Happy Birthday Brett

The last couple of weeks have been pretty exciting at our house.  Brett turned 1 on September 1st and the Husker Football season started as well.  We also put new shingles on our roof and by "we" I mean Travis, 3 of my brother-in-law's and one friend.  They did an awesome job and got the house and garage all done in a day!  Travis had ripped the old shingles off of the garage and prepped it to the tar paper stage which was hard work for him but he did great.  I was on the garage for a few hours helping him out but other than that it was all him.

Let's start with Brett turning one.  I can not believe how fast the year has gone.  He is growing like a weed and when I tell you he is into everything I really mean it.  We used to say that Sam was into everything when she was his age but she wasn't.  This boy is all over everywhere all of the time!  Here are some pictures from a small birthday celebration we had with my mom, and my sister and her family.  We went to the zoo first thing in the morning then came home for lunch, naps, then cake and ice cream followed by presents.  I made him a Curious George smash cake.  It was devils food with whatever the normal frosting is out of the can.  He seemed to like it.  We also made ice cream in the ice cream ball.  It was vanilla with broken up Reese's PB cups in it.  Everyone but Brett loved the ice cream.  I think he just has a hard time with it being so cold. 

On 9/4 Brett started his first day in the toddler room at day care.  He was a little out of sorts when I dropped him off.  I took oatmeal for him for breakfast but they don't have highchairs in there.  Maybe I need to transition to finger foods for breakfast.  But then again, he can't really climb into the chairs and sit at the little table yet so maybe it isn't such a big deal.  I'm also still nursing him.  I wrapped up nursing with Sam gradually right after she turned one.  Brett had his one year appointment with the Dr. last Thursday and he said he is fine with him continuing on breast milk, or formula or whole milk.  In the end it is up to me.  I've been researching and researching trying to figure out if there is a real benefit health wise to Brett or myself for continuing.  They say that continuing benefits the baby's immune system and there are rumors that it it better for brain development.  I have also read that the longer the mother breast feeds the more she decreases her risk of breast cancer, ovarian cancer, diabetes, etc.  What isn't clear is how long is the most beneficial.  I want to make sure I've done enough research before I totally pull the plug on it.  I give myself a few more weeks.  I have cut back to nursing in the morning, pumping at around 2pm and pumping again around 8:30pm.  I'm thinking of cutting back to nursing in the morning and pumping for the before bed bottle.  The doc said he only needs 16 oz of milk so if I am feeding him 6 oz at night, what I would guess to be around 5-6 oz in the morning, that means he really only needs another 4 oz or so to hit the 16 oz goal. 

Fitness wise I haven't ridden my bike since 8/4 and I have no desire to do so right now.  I've been running about 20 miles/week and doing the elliptical for a few hours a week.  I'm working on a training plan for a cross country race the weekend before Thanksgiving that is 7 miles long.  We are trying to decide when our next race should be.

On another kid note, we are thinking about taking the kiddos to the Nebraska game this weekend.  I'm not sure how they will do.  The weather is supposed to be perfect though so if we ever wanted to give it a try this would be the time to do it.

A Little Hometown Birthday Celebration

Dear Sam & Brett,

This weekend we loaded up and headed to Papa and Grandma's to celebrate Bruning's 125th birthday. Going back home isn't mommy's favorite thing to do but spending time with family is important. They are a link to your past and the ones most likely to be by your side in the future. Time goes fast. I hope daddy and I help you to learn to love others and to cherish your family first and foremost. We will try our beat to make it fun along the way!

Uncle Shawn, Uncle Tracy, Aunt Krissy, Abe, Aunt Nikki, Reese and Hannah were already there by the time we arrived on Friday night. You both had an awesome time staying up late and playing with your cousins.

On Saturday morning we headed in to town as members of the Hinrichs Family Threshing crew. Sometime we will have to sit down with you and explain threshing. Now isn't the time. You both enjoyed sitting on the old tractors.

Later in the afternoon you got to be in your first parade with all of your extended Hinrichs family. It was super hot but you both did great. There was a little pool on the float and you both played around in the water to help stay cool. Brett, you are so funny. You love, love, love splashing around. Sam, you had your first peeing outside experience (actually two times). Although it isn't a great idea to pee in public sometimes you don't really have a choice. We didn't have a choice on Saturday and you did awesome.

After the parade we headed back to the farm. It started to sprinkle a bit. Once the threat of storms passed daddy saddled up Bones and Gary and Sammy you went for a ride. Hannah joined you on Bones and you had a blast!

After the rides were done we just hung out with the family. The adults had some adult beverages and you kiddos ran around playing. Brett, you got some quality cuddling time in with the adults. Before too long you will be running and riding with the rest of the crew but for now we will enjoy holding you and playing Pat-a-cake.

Love you both,
Mommy

Ironman 70.3 Racine Race Report

We all survived and finished. That really was the only goal going into the race yesterday. I finished in 7:03, had bike troubles and serious cramping on the run for 10 miles. Travis finished with me and his time was 6:58. We weren't speedy but we made it!

The weather was decent. Mid 70's at the start and upper 80's during the run. It was pretty humid though.

The wave Kris and I were in started at 8:08. We were at transition at 5:30am so it was a long morning. The water was a chilly 68 degrees and of course when I put my face in I started hyperventilating a bit. I calmed down the longer I stayed in the water though. The water was clear which is something I'm not used to so that was nice too. I had butterflies in my stomach and my heart started racing a bit when the gun went off. I started at the back on the right and got into a little groove fairly quickly.

The swim was pretty uneventful until I was getting close to the last buoy before heading to shore. By then several people in the. Ext wave and a few from the wave after had caught up to me and it became more like the "washing machine" they tell you about. I had someone swimming up my legs continuously. I made it to shore and through the swim finish arch in 42 minutes. I was more than ok with that time.

The highlight of T1 was the nice man who pulled off my wetsuit. I've never had assistance getting out of my suit before and let me say, it was AWESOME!!!!

I took my time in T1 and headed out on the bike after 6 minutes or so. Then I started cursing. My freaking bike computer would not work. No mph, no timer, nothing. The only thing that worked was cadence. I stopped at around 5 miles and tried to fix it with no luck. I was racing by feel only which isn't a bad thing to do sometimes but it would have been good to pace myself during a ride that was that long. A ride that would be followed up with a half marathon! Oh well. I knew right then that when I told Travis about it he would take the computer off and smash it. Rightly so. It has been a pain in the arse since I got it.

The bike course is not enjoyable. It is rough as a cob. Even drinking is difficult. At mile 15 my aerobars had come loose. Not just slightly loose but all the way to where they were turning all of the way out. I thought about leaving them and riding in my drops the rest of the way but 40+ miles in the drops is a long way. I pulled over and spent minutes tightening the darn things.

Travis passed me shortly after.

I tried to stay at a moderate pace.

I tried to eat and drink. More on that later.

I finished the bike in 3:17 and headed to T2. I came upon Travis there. I got my run gear on, let the race volunteers slather some sunscreen on me and then hit the porta potty. I peed a lot. I thought I must have been drinking enough to that point. I was wrong.

Travis waited for me and we headed out on the run. The first mile was ok. I think we did 9:19 pace. That is too fast. We walked through the first aid station and grabbed some perform and ice water which I poured over my head. Mile 2 was ok. I made us walk for a minute after 5 minutes then we ran to the next aid station. Again I had perform and ice water. The next mile I made us walk again after about five minutes but here is where the wheels started to come off. I started to feel like I couldn't breathe. Travis calmed me down and then we jogged some more. I started to feel some small cramps in my quads just above my knees. We made it through the first 3.4 miles in around 36 minutes. I kept telling Travis he could go on. He didn't. At first I think I was running too fast to try to not disappoint him but then the cramping started and it was somewhat out of my control.

My jog five minutes, walk one minute plan gradually deteriorated to at the end where I couldn't even jog 20 steps consecutively without my legs seizing up. I almost fell down 3 times. I'm sad that I didn't perform better and that I didn't finish in under 7 hours. I am so thankful for my awesome hubby. He didn't have to stay with me. I would have been ok. But he did stay. We talked about things while we walked. I had a good time even though I could barely walk. I really, really, really love that man.

I tried to run across the finish but my legs did not really let me. That will be an interesting finish line picture. A lady came over to too to me and asked me to follow her to the med tent. I did. They wrapped ice bags around my legs and neck. They gave me water. They said there was a ton of people who ran almost the whole race while cramping. They thought it was due to the humidity.

We he some snacks and packed up our stuff. The shower at the hotel felt awesome. Then we met some friends for a little celebratory food and drink. I slept like crap. I miss my kids.

Now let's talk about nutrition here is what my day looked like:

Dinner the night before:
Olive garden linguini alla marinara. 2 breadsticks and a salad. We had 1 beer at the hotel and I ate a banana before I popped and Ibuprofen and hit the hay. I slept good

Race day
Breakfast: 1 cinnamon raisin bagel with approx 1T Jif Natural PB, a little coffee and some water

Pre-race: approx 10 oz perform and 1/2 banana

Bike: 20 oz perform in the first hour, 2 margarita shot blocks at hour 1, 20 oz perform during the second hour, 1/2 banana at approx 1.5 hours in, 2 margarita shot blocks at hour 2, 20 oz of water during the remaining ride and 2-3 shot blocks.

Run: I had perform at all but one aid station and water at about half of them. I tried soda once but it was horrible! I had a few potato chips at mile 7 and a GU Rocktane at mile 10.

Moral of the story.....I didn't drink enough. If I ever do this again I need to figure that out. I also need to do some longer runs after long rides. It's been so hot this summer and I've been so pressed for time that the longest run after a bike was 3.1 miles. That won't cut it.

All in all, I'm glad I did it but I don't really feel the itch to do another. We will see.

Teaching Manners

I mentioned in my last post that I needed to start reading some books so I can discern a way to effectively teach Sam manners. Well today at Target I found this book. It goes over please and thank you, excuse me, table manners, etc., etc.

I figure she loves princesses and if they can help us teach her how to be polite I can learn to love them too! Of course we will continue to do our part but don't they always say that together as a team you can do more? It can't hurt.

Training: last night I made it to the pool to swim at 9 pm. I quickly discovered that swimming on an empty stomach is not a good idea. It served as a reminder to take some chomps with me to the race start on Sunday.

This morning I ran two miles on the treadmill and I think we might try to do a little swim in the lake tomorrow and then training will be officially done!

It's a Double Yolk Day

I cracked my egg this morning an look at what I got......a double yolk!!!! I don't think I have ever seen a double yolk. I think it is going to be a great day!

Taper week for IM 70.3 Racine is going as well as can be expected. Yesterday was a 4.8 mile run. Today I will head to the pool for a 1,300 meter swim after Sam goes to bed. I'm starting to feel some nervousness. My stomach feels a little queasy and I doubt that goes away until T1 on Sunday!

Swim lessons for Sam last night went a little better. She still doesn't pay enough attention to the teacher and acts like she is trying to run away from her all of the time. That drives me crazy. I keep trying to tell Sam she needs to sit and listen to the teacher and she should not run away. She says she will but then she doesn't. I hope she continues to improve.

While watching Sam at lessons and listening to he at home I have started to wonder how do we teach her manners. Right now she likes to voice demands such as "I want Mac and cheese", "I want to watch tv" etc. I always ask her to say please and then she will restate the request adding a please to the end. I want her to be polite. I want her to say "may I", "please", "thank you", etc. I also want her to be nice to others and learn to love people. How do I do that? Travis and I aren't social butterflies. I think I need to read some books quickly!

Sam's 3 year appointment

It went great. She is 62nd percentile for height and 42rd for weight. She wasn't fond of them messing with her ears though and the doc did say that one was a little red. He said a drop or two of vinegar in them after swimming should help. Her doctor is awesome with her. He is silly and very entertaining. His office is a mess. Papers are everywhere but boy he sure is good with the little ones!

Swimming Lesson #1

Tonight was Sam's first official swimming lesson. She has been to water babies at the y but this is real lessons. She was the youngest kid there by quite a bit and had a little bit of a hard time paying attention to the teacher. This was all fine and dandy until the little frog pad she was sitting on slipped down a couple of steps and her and another girl decided to try and reach them. Sam was quickly in over her head and she couldn't get back to where she could touch. She was kicking vertically but not going anywhere and she couldn't get her head above the water. I was standing with a couple of other parents outside the fence and started yelling "somebody needs to get her, someone get her, someone get her!". The teacher went over and grabbed her. She wasn't coughing at all and didn't really act scared so I know she was holding her breath but I also know she wouldn't have been able to get herself back to where she could touch.

My heart rate spiked but she was unfazed. I spent the rest of class reminding her to sit on her step. I hope she either learns to swim quickly or develops more of a fear of the water. Just enough of a healthy fear to keep her safe!

My workout on my supposed rest day was 23 minutes on the elliptical and 2 miles on the treadmill.