First Trimester Training

Thank goodness you get away with calling the 14 week mark the End of the First Trimester, when really you got out of two weeks of it due to not actually being pregnant yet. Just like last time, the first trimester was particularly rough for me, and if this one continues like last time, I won't be enjoying food until baby girl makes her appearance.

I was scheduled to run the St. Jude half marathon in December and I was going to be 10 weeks along. Compared to the first pregnancy, I was running a bit better but training overall much less when I first became pregnant. Five weeks before the race I had a decent ten miler and was on track to actually make the distance running. It wouldn't be any PR, but that's ok. A few days later, the sight of some French fries made my stomach do a little flop and I thought, uh oh. Sure enough, the nausea hit and I spent the next 5 weeks losing weight rapidly, and I bailed out of the race. One of the worst parts of it was the fall CSA box we got weekly. All that disgusting fresh produce like tomatoes and squash. Bleh.

At first I couldn't quite understand how anyone with the slightest degree of morning sickness can manage to not lose weight in the first trimester. Then after pondering this I realized that besides running and cycling and consuming vast quantities of food (including copious amount of ice cream daily), I was also nursing a large two and a half year old quite frequently. Sadly the milk dried up a lot when I lost weight, or possibly in part due to the pregnancy hormones. It's coming back some now but our nursing frequency has completely changed. But in the meantime, I was still trying to run, nursing, and just not getting any nourishment. 

I was pitiful for a while. Part of the difficulty this time around was most likely having the demands of a toddler to answer to all day. It was definitely different than working in an office teaching a few classes here and there. When Jeremy would get home from work, I'd essentially collapse into a pile on the couch. In two weeks-- 6 and 7-- I ran a total of 13 miles and did about 3 additional hours of trainer rides. It was all I could manage, and those miles were at a pace about a minute per mile slower than I had been running a couple weeks before. I slowly started consuming a few calories here and there, and I wondered how crash dieters can ever exercise. It's exhausting. 

My runs started picking up and speeding up again after a few weeks, and I got back on the trainer. My average wattage has been a sad number for quite a while, so I just keep the computer covered up and focus my attention on the streaming videos in front of me. At least it is better than lying on the couch watching TV. But not much.

I realized during this time period that our society is obsessed with food. It is everywhere, from toddler books about construction workers' lunch breaks, to literally every other pin on pinterest. Facebook is loaded with food pictures, magazines all have recipes and ads for food. Come on people! I'm dying over here. Then the toddler pretends to be making food of all nauseating varieties constantly. It's really so unpleasant. I asked if Jeremy could just bring home some IV fluid for me and never make me eat again. I force fed myself things that didn't sound completely repulsive, only to determine them solidly placed forever in that category post-meal. 

The aversions had slightly subsided by the end if the first trimester and the nausea was definitely better. My weight crept up a bit and I was at just 3 pounds under my starting weight at 14 weeks. The belly expansion has happened a lot more rapidly this time around. It's as if my abs realized what was happening and just gave in. I started wearing my support belt for running much earlier to try to reduce the ab separation and muscle strain. 

Now that I'm past the halfway mark, I'm doing even better, and except for the icy streets, my running is going just fine. I'm planning on running in the city's biggest race on Sunday, but I'll be limiting it to the 10k instead of half marathon this time. So no triathlons while carrying this baby; it's just not the season for it!

Oh Winter Training

How hard is winter training? I know some people love this time of year, and I do love the Christmas season, but not in relation to exercise. We can't complain that Jeremy only works at the daytime clinic 4 days a week, which leaves three days (on non-call weekends) of daylight hours in which to train. He has been getting up before 5 to get his workouts in, since he did sign up for an Ironman that takes place in 20-something weeks. That leaves a rare lunchtime or the after work (meaning DARK) hours for me. Not that I would trade training hours with him. Early mornings are not my thing. I used to try to get on the trainer while the toddler napped, but he has decided recently that naps just aren't for him anymore (and even back then, he could sense me riding and wake up after 30 minutes, getting mad that I was all sweaty). A few times the miracle of sleep has come upon us before 8pm on those non-napping days, for the first time in his life. But other times he likes to extend his waking hours so that when his internal alarm goes off at 7am, he has gotten a total of 9 hours of sleep in the last 24. He definitely gets it from his dad, because I have never been a naturally early riser, or one who happily survives on 30% less sleep than average. His latest sleeping habits include less frequent nursing, but if I'm not directly touching him, he wakes me up every hour or two to let me know. Every night. No, he doesn't "sleep through the night" yet, by any stretch, but I'm sure one of these days he will be in his own bed and I won't be alerted to this so frequently. I am really not complaining about this, since it's just part of having a little one, but rather I'm explaining why I just can't get up in the mornings to run, bike, or swim. Especially when it's cold and dark.

Since my decrease in mileage when I decided that the half marathon wasn't in the cards, I have slowly increased back up a bit, and even begun again the season of 24 where I left off, meaning I rode my trainer. I'm still going to the gym for barre or strength classes. I was thinking recently how ironic it is that I need to go to these classes when I have the knowledge to train myself perfectly well, and I have even been an instructor in many of these. It's just that I can't get the motivation part down. Or I just plain forget that it has been three weeks since I lifted a weight other than the toddler. 

We planned to have Jeremy run the St. Jude half last weekend. On Thursday I texted our homestay, Nancy, to see what time we should get there on Saturday. Her reply was that, well, the race starts at 8am Saturday, so... For the previous six months I had believed the race to be on Sunday, and now travel would need to happen Friday night after work, with either a cranky toddler, a napping on the way toddler, and/or a toddler who wanted to stay up until midnight and play with Nancy's kittens. She pointed out that it was a long way to go for 13 miles, and it occurred to me that yes, it was. So we stayed home. I was sad to miss my friends and fun in Memphis, especially since I wasn't the one who had to worry about racing. But we will be back!

Every post needs a toddler picture, so here is even better: a video clip of Hunter's first ride on Mystic. "Mommy, Daddy! I'm on the grass on Mystic on the grass!" He's a natural equestrian. I'm not a natural videographer I'm afraid.

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Spring! Or, the last month of winter

The locals keep telling me this is an especially cold winter. I wouldn't have known the difference since I couldn't remember what southeastern winters were like after being away three years. But it sure has seemed cold! It's harder keeping a toddler occupied when he a) won't wear a hat or gloves or any jacket other than his brown one outside and b) won't get in the car. At least he has an excellent imagination and plenty of little people animals, Mickeys, Legos, and coloring books inside.

But it has warmed up! At least temporarily. So we have gotten to spend more time outside, chalking up the driveway again, digging in the flower beds, and filling the "we-cycle gahbage can" again and again. H actually knows what gets thrown in the trash and what gets recycled already. Good little environmentalist.  

Besides our crayola 48 pack(s) of chalk (we go through them quickly), other art supplies that we love for use indoors (for next week when it gets cold again) are our crayola window markers and gel markers. Finally a white marker that works! I had one as a kid, in the shape of a mouse, that didn't really do much, so the technology has improved! The best crayons are still our Melissa & Dougs. They are squared off and impossible to break, as hard as a toddler might try. We have a Melissa & Doug sticker book with vinyl restickable stickers. There are 5 different landscapes and about 100 stickers for each. Very loved. And yet another Melissa & Doug product we have is a stamp kit with washable ink. Our animal stencils have come in handy for making shapes out of our fingerprints. We have a little more playdough in the fridge (I will never buy playdough it's so easy to make), but we keep accidentally leaving it out, rendering it useless. Or actually it is useful for making painful indentations in the bottom of feet when it is stepped on.

I have enjoyed a few warm runs, just in time for a half marathon taper. This time I will try not to completely stop exercising in the 10 days before the race. I don't step on the scale too often, but when I did last time, there they were, 2 winter pounds that must have been put on with all the heavy winter gear. But never taken off. Wow these 4 months between half marathons went quickly. As always, I should've done more! With spring comes a little more motivation to get outside running, and maybe even to get to the pool more than once every 2 weeks. Ah we'll see. Which, growing up, always meant "not gonna happen." But I bought a shiny new swimsuit in case it does ever happen again.

 little hands at work

just before the jump

 

clever little one knows he's cute

 

Extra training

I have been working on my strength training like I said I would, and already the SI joint seems to be better. Could the difference be that I have also stopped going to the chiropractor? Hmmm.

Strength training does not take long for me, unless it is a combined strength/gossip session, which can be super time consuming. So really, that may count as social time that happens to involve a little exercise. Anyway, I get downstairs, get my TRXing, medicine balling, and jumping done fast. 

I also get some extra credit training in most days. While Mommy and Me yoga sounds appealing, to the Mommy, at least, I know it wouldn't go over so well with the Toddler. Our training together includes much less structured moves. Hunter, the toddler coach, loves to have me retrieve "more animals" for him when he realizes some of the gang are missing. So he waits patiently and tells me to run! to go get it. He moves his arms for emphasis. 

I don't always get instructed to run! alone. Holding the entirety of the 30+ pound little one -- "carry Hunter, run!"-- and running through the house, usually to collapse on the bed, is one of the main forms of speedwork I do. He's a good coach, always having me drink from one of the dozen bike bottles filled with water at all times, scattered throughout the house. (It's funny, he drank literally one time out of a baby bottle but is all about the fuel belt mini bottles.)

 

The bottle is always on hand.

 

Drink up, Mom.

 

Nap time and bedtime are two other workout times for me. The quickest way to get the toddler to sleep is carrying him in the Ergo and vacuuming. He even requests it. While the vacuuming can be difficult on some rugs, working my shoulders thoroughly, the real work is done in the bouncing quarter squats I must do a thousand times some nights. And not just any old quarter squats, I have added weight, and I do them one leg at a time. 

While the possibly misnamed Ergo is one of the most comfortable carriers I've used, I can't help but wonder if the pressure it puts on my lower back is partially to blame for my SI issues. At least my legs are getting stronger one nap time at a time.  

Today the health buzz was about a new study that links time spent sitting to heart disease.  Is this really a surprise to anyone? As opposed to most of my previous jobs, being Hunter's mom is the least sedentary.  I cannot think of a time I sit for more than a couple minutes at a time. He's not a child who likes to play by himself; no, he gets any audience quickly involved. And I'm so glad he does!

I'm sure my little coach will have me doing more calisthenics and intervals any time now. Lucky for me, I've only heard him count to six (update: ten) so far.

My electronic coach

Wednesday of this week was track day, and by "track" I mean "church parking lot." Lucky for me, it's a huge church parking lot, about 1.3 miles from my house if I go the long way. On the schedule was 16x400s at 10k pace with a 200m jog between. Jeremy set up the Garmin with the workout for me so I wouldn't so much as push a button during the whole thing. Who knew it could be so simple? I might've been thinking out loud when I mumbled in front of my husband something about 10k pace being 6:30 per mile, and without asking any more questions, that's what he told the Garmin I wanted to do for my 400s.

My planned route was to take the outside parking lot line over and over, since it is almost exactly a mile with only a tiny bit of doubling back. What I hadn't planned on, despite Jenny's warning of the windiness of the day, was that the biggest uphill of the loop was also straight into the wind. And that's where I started my first 400. I appreciated the countdown distance to go and the 5 beeps it gave me before another interval was to begin or end. I appreciated not having to count .25mi, then .12mi for recovery and all the mathematics it would involve for an oxygen deprived brain. But I didn't know it would be so vocal about my slowness. Obviously, on my first 400, just being my first, plus going uphill, plus going into the wind, I wasn't hitting my goal pace. And Garmin beeped at me to let me know that. Every 10 seconds. OK, Coach Shankman Garmin, I get that I'm slow (flashbacks to college). I learned a few more intervals into it that it also beeps when you're finally on pace. I think I heard that congratulatory beep 3 times during the workout. It was a tough one for me, even though I quickly learned to avoid the windiest, hilliest side of that parking lot, and instead did multiple small, flat loops before I headed to a downhill for my hard intervals. I know, I'm only cheating myself. :) It is a good thing Garmin doesn't beep more when you go super slow, since my last interval I did already headed home on a gravelly road by the field, uphill of course, and I think it was 8 minute pace.

Doesn't this route look enticing?

Training in the new year

I'm about to have a birthday in a few weeks, and nothing makes you feel old like that combined with an achy back. I've realized that my strength training has really taken a back seat to toddler chasing these days. A certain toddler cannot stand it when I do things like TRX in front of him. I think he wants to be sure he can out-wrestle me ASAP. I had realized I was lacking strength well before my great aunt, who is 56 years older than I am, out-armwrestled me over Christmas. She has, of course, been doing a lot of strength training herself, and is definitely not one you'd call wimpy. I didn't take it too hard, since she's always been really tough. But on the way home from our holidays we took a break from our drive at a park to get some energy out, and I only eeked out 2 sets of 4 pullups on the playground. That's pretty pitiful, even for me, who does not train those muscles with any regularly. My poor arms are lucky to get in once a week swims. A couple of yoga classes left me shaky and sore in the upper body recently, and I realized it is time to start back. For real this time. No more T-Rex arms ("my little arms!"), which they have been compared to more than once. But it's not just about the arms this time. It's my stupid back! The sacro-wedgy doesn't seem to be helping. Swimming seems to be hurting; it may just be the flipturns, but just 3000yds takes SOOOO long without them. A few months ago I rather suddenly was able to crank out a 10 watt higher average for an hour long bike ride, and I feel it in my back every time. I don't think it's just position, because when I take it easy, the back is fine. It is fine when I'm running, but afterward I can feel it.

So maybe I'll just cut out some of the riding and swimming, keep running, and add olympic lifting. I may have signed up for another half marathon, since there's one in my town in a few months. That means I don't have to spend the night in any hotel or get up before 5, and, unlike in Alamogordo, there will be more than 8 people running it. My PR was on this course 6 years ago, and I'm hoping the hills haven't grown in that time. But it's one run at a time, seeing what this old body can take. Is 37 still considered "mid-30s"?

Winter is here

Nothing says winter like a few beautiful 75 degree days. Knowing Wednesday was the last one like that for a while, I put my running shorts on and did a little 8 miler with some tempo miles thrown in to try to beat the husband's pace for the day. However the sickness that I'd had starting a few days before kept me from the victory this time. I got my first winter cold before the winter cold weather even got here. It's turned out to be the worst cough I've had since Hunter was born. I notice this fact because not only is it frustrating to wake yourself up coughing repeatedly each night, but having to stuff a pillow into your mouth to avoid waking the baby is the icing on the cake. Or maybe the icing is when you have him almost asleep and that horrible jarring cough comes out of nowhere and startles him. Being sick is fun enough before kids. It is so much more so while trying to take care of a toddler. Luckily his nursing provides him lots of good antibodies and he has only gotten a runny nose, so at least I'm not trying to entertain a very sick toddler.

After running Wednesday I didn't stick to my word and rescheduled my chiropractor appointment so that I could go to the massage therapist. She was good, and said I have "a lot going on in there" when she worked on my hips. I decided that while it costs more than my $40 copay at the chiropractor, it lasts so much longer and feels so much better. I might become a (more) regular. She recommended an apparatus called the sacro-wedgie for helping my deep hip muscles relax, so I put it right on my Christmas list.

We knew the cold would be coming along Thursday and the temperature steadily dropped all day. Friday the ice came, which brought Jeremy slowly home from work very early. Unfortunately Hunter and I just watched as Dad and the cousins sledded down our street. He's not much for being cold, and jackets, mittens, and hats aren't his thing. It's like he's not even listening when I explain the theory behind "winter clothing." Toddlers.

I'm fine right here, thank you 

See? I'm so much happier shirtless.

Indoor activities are going to have to be stepped up for a while during this long cold that is forecasted. We have already made a dent in the 400 page Mickey coloring book. I can see a difference in his coloring skills already. I'm totally impressed at his ability to stay inside the lines already. I'm hoping he doesn't get his Daddy's inability to color things the proper color though. Yellow jaundiced eyes on a duck? Come on people. Apparently I've always been the coloring Nazi, according to my poor little sister, who I stood over while she used my set of 64 crayolas (with the built-in sharpener-- that, honestly, who would ever want to use?). She told me this memory and i actually felt sorry for my young self. I'm sure I was made to share my precious pack of crayons with her, and was trying not to get mad when she put the oranges back in the wrong order. And obviously, there is a correct order. It's called the rainbow.

  ...my blue suede shoes

 "Doof" looking sharp with his pants matching his shoes

I did happen to color the red pants, but his black shoe and green glove and face are looking just as good.

And speaking of Mickey, he's one busy guy at our house, with all the excavation by truck...

...and by bucket. Mickey signs to us a lot now, and lends a helping hand even more.

 I'm about to start him working as my sous chef since his play dough cutting skills are rivaling my onion dicing skills. I'm not sure the plastic knife will work as well on an onion as it does on the raspberry scented homemade red dough, however. And he may be too young for the Henckels. 

We have worked on decorating for Christmas, and Hunter has sorted and boxed and dumped and bounced all the plastic ornaments we could find-- over and over. He has helped make some new ornaments as well, including his handprinted one complimenting last year's, and a few clear glass ones with Christmas confetti and shredded tissue paper inside.

 Such a fascinating tradition we have here of hanging strange objects on a tree inside

So inside snuggling our precious ones we will stay for the next week until the weather warms up, getting our exercise (well some of us) on the trainer, doing laps running around the house, racing at the starting sound of "GOGOGO!" and practicing our somersaults and pikes on the bed. Stay warm, friends!

Little Annoyances

I have been dealing with some sort of niggling injury since I was in college, it seems. Not to say I am always injured, because rarely does something stop me from training or even running, but I seem to have some type of pain most of the time. I would say it is because I am getting old, except that like I said, something has been going on since college. That darn hill in Shelby Forest -- Ballbuster, or Group Camp Hill, whatever you call it-- it is parallel to Jackson, and we used to run repeats on it weekly in cross country my senior year. That started the hamstring tendonitis, which still bothers me. I've gone through Achilles injuries, one so bad that I took off 6 weeks from running. And after a half marathon 5 years ago, I was sure I had a stress fracture in my femoral neck (but the x-rays were negative), which I have since self-diagnosed as a torn labrum. Lately it is the right side of my body in general. My calf gets tight and my hamstring bothers me some, sleeping on that side with an arm around a toddler makes it hurt more than the left, but the real problem seems to be my SI joint. Chiropractors will "fix" me temporarily, since I always seem to be out of alignment, and I get some relief, but a month or two later, it is back with a vengeance. I do not understand why they cannot give me some rehabilitative exercise to keep it all in alignment (ok, maybe I do -- $), so I try to do some of my own. Hopefully I am making some sort of slow progress strengthening the areas connected to it. In addition, I am doing lots of deep massage on my right quads. Not only is this supposed to help release the SI joint, but my Osgood-Schlatter's is acting up, and my tibial tubercle is quite large and painful. This is not a new issue either, but seems to be most relieved by manual therapy to those knotty quads.

Some days I go limping along for a while at the beginning of my runs, alternately digging a fist into my right glutes and doing weird looking drills for all the neighbors. Sometimes, kind of like when I was pregnant, I get a heaviness on that side, or even a sharp pain. As long as I don't look like a wounded animal in front of the wildlife on the trails.

OH! The wildlife on the trails... I feel somewhat satisfied to report that I had a bobcat sighting on my favorite trail a few days ago, in broad daylight (I don't run the trail in the dark when I can help it). He was only about 15 yards ahead of me, crossing the trail, and I looked up from the rocky footing in time to see him, all but his head, quietly disappear into the brush lining the path. His tail was most definitely bobbed, whew. My heart rate skyrocketed, and I stopped momentarily, then gathered myself and stomped by, not daring to look in the direction he had gone. I thought of getting a picture, but I really could not manage to get it together in those 2 seconds I saw him. So while there is no proof, I have now actually seen a medium sized predatory cat, and not just a track. As far as I know, bobcats are completely harmless to humans, but I seemed to have gotten more nervous about it than I was in New Mexico when I ran right up to a coyote who trotted along side of me for a bit. Now if I could just see one of those cougars who supposedly live out near Roland, just a few miles from Little Rock.

 Running on my trail

Anyway, I need to get rid of some of my annoying little pains, mostly so I can sit on the floor all day without my back yelling at me. And ride my road bike, which is set up quite differently than my tri bike, says my back. Massage seems like more of a luxury than a necessity, but I might break down and use that in place of a chiropractor session. It's cheaper and more enjoyable.

While on the subject of annoyances, I'll just make a quick tangent. Can we all come to an agreement not to use the word "amazing" anymore? Should we agree that if you're not "comfortable in your own skin" that you are never comfortable because you are always in your own skin? Could I just take a "guess" or make an "estimate" and not ever "guesstimate"? I mean, "it is what it is." Isn't it? Or is it sometimes not what it is? NO, it is always what it is, so let's stop saying it and being redundant! And, by the way, that many people do not love fall and pumpkin everything. Whew, it feels good to get that off my chest.

Now for things I do love about fall, these people, and the beautiful fall colors!

 

Whatever it is, it's obviously a little scary.

We sure love Bunny

Every Little Detail

I am one who loves some good solid concrete numbers. I enjoy feedback on my training and racing in the form of how fast, how far, and how many vertical feet I climbed on a run. When I first started triathloning 17 years ago, there were watches and bike odometers, and cars that could measure courses after to see just how long the "4 mile" run was. But who really checked that stuff anyway? The races that actually got split times for you mailed them a few months later after you had forgotten all the details anyway. And yes, I kept them. For all I know, my fastest half marathon in a half Ironman was half a mile short (oh wait, it was half a mile short, they told us... shhhhh). But nobody had GPSs back then that beeped every mile and told you your training stress afterward. We used to measure training stress by how hungry we were the next morning and how much our quads hurt going down stairs. And that worked for me. 

But I have always enjoyed finding out more details about myself and my biology from testing. I have done many VO2max tests (which are completely useless except for that malleable lactate threshold estimate) through the years as a guinea pig for some study or another. I found DEXAs to be quite interesting, especially when they told me how much fatter my right arm is than every other part of my body (that was a calibration issue I hope). I liked seeing that printout of my miniature skeleton with the soft tissue outline. When I was hospitalized, I pored over my labs, getting that snapshot of what was going on inside. I find X-rays and even cholesterol checks to be fascinating. And now I really wish I'd had a power meter years ago while racing more (and faster). 

I We Jeremy just got a new Garmin for his birthday, and it is one that can even tell you how far you swam. But wait, there's more. It tells you your pace, plus stroke rate, efficiency and something called SWOLF, which I had to look up via a little ? icon (it is average strokes per length plus time in seconds per length). I will admit, it was very motivating to get to the pool to try it out, but I could not stop looking at my stroke rate or average pace per 100yds underwater. It was kind of like running with it, when I cannot stop checking and rechecking my pace. It is maddening, especially when trees and clouds inhibit good satellite connections (cloudless skies and no tree interference were things my Garmin took for granted in New Mexico, as well as little to no sweat accumulation). Maybe I ran faster before all the technology because I didn't have all this feedback, but just relied on feel. I know I could tick off a dozen 400s within a second of each other without having a Garmin telling me my current pace. If I see a pace that's too fast on that big screen, does it cause a psychosomatic response of extra fatigue? I think maybe so sometimes. Other times I think it helps me be less of a slacker. 

We have been talking around here about people who are blissfully ignorant. It must be pleasant, as by definition they are blissful. And if you didn't know you didn't know something, you aren't missing it. Like I said, I want to know about my physiology, and I really prefer to be informed about my food.  But who really has the time to thoroughly research every little detail of every decision and action they take? I do enjoy it when people, for example on parenting-type forums, say they have done "extensive research" on a topic. Really, you have? I'm betting that most of this population does not have the slightest clue how much real research goes into each and every published, peer reviewed study out there. A fraction of that amount of research goes into a review paper by a grad student, and I would probably not call that extensive. And no fair counting any research done outside of academic journals. 

In some areas, I do my best to be relatively informed, and many other areas that I just don't bother with quite as much, and would rather leave up to the experts. Although Jeremy would think otherwise, I do believe, for example, that doctors know more than the average person (and even myself-- really J!) about medicine, and it would take me approximately 4-10 years to catch up with just their training. But I do make some good hypotheses at times. :) I'm trying to leave pediatrics up to him and only ask questions to learn more about it. I don't need every little detail, since at my rate I will have only grown children in the time it would take to learn it all. 

So I'm a little split in my life between wanting more info and knowing when I'd rather not know things. But when it comes to racing, I'm still not sure where I fall. I'd love to know all the details after a race, but I feel like it might be information overload during it. The bottom line question is this: should I wear a Garmin in my upcoming half marathon or not?

Ramblings on running

I ran in the rain Friday for my "long" run. Sadly I have only gotten up to 11 miles since my last half Ironman 2 months ago, and I'm not sure I ran longer than that in training since February. But it's a half marathon in 5 weeks. You don't really have to run further than that in training, unless of course, you want to run (relatively) fast. I did a few 2 mile tempo intervals during this run on the very very flat river trail, just to see if my goal pace would feel ok. It didn't, so I ran 30 seconds per mile slower than what I had hoped to do in the half marathon, which is around 7 minute pace. I don't want to do a half marathon just to add to my total number. I've assumed a PR was too much to ask (it stands at 1:30:20 I think), but I'd like to run as fast as I did in the perfect weather at Oceanside 70.3 in March (1:33). And while I can fairly easily do 4 x 1 mile repeats -- with a little hill involved -- in sub-7, like Tuesday night's workout, apparently I can't do them consecutively. I'll put most of the blame on the extra 15 pounds of rain I was hauling in my clothes, hair, and shoes. But the mist over the warm river rising up the mountains in the background was beautiful. There were squirrels, deer, and geese out with me on the trails. I've had to remind myself that there aren't dangerous predators in these woods like back in NM, and I try not to jump when I see a deer (in the mountains, "where there are deer, there are cougars").

All that rain brought beautiful weather along behind it, perfect for running. I took Saturday as a complete off day since Jeremy was out in Oklahoma attempting to race on a flat tire. The silver lining to his frustrating day was that he came home early. At least that's my silver lining. So today I went out for an easy 8 miler from home, which starts out down down downhill and ends going up up up. I didn't even take the Garmin, since I tend to get overly obsessed with pace when I have it (and when it works. Speaking of its finickiness, how ridiculous is it that I had it in a ziploc bag for Friday's run?). I ran easily in the cool breeze and then chatted with Jenny on the phone, headphones in, while starting the last long climb. Somehow I still ran under 8 minute pace, which I couldn't do Fri on the flats.This route has around 600 feet of climbing in 8.25 miles while the 11 miler had about 60. And I'm not forgetting any zeros at the end of that. I really don't understand my legs. Or my lungs -- they've lost any adaptation to altitude they had. 

Saturday Hunter and I busied ourselves at Heifer Village. I love this company, so check them out if you're unfamiliar. They're based here, and they brought some farm animals from the Perryville farm. And it turns out, like our book says, billy goats DO chew everything, and may even nibble at your clothes. Hunter loooooved it. And the sheep, hens, and rabbits. 

My favorite sign this week was when he saw a green lizard on the deck and signed "alligator." Pretty good comparison! A mini alligator!

Visit to Tennessee

Hunter and I spent half a week in Tennessee visiting, hiking, playing, and eating. We met Mom half way on Jeremy's Wednesday off so he could get back home to work on the porch screening/thumbnail ripping. Except that last part was an accident. Ouch. Mom and Dad have a great backyard full of places to explore and plants to water, so we got right to work.

no stopping for things like a change of clothes

mommy, don't just stand there taking pictures, I need more water please! (he now signs sentences)

Hunter made time for a little swinging on the awesome tree swing that can take you 20 feet off the ground if you want it to (Hunter didn't).

We went out to see Damie and meet sweet baby Isla who was all smiles. I need to hold her next time when my toddler isn't occupying my arms so fully!

Nancy played with us at the cool Shelby Farms playground, but I'm terrible at taking pictures when i don't  have my camera in hand, so there's no proof we did :)

Great aunt Ethelyn is working hard on rehab after being sick, and she looks, sounds, and walks great! As a bonus for Hunter, they had birds out at her place which provided us with lots to talk about later. 

Friday afternoon we headed out to Mom and Dad's cabin in the country. Behind the long black fence, over the rolling hills, and through the woods sits the two story log cabin, then the barn and tractor garage, and somewhere among the grass are three horses. Hunter and I saddled up -- he got in the ergo on my back -- and we went hiking out to find those three.

 "smell my stinky feet" is a fun game to play, even with horses apparently

Although he has met them before, he was tickled to get to feed them carrots and a couple persimmons as well as grass, which he tries to feed to almost any animal he encounters. He kept imitating their pffft noise-- does it have an official name?-- and I have since told him many horse tales to help him to sleep at night. The barn cats, Megan's dog, Penny, the geese, and the toads that hopped into the pond have all made it into my stories as well. We spent the night out there and had to go out again first thing the next morning. It was pretty exciting to get to sit on a real big tractor and to drive a real small tractor too. The days went by really fast even while missing Daddy. 

This could easily just turn into a baby blog, but I do still have an interest in all things triathlon. I took a couple days off while out of town, and during that time, we picked up a nasty cold, Hunter and I (mine isn't too bad so far). Jeremy is pretty sure we got the same thing as baby Isla, right after I told Damie how Hunter almost never gets sick. Those really strong germs can still get ya. All of this to say that I keep coming up with more excuses not to run! And I'm not even looking for them. But I'm back at it as of tonight, and it went better than expected. More running to come.

Hunter has started drawing pictures and then signing what they are. I leave you with "Flower," by baby Hunter. Medium: chalk on concrete.

The fast track to mastitis

Need to get sick in a hurry with fever, chills and body aches? And a boob that looks land feels like it has golf balls (plural) inside it? Maybe it's an event you're dreading or an awful meeting at work. Can you get out jury duty with this excuse? Whatever the case may be, dehydrate yourself as completely as possible over two consecutive days by running in the late August heat, then fail to adequately rehydrate, but still nurse your large 17-month-old as usual. When you wake up to a lopsided chest that reminds you of something from aliens, don't wait to take some ibuprofen like I did. It WILL start hurting. A simple plugged duct (or several) is one thing, even if it consists of half the available ducts on that side, but this case of mastitis is a whole different ballgame. I tried pumping, nursing, hot compresses, a soapy wide toothed comb (doesn't hurt as badly as you'd think), and massage (hurts worse than you'd think), all to no avail. I was so tired that I fell asleep with Hunter for his nap and woke up to fever. Redness + fever + wanting to cry picking toddler up = husband bringing home antibiotics and supper. This case is a booger, but at least it got me out of my 14x400m workout.

Fall running goals

Since I was less than motivated to do my last sprint triathlon, I decided to let Jeremy take the last ones nearby. He's actually been riding, and well, and he has started running just in time for his half Ironman. And his swimming ability, especially for how much he swims, is just as ridiculous as always (meaning fast). It's the giant hands, surely. So anyway, he gets to race the Toad Suck Olympic distance and the Hebert Springs race if he wants. I'm done. But it's hard not to think about running this time of year since its typically the start of cross country and fall marathon training. So Jenny and I found us a really close half marathon that is 9 weeks from now, and decided on a training plan as well.

My first weekend of following the plan, which really isn't that much different than what I'd normally do just for general fitness maintenance, didn't go so well. Instead of just running 6 miles with 4 at marathon pace on Saturday, I rode 2 hours and ran 5 at about marathon pace+90 sec per mile. That's what I get for starting at 12:30 after having run out of water. It's not that I intentionally set out to run that slow. It just happened. 

Apparently I didn't adequately recover Saturday because Sunday's run, which was supposed to be 10 easy, turned into a slogging 9. I was super thankful that I hadn't charged the Garmin and it died at mile 3. That way when I walked up hills more times that I'd like to admit, I didn't feel so guilty. There's no record of it, therefore it never happened (just like that Phoenix marathon debacle).

I realized that for an entire decade of my life I trained for an October or November Ironman, and late August is prime time for tough training. I have actually never done a fall flat out half marathon (or flat out full for that matter), but I love how you train for Ironmans really hard in the hot summer, then gradually it gets cool and crisp and running speed just magically appears. I'm looking forward to that happening before the October 26th race. 

Jenny and I don't have the same goal pace since I've run probably two dozen more half marathons than that one she did (on a whim, untrained, last minute, under Jeremy's name when he hurt his knee right before). But we are planning some intervals together, whether it's with strollers up hills like last week's runs or super early mornings. Just kidding on that last part. We aren't that crazy.

Hill repeats. Come on slow poke Mommy!

Embracing the sweatiness

I've been working on embracing the fact that I spend so much of the day sweaty. Hunter really has not come around yet. After arriving home from a run, I'll pick him up like he requests, and then he realizes how slick I am from melted sunscreen all over me and holds on with his legs, but he WILL NOT touch me with his hands. He pulls them back as far away as possible, like, whoa there mommy!

My garmin hasn't come around either. He still starts acting up after about 2 miles of running, so I've given in, shunned this century's running fashion, and surrounded him in sweatbands. It looks like I'm running with a broken arm, but he made it with only a small complaint for 40 sweaty minutes like this.

Have I mentioned I'm a heavy sweater? I'd forgotten this little detail in the last 3 years. I had hoped for just a fine tuned acclimation to heat from running in extreme temps (it's really the scorching sun at 4500ft that's the killer), but no. It was just evaporating like its supposed to do. So I dug up my cycling sweat band with the cute TdF logo in honor of the race start next week, and wow, does it help do what my eyebrows cannot.

It's super nice to have this reprieve from the humidity that is commonly called air conditioner, a luxury we didn't have in NM (swamp coolers just suck when you exercise). We are also enjoying the pool just down the street. Hunter frequents it in his adorable little baby speedo swim diaper. I just can't put him in bid kid swim trunks this year. When else in his life will tiny swim shorts be so cute?

Besides Jeremy doing big manual labor type jobs in the house and yard, we are slowly working on decorating. Here's the buffet of my great aunt Bea's that I just had to refinish. It was a nice but boring maple color with scrolly pulls and I thought a little paint, some stain marker detailing, and new pulls might update it a bit. Nice bulbless lamp too, huh?

Hunter, not missing a beat, added some color detailing to his table and chairs as soon as Jeremy put them together. Eventually we will start selling his work to galleries I suppose. Although they seem to still be works in progress, added to daily.

Happy official summer!

Making it "home"

You'd think that having Jeremy home on "vacation" for 6 weeks would make it easy for me to find blogging time. I can't seem to. For one thing, unpacking what the packing crew boxed and labeled, while seemingly simple, and surprisingly amusing, is not easy.

Bases drumps = drums with a silent p?

Baby stabs = baby changing table and swing...huh? Still don't get it.

Don't ask what we found in here. Eek.

Moving from a house where we crammed things in every corner possible to one where we even have attic and basement space requires some planning and storing and sorting and Goodwill-ing. But I'm not complaining.

Training-wise, I was set to do two-a-days for the whole six weeks, since this vacation from J working culminates with a half ironman the weekend before he starts at his new place. It hasn't been happening quite as planned. My lungs seem to be doing fine, but the muscles, not so much. We apparently live on the highest point in the city--- no no wait, one lot up from us, at the corner, is higher. This requires my bike rides to begin in the smallest gear from the start of the driveway. Coming home, especially running in from the west, is a brutal, endless hill.

There's so much exploring to do here. There are trails to ride and run, zoos to visit, woods with a creek and chiggers (who have found a new love --> me) to explore, real restaurants to eat at, baseball games to watch, the pool down the street to swim in, and cousins to play with.

Oh, and neighbors' weeds to pull.

I've been cooking my Heifer Intl CSA produce and learning that I love kohlrabi and fennel bulbs and rainbow chard, one cabbage head can feed a few families for days, I love lettuce even after eating my weight in it, and Hunter will still eat anything. There was very appropriately named series on Huffington Post called "WTF CSA?" that helped me find some recipes for those less common veggies (kohlrabi??) one might find in her weekly basket, and I recommend it for CSAers.

Since we have a new house, we've decided to do a few things with it, like add a screened porch, stain the deck, get plantation shutters, and put furniture in every room. I, of course, just had to make over an old buffet of my great aunt's immediately, and Jeremy is taking care of the rest, with Hunter's help, of course. 

So far, so good, in our new climate, state, city, neighborhood, and house. (p.s. those are not the new shutters in the front windows, but do you like them? It was that or sheets)

Acclimation. Or not.

One of us is apparently a natural desert dweller. The other just needs to get used to the strange skin moisture that accumulates after a few minutes of running. The desert lover started complaining less than 2 miles into the run this morning and didn't stop until well after I'd already showered. The other day that same humidity-loather completely refused to acknowledge me until we had stopped in our driveway. I keep warning my garmin that I'll replace him if he keeps up this constant whining-beeping-shutting down routine, but he just shuts his battery off and pretends not to hear. I had forgotten his finicky nature while living in the desert, where sweat appears as an instant salt encrustment, and it never looks as if you've been doused by a hose.

I'm relearning aspects of the southeast, like what clouds do, what mud is, how people talk, and that trees are there to bring shade. Love running under them! I'm wishing I still had some extra hemoglobin from those years of altitude training, but I'm afraid the 6 days completely off from exercise let me detrain enough for it not to be noticeable. After that sabbatical, I ran an 8 mile loop with steep but short hills. My poor legs thought they had retired from running, and complained mightily the next day when they were asked to ride a bike.

It's fun to explore a new place on foot or two wheels, and even after living within view of the Mississippi for many years, I get excited seeing the river here. There's so much water!

Hunter has done really well with all the changes. It was hard having that extra 26lbs velcroed to me for the 6 days that we went without Jeremy, and Hunter seemed just as relieved to see his daddy as I was. He loves his new house, as do his parents; he took off the first night into our bedroom and we found him lying on the floor with his feet up in the air just giggling.

So it's back to unpacking for now; I'm thankful we didn't have to pack any of it ourselves. The next few weeks will probably consist of unpacking, organizing, and getting a little training in for that triathlon Jeremy signed me up for.

Furniture shopping. Hunter gets comfortable.

The Lasts

We are moving in less than three weeks, after almost three years here. I can't say that I'll miss a lot, but I am trying to get in some lasts. I need to finish up the last of the 25lbs of roasted, frozen green chiles from two Augusts ago. Hot chiles last a lot longer than one might expect. Broccoli, bean and green chile soup, green chile biscuits with chipotle gravy, green chile lasagna, quiche with onion and green chile, and a few pieces of diced chiles in other usual dishes have been on the menu frequently around here. I think Hunter is getting a taste of some spice and liking it. That's my New Mexican baby!

I will miss riding in the mountains. Jeremy doesn't have quite the same affinity for it, so last week when he had a day off, I headed up the back roads solo to the town half way up the mountain, High Rolls: elevation 6600ft. It involves some rough roads and a dismount for a water crossing, then another for a long gravel section.

 

Twisting and turning through Fresnal canyon, I see a few farms, a few cows, no cougar tracks (this time), and one car. It's very calm and peaceful except for my heavy breathing. Finally at the top I get to the highway which is smooth and a bit winding for the 8 or so miles downhill. No pedaling is required at all. I really enjoyed the downhill this last time since the road was empty and the gusts were minimal. The tunnel still scares me; it's dark in there! But the view on the other side is fantastic.

The hardest part of this loop was the last few hundred feet downhill in the last 9 miles. The south wind had picked up and beat me almost to submission. I eventually made it home after almost crying a few times. Here it seems March winds bring the stronger April winds, which being even worse May winds. And that brings the June heat. Probably won't miss the wind.

Meters and kilometers? Ok, whatever. Makes it sound harder.

I am counting down my last runs here. It's time to say goodbye to my roadrunner friend. And maybe my coyote friend, although, well, I would be ok skipping that. My usual runs from home, regardless of distance, go the same direction for the first 2.5 miles--always, since any other direction leads me to unfathomable boredom. It's a tough first few, almost all a steady incline. It's nothing steep, but it does make my already slow warm up miles even slower. BUT that means almost every run is negatively split. Sometimes the wind is stiff enough that even going downhill is nothing spectacular, but that nice gradual downhill makes me feel speedy on calm days. This was my flattest 11 miles, with only 400 ft gained, but whew, that uneven pacing! I am sooo slow to warm up.

My last race out here was last weekend in El Paso, and it was a great ending to my southwestern triathlon career. We got off to a rocky start in '10 when our first race in NM centered around making the volunteers feel good about themselves, and not the paying customers who were racing. I was scared that it was the local culture. I'm happy to say it is not, and I'm leaving with such a good last experience.

Mighty Mujer: time to RUN! to the bike, that is

It may be the last of my low humidity caused, straight-haired, dry skin days. Around 8% is where it was hovering the other day. I won't miss the way my throat dries into sandpaper when I'm breathing hard on the bike, or how my lips get stuck to my teeth in a grimacing smile. The ridiculous amount of sunscreen needed...well I may miss that. I stopped myself before washing off our dirty, dusty umbrella, since I realized the absurdity of that. It'll be put to use soon enough.

Walmart grocery shopping will soon be a thing of the past. Goodbye to you and your gimpy-wheeled carts that won't steer straight! We joined the CSA at Heifer Farms in Little Rock, and it has already started arriving at the cousins' house. No more 6am Sunday trips to Wally World just to get the first pick of the not-even-organic produce (that was Jeremy's job, obviously).

I keep thinking I'm going to miss the huge outdoor pool that has just been unbubbled at the rec center. But since they've recently shortened the afternoon hours to ONE hour a few days a week, and the gym we plan to join in Little Rock also has an outdoor pool, I can't say that I will miss anything besides the mountain and palm tree view.

Some significant lasts remain on my to do list. My favorite ride up in Cloudcroft is on my schedule for the last weekend we are here. I want to go back to Ruidoso for some hiking and rellenos one day. And White Sands sledding is close enough for an evening venture.

We didn't make it to the Gila Wilderness, Carlsbad Caverns, Albuquerque, or Mexico. But that's ok; we have a new state to explore this summer, and if we are really dying to come back for a visit some day, I'm sure we can stay with our creepy neighbor.

I'm such a sentimental person sometimes that I keep thinking, "oh I'm going to miss (fill in the blank)!" It is, after all, Hunter's first home. But then I snap back to the reality of where I am, and I think of all the exciting upcoming firsts.

It's about endurance

Since that brief time in college when my coach made me a middle distance runner (out of desperation I think), I have been much more focused on endurance. Just about any length triathlon can be considered an endurance event-- even that one I did a couple years ago that took significantly less than an hour. While a sprint is still an endurance event, more and more triathletes these days are pushing the endurance envelope with the really lengthy stuff like ironman distance.

 college. there it is again

Well I've been away from that distance for over 3 years now, and actually have not even done a half ironman in almost 3 years, but I have begun a journey in the oldest endurance event known to mankind: mothering. It requires endurance unlike anything else. First you go through nine months of growing a baby (side note: it's not 10 months, people. I know I'm not good at math, according to the old lady at the pool who told me 9 laps is a mile, but you are not pregnant 10 months unless you are an elephant). Then comes the endurance nursing, babywearing, rocking, isometric biceps exercises, carrying baby around the grocery store when you have a fever, hunchback stooping and hand holding...the list goes on.

Recently I've come back into the triathlon endurance world. Sort of. I call 3.5 hour rides "long," partly because it is by far the longest I've ever ridden my trainer, and partly because that's a long time to go not seeing my baby. Most of the indoor rides are broken up by a quick baby nursing, which makes me worry about Hunter's "training" for this upcoming race. The actual event will surely take me over 5 hours (why can't I just pick a fast course?), added to all of the race morning preparations that will take me away from him, and we will be apart at least 6 hours!

This makes me sound so overprotective. He will, after all, be a year old, playing with daddy the whole time, and it's not like I'm leaving him overnight or anything. My mind keeps having to tell my heart that it is ok. We will all have to be little endurance athletes that day. And if Hunter's ability to spend hours chasing kitties or digging in the rocks and sand is any indication, he will be just fine. Now maybe I should worry about my own speed and endurance because the faster I go, the less endurance I need. 

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