scares the crap out of me and makes me hyperventilate!

This week of training has been pretty good. We did an 11 mile run last Friday night, an hour long bike ride on Saturday, an hour long hike on Sunday, 3 miles easy on Monday, an hour on the indoor trainer yesterday and an 8 mile run today (with 6 at 1/2 marathon goal race pace). The long run was pretty good and the weather was awesome. Today's 8 mile effort was pretty difficult. I ran it on the treadmill and had to stop and take a break 3 times. Once for a bathroom break and the other two because I just wasn't there mentally. I've been eating a Pop Tart prior to my Wednesday run because I did it a few weeks ago and had an amazing run. I haven't been able to replicate that again though & Pop Tarts really aren't very good for you so I think that is going to come to an end.

Tomorrow is supposed to be a rest night and then Friday we will run long because we are headed out of town this weekend.

Made banana bars out of some over ripe bananas tonight. I'm taking them to the ladies at day care - those women are amazing and feeding them a few sweets is the least I can do. The pic below is from Tasteofhome.com. Don't they look good?

Goodnight all....I've attached a few pictures from hiking and such this last week. Take care & keep training!

My Baby Girl Kissed a Boy Today

2010-04-07T21:51:00.004-05:00

Sam is 9 months old and today she kissed her first boy & he kissed her back! We're in trouble!

We had been teaching her to give her little stuffed monkey kisses but until today she wouldn't give a person a kiss. So she kisses a little boy at daycare today but Travis & I can't get her to give us any sort of kisses at all. What gives!

Tomorrow is her nine month appointment. Time flies. I was walking around today at lunch noticing all ofthe pregnant women and reflecting on what I was going through a year ago at this time. I really don't miss being pregnant - those last few weeks were torture!

Yesterday, I hit the pool for the first time in months. I only did about 600 meters and my arms, shoulders, & back are aching a bit today. We still haven't signed up for any races. We need to get on it before they are full.

My run training for the 20K in June is in full force. Today was killer - 9.5 miles with 5 mile repeats with 800's between repeats. Friday night we are doing an 11 mile long run while a sitter comes over to take care of Sam. Date night is usually a workout - we are so lame!

Time to hit the sack - take care all!

Half Marathon Training

2010-03-22T20:48:00.004-05:00

I'm in week # - oh who the heck knows or cares what week I am on. Seriously, training is going fine. I still haven't signed up for a race though. My original plan was to run a 1/2 marathon on April 24th but I've been dragging my feet. Here is why....running outside is freaking hard! How is it that I can put in a ten mile run on the treadmill at a 1% incline and feel decent afterward (bored and exhausted but good) but if I run outside for two stinkin' miles I feel like I am going to puke!

Tonight I ran 2 miles outside with the hubby and Sam in the BOB. A quarter mile in I just kept repeating this mantra: There is no way I can run 13.1, there is no way I can run 13.1 and on and on. I don't know what I am going to do for sure. I'm thinking of bailing on the 1/2 marathon in April and instead I might do a 20K at the beginning of June.

It sounds like I need a break but I really don't. I'm enjoying the training and I really look forward to the long runs. I like the 2 hours of "me time" I get on Saturday morning!

If I am going to do a tri at all this year I really need to get back to the pool sometime. How do you find the motivation to go to the pool???

Sam update: She is almost nine months old and will be crawling any day now. She slithers around on her belly and loves laying on the wood floor. At first I felt bad having her lay on the wood but she really seems to like it, she can wiggle around like crazy and get where she wants to go. Once she is crawling we are in trouble! I think we got the baby I deserved = she doesn't like to take naps and is constantly on the go. Only 18 more years of a crabby kid who needs a nap but refuses to take one. I'm sorry mom - putting up with me must have been tough!

Adios for now - time to feed the baby and hit the sack! Sleep tight everyone!

Sam's First Swim

2010-03-10T20:51:00.006-06:00

On Saturday morning we headed to my sister's for baptism of our new niece. She was born on Tuesday of last week, weighing in at 9lbs. 13oz and 21 1/4 inches long. In pictures she looked huge. In person she looked small - the way all newborn babies do. She is a cutie.

Saturday night was also Sam's first hotel stay and her first ever swim. Travis, Uncle Marty, Aunt Julee, Logan & River all got in the pool and I documented Sam's first pool experience. She loved it! No nervousness at all! Travis put her on her tummy and she started kicking and moving her arms. It was so awesome! She also did great sleeping in an unfamiliar place.

Yesterday Travis texted me and said, "Thinking of Sam swimming makes me smile". I love my hubby and he is a great dad.

Training for the half marathon on 4/24 continues according to the plan I documented a while back. So far so good. Saturday was 9 miles and it went well. Today was 8 miles with 4x1600 at 8:56 pace (remember all you fast people reading this blog....I am slow!). It was tough but not too bad. Am I starting to get my endurance back.......hmmmm..........we shall see.

Now on to tri training. We still haven't signed up for any races and I haven't been to the pool in months and months and months. Have I mentioned that I don't really mind swimming but going to the pool is a huge pain in the butt. I'm not even going to set a goal date for getting started again.

Well, I better feed my baby and get her to bed. Take care everyone!

Yogurt didn't go over well

2010-03-01T19:52:00.004-06:00

Yesterday we fed Sam some yogurt banana combo baby food and I hope I can blame her mood the rest of the day on it. It was one of those trying mom days. I love her dearly but I was happy to go to work this morning.

She was fussy all yesterday afternoon, wouldn't eat anything but her bottle and wouldn't go to sleep. Once we finally got her to temporary dream land at around 9:30pm she woke us every hour or so throughout the night. She never cried much just fussed around for a few minutes every time and went back to sleep for another hour. Then at 5am she was up and at em for the day. I think I slept 4 hours at the most.

After feeding her I jumped on the indoor trainer for 20 minutes then finished getting ready and headed out to work. Work was hard most of the morning. Why does it all seem to go to heck at the same time. The whole day was very busy but I managed to sneak in a 20 minute walk with Travis over lunch.

I came home at 5pm, put Sam in the Jumparoo and got in a 3.5 mile run. Sam was entertained the whole time.

I'm thinking I need to start hitting the pool a few times a week to get ready for tri season. I just wish I didn't hate swimming.

Oh and one more thing, my older sister is having a baby either tonight or for sure tomorrow. If her 4th baby girl doesn't arrive by 8am tomorrow she is being induced. I cringed when she said the "induce" word. An hour after petocin and I was about ready to hurt someone I was in so much pain. She has had 3 babies and never has had an epidural. I can't even fathom that! You rock big sis! Anyway, I can't wait to meet the newest family member!

Side note, my hubby is sitting in the recliner with Sam on his lap and she looks so peaceful snoozing with her hands behind her head. I can't ever get her to fall asleep like that but daddy is magic. So Cute!!!! I love you both so much!!!!!

Am I Insane?

2010-02-19T20:57:00.006-06:00

I think the pregnancy stupids must still be lingering in me. Yesterday I signed the hubby and I up for the Disney World Goofy's Race & Half Challenge. Here is the link: http://disneyworldsports.disney.go.com/dwws/en_US/events/eventDetail/detail?name=WdwMarathonDetailPage&pid=pip-0-2

Am I going to survive a half marathon one morning and turn around a finish a full marathon the next morning????? My brother-in-law and hubby talked me into this. On the one hand I am excited as all get out. On the other hand I am terrified. Not to mention that we will be taking an 18 month old along with us. Good thing Papa, Grandma, and many Aunts and Uncles are going along because we will probably need to pass along baby duty to them for the most part for a few days.

With this big race in mind the plan is to run a half marathon this spring and a full marathon this fall. In addition I want to do several sprint tris during the summer. I have a feeling that by this time next year I will be thoroughly exahusted! I just hope I can stay injury free.

Yesterday my new treadmill arrived. My old one finally felt my last running step. The plastic under the belt and the padding under the belt broke a week and a half ago. I've been going through running withdrawal. I would have run outside but of course it is too cold and of course it snowed another 3 inches today. OH WINTER GO AWAY GO AWAY, I REALLY DON'T CARE IF YOU COME BACK ANOTHER DAY!

Sam update, she is now sitting up unassisted. This has been awesome. She will sit and play with toys and is finding it easier to keep herself entertained. She also loves her Jumparoo, so much so that she tries to jump all the time now even when you are holding her. She was 14lbs 9oz at her last Dr. appointemnt (7 months) so she is now in the less than 10% bucket for weight. She just doesn't really show an interest in solid foods until her evening feeding where she packs in 4TBS of otameal cereal made with 2 oz of formula or breast milk and approx a whole jar of fruit. She usually finishes up with at least two more oz of formula or breast milk.

Sam is doing excellent and she gets cuter and cuter every day. That said, Travis & I really have been itching to get out a bit. We just need to find something to do that we can take baby along. Any suggestions besides dinner out. I'm hate spending money on dinner out!

I better sign off for now....time to feed Sam. I'm crossing my fingers that she doesn't bite me. That is another thing, I don't know how people breastfeed exclusively after their baby gets teeth. She bit me a few days ago and it hasn't stopped hurting. At least everything is still attached and no blood was lost. :)

Thanks for the thoughts RunBuggy

2010-01-20T20:30:00.002-06:00

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!

2010-01-10T16:01:00.007-06:00

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

2010-01-07T20:33:00.003-06:00

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

2010-01-01T13:58:00.006-06:00

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

2010-01-01T13:38:00.004-06:00

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

Happy Day After Thanksgiving

2009-11-27T18:30:00.007-06:00

Again, it has been a while since I posted here. Sam is sitting in my lap eating/sleeping so I finally have some time to post a few thoughts.

First thought, I am so thankful for my hubby and beautiful baby girl. Just over a year ago we found out we were pregnant with Sam. In a million years, we never would have guessed that would happen. She is amazing and perfect in every way - even when she is crying hysterically! She will be 5 months old tomorrow.

She had her four month appointment last Friday. I know, it was a little late but her doctor was on vacation for almost a month. She weighed in at 12lbs 12oz (12th percentile), 25 inches - but I measured her at home the same day and she is more like 25.5 inches (50 to 75th percentile depending on which measurement you go with) and her noggin was 16 inches - if I remember right (20th percenticle). They gave her 4 more vacinations (3 shots & one oral). She ran a bit of a fever over the next 2 days. The doctor said she was looking good and that we could try giving her cereal any time we wanted too. I've read a lot about starting solids and we were going to try to wait until 6 months but she seems hungry and ready to give it a try. Travis put together her high chair (it looks great) and our video camera arrived today so I went out and bought some rice cereal fortified with DHA. We may give it a try tomorrow. If so, look for some video to be posted! I told Travis it makes me kind of sad though because moving on to solids just means she is growing up and it seems so very fast. Oh and the doctor talked me into getting the H1N1 and seasonal flu shot so my arms were hurting by Friday afternoon.

On the training side of things I was feeling pretty good and less run down until today. I think I need to try and sneak a few extra hours of sleep tonight or tomorrow. Last Saturday we ran the Living History Farms cross country run with Tracy (my brother-in-law). 7 miles cross country with 5+ creek crossings. The water was cold, the race was crowed and the last mile was total crap but other than that we had a good time. I did steer clear of the beef stew being served after the race though. I had my annual doughnut instead. This is the only time I actually eat an entire doughnut and it wasn't very good - kind of dry. I also made it to the pool a few weeks ago. I swam about 800 meters and my arms were dead. I've got to get back to swimming at least once or twice a week soon!

I think that is about it. I need to find a pumpkin cookie recipe and go get some eggs. We are taking Sam to the babysitter tomorrow night so we can go see The Blind Side and I need some treats for our sitter. I'm headed to blog land trying to find a good recipe. Wish me luck!

It's been a while

2009-11-03T20:26:00.006-06:00

It's been a while since I posted last. I really hope I get time to do this more. Work has been crazy busy. For three weeks solid I have been working from 7am - 5 or 6pm and then ususally an hour or two at home. I'm getting 100+ emails a day. What in the world am I supposed to do with 100+ emails! I seriously hate email and I seriously hate meetings. The whole time I am in a meeting I'm thinking about how I'm going to respond to the 15-20 emails I received while I was away from my desk. I need to do a little Bad Boys "woo-saaaa, woo-saaa" - there now I feel better!

Sam update - she is 4 months old and she is so much fun. She is smiling back at us and developing more of a personality every day. She rolled over stomach to back for the first time on the day she turned 4 months old. She did it 3 times that day but we haven't seen her do it again since. The past week or so she has been a bit on the grumpy side. I'm not convinced she is totally over the ear infection she came down with a few weeks ago. For some reason she has decided she doesn't need to nap during the day. Seriously, she has been taking 3-4 fifteen minute naps a day over the past week. They have even mentioned she has been a little grumpy at day care. I'll see how she does tomorrow and if little miss grumpy pants doesn't change her tune I'll try to get her in to have her ears checked out again.

Training update - I had a pretty good cold for a week solid so I took it pretty easy last week and the end of the week prior to that. We signed up for our weekend before Thanksgiving cross country run. 7 miles through the woods and creeks in the freezing cold - doesn't that sound like fun! I also need to get my hind end to the pool sometime in the not too distant future. I haven't swam since our last tri at the end of August! Here are my weekly stats for the past couple of weeks:

10/11 to 10/17

Bike Distance: 12.62 Mi
Bike Time: 45m
Run Distance: 18.82 Mi
Run Time: 3h 13m 34s

10/18 to 10/24

Bike Distance: 12.04 Mi
Bike Time: 45m
Run Distance: 4.95 Mi
Run Time: 52m 05s
Strenght Time: 12m

10/25 to 10/31

Bike Distance: 20.09 Mi
Bike Time: 1h 12m
Run Distance: 18.20 Mi
Run Time: 3h 13m 43s

Brrr - and it is not even the middle of October

2009-10-12T18:35:00.003-05:00

Ok, so why do I choose to live in the midwest again?????

It is cold. Heck, it even snowed on Saturday morning. I'm not looking forward to another six months of this.

Sam Update: Growing like a weed as usual. She started taking her pacifier out of her mouth & then trying to put it back in this week. She got it a couple of times. I also think she's going to be a blanky baby. She likes holding on to her burp rag. I've tried to replace the rag with an actual blanket but right now she prefers the dirty and stinky rag!

Right now I am nursing her while typing one handed. She like to grab my shirt while she is eating and tug on it. I love it.

Training update: I did my long run of 8 miles on Saturday all on the treadmill thanks to the rotten weather. I like running on the treadmill but 8 miles is too much. I was counting down the 110ths by the timt I got 1/2 way through. I did get in what was probably my final bike ride outside for the year.

My goal to do pilates 2x a week hasn't been working out so well. Maybe I need to change the goal to once. There just isn't enough time. I don't skip my cardio but pilates & weight training are the 1st to go when I am time crunched.

Here are my stats for the week:
Bike Distance: 23.69 Mi
Bike Time: 1h 27m 31s
Run Distance: 26.39 Mi
Run Time: 4h 35m 48s

Where does the day go!!!

2009-10-07T18:46:00.004-05:00

Sam Update: She is the coolest thing ever! Last night she giggled for real for the first time. It was this high pitched squeal of delight and we were gaga over it. Yes, this little girl has her mommy & daddy thoroughly wrapped around her little finger! She has also started really examining her hands. It is pretty cool, she brings them together & stares at them while moving them around.

The picture below is of Sam at Krissy's house this weekend. She couldn't go into the hospital with us to see baby Abe and that made her sad

Misc Stuff:

Wow, there aren't enough hours in the day. I've been running full speed ahead since Sam arrived! Being back at work is good but things are crazy busy there & it is wearing me out a bit.

We do have some exciting news though...Travis' sister had a baby boy Saturday. We went to the hospital to see him and he seemed sooooooo tiny. He was 6lbs. 8oz which is bigger than Sam was but it doesn't seem like she was ever that small. Here is a pic of baby Abe.

Training: I was sick on Thursday evening and still wasn't feeling too hot on Friday so I laid off training altogether on those two days. Here is a summary of my week:

Bike Distance: 12.50 Mi
Bike Time: 45m
Run Distance: 12.10 Mi
Run Time: 2h 01m

I'm hoping for a better week this week.

It's official - having a baby changes you!

2009-09-27T17:06:00.002-05:00

So I've been noticing how our life has changed since Sam entered the world........summarized into a few words I can say that things don't matter at all anymore. Spending time as a family is what it is all about. I can only hope she will continue to feel that way as she grows. Heck we even leave Nebraska football games at halftime so we can get back to her! The best part of my day is when Travis, Sam & I are just hanging out in the living room. I better stop or I'll start getting tears in my eyes.

Exercise: On to what happened this last week training wise. I finished week #2 of the 12K training plan. I'm still loving running 4 times a week. It allows my body to recover and I'm actually enjoying my runs. Today was another 7 mile long run and it was, dare I say, enjoyable. Here is a summary of my week.

Bike Distance: 19.59 Mi
Bike Time: 1h 10m
Run Distance: 17.61 Mi
Run Time: 2h 56m 52s

Pilates: 10 minutes

Sam Update: She is still dealing with a bit of a cold. The day care ladies say she will probably deal with a snotty nose on and off for the next several months. Other than that she is doing great. We weighed her this morning at Krissy's and she was tipping the scales at 11 1/4 lbs with her diaper on. I don't think the scale is 100% accurate but it gives us an idea of where she is at. She continues to develop a personality and interacts with us more every day. She is so smiley in the morning and has started really cooing and it seems like she is starting to giggle a bit. She still hates tummy time but she did hold her head up really well while on her belly yesterday. We also moved up to the next bigger nipple size this week. It was taking her forever to eat a bottle at day care and she was always falling asleep several times before finishing. So far so good.

Week one of 12K training

2009-09-20T16:12:00.002-05:00

Exercise: So week #1 of my training program for the 7 mile cross country run we will be doing in November went ok. I find that only running 4 times a week is good for me. My legs recover and I am able to get much more out of my workouts. I think I'll stick to this schedule. I also squeezed in 2 pilate sessions. My core isn't anywhere near where it was prior to Sam being born. I have to work on that. My goal is 2 sessions per week. Right now I'm doing the beginner mat workout.

I did a 7 mile run on Sunday and after the first 4 miles I felt great. With Sam around we have had to make some minor adjustments to how we do a long run (if you call 7 miles long). It seems like she is content with a half hour to an hour in the BOB right now so I ran 4 miles on the treadmill then headed out with the entire family for the remaining 3. I then came back to the house with Sam & Travis continued on with Dakota for another 4. It worked out well. I could have ran farther but figured this is a big enough jump in my weekly mileage so I better keep it under control.

Here is my training week:

Total time: 5:31:57

Bike time: 0:50:00

Bike distance: 13.50 mi

Run time 2:52:55

Run distance: 17.81 mi

Pilates time: 0:22:00

Elliptical: 0:42:00

Walk time: 0:45:02

Walk distnace: 2.4 mi

Diet: I have a new goal and that is to eat less processed food and a little less sugar. I'm not intending to keep track of all the things I eat just to update on a weekly basis how I did. I really do have a good diet in general but I do fall of the wagon with sweets at least twice a week I would like to cut that back a bit. Don't get me wrong, I'm not striving for perfection here & food from Old Chicago and Jimmy John's will still find its way to my belly often!

Anyway, I'll give my first update next week.

Sam Update: Sam is 12 weeks old as of today. I can't believe it! She is growing up so fast already! Nothing monumental happened this week. She is still doing good with day care and has slept from 10pm - 5:30am or so the past 3 nights in a row. She is still getting more interactive every day. I love her happy moments which are getting much more frequent. Today we went to Bass Pro and she had fun looking at all of the animals and such.

2009-09-13T21:23:00.001-05:00

My 7 mile trail race training plan from Runner's World. I start tomorrow!

9/14 to 9/20
Rest/ XT
Easy RunDist: 2 mi@10:42
Rest/ XT
Tempo RunDist: 5 mi, inc Warm; 3 mi @ 9:07; Cool
Easy RunDist: 2 mi@10:42
Rest/ XT
Long RunDist: 7 mi@10:42
16 miles

9/21 to 9/27
Rest/ XT
Easy RunDist: 3 mi@10:42
Rest/ XT
SpeedworkDist: 5 mi, incWarm; 3x800 in 4:05w/400 jogs; Cool
Easy RunDist: 2 mi@10:42
Rest/ XT
Long RunDist: 7 mi@10:42
17 miles

9/28 to 10/4
Rest/ XT
Easy RunDist: 3 mi@10:42
Rest/ XT
Tempo RunDist: 5 mi, incWarm; 3 mi @ 9:07; Cool
Easy RunDist: 2 mi@10:42
Rest/ XT
Long RunDist: 8 mi@10:42
18 miles

10/5 to 10/11
Rest/ XT
Easy RunDist: 3 mi@10:42
Rest/ XT
Tempo RunDist: 6 mi, incWarm; 4 mi @ 9:12; Cool
Easy RunDist: 2 mi@10:42
Rest/ XT
Long RunDist: 8 mi@10:42
19 miles

10/12 to 10/18
Rest/ XT
Easy RunDist: 5 mi@10:36
Rest/ XT
Easy RunDist: 5 mi@10:36
Rest/ XT
Rest/ XT
Easy RunDist: 5 mi@10:36
15 miles

10/19 to 10/25
Rest/ XT
Easy RunDist: 3 mi@10:36
Rest/ XT
SpeedworkDist: 5 mi, incWarm; 4x800 in 4:03w/400 jogs; Cool
Easy RunDist: 3 mi@10:36
Rest/ XT
Long RunDist: 9 mi@10:36
20 miles

10/26 to 11/1
Rest/ XT
Easy RunDist: 3 mi@10:36
Rest/ XT
Tempo RunDist: 6 mi, incWarm; 4 mi @ 9:06; Cool
Easy RunDist: 3 mi@10:36
Rest/ XT
Long RunDist: 9 mi@10:36
21 miles

11/2 to 11/8
Rest/ XT
Easy RunDist: 3 mi@10:36
Rest/ XT
Tempo RunDist: 7 mi, incWarm; 5 mi @ 9:11; Cool
Easy RunDist: 2 mi@10:36
Rest/ XT
Long RunDist: 10 mi@10:36
22 miles

11/9 to 11/15
Rest/ XT
Easy RunDist: 4 mi@10:30
Rest/ XT
SpeedworkDist: 6 mi, incWarm; 5x800 in 4:00w/400 jogs; Cool
Easy RunDist: 3 mi@10:30
Rest/ XT
Long RunDist: 10 mi@10:30
23 miles

11/16 to 11/22
Rest/ XT
Easy RunDist: 3 mi@10:42
Easy RunDist: 3 mi@10:42
Tempo RunDist: 5 mi, incWarm; 3 mi @ 9:07; Cool
Rest/ XT
Rest/ XT
Race DayDist: 12 K@8:45Time: 1:05:22
19 miles

Last Week's Workouts & Sam's First Cold

2009-09-13T18:32:00.008-05:00

Here is the workout load for last week. I took it pretty easy. Running has felt really hard. I will be starting a 10K training plan for a cross country run we do every year the Saturday before Thanksgiving though. Hopefully the motivation of training for an event will kick me in the butt a bit. I also want to make a serious effort to do pilates 2 days a week.

Total workout time: 5:35:21
Bike(Time)1:45:00
Bike(Distance)29.51 mi
Run(Time)1:47:32
Run(Distance)10.10 mi
Hiking (Time)2:02:50
Hiking (Distance)4.50 mi

Sam update: She has her first cold. It was pretty bad Friday night. She sounded really stuffy but didn't have a fever. We were at Travis' sister's and almost nixed going to the Nebraska game on Saturday to come home and take her to the doctor. She did better the second half of the night sleeping and seemed pretty good on Saturday morning though. We went to the game, but left at halftime. She did good all day and only minorly congested. She woke up at 2:30am both nights wanting a little snack (sucked for 5 minutes only) and I figured the fluid was good for her so I didn't give her time to try and fall back to sleep before going to her. She is doing good today.

Here is beautiful Husker Family picture - thanks for taking this mom it looks great!
And some hiking pictures from this week:
I love this picture:

Last Day of Maternity Leave

2009-09-04T13:23:00.005-05:00

Today is my last day of maternity leave. I have mixed feelings right now. On one hand I am ready to go back to work and start having something to focus on and get myself out of constant snacking mode. I missed eating cookie dough so much during my pregnancy that I think I have eaten a tub of it a week for the past nine weeks! It will be interesting to see if I lose any more weight after I am back at work.

On the other hand, I'm not excited to have Sam in day care. Don't get me wrong, I know they will take good care of her but it won't be the same as if me or her daddy were providing the care. I'm also a little worried about her getting sick. I'm not consumed by the the fear of H1N1 but it is concerning. I still don't know if Travis and I should get the vaccine when it is available in October. I'm almost more concerned with the fact that it is being fast tracked than I am about the possiblity of us getting the actual flu. I need to talk to our pediatrician and my doctor to see what they think.

I think tonight will be a longer run (gotta work off that cookie dough I ate a few minutes ago) tonight. I'll post on that later. I'm upset because I was keeping track of my workouts on trainingpeaks.com but for some reason when my old laptop crashed I lost all of my workouts as well. Strange, I thought the benefit of an online record system was just that it is online. Oh well. Just got done with 4.55 miles. It was hard. I think I'm feeling the effects of hard tri training & a little lack of sleep. That and I haven't been eating very well the last couple of weeks. I also haven't been drinking enough water. Time to get that all back on track.

I am thinking I need a half marathon to train for over the late fall and winter. Maybe the Rock 'n Roll 1/2 in Phoenix in mid January. The only thing is that training for a race in the winter in the upper midwest is tough!

Tomorrow is the first Husker game of the season. We are going to Travis' sister & brother-in-law's house tomorrow and they will watch Sam while we go to the game. She is having a baby boy in October (their first) so this will give her some practice. If you are reading this, thanks Kris, you are awesome - and you don't need any practice!

Sam slept through the night!!!

2009-09-03T12:23:00.003-05:00

10:30pm-5:30am with just a little bit of wimpering at 3:30am. How awesome is this!

And since this blog is supposed to be about working out it is time I got back to documenting my efforts there.

Tonight my mom watched Sam and Travis & I went for a 22 mile bike ride. My back got a bit sore as I am not used to sitting on a bike for that long. The ride was fun though. We stay on paved bike trails and are fortunate to have miles and miles of them right outside our front door. A biker was killed on Sunday riding down the highway to the trail we rode on tonight. The person who hit him didn't stop. Come on, if you hit someone with your car you have to stop! It's not like you are going to get away with it so you might as well own up to it and see if you can save their life. I wouldn't think they were drunk as it occured during the day but I guess you never can tell. It's just sad.

Baptism, etc.

2009-08-31T16:44:00.010-05:00

So we had Samantha's baptism yesterday. Things went decently but not nearly as smoothly as we would have expected. The hubby and I have to accept the fact that we need to plan on things taking twice as long as we would expect and that they are twice the pain in the butt!

We had family in town beginning on Friday night. That evening we did a little grilling at our house and had a low key night.

Saturday morning we headed downtown to the Farmer's Market then we ate lunch at Hessen Haus (a German resturant/bar). They have a specialty called Das Boot (if you have seen the movie Beer Fest you know what I am talking about) and the family was ready to take the plunge. Here is a link to the rules: http://www.hessenhaus.com/haus_rules/haus_rules.php

Saturday night we went to a baseball game. It was a bit chilly but still a good time. I drank my first full beer since having Sam.

Sunday was baptism. Church was at 11am & it lasted until 12:30! Baptism was after the church service. There were 3 other children baptised at that time as well. Sam wore the gown that River wore and she looked adorable. She also did really good throughout the whole day. I fed her in the mother's room at 10:50am and she lasted until we got home at around 3:30 or so. She slept for most of the church service and baptism. After blessing her with water they annointed her with oil. While pastor was talking the oil started running down towards her right eye. Thank goodness it ran slowly enough that we didn't have to wipe it off while we were standing up in front of everyone.

Sam's sponsers were Uncle Tracy & Aunt Kristen as well as Uncle Marty & Aunt Julee. Here are some pics from baptism.

Sam Update: She has done really good sleeping for the past several days. Her routine right now is to eat at 9:45-10pm. She is usually put into her crib at 10:30 or so still awake but she falls asleep right away. Generally she sleeps until around 3-4am then eats for 20-25 minutes. After that she will sleep again until around 6:30-7am.

Today was entertaining. She was up at 6:45am and had a bottle. She was sitting on my lap while I ate some oatmeal and she pooped a few times. I didn't think much of it but when I got up to put my bowl in the dish washer and to then go change her I realized we had a big mess. Poop everywhere! It was bath time. I got her all cleaned up with wipes and went to grab the bath tub. She proceeded to then pee all over the changing pad. Pee up her backside and into her hair! She just looked at me and grinned. Sometimes I think she soils herself just so she can take a bath. She loves bath time. Then this afternoon she projectile spit up all over herself and I mean all over herself. Her pants were soaked, her onesie was soaked, her Bumbo seat was soiled. All in all, it was a great day.

On another Sam note she is starting to smile and coo more. I love the morning time right after she eats. She is in her best mood of the day and will lay on her back flailing her arms and legs cooing and smiling up a storm. The other thing she does that is way cute is sometimes when she is sleeping she will make a loud noise (kind of like the beginning part of a laugh) and then smile. I'm not sure what babies dream about but I want those dreams!

Grumpy Sam

2009-08-25T19:16:00.006-05:00

So Sam got her first round of shots yesterday & did really well. I cried. She slept all day yesterday. Today went pretty well until about an hour ago. WOW - grumpy pants! I hope she sleeps!

Sam before the shots having a good time!

She loved the paper on the table at the doctor's office. She wiggled around happily on it and was having a great time until the shots. She weighed in at 9lbs 6oz and 22 3/4 inches long.

Sam after her shots - sad baby girl :(

Pregnancy & Post Delivery Excercise

2009-08-24T10:21:00.013-05:00

Ok, I have received a few questions about how/when I started back on the training path after having Samantha. Let me give you the brief blow by blow:

I was very active throughout my entire pregnancy with the 100% blessing of my doctor and all of those in his group. He said to continue doing what I was doing but not to push it. Now was not the time to try to improve performance. Listen to your body he siad. If it says "go run" then go run. If it says "do nothing" then listen to it do not ignore it. I did a pretty good job following that advice. Here is the low down per trimester:

First Trimester:

I gave up biking outside immediately. I'm horribly clumsy and crashing my bike terrified me so I took that risk off the table. At 5 weeks I gave up biking for several months. I woke up one morning during the 5th week and had pretty substaintal bleeding. Bright red blood. I thought this pregnancy was all over. I cried. We went to the doctor and had an ultrasound and saw a heartbeat. We were so relieved. That night I racked my brain to see what could have caused the bleeding. The doctor said it just happens sometimes. I remembered that the previous evening I had ridden my bike on the indoor trainer for 45 minutes. Needless to say, I quit biking for

months. I have an elliptical machine so I started spending more time on it. I was scared at that point and would do 10 minutes ont he ellpitical then a 1/2 mile on the treadmill. This continued with no ill effects and eventually I built up to where I was running 3 miles straight. I continued to run and felt great. No high intensity stuff though. I also continued to swim but only about once or twice a month.

Weight gain was approximately 2 lbs.

Second Trimester:

I "ran" the Disney World 1/2 Marathon. I had never done a 1/2 Marathon before and didn't intend to run the whole thing until we were 3 miles into the race. I can't explain how good I felt that day. It was amazing. We jogged really slowly and walked a few times but we finished and I never felt out of breath or fatigued. It is an awesome race!

The elliptical machine continued to be my best friend. I continued to do workouts where I was on the elliptical then the treadmill, then the elliptical, treadmill, etc. etc. I still stayed off of the bike.

Weight gain was approximately 8lbs for a total of 10

Third Trimester:

I continued the elliptical/treadmill workouts but towards the middle of the third trimester I decided to give the bike a try again. I started really slowly with a 20 minute ride and things went great. My running distance gradually decreased the 2nd half of this trimester. At about 36 weeks I started experiencing significant swelling in my ankles and legs. It gradually got worse. I went to the doctor every week so they could monitor me but I never developed pre eclampsia. I wore compression socks for the last half of the 36th week up until delivery at 38 weeks.

Weight gain: just shy of 15 lbs. 12 of them added during the last 2 weeks mostly due to all of the water retention. Total weight gain, just shy of 25 lbs.

Post Delivery:

While still in the hospital Travis & I started walking. We walked around the floor with Sam in the morning, around noon and again at night. It felt wierd at first - my belly was all jiggly and felt oddly like it wasn't really attached to me. Oh and I got winded fast and I'm not sure why.

On the morning we were discharged I talked to my doctor about exercising. He knows my workout habits because we discussed them at every single visit throughout my pregnancy. He gave me the same guidelines as he gave me during pregnancy. I can do whatever I want as long as I listen to my body. That meant starting out walking and making sure everything went ok there. I could jog/run whenever I felt comfortable. No swimming duing the bleeding period.

I took it easy. We walked a ton the first week. I started jogging 1 week after delivery and gradually worked up from there. I think it helps that I train in 3 different areas (swim, bike run). If I had been trying to run 30+ miles per week one week after having Sam I think I would have been in trouble. Here is a pic of my first post delivery jog:

I felt good so I jumped into the middle of a 12 week sprint tri training plan. It was hard but I kept my effort level within reason. The most difficult thing was finding the time to workout for an extended period of time. I wasn't able to do any long brick workouts and I paid for that on race day. I had no idea how much effort to put in on each leg. As she has gotten older it has gotten easier. She now takes decent naps. Prior to 7 weeks she would nap for a half hour or 45 minutes then be crying. That got a lot better over the last week or so. I imagine that training is going to be difficult until she is bigger but I will work it in. Travis & I want to do a 70.3 next fall so we will have to find the time to train. I wouldn't trade the hassle it for anything in the world! She is so amazing!

First Post Baby Tri!!!!

2009-08-23T18:28:00.009-05:00

Today Travis & I competed in the Hickory Grove Sprint Triathlon. It was a 500 meter swim, 15.5 mile bike and a 5K run. This was my first tri post baby Samantha. It went pretty good. I wanted to be faster than last year and got really close (within 30 seconds). I guess, that isn't too bad for 6 weeks of training (Sam is 8 weeks old today). Why do we get greedy as athletes.....I should be happy I finished but I'm sure I'm preaching to the chior if there are any other triathletes reading this.

We started off the morning at 4:30am. We thought we would be out the door by 5am. This is another thing we are learning as parents. We don't set the schedule, Sam does. She woke up right when we did and of course she was hungry. She had eaten at 1:30am so we were expecting her to make it until 5:30am but as I said, we don't rule the roost here anymore. Needless to say we were out the door by 5:15am. Still pretty respectable but it didn't allow us time to pick up muffins and cinnamon rolls for the babysitter and her family. I'm taking her out to dinner Tuesday night and I should buy a gift card for them.

We made it to the race for packet pickup in good time regardless of our somewhat late start. It was chilly (50 degrees). Travis started at 8:04am and I had to hang out until 8:48am. I thought it would be good to get in the water so at about 8:30 I wandered in. BRRRRR! Water temp was 71 degrees and it took my breath away - I've only done two open water swims and both were in water that was 80 degrees. I'm used to the balmy 85 degrees of the pool. I'm really glad I got in. Most of the other women were in as well.

As for the rest of the race the only things eventful that happened were that I had a couple of people try to swim over me. I've been fortunate not to have this happen to me before and I didn't like it. Thank goodness for wetsuits. I will state again that I am never, NEVER, NEVER doing a race where wetsuits aren't legal. I guess the pro circut is out for me (as if that was ever going to happen). Then at the beginning of the bike I first couldn't get my shoe in. Then I got that all figured out but my stupid speedometer wasn't working. Then I did something stupid. I tried to push the sensor closer to the wheel while I was on the bike. You can probably guess what happened. I'm an idot - but someone was looking out for me and I just skinned my ring finger. I could have lost a digit! It hurt pretty bad and was bleeding decently but I continued on. The ride was hard. I haven't ridden all out effort wise for about a year. Time to pay my dues. I did go back and forth with another girl in my age group which was pretty fun. Toward the end of the bike she came up beside me and said "Please tell me you are a slow runner". I told her not to worry because I am slower than snot off of the bike. I then passed her again about a half mile from the end of the bike.

The run was hard as it always is. About half a mile in I decided to ditch the maximum effort as my heart rate was going pretty high. I also stopped looking at my watch. I still finished with a middle of the pack run time.

Overall, I finished 6th out of 43 in my age group and 44th of 171 women overall. Here are my times:

SWIM (500 meters): 10:47.9

BIKE (15.5 miles): 48:05.01

RUN (5K): 28:00.5

Total: 1:29:42.7

Now I have to decide if this is my one and only race this year. There is another one in our area in a few weeks. We'll have to decide.

As for Sam, she did really well at Rhonda's. She slept most of the morning - had a bottle at 9am and another around 12:30pm. She was a happy camper when we picked her up.

Sam's First Hiking Experience

2009-08-15T10:46:00.000-05:00

We took Sam hiking today at The Ledges State Park. She did awesome. Daddy carried her in the Baby Bjorn and she slept pretty much the whole time.

We hiked for a little over an hour on the easy trails and then had a picnic lunch. It started raining about 5 mintues after we sat down to eat though and we had to finish lunch in the pickup!

4 Consecutive Hours of Sleep

2009-08-15T03:02:00.002-05:00

I'm so excited...Sam slept from 10:45 pm to 3 am. That is 4 hours of consecutive sleep for me! I haven't slept for 4 hours at one time since June 26th. I'm so excited I probably won't be able to get back to sleep!

It's Hot Out & Sam's Bumbo Seat

2009-08-14T16:42:00.005-05:00

Went for 4.5 miles this morning with Sam and was sweating bullets by the end of it. I finished the run by doing some pretty good hills in our neighboorhood. I was supposed to run strides but I think the hills were a good substitute.

Yesterday we went to the pool and I made it approximately 900 meters without stopping. Hopefully, I am ready for the 23rd.

Sam Update: She hates, hates, hates, hates tummy time. I was on baby center today and there was a post about the Bumbo seat. Several people have said they used the seat (with very close parental supervision) to help build neck control because their babies will not do tummy time. I then had to find us a Bumbo. We went to Kmart - no Bumbo. We went to Walmart - only in pink. We went to Babies R Us - only in pink and blue. We went to Target and bought a green one. I sat Sam in it right after she ate and she appears to like it. I was holding my hands around her head the whole time. She has decent neck control but I wouldn't walk away from her in the seat at this point in time. Here is a picture of her in her new favorite chair.

Madone 5.5

2009-08-12T13:46:00.003-05:00

I'm so excited!!!! I got a new bike yesterday. It is a Madone 5.5 and it is awesome. I bought it at Bike Country. It was a demo bike and I got a really good deal on it. I feel bad about spending the money but yee haw!!! Went for a ride last night and wow it is fast. I can't wait to race on it! Here is a picture of a similar bike I found on the internet.

Getting Adjusted

2009-08-12T13:20:00.003-05:00

Sam the Husker fan (she doesn't have a choice)

Ok long time no post.

I really want to get better at this.

I thought about updating with everything that I have been doing over the past few weeks but I think I'll just summarize by saying I have managed to continue my tri training. I am following the Triathlete Magazine Essential Week-By-Week Training Guide. I'm in week 11 for a sprint at Level 4. I jumped into this on week 8 after having Sam.

The program has been pretty tough. Today was a tempo run with 18 minutes at the fastest pace I could maintain for 20 minutes. This ended up being between 9 and 8:30 pace. These tempo runs almost kill me. I don't think I'm going to have a good run at Hickory Grove. We'll see. Tonight I really need to hit the pool and try to swim at least 400m non stop. We did an open water swim on Sunday morning after church and it went pretty well.

On to Sam, she is doing good. Yesterday at the breastfeeding class we go to she weighed in at 8lbs 8oz and she ate 3.5 oz in 30 mintues. I wish she would get faster (the lady I was sitting next to said her 7 week old daughter eats 4oz in 10 minutes) but it is her schedule not mine. I'm getting much better at accepting that. She is starting to smile and coo a bit. It is amazing how much time I spend trying to get her to do either one. Most of the time she just sits there looking at me like I am a crazy person - which I probably am.

Sleeping: Last night Sam ate at 9:45pm and slept from 10:30-1:45. I put her back down at 2:30 and she slept until around 6. This is pretty good but I can't wait until she sleeps 5+ hours straight.

Naps: I'm trying to make sure she doesn't sleep for longer than 3 hours during the day. So far so good although we came close. She slept from about 10:00 to 1pm. I started trying to wake her at 12:30 with no luck. At 1pm I decided to put her in her crib and go take a nap myself and like magic she started crying about 1 minute after I put her in the crib.

Weight: At my weekly weigh-in this morning I was at 124. I think I am back to normal here but I do have a little belly fat to lose yet and I anticipate I will lose a bit more after I am done with breastfeeding.

I plan on doing a weekly training wrap up on Sunday nights going forward. We'll see how that goes.

Samantha's Birth Announcement

2009-07-30T09:47:00.001-05:00

This fabulous announcement was created by Travis' sister Kristen. She is so talented!

First Swim in Months

2009-07-27T08:00:00.002-05:00

Yesterday was my first swim in a long time. Travis, Sam & I headed to the pool for lap swim at noon. Our plan was for us to alternate swimming and the non swimming person would sit with Sam. I jumped in first. I was tired by the time I completed 50 meters. Breathing was the biggest issue. This should come back shortly though. I did a couple of really slow 100 meter repeats then some 50 meter repeats.

I need to concentrate on keeping my elbow high during the pull. I worked on this for at least 1/2 of the time I was in the water and I think I could tell that I was more efficient and pulling more water.

Yesterday was also Sam's 1 month birthday! My how the time flies. Tomorrow I am going to a breastfeeding class. We'll see how much weight she has gained in the past two weeks and how much she is eating at a normal feeding.

Travis starts his new job today so Sam & I are on our own. Exciting Stuff!

Not doing a very good job of posting

2009-07-25T10:38:00.008-05:00

Ok, so I need to get better at updating my blog. This is on my to do list for the next 6 weeks while I am still at home with Sam.

This morning we ran our first 5K as a family. It was a part of our church's summer festival. We were the first stroller to cross the finish line. 1st place for my little cutie! We came in around 27:20 which is slow but not too bad because we are not fast by any stretch of the imagination. We hung out and watched the kid's fun run afterwards...some of those little ones run faster than I do!

The rest of my training has been going pretty well. I jumped into a 12 week sprint training plan with the goal of completing my first tri of the season on 8/23. The workouts are pretty intense.

I am also itching to get back into the pool. I've searched high and low to see how quickly you can return to swimming after having a baby. Finally, I decided to just call the Dr. and ask. The nurse said she had never been asked that question before. Wow - I can't believe that. Anyway, she said as long as I feel like I am healed up (particualrly from the tearing & stitches) it would be fine for me to head back to the pool at 4 weeks. That equals this coming Sunday....as in tomorrow!!!! I'm headed to the pool. We'll see how bad my swimming fitness is.

Here is my training this past week:
7/19 - Day off!
7/20 - Run - Time: 50:30, Distance: 5.21 miles
7/21 - Bike (Threshold) Time: 1 hour, Distance 15.92 miles, Pace: 15.9 mph
10 min warm up 22 min
7/22 - Run (Tempo) Time 32:16, Distance 3.58, Speed: 6.6 mph 12 minutes of tempo & 32
minutes total
7/23 - Bike (Taco Ride http://tacoride.com/) Time: 1:30, Distance 20 miles,
7/24 - Run (Foundation Run with Strides) Time: 40:30, Distance: 4.48 miles, Speed 6.7mph
5 min warm up then 25 min foundation run. Finished with 6x20 sec strides. Cool down
for 6 minutes
7/25 - Run (church 5K) Time: 27:20, Distance: 3.13 miles, Pace: 8.48

Thursday night we went to Kris & Tracy's. Kris watched Sam while Travis & I rode the taco ride with Tracy. We had a really good time. You bike for 10 miles & then eat tacos and have a beer or margarita at the turn around point then ride back to the start in the dark. We have to do this again. I have a link to the ride above in my weekly training details so check it out.

2009-07-12T16:44:00.001-05:00

Yesterday I biked outside with Travis for the first time in 9 months! It felt so good to be out and about on the bike. We rode about 13 miles averaging 15.3mph while my mom watched Sam. It felt great! I can't wait until we have Sam on the bottle so we can find a sitter and do it again.

Today Travis did his second tri of the season. He did great - sat a PR for the course by almost 10 minutes. He rocked the bike course! Sam, my mom & Krissy all went along to cheer him on.

On the baby front, we can't figure out why she is so gassy. Supposedly breast fed babies are supposed to have less gas! After almost every feeding she is fussy and curling herself into a big ball. I've read a bunch of stuff, evidentally I need to burp her way more often while feeding and I possibly need to back off the minimal caffiene and dairy products I am consuming. Hopefully tonight goes better than last night. 4 hours of sleep isn't going to cut it. Travis just went to Babies R Us and picked up some Mylicon drops. We are trying them at bedtime.

Labor & Delivery Here We Come

2009-06-27T16:31:00.005-05:00

So this morning Travis went for a run with Dakota & I hit the bike trainer & elliptical - alternating 10 min each at a time. After I was done I stretched out with Travis & then hit the showers at about 10:30am. Shortly after getting out of the shower I noticed I was bleeding. It was pretty red blood (that sounds wierd I know). I yelled out the door & said "I think we are going to labor & delivery." He came in and took a look and then we started grabbing our stuff.

We got to the hospital at around noon & they hooked me up to the monitors (baby heart rate & contraction). The nurse checked and said I was dialated at 2-3 & was contracting approx every 2 minutes. She checked to see if my water had broken and it didn't appear like it had. The dr. came in and said the same. They wanted me to walk around for about 45 min. & then they would check me again.

We did laps - the distance is probaby only a couple hundred yards and we did lap after lap after lap. When the nurse checked me again it was 1:45pm and she did another check for amniotic fluid. She said I may have dialated another 1/2 cm or so. At around 2:45 she came back and said that our decision to wait it out here or to go home had been made for us. It appears that I have a slow leak.

She said she was going to call our dr's office and let them know. I asked if I could have a snack. I had not eaten since 7:30am. She said she would ask him. Travis & I then went and did more laps. So much for going to watch the pros and the Hy-Vee Triathlon this afternoon. Anyway, the dr. wouldn't let me have any real food so right now I'm eating cherry jello (it's not too bad). I am hooked up to an IV. It is 4:45pm. Travis just went and grabbed some McDonald's burgers & fries. Once he is done we'll hit the halls again. My contractions appear to be coming less frequently and if they continue to do that I'll have to have some Pitocin. I'd prefer doing laps.

The rest of this blog was completed 1 week & 2 days after baby girl Hinrichs made her entry into this big world.

At shortly after 5pm the dr. decided Pitocin was on tap. They hooked me up to the IV and almost instantaneously the contractions started becoming more painful. I got a birthing ball and tried to distract myself from the pain by bouncing around on it and eating a popcicle. I started having some serious back pain. Travis tried massaging it out but nothing was working. I've never been in as much pain before. The contactions were about one to two minutes apart and every one was excruciating. At approximately 8pm I said to Travis "I need something now". He went and got the nurse. She came in and checked me and said I was probably at about a 3. She contacted the anestesiologist but said he wa busy with an emergency so it may take him a while. Thank goodness that translated to about 20 minutes. He showed up and by 8:30pm the epidural was in and I was beginning to feel it's effects. Getting the epidural really wasn't painful. I don't do very well with medication and the initial effects of the medicine made me nervous. I started shaking pretty badly (which I understand is normal) and Travis had to calm me down.

By 10pm, I was beginning to totally lose feeling in my right leg but no one was concerned. I was able to relax a bit and catch a few ZZZZZ's while watching part of the Bear Grylls marathon. Travis headed to the not so comfy pull out couch and tried to sleep a bit as well.

At about 1:30am the nurse came in and checked me. By then I was dialated to 9cm. I guess the epidural helped relax me enough to let the Pitocin work. I was excited but instantly nervous and started shaking badly again. Travis once again had to calm me down and he did an excellent job.

At 2am the nurse called the dr. and he was just getting ready to start a c-section so they asked me to just hang out a bit. I didn't have a problem with that. The nurse came back in at 2:40am and decided it was time to start pushing with my contractions. I'm talking serious pushing.....deep breath......push with all of your might until you have to take another breath.....quick breath.....push again with all your might....quick breath....you get the jest of this. Needless to say after each one my heart rate was through the roof and I felt like I was going to pass out. At about 2:50am the doctor came in and was all business. He told me to push and then stop, push and then stop (evidentally he was trying to keep me from tearing) and at 2:57am Samantha Mae was taking her first breath in our big world and screaming!

They handed her to me and Travis and I just stared at her. She was (and still is) beautiful. I thought I would cry but didn't. We were so happy she was here. After a few minutes they took her to the warming table in the room and checked her out and cleaned her up more.

She weighed in at 6lbs. 6oz. and was 20.5 inches long (that expains all of those swift kicks to the ribs I'd been getting). Her initial APGAR was an 8 and the subsequent one was a 9.

After they had her cleaned up and checked over they brought her back and it was time to take our first stab at breastfeeding. It went pretty well. Hopefully that will continue.

Approximately 2 hours after birth it was time to leave the birthing room and head to the room we would be in for the rest of our stay. We dropped Sam off at the nursery where the pediatrician would give her a thorough check up. They would then bring her in to us when they were done.

The rest of the hospital stay went well. All of the nurses were awesome. We were able to utilize the nursery to get some rest as well. On Tuesday, June 30th we ate lunch and then headed home.

As far as excercise goes from birth day until now I've done a lot of walking. Travis and I started cruising around the floor with Sam the day after she was born. We continued this a couple of times a day until we went home. On Tuesday night we hit the trails for about a mile walk. It was our first adventure in the BOB Revolution. We love that stroller! Wednesday morning was a 2 mile walk, Thursday morning was a 2.25 mile walk, Friday morning was a 2.5 mile walk. On Saturday we took it easy - Papa and Grandma were in town and it was rainy all day. I managed to work out a bit on the elliptical for about 25 minutes. Sunday I did the elliptical again for 25 minutes then jogged (very slowly) on the treadmill for a 1/2 mile. I had been kind of scared to start but it wasn't too bad. Monday (7/6) was a run walk with Travis. We did .25 walk, .25 jog for a total of 3 miles. Monday night we walked to McDonald's to get an ice cream cone. When we got there (a mile away) they had no power so we got no ice cream - how sad.

Weight wise I am baffeled. During the last month of my pregnancy I gained 13 - 14 lbs. I was retaining a bunch of fluid in my legs and really hadn't been eating much. When I got home from the hospital I weighed in at 136. Yesterday morning it was at 129 and this morning it was 124. Back to my prepregnancy weight in slightly over one week. As if all of this wasn't wierd enough, right now I actually like my legs. I can see muscle definition there for the first time ever and I'm enjoying wearing shorts. I'm sure this won't last but right now I'm loving it.

Here are some more pictures of Sam.

38 Weeks!

2009-06-24T21:10:00.006-05:00

As of tomorrow we are officially 38 weeks pregnant! I've been trying to maintain my running and biking throughout and have done pretty good so far but lately running has gotten really uncomfortable. I've had pretty substantial lower body swelling over the past two weeks and am getting really anxious for her to make her arrival.

This morning I was up early and decided to do a quick circut of weights (10 min total). I also did two 12 minute walks today at work. As far as my planned cardio for today, I made it a grand total of .25 miles a 5.4 mph before I had to ditch it and walk. Too much pressure in the pelvic region - OUCH! I managed to eek out an additional .75 miles walking and 20 minutes on the elliptical. The elliptical was so much more comfortable.

We'll see what tomorrow brings!

1st Post

2009-06-24T20:54:00.000-05:00

This blog is being created to document our lives as beginner triathletes after the birth of our first child. Baby girl Hinrichs is due on 7/9/2009.