A professional swimer, biker, and runner, hu?

Since I decided I wanted to do a triathlon sprint in the fall, I have been looking for a decent road bike at a good price (still looking), and I purchased my first speedo racer swimsuit since I was probably 12 and in swim team.  I also bought a swim cap, something I've never really used, and some good goggles.

Matt hasn't really been that supportive of me spending $$ on a bike and other stuff since I've never really biked and "don' t know if I'll stick with it". He wants me to spend no more than $100, but that is a joke!  Anyway, tonight as I was heading out the door to go do some lap swim, he saw me in my swim cap and jokingly said, "A swim cap? What, you want to be a professional biker, swimmer and runner now?"

My response was, "Why not? You'd rather that than I be a fat and lazy wife wouldn't you?" =) He couldn't not agree with that. hahahahaha.

13.1 miles

Today I ran my very first half-marathon. 13.1 miles. In Jr. high I couldn't run a mile without having an asthma attack. In high school I ran cross country, but felt like I would die if I tried anything over 3 miles. In college someone mentioned that they thought if I could do 4 I could do more, so I ran up to 7. And I haven't tried to go higher than that until this year. Surpassed it I did. In my 5 fingers nonetheless, so it was kind of like running it barefoot. Cool.

When I heard about the White Rock Centennial half, I was excited to train for it. Every half marathon here ends up on Sundays, so I never feel like it's worth it to me to compete. It was commemorating 100 years of races being run at on this course, and it was the anniversary today, so they had a special 1/2 marathon race to celebrate.  I am not currently pregnant or breastfeeding, I have children old enough to leave at home for a couple hours, and it was on a Saturday, so I couldn't ask for better circumstances.

My running partner Kirstin was interested in training for it also, so we have been following a training schedule the last 2 months. Prior to this race, the furthest I've ever gone consecutively was 7.5 miles and I was WASTED after running it. Like to the point I went to bed at 7 pm and had someone come over to help Matt give me a Priesthood blessing. Matt had to even carry me to bed.  I was totally dehydrated because I used to not run with water. Crazy!!!

Anyway, we did all of our weekday training runs with our strollers and kids, and we ran our weekend runs without kids. Two weeks ago Kirstin felt like she had a stress fracture, so she didn't run the last 20 miles with me in our training and let her leg rest in hopes that it would heal up enough to run in the actual race. It paid off for her and I'm so glad it did.


 My goals for this race were to:
1. Finish strong. I didn't want a hobbling in type finish. I wanted to have enough energy to sprint my hardest.
2. I wanted to finish under 2 hours. That would be under 9 min. miles.

The White Rock Lake was the perfect location for the race. It was beautiful and the weather was great. We started out between the 1:50 and 2 hour pace setters. I never actually saw either in the race, so I knew I was right where I wanted to be. We stayed together the first 8 miles or so and at that point I felt like I needed to step it up a bit in order to make my goal so I pulled ahead a little. I could glance back and see K. up until the 9 or 10 mi. mark, but after I hit 10 mi. I was in the zone. 10 was the longest I'd ever run in my training, so I really wanted to focus on my run from that point on.  I ran the entire race and didn't stop to walk once. I was really happy with that. I kept my arms loose the whole time, and I really felt great. With 1 mile left I tried to really get to my fastest-but-not-hyperventilating speed, and at about .1 mile left I was at an all out butt-kicking sprint. The crowd was cheering really loudly. I'm not sure if it was because I was running so hard or if there was someone else, but I'll take it. =) I was def. hyperventilating when I finished, but once I got some delicious cold water in me, I stopped.My time was 1 hour 59 min. and 23 seconds!!! I made my goals and I was super happy about it. I placed 26th in my age division and 415th out of 2011 runners overall. I think I did pretty well for my first half.

I had bought new running shorts this week, but I was super hesitant to run the race in them since I'd not done one training run in them. But I took the chance and it paid off. They were nice and light and the underwear that was built in didn't get soggy like cotton underwear, so that was nice. At my bro.'s suggestion, I used an anti-chafe stick which was helpful. I got a new hat, a new mp3 player, and lots of new music for the run. It was all really great. I love my fuel belt that Matt got me for Christmas. I went through all 4 water bottles during the race.

Kirstin was only 2 min. behind me, but I didn't realize that. I grabbed my water and went around to try and cheer her on, but apparently I missed her and she didn't see where I went. It ended up taking us 2 hours to find each other after the race since we didn't have our cell phones!

I am definitely tired, but I'm not wasted. I had an Isagenix bar before the race and Isadelights during the race. They helped a lot. I feel tired, but I also feel happy that I've accomplished this. Even if I never do another one, I did this one and I did it well. Something I can feel proud of.

First pair of running shoes

I got my first pair of running shoes when I was a freshman in High School. As I ran in the 10K last weekend in Snowflake, I kept thinking about how much better I am at running now than when I was in High School Cross Country. I remember just dying at meets. Sure I was running a little faster then, but I have a lot better stamina now. I was really happy with my time of 51.55. I was hoping for something under 60 min. I think when I run with my double stroller (about 80 lbs total) I go about 11 min. miles, so I was pleasantly surprised I could run almost 8.5 min. miles by myself!! Between miles 2 and 3 I felt like I was going to puke big time, but once I hit 3 I burped and I felt so much better. The second half of the race I kept thinking "I'm just now starting to run" to make it feel like I was only running a 3 mile race. I think it helped. I wonder if I could have run even faster/better if my mp3 player had been working...

I really wanted to kick it up the last 2 miles and I focused on catching "gray shirt" in front of me. I caught him with about 1/2 a mile to go and we sprinted in together. I finished a split second behind him. I think I was about the 6th woman in, which isn't bad, but I didn't medal because the other women before me were also in my age group (20-29). I nearly puked when I came in, but boy was I happy with the race when all was said an done. I didn't drink enough water, though, so I felt pretty darn crappy a couple hours later and the rest of the day. I need to get a fuel belt for sure. That happens every time I run 6 mi. or more.

The other day I saw the cutest little pair of new balance running shoes at Kid to Kid and they happened to be the perfect size for Dean. So I bought them for a whopping $6. So worth it.




We got a video of him jogging with them, but the cutest thing about it was when he ran out of the shade into the light and noticed his shadow. The rest of the video he watches what his shadow is doing.

Cleared for take off

I had my 6 week check up today and am cleared to exercise again. Woohoo! I have been searching and searching for a jogging stroller that I want. Everyone tells me to check Craigslist, and I have, but the pickin's are slim, and I honestly don't want to buy a semi-junky stroller on the cheap if I'm going to use it daily like I did with my single.

Recently I came across a brand new stroller (a 2010 model), Tike Tech CityX3. It has a lot of the same features as the $700 stroller I wanted (BOB duallie) but is only $415 new. Only problem is it is not technically a jogging stroller. The front wheel is a swivel lock wheel, but they have a new sport jogging stroller with a fixed wheel that is for "real" running. I jog about 3 mi., 5 days/wk at most. It's all on paved roads. I am torn because I really would like a swivel wheel for times that I'm just walking, but I don't know if it will hold up to my moderate jogging...

The review at babygizmo said they use it for jogging and even demonstrated it on a very rocky terrain, but they reiterate that Tike Tech doesn't advertise it as a jogging stroller.

Any thoughts from joggers (or non-joggers)? Anyone have a swivel lock stroller that you jog with?

Swimsuit season is upon us

Here is the moment of postpartum truth. It's been 6 months and here I am! (You might want to put some sun glasses on. There's a whitey pictured below!)

In the way of diet...well, I don't diet. Unless you count my Isagenix shake that I have for breakfast or lunch about 4 times a week. I don't count it since I don't use it with the mindset that it's diet food, just good food. Plus it's not really "low cal" or anything, just packed with good nutrients. I kind of just eat what (and as much) as my body tells me to. Some days I am ravenous and eat a lot. Some days I don't eat as much. I try and eat balanced meals and snack on decent things (like string cheese, granola bars, fruit, nuts, celery and PB), and that's about it.

As for exercise, I change it up quite a bit.

• I have a video (seriously, a VHS video! Who even owns those anymore?) The Firm (abs) that I do probably 4 times a week. The work outs are quite short so I tell myself, "If I do nothing else, I can do 5 -10 min. of abs!!"
• I jog (sometimes with Dean during the week and on Saturdays without) about 1-3 times a week.
• Dean and I walk 1-2 miles almost every day. Sometimes he's strapped to me in the Bjorn and sometimes we go with his stroller.
  
• I do a yoga workout (Brian Kest's Power Yoga- The DVD has 3 awesome workouts about 1 hour a piece), generally 1-2 times a week. It is an awesome video if you have done yoga before. I wouldn't say it's really a first time beginner DVD. I love that there are 3 workouts. They are really great and I don't get bored of them. I have another yoga DVD by Baron Baptiste and boy does it drive me crazy! I hate his routine.
  
• And then there's the mama workout. Dean's a big boy! I'm constantly lifting and carrying the 20 lb (guestimating here) young'un. He also thinks it's fun to sit on my tummy while I do sit ups. And he likes when I bounce up and down and do plié type lunges while holding him.

So, sometimes some of those overlap and I do multiple things a day. It's fun. And since I only have Dean to worry about, it's still possible. On the up side, my legs and bum are the smallest they've been since High School. I have a pair of shorts from my freshman year of high school that I put on the other day, and they fit loosely. My tummy's quite a bit flatter than the last time I did a postpartum pic., but I am sad to say I don't think it will ever be exactly the same. The price we pay for our dear little ones. Honestly, I'm still trying to retrain myself to have good posture again. You know that's one trick to having a flat tummy, right? Tail bone tucked under, stomach pulled up and in constantly. (No, not sucking in and holding your breath all the time. Holding the muscles up and in.) I used to be so good at it. Pregnancy kinda threw that out the window. So, I'm reteaching myself.

I tried on about 15 suits today at Target since they were on sale. It was a little frustrating. If they fit in the chest, they were wrong for the body and visa versa. This was the second to last suit I tried on, and since it was a decent fit for both, I went with it. The little holes in the front were questionable, but overall it's one of the most modest suits I've ever owned...it's one piece with a little skirt attached. The skirt is kind of nice because it means I don't have to worry if I've used VEET recently or not. I seriously can't wait for the day I can get a full Brazilian laser hair removal! (I know, I know. TMI!!)

I think I'll keep the receipt for the suit and look at Kohls as well.

It's funny. Pictures are never as flattering as the image I see when I look in the mirror. I'll just chalk it up to bad photography angles. hehe.

Evil Gargamel will get his

We woke two days ago to find out that the smurfs decided to colonize in our back yard. Seriously, overnight we had tons of mushrooms pop up out of no where.

Our yard hadn't been mowed in about a week and a half since Matt went out of town for work last week. It was getting to the point that we were going to have to bag soon. I hate bagging. The last time we bagged the clippings from our yard we used 12! 33 gallon yard bags. We have a lot of yard.

I am one of those crazy people who actually feels good when I've mowed the lawn. I have been waffling back and forth trying to decide if I should cut back on the lawn cutting since I'm now 35 weeks pregnant. On the one hand, I have a theory that women who are too pampered and babied during pregnancy (except those who truly need special consideration) will have a harder, more traumatizing labor. So I've tried to keep active, listen to my body and modify my activity as I see fit. I've kind of felt like mowing can't be that much more stressful on me than pushing stroller with a toddler while pregnant. On the other hand, I'm 35 weeks pregnant...

I started my day yesterday with 45 min. of yoga. I then decided to mow the front lawn. 25 min. later, I felt great when I was done, so I decided to go ahead mow the monster of a back yard (including Smurf Village) that we have. (I kind of felt like Evil Gargamel as I mowed down all the mushrooms.) I have to admit that by the half way point I was feeling a bit tired. I really should have just stopped and left the rest for Matt. But instead I took a 15 min. break and went back out to finish. I felt a little tired, but not bad.

This morning I went on my normal 4 mile walk. I felt fine the whole time walking, but when I got home and stopped for a few minutes, I think my body realized what I'd put it through the last two days. It was the first time I felt like a waddling pregnant lady. The inside of my left thigh/groin area felt incredibly tender, possibly strained. I felt the repercussions of my overexertion all day. I couldn't tell if it was muscles or my bones shifting or what, but I was quite sore for the first time in ages.

I'm feeling a bit better after taking it easy this evening, and I am not quite as sore as I was right after my walk. So, I'm guessing I didn't pull anything. Just pushed myself a little over my limit.

So I've made Matt a promise (he wasn't in approval of my mowing, by the way) that I won't mow both lawns, or even the back yard, the rest of my pregnancy. The front yard, now I'll have to think about that...

Sitting in my Swimsuit

I finally broke down and bought me a maternity swim suit. Why, you ask, would I do such a thing when summer is over, most of the pools are closing down, and I'm less than 2 months away from delivering? Well, I felt compelled to lap swim. And suits were on sale with the season ending.

We have one indoor public pool here that has lap swim year round. They don't have the greatest of hours, but I should be able to work it a couple times a week. Some days I can really feel the extra weight on my wrists or ankles/knees when I do yoga or walk, so it will be nice to have a feeling of water weightlessness every so often.

While I had good intentions of going swimming this morning, my plans were foiled. I got the address for the pool and Google mapped it. Google is not always right, as was the case today. When I got home (1/2 hour before they closed for the morning) after my unfruitful search, I called to figure out where I went wrong. Apparently I took a wrong turn at Albuquerque.

But really, McKinney has this slightly annoying system where they start a road at two different sides of town in the approx. latitudinal or longitudinal location. They have intentions of one day connecting them, so they give them the same name. However, that means we have 2 Hardin streets, 2 College streets, 2 Eldorado streets, etc. until that long awaited connection day arrives. It makes it difficult and confusing occasionally. Even for Google Maps. And me. So I sit here in my newly purchased and un-wet swimsuit writing this post.

At least now I know where they're located, and maybe, just maybe I'll be able to make it there tomorrow after I drop off Matt at work at 8 AM and before they close up at 9 AM.