Ironman spectating and the end of running. For now.

Picking up where I left off last post puts us outside of damp Houston for Jeremy's Ironman. The rain was forecasted for every day we were there, which I know is common for this time of year anywhere near the coast. But that one day, Saturday, had the highest temps and least chance of rain, and it made racing completely miserable for those who melt, like yours truly. Jeremy's race was not what we knew he could do. I was so disappointed for him, after all his training and dedication to this race. But as I am the queen of meltdowns, I completely understood what was going on. My hope was that he would not be affected by what my car was telling me was 93F at the beginning of the run. On the bright side, if it had been me out there, it would have been much, much worse. My meltdowns involve things like lying on the side of the road and self-diagnosing a heart attack, unlike Jeremy, whose run was still faster than almost everyone's bike split. 

The best part of the day was Hunter running with Jeremy along the course. He was so excited, it was all he talked about. We got several chances to see him, which turned into the cutest and sweetest moments as Hunter ran faster than Daddy, just like he said he would. 

 I love this picture! H is like, Daddy, I've been waiting a long time for you.

 Now I must outrun you.

This little guy is going to have some great memories of the "horse house" that we stayed in outside of Cypress. With horses, ducks making their rounds, chickens laying eggs, pigs, yippy little dogs, zip lines, and Mammo to explore it all with, it was a 3-year-old's dream. We are so lucky to be able to go on trips like this with him. 

I didn't do much running while down there since it was either raining or I was doing lots of spectating, although I ran along with a few friends during the race to chat until I slowed them down and had to stop. When we got back home, I went for a standard run in the neighborhood, but had to walk early on from posterior pelvic pain, near my SI joint, and I haven't been walking even the uphills until then. I pushed through 4.5ish miles averaging 13 min pace running and walking. I could barely walk for the rest of the night, and the next day, and so on and on this new pain goes still, over a week later. I always thought if I needed to stop running during pregnancy it would be a tough decision, and I would wonder if maybe I could push through another week or two. That is so not the case here. There is no question in my mind about the possibility of running, since simply walking and standing throughout the day goes from painful to excruciating. Just when I was finding relief from the anterior pain too. 

I keep wondering what I did wrong (running too much?) or what I didn't do (specific strength training?) that caused this. There are so many possible answers and combinations of factors involved that there is no way to answer that, but I truly believe a big part is luck. I was talking with my super fast friend Caroline about it, and she had the same thing happen just as suddenly toward the end of her pregnancy. This made me feel so much better about the whole thing, knowing that a strong fast runner like she is could even be debilitated from this. 

It's onto the trainer more often I go for now, which I happily alternate with swimming. My vaccination-induced shoulder bursitis has subsided unless I do backstroke, which I completely dislike now, especially in the outdoor pool with the bright sun and no guidance to keep me from smashing into the ropes. I'm floating well, but so is baby girl, who floats right up into my stomach and ribs more than ever.  I still don't understand when pregnant women loooove swimming. I find it mostly uncomfortable. But relative to weight bearing, it's wonderful. 

Our family reunion was last weekend, and we loved getting to go to Ethelyn's house in Senatobia, where so many summer hours were spent when I was younger. Hunter and cousin Annie had such a great time all weekend, it was hard to come back home.

The game is Annie feeding Hunter various grasses and leaves, and Hunter never refusing. SO hilarious.

  

 Sweet little cousins!

Tomorrow we leave for the beach! One last trip before we are four.

Ironman week and a busy May

It has been almost three years since I have even spectated at an Ironman, so I need to get my plans together soon. Jeremy is racing in Texas this week! Of course Hunter and I are going, but this time I won't be putting him in a special Ironman outfit that he'll have a blowout poop in before the swim is over (and we hope the same for all participants). Mammo, Jeremy's mom, will be joining us, and I (all 3 of us for that matter) couldn't be more excited. This Ironman spectating thing is a hard enough sport when you don't have a bored 3-year-old with you.

And that's what H thought of that special ironman outfit.

Jeremy's training has really impressed me. He has been more consistent than ever; even though late nights with the little guy leave him tired and getting little sleep, he's been up before 5 regularly to keep his training from interfering with his time at home when we are awake. He still does dishes, carpentry work in the yard, moves stones and tons of dirt up and down the hills after centuries, and, never napping, he also doesn't complain. He is the best daddy! I hope Saturday is free of snags and any mishaps, along with being full of good luck. And a tailwind both ways with really cool temps would be nice while I'm asking. 

I have so many tales and suggestions for racing ironmans, which Jeremy has certainly heard more than once in his years with me. I'll just sum it up. Swim: wear something under your wetsuit, especially if you get stripped by the strippers. Bike: don't fall off. Run: race rules say you CAN crawl, or lie on the side of the road, so take advantage if needed. Only a couple of these come directly from my personal experience. 

I really cannot believe May is already here, since we have been looking forward to this weekend for so long. I know at this point those racing want just a little more time to second guess their training, and to them I say, it's never too late to start overtraining. 

After our adventure to The Woodlands, we still have a lot of May left to go. We are getting short on time before the baby comes, and into the few weeks after the race, we are cramming in a trip to Mississippi for a family reunion, a long weekend at the beach, and a kitten adoption or two. Like my niece said, "you're going to have tiny kittens AND a new baby?" Yes, yes I am. And she can come play with all of them. 

There's still nesting work to do around the house in preparation for the baby, but one thing we aren't worrying ourselves over is decorating a nursery for this one. We only have 2 other bedrooms on the same floor as the master, one of which is irreversibly an office (meaning it's small with built in bookshelves). The other is Hunter's room, in which we plan to store baby clothes alongside Hunter's. I'm not bothering to set up a crib that will never be used this time, since right next to our king and double beds on the floor is room for the cosleeper, if needed. There's also a toddler bed along the window wall, so this place is really a BEDroom. We imagine the arrangements will end up with Hunter in the king sized bed, baby and me in the double, and Jeremy in the toddler bed. What could go wrong with all 4 of us in one room, right? :)

A Hunter quote from a couple months ago: "When my baby sister comes out I'll sleep in my bed. I'll show her how to lie down. She'll be my friend. She'll kick me in bed. She'll cry in bed some too." 

This is the age of the most hilarious and smart quotes out of that boy's mouth. Lately he had been asking seriously good questions, like if outer space has a bottom and what it attaches to. And if we've tried fish. "I tried fish one time when I was five years old.  It was pretty good." He helped uncle Tim cook one night and then gave away his gravy secret to me. The child never forgets. Especially when it comes to food ("I like every place that has food"), trucks, or theories of relatively. 

My little artist has discovered watercolors, which he really seems to enjoy splattering, at least until his water to paint ratio gets off and he gets frustrated. 

"What color should I paint next, mommy?" 

"How about green?"

"Or black!" It's always black. 

Next I'll have him working on some Ironman posters. An m-dot shouldn't be too hard to master. Our best wishes go out to all the racers this week!

April is for Outdoors

April '15, so far. 

-Outside is where we spend most of our time in the spring, and I couldn't be happier that Hunter has my love of being out there. As much as I hate (HATE) that our green space across the street is not actually green space, but now being developed into several houses, it gives us (literally) loads of sand, gravel, and dirt to explore. Along with real, life-sized backhoes, bobcats, and bulldozers. It's pretty exciting stuff for a three-year-old boy.

-We have also been working hard on the yard and vegetable garden. Hunter gave a tour of plants to Nana and Grandaddy last weekend, and he remembers the names of every seedling out there. We so far have several tomato varieties, cucumbers, zucchini, arugula, lavender, parsley, basil, rosemary, lemongrass, beets, and one okra sprout, with a green bean bed needing some dirt. Our creek of a side yard now has rocks and ajuga holding its ground, with some hydrangeas starting to bloom near the honeysuckle. It has been a colorful spring so far, but we still have work to do and plans to carry out. A neighbor recently walked by and commented that we were always out working, which is kind of true, since we all love it.

Helping Jackson, who is so kind and patient with Hunter. 

Full speed ahead!

-I love April so much that I decided Jeremy and I should get married during it, which we did 5 years ago. We actually got a picture all together, with everyone smiling (I'm assuming on the part of the baby), for our anniversary. 

-Jeremy is now in taper mode for his upcoming Ironman, which is just over 2 weeks away. I'm super excited for his race, partly because I won't have to do it myself, and also because he has put in some really good training in lots and lots of rain and cold. He will surely benefit if it rains on race day. I want to point out that he laughed at me when I first moved into his place because of the number of bike water bottles I had. If not for my bottle hoarding habits, we couldn't keep a dozen dirty bottles on the counter at any given time and still have clean ones to drink out of. I'm sure he would appreciate if I'd get off the computer and actually wash them.

-His last long ride was with a famous (infamous?) professional cyclist. Strava can confirm.

-My own last long ride was actually 20 miles outside on my road bike! That makes 2 outside rides in less than a week. I go a speedy sub-16 mph pace now, all on pedestrian paths, and usually sitting as straight up as my little arms will allow. And yes, I'm very very careful and completely defensive while riding. A very old Los Locos jersey still fits over my belly, and I know I'm making the team proud by wearing it.

-I am 31 weeks pregnant now, and I want to say my pelvis pain is better, but I had such a plodding slow run this week that I don't think I can. Some weeks are just "tired" weeks when pregnant, and my next run may be wonderful, so I am not too upset about it. I recently got a "hey baby" catcall as a car came up from behind me, and I couldn't help but laugh as I thought of what they saw when they got around in front. The highlight of my last few runs was definitely when I passed a guy going up my last hill of the day. He even had a head start, and no, he was not a senior citizen (thanks for that question, sister). I just hope he saw the belly as I stuck it way out going by. And can I just say, the hills! The hills are getting steeper, and I realize how ridiculous they are when I run from my house and get at least 450 feet of climbing in 6 miles. 

-The shoulder pain from my tdap shot 3 weeks ago? It is still there, and still limiting my range of motion a LOT. Losing sleep over it because I can only sleep on my sides, neither of which are comfortable for it, has made me very angry at the poor nurse who could have kept me from having this disability. Yes it is a minor disability when you have a three-year-old.

-Three weeks ago I failed my one hour, non-fasting, post-run glucose test. I found out last week when the (same) nurse finally called me. The three hour, fasting, first-thing-in-the-morning test was not what bothered me about hearing this. What concerned me most besides the very small risks of my baby having hypoglycemia after birth and her increased risk of diabetes in the future was the larger risk that she could be a big baby. Doctors like to induce suspected large babies, and I am doing everything in my power to have a vbac, which most certainly does NOT include an induction. Before I even finished the 3-hr test my doctor told me that he had no concerns about me having a large baby (oh did I forget to tell him Jeremy was 9 1/2lbs and I was 8lbs2oz at birth?). I have zero risk factors for gestational diabetes, except that I am over 35 this time. I was still very nervous. It turns out that every draw for the 3-hr was normal (I do not have the sugar dia-beet-ezz, said in the voice of Wilford Brimley), and I am attributing my first failure to the run beforehand. The action of the glucagon from running I just cannot ignore. 

-This whole thing made me realize that I am certainly not getting enough protein. After estimating and tracking for a few days, I see that 50-60grams is pretty easy to hit, but getting to 100g is much harder, especially given my general dislike of meat. The Brewer pregnancy diet recommendations are now posted on my fridge, and I am sure in the next 9-ish weeks I can get this thing down. Just no liver for me. 

-9-ish weeks?! Single digits! I met my doula this week, and I do think she thinks I am a little over the top with my vbac determination. I said I'm doing everything I can!

-Coincidentally on Earth Day last week, I was super proud of Hunter for correcting me before I took a bag to the trash can. "Actually, Mommy, that's recycling." That's what I meant!

Third Trimester: Running, Cycling, and Waddling

I am now a waddler. It is not because I am just so largely pregnant, and it is only part time. The possibility of sympathy from strangers because of my "condition" has occurred to me, and then I just hope they'll give up their parking spaces so I can carry my giant three year old in the grocery store more easily. But by then it's too late of course. Maybe let me through the check out line ahead of you?

The cause of this waddle is actually running, so I feel almost like an imposter when it happens. Post run, for most of the rest of the day, depending on when I got it done, my pelvis is sore and painful, especially after sitting, like in a car. So into stores I waddle. 

The good news is that the pain is not compounding, so if I give it a day's rest-- no running consecutive days-- I'm good. And distance makes only a very small difference, so 6 miles 3 times a week works just perfectly for me. 

When "researching" helpful exercises and stretches for symphysis pubis dysfunction, I came upon a lot of advice. Most told me to rest as much as possible, use crutches, don't do housework, and keep my knees together at all cost. OH right! But I needed help with the RUNNING part of it. It occurred to me that my problem most likely isn't as severe as most. It seems very few people have lasting pain after delivery, so I am relatively confident I'm not doing permanent damage. Of course there is a small worry in the back of my mind that the right side, the one with hip dysplasia, does hurt a little more than the left. 

The first mile running is always the hardest. Maybe it is the momentum needed to get this body with its extra 10 pounds going. Or it could be the way the baby has to settle down low to enjoy the run. In my out and back 6 miler Saturday I ended with a mile on the same stretch of flat road that was 90 seconds faster than the first one. And it felt much easier. 

Sunday I took the road bike out to the park and river trail path again. While the handlebars seem to get lower and lower, I can still reach the brakes and I still fit into my shorts and a very few jerseys. It might be time to borrow some from the husband. Especially the Ironman ones for irony when those guys in baggy shorts and tennis shoes blow by me. 

I have been more consistent than ever these last several weeks in using the TRX. I needed some upper body muscle and strength. Then I acquired a shoulder injury from the placement of my Tdap vaccine at the doctor last week. This is the second time I've had it go right through my deltoid into my joint. So much for increased muscle mass! It feels really awesome, but at least gives me an excuse to not swim for a while.  

I haven't heard back from the office so I'm assuming all was good with my glucose test. I never would worry about these things if it weren't for reading forum or Facebook group posts (I had to stop following one I was added to) where so many women get diagnosed with gestational diabetes. On the flip side is the forum that praises women who barely show a bump at 35 weeks or have only gained 4 pounds by the end. Eek. I'm really thankful I've never worried too much about weight or body image. 

I just continue to do what I can and what makes me feel healthy. Last pregnancy I saw a post by pro triathlete about having "no zeros" in her training log during pregnancy. I strongly dislike that mentality and never force myself to exercise just to put something in a log, when I really need to rest. Pregnancy is so funny about how inconsistent it makes you feel, with one day being spectacular and the next full of fatigue. I have no goals or standards for my performance now or right after this baby is born, since strava is yet to create a Pregnant- or Postpartum-Queen of the Mountain. 

My new heavy duty running belt has been put away in favor of my older lighter one, since it's getting rather warm to have my whole torso covered in thick elastic. But I'm loving the spring weather and all the flowers, greenery, yard construction work, digging, planting, and rolling in the grass that comes with it. 

Easter egg hunt at Nana and Granddaddy's, with your traditional truck for holding eggs

Springtime

Spring is official now. I don't *think* we will see any more snow or frost (pleasepleaseplease). Our garden hasn't been planted yet, except for some arugula, since the rest needs to wait until after Easter, but it has been expanded to triple last year's size. Jeremy and his mini helper worked hard on it, especially with the continuous leveling and digging of the soil with various "heavy" machines, also of the miniature variety.

The daffodils, tulips, and hyacinths are blooming in our yard, which got us excited to go visit the daffodil field up on Wye mountain last weekend.

He ran miles around the fields!

Their grapplers are searching for sticks.

 

Daddy got kisses.

I got licks.

We were over here taking selfies when...

incoming!

crash!

Three more months to go before baby girl comes! Hunter asks daily when she's coming out. He is excited and loves babies. One of my pregnancy pet peeves is when people talk about being pregnant for 10 months. Since when is 40 weeks equal to 10 months? Are they using lunar calendars? And you're still not pregnant for the first 2 whole weeks. I get the discomfort and excitement about the pending date and how long those last few days must seem. But unless you're an elephant, it is just not 10 months. However I do feel like an elephant some days while running.

I went to the chiropractor and he worked some on my round ligaments in addition to the usual manipulation of my SI joints. It seemed to help, at least for one of my runs last week, when I got in 6 hilly miles at 9:15 pace. In case anyone is new to the potential fluctuations in pace while pregnant, you should know the previous run, a flat 7 miler, was around 10:15+ per mile. That's when I really felt like an elephant. I realized running at that speed is conducive to multitasking though, and maybe I can get through some emails. 

I am feeling baby stabs and leg parts (ahem)...

(I realize Inglés may not have been our packers' first language.) 

...up close to my ribs now, which is exciting, since it means she is not breech at this point. This, to me, is even more important than running right now. Nobody these days, around here, will do a VBAC with a breech, and I am set on a VBAC. I am doing everything I can at this point to be the perfect candidate. 

In other spring/exercise/pregnant news, I rode my actual road bike on an actual road outside last weekend. It was my first time in a few months, and it was beautiful, head-windy, and super trafficky when I ran into some friends who suggested I ride around the river trail loop in an open farmland area with few pedestrians and their attached small animals. It was perfect! I felt safe, totally balanced, and super slow. I loved every minute. I could see replacing another run each week with this, while I can still lean over far enough to reach the brakes. 

My mantra: just keep going and going

Second Trimester Training + Painful Pelvis

 Spring is here! It makes us all so happy!

 

Somehow I'm already close to the end of the second trimester! This week little baby girl will be 26 weeks. From my vast research on the subject (kidding), the second trimester is one where most people get lots of energy, food tastes great, and they love being pregnant. My food aversions have definitely subsided and I can eat most things put in front of me, but I still don't love food. I do crave a few meals: a certain chicken, rice, and zucchini casserole; grilled cheese sandwiches on my nutty sprouted wheat bread (the secret is grilling it in lots of butter); and strawberries.

My running was going well. I had a 10 miler in there at 8:30 pace. I ran the 10k and felt surprisingly good. Running from my house, it's hilly, and my usual average pace had gone down to 8:45ish, while on the flat river trail I could do 8:30s pretty easily. At around 20-25 miles per week, I could also get in a few hours on the trainer and maybe a swim here and there when I felt like it. My bike wattage increased as my weight increased, so no real w/kg improvement, but I'll take what I can get, especially when my wattage recently got back up to a usual pre-pregnancy average. 

The fatigue of the first trimester unfortunately for me just increased. I had so many days when I could have fallen over from tiredness. I still sleep just about as much as Hunter does. I don't know how he keeps going on such little sleep! I finally figured out how to take an iron supplement without upsetting my finicky stomach. And honestly I think the nice weather and sunshine helps too!

I had a few miles here and there of ligament pain, which required a slow down and stretching. My average run paces were getting close to 9:00. Then at 25 weeks almost exactly, I ran a hilly and slow 7.5 miler in the neighborhood and had low pelvic pain the rest if the day. I've been wearing my support belt for months now, which has helped keep my abdominals from tearing like last pregnancy. But it didn't do much to keep this pelvic pain away. The next day I felt fine, but running again caused pain again immediately. Hills are worse, up or down. Walking doesn't help. A new extra sturdy belt doesn't help. I'm at a loss. 

I self-diagnosed this as Symphysis Pubis Dysfunction, for which there is a lot of contradicting plans for relief. The internet is a terrible thing for the mind when it's full of worst case scenarios. I knew I was just plain lucky in my last pregnancy running the whole way through with no problems. I guess I should count myself lucky for being able to run this long, and hopefully I can continue on the trainer and in the pool for the next 3 months. But I'll take it one day at a time and listen to any suggestions. Anyone??

Someone is still running just fine. And with a mouthful of food because we are safety conscious like that.

THREE

Three! My big boy is already three, and he couldn't be more excited about it. I just want to know how my tiny baby boy grew up so fast! Those feet started big, and still are.

His birthday week was a great time. We celebrated twice, of course. First Jeremy took the day off so we could just do exactly what Hunter wanted to do, which included eating our favorite buckwheat pancakes and playing with every single toy he owns.

Last night of two:

Then Nana and Grandaddy came over along with the cousins from down the hill to eat and play on Saturday. The cake had to be truck themed, which turned out easier than expected when I broke a chunk off accidentally while flipping it out of the pan.

  

Some of us burned off the cake with tackling practice (or rather, Jackson let the little ones knock him down and pile on top of him)...

  or following instructions on how best to fit inside small spaces (thankfully Nana took this one on).

 

Little Hunter is kind and generous, shy in crowds but never stops talking at home, creative and thoughtful, full of energy and determination, and he might have gotten a little stubbornness from an unnamed parent. He's sweet and funny and survived at least the "terrible twos" without a public meltdown even once. He loves to jump and throw things, and is terribly good at both. We are truly such lucky parents :)