The T-Factor!

Rev3 Quassy Olympic-Race Report Part 2: FINALLY!

2011-06-21T12:35:00.000-04:00

Going into Quassy, I knew it was going to be hilly...and I questioned whether I was ready for hills and I was dying to know....just how hilly was it? I've done a few hilly races, Vineman 70.3 and Wildflower Long Course and Big Kahuna up in Santa Cruz, and i've managed to hold my own, not being zippy fast, but other than Wildflower, the other races didn't leave me feeling like I was dying :). So, as long as it wasn't as hilly as Wildflower, I would be ok.

So..how did it all go? Like this:

As I stated in my previous post, I didn't have the easiest time in getting to the race/getting set up and all that jazz, if it weren't for my amazing Trakkers family, I probably would've thrown in the towel, but thankfully they were all helpful and able to lend a hand in making sure Soren was entertained while I got my bike's rear wheel in gear (long story) and got all set!!

After an awesome dinner with my team, I headed to the hotel to check in....at 9:00 p.m. :). For the first time in my life I actually requested help with my bags...Soren isn't much help in that department just yet, so the front desk guy helped us get into our room and I put Soren to bed, he crashed like i've never seen. Thank God....I needed to get my stuff together for the race!

I piled everything in the bathroom and put all my stuff together, however, I discovered that the new race laces I bought were missing a piece so I wouldn't be able to use them....moving on. I then discovered I had the wrong tattoo numbers....whatever that's what Sharpie's are for! So, I got all my stuff together and then realized that Dave didn't have a spare key to get into our room. I text'd him, but he was driving, so I just lay awake until he arrived, just before midnight.

He brought a bagel for my morning breakfast :).

Anyhoo, 5:00 a.m. arrived quickly and I put on all my awesome Trakkers gear, and was absolutely stoked to have my race uniform on, and couldn't WAIT to test out my new TYR Hurricane 5 Wetsuit. WOOT WOOT!!! Yeah-so, I used a wetsuit for the first time in a race, I knew though, that it would probably fit and with some TriSlide, it would go on no problem.

I scarfed part of a croissant that Dave brought along with part of a bagel, banana and I sipped on some yummy EFS drink. Desperately trying to get hydrated...I knew I was behind, but I was doing what I could.

Game time: Got everything set up in transition, I was really excited, I had a new wetsuit, new goggles, helmet and cycling shoes! I finally decided that the cycling shoes I had pee'd on multiple times during Ironman Florida and Arizona were "done." Yeah, I know, I probably lost a few readers with that admission, but the shoes were SO comfortable!! :)

It went like this:

Swim: The wetsuit went on like buttah. Seriously. No issues, pulled from the inside out, I was astounded at how awesome my shoulders felt, I didn't have that "pull" that i've had from other wetsuits. Wow, it was going to be really awesome swimming in my Hurricane 5! I lined up in front, I always do, i'm not particularly super fast, but i'm not savvy enough to push through people either, so I try to play to my swim strengths and I line up just behind the front women. We jostled for a while, took me a while to find my rhythm. We hit the turnaround and I was getting a really really bad headache, dehydration effects were hitting me. I kicked harder, just trying to ignore it.

I didn't wear a watch so I had no idea what my time was....felt slow...actually, my first thought coming out of the water with my headache was "if I get on my bike, it'll be by the grace of God," it was hurting that bad.

Bike: Once I got on and started pedaling, gave myself some time to settle in, I smiled. No, actually, i'll admit, I teared up. For someone who didn't know how to shift a bike during my first triathlon, i've improved quite a bit and man...I love cycling. The Rev3 Quassy bike course is phenomenally beautiful, it is hilly true to the talk, but forgiving as well. My only issue on the bike: I lost my water bottle with EFS at mile 5 of the bike. It flew so fast over a ravine, while I was descending, I had no chance to retrieve it. So, there I was, dehydrated, and now no water. Ugh. I was mad. Really mad because I knew I couldn't push too hard on the bike and have nothing left for the run and totally get myself into a position where I was really hurting. So, I just pushed through, but held back a bit to keep my heart rate down.

Run: I finished the bike, quickly laced up my Avia Quest Lite III's and and for the first time ever, I actually grabbed water from the transition area. Downed two cups and just ran. Again, no watch, so I had no idea what my time was. I knew at about mile 2 that I was in for an interesting run. I managed to hold my own with the hills, but I did walk a tiny bit on one hill. I was mad I had to walk, but I was sort of running out of gas! I definitely didn't train well on hills for the run. My favorite part of the run was seeing our Mama Bear-Carole Sharpless out there cheering us on, that was super awesome!

Honestly, the thing that saved my ass on this run was purely First Endurance's Liquid Shot....having had nearly zero calories on the bike, I downed the FE Liquid Gel, finally got rid of my entire headache and gave me the energy I needed to push through my run! I finally found my groove at mile FOUR. Yeah, we wonder why I like the longer distance stuff. Takes me forever to get started huh?? :)

Mile 5-6 has a hill at the very end, and I had found my groove but was quickly losing it after that last hill! NO!!! Then all of a sudden two women came out of nowhere, both had 33 and 32 on their legs. Crap. Now I had to work. It was in literally the last 500 yards. I gave it what I could, I held off one woman but the other passed me!

The funniest part about the finish is that Dave mentioned later he had Soren waiting for me in case I wanted to hold him and run across the finish line. I remembered early on I had thought about that, but we never discussed it. Then Dave goes "But, um, you looked really pissed so I thought maybe you wouldn't see us" :). I was pissed! I was so mad at the other woman passing me and I was trying hard to be competitive!!

Ha.....even when I don't train as consistently as I should for these races, something in me sparks when i'm racing and no matter how little or as much as I train, I take it seriously and I get angry when I race! Not a "mean" anger, but just a "go for it" anger! :) No one likes being passed, no matter what the age group is!

My thoughts: Gorgeous, absolutely gorgeous race, water was perfect, bike hilly but forgiving and i'll be honest, that run kicked my butt just about the same as Wildflower Long Course. No joke. It's a hard course. But i'd love to do Rev3 Quassy again!!!

Final Stats:
Swim: 27:04/13th in AG
T1:2:40..god i'm slow
Bike: 1:30/15th in AG
T2:1:54..impressed, this is WITH shoe tying :)
Run: 54:12-I ran the first two miles at a 7:59 pace. Would love to maintain this speed someday :)
Finished: 19th in my AG...so, a total of 6 people passed me-i'll get 'em next time :)

Majorly huge thanks to my amazing sponsors: TYR-your wetsuit is buttery/perfect-can't wait to wear it again. My fancy TYR goggles were perfect, never a fog or a leak, just a perfect fit!! SBR Sports, as usual--TriSlide and Foggle left me "chafe-less" and "fog-less" :), i'm always bragging about your products!! KESTREL, sigh, where do I begin---amazing amazing ride, I love my Kestrel Airfoil Pro--it has 650 wheels and rides absolutely smooth and slick. LOVE IT! Avia---my Quest Lite III's are perfect, plenty of cushion, but not enough to weigh me down!! First Endurance Nutrition: for saving my ass on the run with the amazing vanilla flavored liquid shot! And last, but definitely not least: my favorite new way to relax before or after a race: Recovery Pump!! Absolutely amazing recovery system..I spent several hours of bliss in my boots once we got home from the race!!!

And obviously....a huge thanks to Dave who as usual took care of business so that I could race with some peace and quiet :). Next up: a blog entry on Rev3...a whole 'nother blog post in and of itself and how amazing this organization is! :)

Rev3 Quassy Olympic-Race Report Part I

2011-06-06T13:43:00.000-04:00

This race report is going to have two parts because something in me was sparked and I need to write more than just a race report. This should actually be called "Triathlon Brattiness" but just stopping short of calling myself a brat, i'll keep it as "race report" but.....i'm really calling myself out.

I started to write this race report about three times before Quassy even started. The first time was when I had to call my friend to come watch Soren so I could load up the car on Friday morning. Sounds ridiculous right? Well, living on the 3rd floor of a building, I knew I was going to have a heck of a time loading bags and a bike with towing a toddler beside me begging to either A: hold/twist/drop/throw my keys or B:stop to twist all the door handles on every door of our building.

It could've taken me easily two hours. Friend came, I was rescued. The next time was when I arrived at Quassy and I realized that walking my bike and pushing a stroller was going to be an interesting turn of events. Luckily I had some awesome teammates to help me out!! The last time was when I realized that the only water I had drank all day, the day before my race was the two glasses of water I had drank during dinner, other than that just one caffeine-free diet coke. Excellent race preparation.

I should quit my whining, because honestly, I had a lot of time to think this weekend, I have some people on my mind that don't have it going so smoothly right now or people who are struggling and worried about "real" things in their lives. When I start to talk about how many things were odd or wrong with my race preparation or the things that I struggled with, it sounds really really lame to complain about. Seriously. Who cares if Dave had to rent a car to come watch me race since we're down to one car in Boston and he got to the hotel at midnight the night before a race, we got up at 5:00 a.m. to head to transition and I woke with a headache realizing I was indeed, dehyrated, but even worse, I had nearly nothing to eat for breakfast, and my fast shoe laces I had bought were missing pieces to them so I was going to have to...gasp....tie my running shoes during the race instead of slipping them on. gasp. Boo Hoo. :)

Perspective people.....here are my thoughts: sure, racing is MY time, it's what I love, it's someone else's time when they read a book or paint or see a movie or they shop alone. I race, it's one of my most favorite things in the world. Dave and I are opposites, I train because I love competition, the thrill of a race. Dave..he loves the training and the race is just the reward for all the training. In my own "mommy" world, racing has become a part of my identity, something that I look forward to because it makes me feel like "me" and I can focus on each of the sports and challenge myself. So, I guess I get frustrated when things don't go smoothly before a race because I want to feel good about myself in a race. But.....come on, seriously, when you think about it, most people I know are working either full or part time, they're juggling having time for their kids, themselves, juggling finances, struggling to even visit family, and if my biggest worry is that I was dehydrated before a race---I need to kick myself in the pants for even considering that a "worry."

I'm not saying Dave and I don't have any struggles, please don't take what I wrote as that, i'm merely saying the fact that I have the time in my life to train and race and enjoy that time is a gift in and of itself. Each race I do should be seen as a gift and be grateful for that opportunity, not dwell on all the nuances that may go wrong.

What prompted me to write all this out exactly...well, I realized that I was getting a bit into of a frenzy with how things weren't going smoothly and I've come in contact with people at races before who I actually felt like they were so obsessed with what was going on in their race preparation that I thought to myself "do they even realize how lucky they are?" People who spend HOURS away from their families training for races and their families come to support them, only to have them get all irritated because they didn't "PR" in a race. How annoyed would you be if your family member spent hours away from you and then complained of the one teeny tiny nuance that didn't go perfect. Perspective people.

I'm not saying people don't deserve time to themselves, but....realistically there is time to yourself and then there's the guy on the run this past weekend who I was talking to who was complaining about not getting a PR on his run and he mentioned his five-week-old baby. I couldn't even wrap my head around that, I just thought "Dude, you have a freaking INFANT and no doubt your wife is sitting on a rock around here in the heat, in the transition area after getting up super early no doubt on zero sleep and you're complaining about not having a PR".....what a jerk. And I hate to say it, he's not the first one to make comments like this, I hear it quite a bit throughout the triathlon community and it drives me insane.

It just really made me think about perspective. I started my race being grateful to have my first open water swim of the season, ride my bike for the FIRST TIME SINCE VINEMAN (yes, i'm finally admitting, it, I didn't do any trainer rides or rides outside before Quassy, it was all spin classes, huge admittance, but whatever it's my blog), I teared up riding my bike, I love it, it's fast, fun and I had a great ride, and the run, I was so grateful to be running in the shade, and best of all, being greeted by my awesome husband and son at the finish.

You have to take the time to be grateful, life isn't always about YOU and your PR's and lining up races and flying around all over to get in as many races as you can. Life is about juggling and sometimes juggling a lot of things at once, makes you appreciate being able to have time for yourself more...I got my pants in a bunch initially when I was trying to make my race logistics work, but i'm glad by Friday evening at dinner I had sorted out my selfishness and kicked myself in the pants and got to focus on the fun part, finding myself lost in the fun of a race!

Stay tuned for play-by-play of Quassy.....it was a good one :)

Boston's Run to Remember Half Marathon Race Report :)

2011-06-01T12:48:00.000-04:00

There wasn't any crazy training for this race, more like consistent runs a few treadmill speed workouts and I actually ran off the spin bike thinking a "brick" workout may actually help train me for some fatigue in the race. The gory details: my longest run was 9 miles (once), but, I also ran 6-7 miles a few days a week. The spin classes i've been going to have my heart rate hovering around 168-170 for the entire class, so I felt confident on race day that even though my training hasn't been all "running" specific, I had been working my body hard in different ways and I just had to hope like hell it would all come together. And by some graceful force: It did :)

I had an awesome race. My goal for the race was to really try to "race" it. I've never really done that, most of my half marathons were either too flat to really "count" (think Silver Strand out on Coronado, CA, terrific course, super flat, but not all that realistic in terms of terrain for most half marathons). I wanted to see how hard I could push myself in a half marathon. Starting out feeling good, let my lungs settle (hoping that my asthma didn't kick in!) and see what would happen.

I was also sort of desperate to get some speed back. Since having Soren it just hasn't been there and granted, I hadn't up until now, really been able to work on speed, the first year after having him, I worked on building up my endurance and just feel good at racing again. This race I really wanted to see if I was anywhere near where I had been prior to giving birth.

I woke up race morning pretty ready----ate some oatmeal, mixed in some First Endurance EFS with water and Dave and Soren dropped me off. True to toddler form, Soren had a fever, so they were going to watch me run by at mile 5 and 8 and Dave was going to take him back, no need to stand around in the heat at the finish line!

I used some of my favorite Tri-Slide on my feet and arms etc to prevent any chafing. Not that that *ever* happens to me :). Checked my bag and lined up at the start...gave a final tug on my awesome Avi Quest Lite's and I seated myself at the 8:15-8:30 corral, my experience tells me as long as i'm not walking, i'm better off starting out with a faster pace and settling in there than having to weave my way through people. It was pretty awesome, the race starts out by the World Trade Center Boston which is a bridge away from downtown Boston, so you have a gorgeous view of all the tall buildings and just a great scenic way to start a race.

The horns sounded and we were off! I'll just go through some miles here:
1-3: settling in, felt pretty good, didn't start off too fast, kept thinking about the last race wondering if my stomach would bother me, it felt fine.
4-7: just looking for leg turnover, wondering if my stomach would bother me. Still fine. Didn't see Soren and Dave, just hoped it meant I was running so fast they missed me. They did :)
*Took a huge swig of First Endurance Liquid Shot in Vanilla...this stuff is like downing caramel. Heavenly on a hard run!!
8-10: Saw Soren and Dave on my way back (you run through the whole city, down the Charles River and into Cambridge by Harvard..very cool!). I was starting to breathe harder here but my legs felt pretty decent, but I knew I couldn't move faster.
*Another yummy swig of liquid shot.
11: Ok, I wanted to push harder here, but just had to keep myself steady.
12-13.1: Energy pretty spent, but rest of course was flat so I geared up and found some last minute speed to sprint the finish on my toes.

I was pretty elated when I finished, I kind of teared up a little bit. It's no surprise obviously as i've said in this blog, I always see myself as a slow runner, but not in this race, I finally give myself permission to say that I felt as though I was fast! :)

Finish time: 1:50
Average pace: 8:25/per mile
Average heart rate: 168 (yowza, this is kinda high for me to maintain at a half marathon....but, I did it!)

Super excited to have had a solid race and honestly without some really amazing support, I wouldn't have been able to have had such a smooth race. Huge Huge thanks to: Avia, First Endurance, Recovery Pump and SBRSports!!!

Do you have what it takes?

2011-05-20T14:29:00.000-04:00

I've been thinking a lot lately about dedication and drive and what motivates people to do what they do. Whether it's their career or their activities, but what makes people "good" at what they pursue. I'm not talking about scores or rankings or how people finish in a race or how high they score on a test, but more-so, their perceived "worth" in what they do and if they feel they're successful, how do people define themselves as "good."

My parents recently came to stay with Soren while Dave and I went to Spain and we were talking about how I got into triathlon and how way back in the day when I was a high school tennis player, I hated practicing. In all honesty, I was a good tennis player, I was really good. Was I great, probably not, but I was good. I was ranked in the state of Virginia and I practiced, but half-halfheartedly. Finally, my junior year, my dad or my parents rather, were "done," I was the last of their three girls and my dad had grown a bit tired of me wanting to travel and signing up to work with good coaches, when I didn't want to practice. In my own mind, I was good and I was happy just going out and banging the ball around, winning matches here and there, but practicing, eh, I just basically wanted to walk out on the court and "see what would happen." I had a bit of athleticism, so I could get away with less practice, but my poor dad, shelling out dollar after dollar, grew a bit tired. A coach finally said he could guarantee me a scholarship to a smaller school to play tennis, but i'd have to practice before school and after school. I thought about it for a day, decided I was too social and decided to stop playing tennis after my senior year in high-school. I wrapped up my senior year being co-Captain and MVP.

I remember walking up on the stage to get my MVP award thinking this was the greatest accomplishment of my life, how awesome it was and how cool it felt. In my mind, I had worked hard, maybe I wasn't the most- "practiced" athlete, but, I knew I had done a good job and I had fun being a leader on my team.

What brings me to this memory? When my parents were out, we were talking about triathlon and my dad actually said to me "if you had told me back that you would be the daughter of mine that would complete two Ironmans, I never would've believed it." I started laughing "DAD!!! WHO SAYS THAT?". My parents are NOT the "insulting" type of parents consumed with "self importance" so I was floored my dad would say that, but.....he was RIGHT. Back then, I just wasn't that into "hard work," I just had fun, which is what kids are supposed to do. BUT-it separates the good, from the "really great."

Fast forward to now and you can ask the same question for a lot of things, what makes people good parents, what makes them good employees. Usually the same thing applies: if you love what you do, you'll be good at it. Sometimes this is true, sometimes the rule doesn't always apply, there are plenty of kids out there that stink at playing piano but they love it, maybe because they take lessons with their favorite friends, but I think the key here is learning how to enjoy something and working hard at it and having YOU think you're good at it.

It doesn't really matter if other people think you're good at it. If you think you're good at it, that's all that matters and really, THAT type of mindset is what makes people WIN. It's the "race day" magic people talk about, the PR's people set at the worst time in their lives, it's believing in yourself. If you THINK you're good at something, it makes you work harder.

Speaking of working hard...I was thinking back to my last Ironman, Ironman Arizona in 2008 and I have some fun pictures of me on the bike, but then I came across this picture.

It isn't even the greatest picture in the world, you'd never frame it, you wouldn't send it in an email, you wouldn't brag about it, heck, do you SEE my hair?

But...it's one of my most favorite pictures from the day, because I see the look on my face and I can see that I'm working really hard and i'm tired!

My run wasn't going as well as I wanted, planned or dreamed about, but I was going what I could to meet my goal of breaking 11:00 hours. I actually had entertained the idea of a Kona slot, but knew I had to run my ass off. I'm not a great runner, heck i'm not even that *GOOD* of a runner, but I work really hard at it. I had somehow found out I was 2nd in my age group when I finished the bike portion and if I could just maintain somewhat of a decent run, *maybe* I could be within the Kona placing. I don't even think I ever blogged about this, maybe I did. But, anyway, my run didn't go as planned due to stomach issues so I couldn't maintain speed, but I still worked really hard and you know what, it turned out to be an AWESOME race for me for the most part! I knocked off roughly 45 minutes from my last Ironman, PR'd for myself in the swim and marathon and I did pretty well in executing my race, so I was happy. Maybe some people say I didn't/don't have what it takes, that's ok....it only matters what WE think.

So, whatever your hobby is, or whatever your job is, it's mindset......go get it.

A picture is worth a thousand words...

2011-05-18T12:34:00.000-04:00

I'm really bad at posting pictures on my blog, primarily because it takes a while.....but while I think of my next post, here are some very recent pictures....Easter, Spain and just one pic so far of my sister Dawn's visit with my niece, Mia. I have a lot on my mind right now that I want to write about, but I need to find a way to put it together that makes sense....so for now, here are some pics to ponder :)

Soren on his Easter egg hunt!

"Helping" Soren find chocolate eggs :)

Attempt at Easter family photo, Soren "cheese" ... :)

Plaza del Sol, Madrid, Spain=awesomeness

Tapas market in Madrid

Olive oil and salt potato chips..so so so good!

Royal Palace in Madrid, we just walked the grounds, not sure I have the patience for being inside on a day like that!

Wish I could make this!! Shrimp and mushroom appetizer...major yum..followed by paella and lots of sangria :)

Beer break :)

Small side-street tapas' dinner.....yum!

Toledo, Spain.....very cool!

You'd think it was me who wanted to take a pic with the train.....nope...Dave insisted :)

Building with Lego's!

It may be 40 degrees out but Soren is ready for Summer!

With his sweet cousin Mia who was absolutely adorable with him, reading/coloring, letting him climb all over her!!!

The Ugly Truth

2011-05-06T19:14:00.000-04:00

I know everyone wants to hear how hard i've been training and to some extent when I "train," I DO train hard....it just has been a bit far and few between. My running is pretty consistent, my spin classes are consistent, my swimming-not so much and here is the honest to goodness truth. I haven't ridden my bike outside since VINEMAN 70.3 last July.

I love my bike, I mean, seriously love it....it's fast, it has 650 wheels so I feel with every push I get more than one rotation in my wheels (is that even a technical bike term??), it's sleak, i'm proud to own it and I absolutely love riding it. My issue: lack of knowledge of the Boston area of a place I can ride that A: won't kill my tires/wheels as the roads here do to my car B: knowledge of a place I can ride in general, C: time in general to get in a good ride. In San Diego, my time was limited, but I knew exactly where to go to fit in some quick rides. Time is moving quickly and I have GOT to get my little Kestrel out and moving!!!

This weekend's goal is to get in a long swim and a ride somewhere, I got some good recommendations although one of them included riding up Beacon Street and then heading over to heartbreak hill (from Boston Marathon) and i'm thinking to myself as the guy is describing it "sounds like it has a lot of potholes and isn't this the equivalent of riding in Times Square?". Ugh, so hopefully i'll find a place to ride very quickly! The local bike shop here is pretty good so i'll be paying them a visit!

What else has been distracting me? Oh yeah, Dave and I scored a quick trip across the pond to Spain for five nights...sans Soren. It was awesome. Did I miss my little guy: absolutely, did he miss us? Not so much :). He never asked for us. Even once :). Ok by me, i'd rather him be super entertained by my awesome parents than to ask for us on a regular basis! It was so wonderful having my parents stay with him and spend quality time with him. My dad took him on super long walks all over the place, they took him to a music class at the library and to the Cape and some other New England towns, they had a great time! They told us we came home too soon. Next up: another vacation to plan, but first, i've got a racing season to greet!

It's funny, I know my training isn't up to par like it normally is, but i'm relaxed and I think i'm actually pretty fit, i'm motivated, i'm relaxed and just really excited to race. Next up: Half Marathon here in Boston and the Rev3 QUASSY!! STOKED about this race. Can't WAIT to meet my Trakkers teammates and do my first triathlon of the season!!!

Over and out!!

Quincy Half Marathon/10k Tempo Run Race Report :)

2011-04-01T22:02:00.000-04:00

In all the races i've ever done, i've only ever had to DNF one race. It was the 2007 Lifetime Fitness Triathlon in Minneapolis. I had qualified for the race by racing at the elite level at the LA Triathlon in 2006. I qualified for the race in September of 2006 and raced the following July, 2007. What happened? I listened to a bunch of crazy people who managed to convince me that during an olympic distance race it was better to DNF then to carry a spare tube/air to fix a flat. Guess what? For the first time *ever* in a race, not only did I crash my bike, but once I picked myself up, I flatted. Twice. The first patch (stolen, er, um, borrowed from a spectator-cyclist who was dumbfounded that I had nothing to repair a flat with) he was very nice though, fixed my flat and sent me on my way. Another mile down the road, I flatted again. At mile 21 on the bike. AND, I also for the first time decided to race sockless, because you know, who wants to take 15 seconds to put on their socks. So, running barefoot for five miles pushing my bike to finish the bike portion just seemed absurd to me. So, I DNF'd. After a year of waiting to race, flying to Minneapolis alone/knowing no one/assembling my own bike etc. Lesson learned: it is ALWAYS more important to me to finish a race and carry more "weight" with me on my bike than to not finish. Glad I cleared that question up reasonably early in triathlon.

So, what does this have to do with my half marathon on Sunday the 24th? Yeah, it's taken me over a week for my race report, sorry, wasn't sure how to write all this down and keep people entertained :). As you've gathered from my title and tone, I had to pull out of my half marathon.

It's kind of an interesting story actually. My running has actually been coming along really well, better than I would've thought at this point. As much as I hate "the gym" and "the treadmill" it's a necessary part of my day, I can't train without someone to watch Soren and the gym provides that. Treadmill it is. I've watched my running get consistently faster and easier as we've moved here and i'm pretty excited about it.

Fast forward to Thursday before the race--I felt fine, my longest run had only been 9 miles, but I just had a good feeling about my running in general, I knew I had been running consistently enough to pull off a decent race. I don't mean a PR necessarily (that would be beating a 1:48), but I thought I could definitely beat 2:00 hours. Saturday came, I had been hydrating well/eating well and just taking it easy.

Sunday morning, woke up and had my usual oatmeal breakfast. Dave was getting Soren ready so all I had to do was get myself together and I had time to stretch etc. Way less hectic than last year when I was pumping milk and nursing before a race, literally running to a start at some points. We got to Quincy which is a cute New England town right on the water, it was cold. 30 degrees cold. I decided against wearing pants, just can't do it. I was excited because, as most athletes would agree, success on the toilet is a good thing before a race (sorry for TMI) but seriously, no one wants to start a race on a full stomach. My stomach felt "off" though, Dave asked if I wanted to race and I said yes, I attributed the "gut feeling" literally, to nerves.

I said goodbye to Dave and Soren, tightened my very AWESOME Avia Quest Lites and was off.

No timing chip, they do things "old school" just ripping the label off the bottom of your race number. I started, looked down at my watch (wore it for the first time since probably September, I kid you not). My first mile was 8:07 and felt effortless. Excited. I slowed down a bit though, I didn't want to push it. I knew I wasn't really trained to go a mid-distance at a fast pace......anyway, the next few miles ticked by. Then, at mile 5, I felt a pit and jarring pains just where my rib cage meets. Crap. This is the same pain that has woken me from a deep sleep in the middle of the night and kept me up hours. I have never ever felt this pain while i've been awake, let alone racing. I've had a complete ultrasound and bloodwork done to rule things out (back in December), and nothing showed.

I've had a major issue with lack of fiber/hydration a few years ago and it sent me down a similar path. Anyway, mile 6 was uphill and by the time I got to 6.5, I knew I had to stop, at least to get to the bathroom. Mile 7, I found a restaurant, and as i'm stuffing toilet paper in my pocket for later, it dawns on me that I can't even stand straight up, let alone run or finish the race.

And that was that.....I decided to quit. Smartest decision i've made in a very very long time. It took me about four hours to get rid of the pain and i'm *still* working on getting my stomach right. It's been almost two weeks of constant hydration and focusing on proper fiber intake. I have a history of it, so I know what the issue is, I just can't be casual with it anymore!

Was I bummed, eh, kind of, but truthfully, I was in so much pain, I was relieved to get home and into bed!

Here are my stats at least those that I have!
Mile 1: 8:08
Mile 2: 8:10
Mile 3:8:01
Mile 4: 8:06
Mile 5: 8:04
Mile 6:8:46
Mile 7:8:45

Kinda clear where things started to go awry!! Still stoked about my "tempo run".

MASSIVE thanks to my sponsors: First Endurance, Avia and Recovery Pump!!! I definitely wouldn't have had the beginnings of a strong race without you!!!

How do I recover?

2011-03-18T14:50:00.001-04:00

I get this question every once in a while, people kind of shake their heads and wave their fingers at me and say "triathlon, ridiculous....you're crazy." Well, I agree, I think I am crazy....but not really for doing triathlon, but for a host of other reasons :).

I will say that yes, I do think doing the Ironman distance races require a dose of insanity, mostly because really, your life becomes about Ironman. No doubt. I suppose I could be someone who wakes up at 4:00 a.m. and rides the trainer, or goes to the gym and runs on the treadmill and during Soren's nap, i'd ride the trainer and after Soren goes to bed, head to the pool. I *could* do this and I know people that do, but right now, that all sounds just very...very....tiring. So, what I decided to do when my kids are "little" is race the shorter stuff, meaning, maybe two workouts a day during "peak" training, but definitely not three. And yes, i've done three workouts a day......and yeah, I feel a little insane for writing that, but then again, someone once asked, "how do you do an Ironman". That's how. 2-3 workouts a day....about 15-20 hours, maybe more a week.

So, how does one do all this. Not just "eating well" and, not even really sleeping because when you're training that much, you're jittery at night. Yeah, you'd think you'd sleep well, but you don't...or maybe you do, I can't even remember, but I don't remember waking up, ever and thinking "oh wow, I slept well". Great, so now you're training 15-20+ hours a week, how do you keep doing it?

With a very very good nutrition plan, that's how. I don't just mean, fruits, veggies, etc, I mean, you need a good nutrition plan for before, during and after. So, don't skip breakfast--really, even if "I can't eat breakfast before I run, I throw up." Well, find something that doesn't make you throw up. Maybe try greek yogurt instead of fruit loops? Do NOT start your workout hungry. You can be a little hungry, but if you're "really" hungry. Stop and eat.

If you have a workout that's longer than an hour, bring water with some calories in it, or eat something along the workout.

After, you workout for longer than an hour, you need to eat protein. Period. I prefer protein with a carb, but that's just me :)

What really gets me through these workouts and aids in my recovery? First Endurance Products. Why? Because when I was training for both my Ironmans, I thought I used proper nutrition, but I don't think anything I used was a good fit for me. I always had stomach issues and battled small injuries. I have a REALLY sensitive stomach and First Endurance makes products that I can use before, during and after workouts and quite honestly, they don't leave me running for the toilet like most of these other products. Additionally, last year was quite stressful for me with racing, but using first endurance, my body felt recovered and ready-to-go!

What do I recommend? My favorites:
EFS: this is a powder that you put in your water, my favorite is fruit punch, gives you calories for your workout and it's clear so you don't have those ridiculous stains on your shirt or around your mouth like kool-aid :)

Liquid Shot: this is a liquid that comes in a canister, carry it with you on runs or on your ride. I LOVE this stuff. Tastes delicious, and my favorite is that it comes in a pre-marked canister so you can see how much you're "shooting" as you're running, so you know how many calories you're taking in.

Ultragen: Where to begin? This is a powder that you can put in water or milk or mix in a shake post-workout. This stuff is addictive. I swear. I love the Cappuccino flavor and sometimes i'll workout even harder knowing I can have this after :) I have zero time to stretch these days. I walk in the door and I have to chase after a toddler. Dave will mix me up some Ultragen with skim milk and boom, around 300 protein filled calories and i'm ready to carry on through my day.

I love these products and I use them because they WORK. Far too many products out there are stuffed with "fillers" that you don't need and could be why I was left with many an upset stomach through most of my long-distance training.

So....as you're investing in triathlon, or any sport that requires some training, go the extra mile, do your homework and invest in a good nutrition plan!!

Progress!

2011-03-03T18:46:00.002-05:00

Before I had Soren I could comfortably run in the mid 8:00's for quite a few miles, many of my long runs before Ironman Arizona were right around 8:20/8:30 pace.....it took me exactly four years to get to that point where I could run at that pace and feel comfortable. It was a lot.of.work. It took two years of track workouts, working with my coach Amanda and trying to work on my form. It was many many runs of running at different paces and learning what felt comfortable and what felt really, really hard. Running has never come easy to me, I was a soccer player and tennis player, so my running was always in short spurts...

When I got pregnant and I kept up running until I was 28 weeks, I knew that I would have my work cut out for me after Soren was born. It wasn't really a big deal, I had been slow before and I could be slow again, but I knew I could get back to where I was prior to his arrival.

It made me slightly discouraged though because many people would say "I'm SO much faster now that i've had kids, I got my speed back and then some in no time." I waited the requisite 6 weeks post delivery to attempt running. "Running" meant "running" a quarter of mile and walking the rest of the three miles. I think I was running a 12 minute mile. Not.Kidding.

18 months later, i'm finally starting to run around an 8:50/8:40 pace to start and by the end I can hold an 8:20 pace for about a mile or two. I hate blogs about "numbers"....I really do....but, you know, I think I make exceptions if people don't blog about "numbers" a lot.....then I don't mind the occasional "number dropping" :). Here's the thing, it's really really hard for me to run comfortably, it takes me about 30 minutes to warm up, I have a touch of exercised induced asthma, so no matter when I run, it's difficult for me to get air the first 30 minutes, then I settle in and I can go harder. It's been an adventure. One that I enjoy and one that I hate.....but I love triathlon because it's given me a challenge as an adult, and that I love. I love having something that is just "mine." Especially being a stay-at-home mom right now, it gives me something fun to look forward to (Racing, Trakkers team mates!!) and it's something that's my own!

My first race is March 20th, a half marathon.....my goal, is this weekend I want to run 9 at some point and then i'll run 10 the following weekend....right now i'm: spinning twice a week, i've swum once :) (Thank God something in this sport comes easy to me!!) and i'm running about 4 days a week, six miles at a time.....so a half marathon should be doable, I just need to get in a bit more mileage. I'm super curious to see how the race goes.

I'm going to start doing two workouts a day very soon, my cute husband bought me a special wheel just for my trainer, so I don't have to use my good Kestrel wheels on it anymore :)..I know, all those trainer rides for Ironman, yup, on regular wheels....no longer!! He even bought an extra cassette so I don't have to switch out the cassette every time (not that I know how :).....so, I figure I can run in the morning at the gym, come home, put Soren down and ride the trainer for a while.....

I'm learning to be patient with myself, last year I packed in quite a bit of racing, in terms of what I could juggle, a few half marathons a half Ironman and a full marathon. I learned a lot. Too much for me at the time and still is.......that being said, I threw my hat in for this year's Marine Corps Marathon. Bring it :)

Training derailed....

2011-02-04T21:55:00.001-05:00

Thank you all for your thoughts on the cochlear implant! I'm pretty excited, i'll blog more about it when I have some more details---one thing I wanted to answer was that the "homework" i'll have refers to: after they turn the implant "on" which is about 4 weeks after the surgery, I have to sort of re-learn to hear--which probably means not wearing my hearing aid in my left ear, since the implant will be in my right ear (my ear that is worse off)....so, it'll involve a lot of patience and I think they give you tapes to listen to, i'm not quite sure just yet!

Ah, training, well, the last week has been a no-go as far as training, Soren had what I thought was a teething runny nose, which turned into a full-on cold, then a fever followed by several misses by doctors and finally we ended up with cold/wheezing and ear infection..poor guy. He's truly a good sport---we have to do breathing treatments for him for his wheezing and he finally got some antibiotics for his ear infection, so we are on the mend.

Just in time literally for us to fly to Colorado tomorrow. The month of February is ridiculous for Dave, just one of those really bad months in terms of hours, most days he leaves the house at 5:30 and gets home either just before Soren goes to bed or more than likely super late--and Dave LOVES putting Soren to bed, giving him a bath, reading....he gets *super* bummed if he misses it, so the deal is, he's supposed to text or let me know if he's able to make it home in time, if he's going to be a little late, I keep Soren up, otherwise, he's gotta go to bed, because quite frankly, i'm wiped by that time!

Anyway, so this month means quite a few missed bedtimes and Dave takes his oral boards for anesthesia in April (he passed the written boards in August)......so we figured Soren and I may have a more fun time heading to Denver for a few days to spend with my family and i'm going to SKI. So excited...can't wait! We'll miss Dave, but this'll give him a chance to get started on studying and my family can have some quality time with Soren!

Hoping to get back on the running wagon while i'm out in Colorado as well, unfortunately i'm just getting over an upper respiratory infection (at least that's what I think it was??).....so I have to wait for my coughs to subside a bit!

Inside his tunnel on a snow day!

Got snow?

Walk in the park!

Testing out the new snow suit....check out the color :) TRAKKERS green :)

Yeah, so sidewalks around here, are literally the width of a toddler....good luck with strollers or uncomfortable passes with people!

About done and ready to go in!!

Pic with Grandma and Grandpa--they came to visit and had a blast with Soren!!! They were super excited to have snow, since they live in Scottsdale!

Cochlear Implant Thoughts....

2011-01-24T13:27:00.000-05:00

I have a lot of decisions to make these days, one of which has absolutely nothing to do with triathlon but everything to do with me being able to hear better. I'm contemplating (actually i've already decided) to go ahead and have a cochlear implant surgery. I won't go into too many details on what exactly it is, it would take a while :), but here is a link explaining the surgery: http://www.fda.gov/MedicalDevices/ProductsandMedicalProcedures/ImplantsandProsthetics/CochlearImplants/ucm062823.htm

My older sister and my cousin both have cochlear implants and both have had tremendous success, so, why am I dragging my feet? Laziness, wondering if i'll be patient enough to do the "homework" required after the surgery, and wondering if it will really work for me (I'm doing it in my "bad" ear-they're both "bad" but my right ear is the worse of the two). My goal is to have the surgery while we're here in Boston because they have an amazing Eye/Ear clinic here and Dave randomly worked with a surgeon who performs these surgeries on both children and adults and he was able to receive some good feedback from the doctor about the MA Eye/Ear Infirmary. Anyway....so, i'm contemplating doing the surgery in March---I have a few things I need to look into as far as coverage etc. My reasons for doing the surgery: overall, just better quality of hearing, the ability to mountain bike, surf, scuba dive and other super active activities that i've never been able to do because of the risk of hitting my head (I have Mondini Syndrome which leaves me susceptible to more hearing loss if I hit my head, which i've done previously while swimming and skate boarding, both of which resulted in surgeries.). This is not to say i'm going to run out and start mountaing biking, but just the ABILITY to be able to do something without having to worry about my hearing loss increasing. The cochlear implant bypasses this type of issue.

Wanna know a really big reason though? I really really want to be able to listen to an iPod without having to wear those big old headphones. Right now, I can't listen to an iPod with my hearing aid because those buds don't fit in my ear with an aid and the other "foamy" headphones fall off when I run. So, there you have it, i'm living proof you CAN train for and complete a 140.6 triathlon without a speck of music. Painful, but i've done it. Twice.

And if you think I listen to music while riding the trainer, you're wrong, I sweat so much that I have to leave my hearing aid off, so I read the closed captioning on the t.v. while I ride my trainer. No big deal that one, really.....i'm ok with that, but I would give anything to be able to have a fun "play list" and wear my iPod....

Or, even just being able to wear a hands-free headset while driving. All these things sound superficial, and they totally are...absolutely. But, they're a "given" for most of the world and they're not for me, and it sounds like fun!

So, this week, i've made it my mission to not only try to grocery shop ahead of time so we don't fall prey to crappy food, but more importantly, get some research and information taken care of so I can be on my way to listening to some Radiohead while running. Ah, just kidding, that's on Dave's play list...i'll be aiming for some Red Hot Chili Peppers or Madonna :)

Top 10 Things I've Learned Since Living in Boston

2011-01-12T13:54:00.000-05:00

Soren post-Seahawks win...Dave was so surprised and so thrilled!

View from the Museum of Science this past weekend.

Soren this morning looking at the snow!

1. Which T train to take that has no steps to get on with a stroller..thanks to my friend Donna. She likes to give me a hard time, sometimes I drive to the gym which is at the END of my street....so, i'm trying to take the T more. I actually take the T or walk quite a bit (I don't think i've filled my gas tank since early December?), but sometimes I just feel like driving!

2. Flip up my windshield wipers so they don't freeze in the "down" position....little things you learn while living in cold weather without a garage.

3. Realizing that i'm really in the city when I can't take the grocery cart out to my car.....they don't allow it, so I leave my groceries and the store puts them on a conveyer belt and some dude in a garage down below puts them in my car for me.....never know if I need to tip, so I always do and they seem gracious.

4. Not all jackets are created equal. Enough said.

5. I've learned to carry up my perishable groceries and leave the others in the car to bring up later, or have Dave bring up....can't carry all of it up three flights with Soren who now insists on "walking" up the stairs...patience is a virtue, correct?

6. That no matter what people say, the Mexican food here just doesn't even come close and i've been polite and i've said "Ohhh, it was great"..when really, all I want is Mama Testa's or Sombrero from San Diego.

7. I don't mind having the Charles River to look at instead of the ocean....it was gorgeous the other night from the Science Museum, looking out at the river...peaceful!

8. I genuinely missed the cold and snow while living in San Diego.

9. I've loved getting to know new people and having little buddies for Soren that are so close by to our house!

10. I'm more adaptable to change than I thought, or that I give myself credit for...

2010 Year in Review

2011-01-09T21:36:00.000-05:00

Ok, so i'm a bit behind with this because I already posted my 2011 race schedule and I wanted to do a 2010 year in review with pictures...since it was quite a year for us!! I have a lot of pictures believe it or not, despite the fact that I rarely post pictures--I just went through a years worth of pictures and tried to capture a bit of Soren growing up and me with racing....just looking back I really can't believe all that happened in 2010, Soren growing up, my first Mother's Day, racing, moving....wow. As i've said before, I just feel very lucky and without further ado, here are some pictures!!

Apologies ahead of time, the formatting is way off on these and I can't figure out how to move the pictures so they're in order....some of these are out of order!!!

Carlsbad Half Marathon

Soren eating sweet potatoes for the first time

Soren's toes touching the Pacific for the first time.....in Coronado, CA

Soren's first Easter in Balboa Park

With our dog, Parma

Soren and Brownie our other dog read together..

One of my favorite pictures, my mom had a major back surgery in on 12/09....Soren and I flew out in January and again in March, this picture was from March...my mom could barely move, but wanted so badly to lay with him on the floor-so my dad and I lowered her to the floor so she could snuggle with him......

At the San Diego Zoo!

At the Boston Children's Museum during our house hunting trip to Boston in 6/10.

Rock N Roll Marathon, San Diego

San Diego International Triathlon...LOVING my Kestrel!!!

Ran my ass off in the SD International Tri, my face is more indicative of how I normally look while racing.....angry =0.

Mother's Day..poor Soren had a fever and we didn't know it.....until after brunch

So excited to be a part of Trakkers...Dave got me Green shades to match =0


Soren on Puget Sound on Whidbey Island, part of our moving trip cross country!

On the run in Vineman 70.3

Pre-Vineman 70.3, way more relaxing than last time when I was running around counting shot flasks and water bottles......

Hmm, maybe not as relaxed, judging from my face....again, my Kestrel was so awesome on this course as well!

Holiday photo....2010..taken by my sister..

Halloween..2010....again, sick, but mustered a smile for his giraffe costume

That's all for now, gotta go catch Soren from doing possibly what is shown in the above picture =0

2011 race schedule

2011-01-05T13:43:00.000-05:00

Well, low and behold when you move to a new area, you find yourself scrambling to put together a race schedule. I always took for granted my schedule when living in San Diego,I knew all the races and I knew how my schedule would come together most likely.

In 2011, I don't have that luxury..some of the triathlons I looked up are too far away in some random place in Massachusetts, and remember, I have Soren and virtually no one other than Dave to watch him and because Dave is in a fellowship he has certain months where he can't request vacation, June being one of them..so my mom is hopefully going to fly out and attend Quassy with me so I can have her watch Soren....I haven't asked her yet, but hopefully she'll be free =0

Here is what I could piece together at first glance. I'm sure i'll add in some 5/10k's here and there, but for now, this is what I got:

May 29th-Boston Run To Remember Half Marathon
June 4th-Rev3 Quassy Olympic Distance
July 18th-Old Colony YMCA Olympic Distance
July 23rd-Nantucket Sprint Distance
October 8th-Rev3 South Carolina, Olympic Distance

I may throw in a race in August, would love to do Timberman but that may be too close to our move....so i'm not sure what races i'll do in August just yet!

We are scheduled to move again at the beginning of September, so racing is out for that month because if there is anything I learned from last time it's not to race during a major move (we also have to get back out West to pick up our dogs and drive them back East since they're not with us right now!)

Where are we moving to and why? Dave's fellowship here at Boston Children's is only for the year, and then we go to what is hopefully our LAST post in the Navy.... Portsmouth, VA.....or as I like to affectionately call it "Vah Beach".....we knew returning to San Diego was a long shot, and it's not like we had much choice, the Navy said "Portsmouth" and that's where were headed......it's for four years and then we can hopefully have the freedom to make our own decisions!!

If you're new to this blog, i'm originally from Fairfax, VA, went to JMU and Dave did his internship in Portsmouth, so we're familiar with the area and we actually have some friends there and one of my very awesome cousins lives in Richmond so initially we were bummed with the move, but we're looking forward to it!

So! That's the schedule for now.....getting excited to race!! Woot Woot!!

2010....a year to be grateful for!

2010-12-24T15:13:00.000-05:00

2010 a year of growth for me, figuring out how to balance being a mom with moving across the country, meeting new people, settling in and trying to find some time for myself with training and racing. Overall I give myself an A.....because even when I didn't feel successful at time for myself or being so agreeable with moving, I always felt like I had my "A-game" for Soren....and really, as long as i'm there for him, I get an A!

Actually though, my year was pretty awesome in a lot of ways, for racing....it was a challenge--my first race back was the Carlsbad Half Marathon in January...Soren was barely five months old..looking back, I was nuts--all the times I ran totally sleep deprived and hungry, or vice versa =0.....but, I wanted to, because being a mom to Soren is such a 110% full time job, I needed to find "me" in all of that, Soren's needs were being met, but I needed to meet some "individual-me" needs as well. Does that make any sense? Anyway, so the Carlsbad Half Marathon came, then I did the St. Patricks' Day 10k, and then the Carlsbad 5000, and then the Rock N Roll Marathon, San Diego International Triathlon and then wrapped up the year with Vineman 70.3. Wow. I look back now and i'm so proud of myself....but I also realized I think I put a lot on myself to complete all my workouts or I committed myself to races that I may not have realistically had time to train for (given Soren's schedule at the time of two naps a day, and Dave's 3rd year residency hours)......it was hard. But, I did it....

Can't tell you how many times I was pulled out of the pool because Soren was upset at the childcare center, or I would run even faster because it was time to go home for a feeding (I nursed up until two weeks shy of his first birthday), or, I think I had been up a few times in the middle of the night, but I still got out there. My rationale: even if I started a workout, or I got *something* in, it was a success....I fit in my "me" time around Soren and that was the way I wanted it and he was/is my priority...but, I wanted time for myself as well!

And this year was just about being grateful to race and having the opportunity to say "hey, i'm healthy enough to race and yeah, I have a little guy, but i'm going to make this work because it's important to me." It didn't matter how fast I went or what place I finished in, I just wanted ....to race. Sure, a little part of me was "oh man" when I saw I finished 40 minutes slower at Vineman 70.3 than the last time I raced, but you know, it was an absolutely gorgeous weekend, I had a BLAST racing the course and hanging out with Dave and Soren, it was a great family vacation for us!

2011.....i'm taking it a bit easier.....olympic distance races and if my running continues to go well, maybe a super late season marathon...we'll see.....I think this will be a good way to keep myself sane and still race!!!

Happy Holiday's from our family to yours......take time to appreciate the moments with your family and friends.....

Drum Roll: RACE REPORT!

2010-12-04T13:29:00.000-05:00

Yeah, I know, I have a race report....and it's kind of a good one because I ran the 5k out in Colorado, so it was at altitude and let's face it, my running has been somewhat consistent, but altitude, hmmm....that would be interesting. I actually didn't think it would be interesting at all, I was thinking "whatever, altitude, i'll just go as hard as I can anyway..".

So, the night before, the high for the morning was going to be around 12 or so degrees.....but I kept reminding myself that we were higher up and it as long as it wasn't windy, i'd be fine. I asked both my sisters, and my new brother-in-law Ewam if they wanted to run and of course Dave.....I got solid "No's" up and down the board..for various reasons, mostly injury-related....and it was just flat out too cold for my sister Trinette..fair enough. But, in the midst of my family there is ALWAYS ONE person I can count on to get out there provided he isn't injured himself...my brother--in-law Jeff! I've blogged about him before he ran for Colorado State and he's just a rabbit...very fast and even with the "I haven't really run in a long time" he still knocks out miles somewhere in the 7:00's..not too shabby for a busy dad who just got a promotion and barely has time for himself. He was more than eager to drive over to the Anthem development and run the 5k with me! When I lived with my sister while Dave was deployed, Jeff and I also "crashed" a 5k out in Longmont, Colorado that was already full. Whatever, we didn't need bibs and I wasn't planning on taking in any water from aid stations, so we bandited the course and off we went......this time we actually paid the fee and got some awesome shwag as well!

It.was.cold.12 degrees is very cold. However, the sun was shining bright and no wind. Perfect. I had on multiple ridiculous layers and at the last second decided to leave off my sister's running jacket..smart idea as by the end I was carrying my light gloves anyway!

We lined up and I just thought, well, go for it and see how far you can go full force. Hmm, not very far, I started out fine and then I think, literally at .75 miles in, I was like "ok WHERE is the ONE mile marker". Jeff passed me and goes "Hey, Ironwoman".....I laughed and I was thinking "man, it's been a long time since Ironman and it'll be an even longer time before another one of that distance," but..it made me feel speedy =0.

Running, thinking: WHERE THE F is the air here? ? HELLO AIR. AIR PLEASE. Just couldn't breathe all that well. I think somewhere a ten-year old and his dad passed me. Crushing. I didn't even think to use my inhaler.....I just didn't....could've really used it. So, I just decided to push and I couldn't get my legs to turn over all that fast, but I just did what I could. Thankfully the last mile was downhill..yayyyyy! The altitude is not to be messed with----it definitely affects one's ability to move quickly when you're not used to it. I actually started to feel a bit nauseous....yeah, nauseous in a 5k not even due to "speed".

I rounded the corner and saw the finish. AWESOME! I felt like I was going to throw up, but ran across "happily" anyway!! Jeff came over quickly and I was completely out of breath but happy to have run! Post-race coughing and lung adjustment ensued and was quickly quelled by the burrito samples they were giving out. YUM!

We had to wait a few days for our results, and I wasn't wearing a watch, I had literally no idea how I did....but, of course, dying to know!!

I was actually thrilled.... results: 25:53/8:19 pace and 14 out of 99 for my age group..not too shabby.....given altitude, cold and really no speed training just regular running! Maybe someday that will translate into a 26.2 miler with a Boston qualification...a girl can dream can't she??

Mellow Monday....

2010-11-15T14:25:00.000-05:00

We had a great weekend, date night with "Due Date" was pretty funny. It had some "The Hangover" moments, but not nearly as funny. We're sort of on the fence as to whether it was a "renter," in the end, but we're glad we went and saw it because we walked to the theater, it was a gorgeous night here in Boston and we checked out some new areas of our 'hood!

I hit up the spin class at my gym Saturday morning and unfortunately left pretty irritated. I like variety in spin classes, speed intervals/hills/standing climbs, whatever you want to call it. VARIETY. The class I went to was one long hill, which I guess for part of the class would be fine, but it was frustrating, the instructor never really signified any breaks for us so it was hard to know how to gauge when to push hard and when to let up. His legs were flying at like 90rpm nearly the entire time except when we had to "turn the nob two BIG turns" (FYI: I think two full turns on the specific bike I was on would've left me cycling in squares and/or standing without even moving the pedals. So, I rebelled a litlte and sat when people were standing and did my own thing. I'm sure the instructor didn't even notice, but if he did, whatever, i'm not going to climb for 55 minutes without any type of rest at 90 rpm?? Maybe I can't do it physically, but mentally...please, i'd rather sit at home and ride on the trainer...speaking of which, guess where my Kestrel is? STILL IN A BOX. MUST. BUILD. It's been hard to justify pulling it out of the box as riding outdoors for me isn't really realistic time-wise. My friend Shannon moved here so we'll be able to ride together, but it pains me to unpack the box when it'll just sit on a trainer. Welcome to New England in the winter???

Anyway, no swimming this weekend...just the spin class and on Sunday everything ached from my runs/spins this week....oh yeah and because I actually did a few situps (like 10) my stomach hurt even on a "deep breath" inward. WEAK.

I'm hoping the lifting of weights i'm doing is a good substitute until I can find my way back to the pool.

Until then, Soren and I have a pool playdate, but get this: ALL women at this pool MUST wear a swimcap. Seriously. So my question is: Do I wear my two piece bathing suit with my swim cap, which would be more comfortable, OR do I wear my Trakkers bathing suit which a certain someone talked me into purchasing a "racing size" in which leaves me hovered and bended like a peanut unless actually "swimming." A two piece with a bathing cap........i'll try to get pictures.

New Look

2010-11-12T14:47:00.000-05:00

Needed to make the blog a little cleaner....I like writing in black or white, so this format fits me a little better. So far, i've met the goal of working out mostly this week--I ran on Mon, did spin on Tues, took Wed off, Thurs I ran and then I ran again today...tomorrow is spinning again! I'm trying to lift weights/work on abs after each time I do cardio, so hopefully my lack of swimming won't result in my muscles dwindling too much!

I may actually try to swim on Sunday, we'll see if I have time!

Next up: Date Night! Dave and I haven't been to the movies since Soren was born. I saw Sex and the City 2 after Soren was born, but we haven't gone out on a movie date in ages! I know, ridiculous...but usually when we go out we like to go to places where we can chat without the little guy around. But! Tonight we've decided to have a quick dinner and go see "Due Date," hope it's good!

We have a babysitter coming, we've used her before, she watches Soren at the gym, so i'm comfortable leaving her and every time I see her she has like five kids hanging on her and she's always so laid back...I will say babysitting prices here are absolutely dumbfounding, then again we're not using a high school student, and I trust this girl, so I can't really put a price on that....but at $15-$20.00 an hour, we should ALL be babysitting!

Spinning around!

2010-11-10T11:25:00.000-05:00

I'm starting to incorporate spin classes back into my training, I like spinning and sometimes you just need someone else to kick your butt for you. I do a decent job on the treadmill making myself run faster, but sometimes on a bike indoors, it's painful to motivate yourself to push against the resistance. Prior to serious triathlon training and working with a coach, I did spin classes (actually before I even owned a bike or new what "aero" meant) and my first sprint triathlon I did pretty well on the bike which I attribute to having done some spin classes. SO! Given my newfound "cold" location, I am going to add some spin classes into my routine.....and of course i'll do the trainer as well!

Yesterday, I showed up for a spin class, it's the ONLY one the entire week at 9:00 a.m. during the week, all the other classes are "gentle yoga" or "Zumba"....nothing against those, but they require coordination and patience......neither of which are my strengths =0. I showed up and wouldn't you know it, the instructor was stuck in traffic, so there we sat, all five of us, spinning to no music and no instructor.....she finally showed up and proceeded to kick our butts.

I've learned the following in spin classes:
1. Nothing is weirder than seeing someone pulling on their handlebars so hard they nearly pull them off because the resistance is turned up so high, they have to pull with their shoulders to make the pedals turn.....
2. If the instructor warns you that there are numerous hills, don't go all out in the beginning.
3. Bring water. Bring a towel.
4. I like it when the instructor varies the music, nothing is more irritating than an hour of techno music. I like techno, but 55 minutes of techno leaves me bored.
5. I like it when the instructor mixes up sprints with hills etc.....an instructor the other day had us climb a hill for like 9 minutes with techno music. BORING.
6. I like breaks. Will work hard for breaks. If you do not give me a break, I get mad and i'll go slower. =0
7. Since leaving San Diego, all I had were short sleeved shirts to protect my shoulders from the sun, i'm now in need of tanktops, time to go shopping at SAUCONY!!

My eventual goal at least once a week is to hit the treadmill at the gym for an hour and then come home and during Soren's nap, do the bike trainer for 45 minutes.....to get in a decent double work out......why? Because i'm planning my 2011 schedule and it has some triathlons on it that aren't flat....welcome to the East coast Mer! =0

2011 tentative schedule to come soon...stay tuned!

Life is better with sharing.....

2010-11-08T21:59:00.000-05:00

Apparently Soren doesn't like to share his toys. He's fine going over to his friends' houses and he plays happily with their toys and enjoys their snacks and sippy cups, but at his house, not so much. It was really humorous to watch actually, we had his two friends over today and he was already super cranky from whatever happened during his nap today, so he was hitting a pitch with his voice that resembled a very distinct whine.

His little friends came in, they all started playing and wouldn't you know it, he just sort of whined in their general direction. Mind you, he has plenty of toys for sharing so he is not in need of more to share with....anyway, at first I didn't know what was up and then it dawned on me, these two other little ones playing with his toys, it probably irked him. Ahhh, the life lessons continue.

On a more agreeable note, he made me laugh today when I showed him pictures of trucks, cars etc and I asked which one was the airplane and he pointed to it and then looked at the window and also pointed to the sky. So. CUTE. I love watching his little brain work. It's amazing to me, how much he understands. I ask him where his chair is to eat, he takes me to his highchair, I ask him where his shoes are and he takes me to them. It's really a cool process, this whole learning gig! =0

Let it be known it took me a full 70 minutes to wake up this morning...from 6:00-7:10, and then I realized the gym sitter was reserved at 9:30....ugh, so, I kept us busy at home, I contemplated going to the grocery store, but really, who wants to go to the grocery store at 7:30 a.m. when it's 45 and literally blowing wind. Not. Me.

Made it to the gym, knocked out a solid six miles, the last two miles were under 9:00 minutes. Woot Woot.....did some weights and sit ups...grabbed the little guy, hit up Trader Joe's and then we hosted our first playdate which Soren was so graciously "sharing" his toys.

Learning, it's a process alright!

Weekend recap!

2010-11-07T20:16:00.000-05:00

Yesterday Dave was on call, so that means he leaves at 530 a.m. and doesn't/didn't get home until today, Sunday around 8:00 a.m....the cool thing about my gym is that they have daycare on the weekends, phewph! I made it to the gym in time for the spin class...but the sitter at the gym was late. No big deal, but I *was* sort of like "man, now i'm missing the warm up". Did the class and then while I was spinning I was doing the math in my head, "hmm, I didn't really do a one-hour spin class, I should add something on". Why? I don't really know why, I just wanted to add more on to my work out. So, I decided to turn my workout into a brick, and I just ran a mile off the treadmill. I know, sounds ridiculous, only a mile, but it was fun--I had worked hard in the spin class so I had plenty of soreness to shake out on the treadmill!

I picked up Soren and we came home, he took a nap and then we walked over to Children's hospital where Dave is working and had some "dessert" (code for M&M's with him) and came home...simple day and I was hoping it would leave me sleepy.

Not so, I don't know why i'm not sleeping well, and it doesn't help that Dave had left on Soren's sound machine and I thought it was truly "cars driving by" when really it was the sound machine, so it set off the vibration on the alarm under my pillow repeatedly..always a fun thing, to be trying to fall asleep and your pillow is repeatedly vibrating. Not. So, then finally at 4:00 a.m. I put on my hearing aid and slept a little bit. Needless to say the 11:00 spin class I wanted to attend, didn't happen, and Dave came home and hung out with Soren and this mama took a nap!

Each day is always different, last week, I missed an entire week of working out because Soren was so sick and honestly, I was so worried and tired, I didn't even miss the gym!

This week, my goal is to run 6 miles everyday this week and do weights-one of those days being OUTSIDE along the Charles River, which is what I love doing when Dave has the day off, get out early, get a long run in outside since I can't do that too often due to Dave's hours...i'm also thinking of going swimming on Thursday as well!

Time to go chow on some awesome Indian food...the benefits of living in a city, never a shortage of tasty places to order from!

Back in the swing of things!

2010-11-06T20:10:00.000-04:00

I'm going to start blogging regularly again because I miss it and so my new goal for 2011 (is it too early for New Years' resolutions?)--is to blog everyday. What happens to me, is I like writing long blog entries, but the truth of it is, I don't always have time to do that, and I find myself reading people's blogs and the ones that I love are the daily ones that just have a picture or a brief "what happened today" sort of summary. I want to do that! So. It'll be a test to see if I can blog most everyday.....i'm just going to think of it as a journal and if it gets boring on some days.....come back another day, maybe it'll be more interesting eventually!

Quite a few changes....I did Vineman 70.3 in July....and again, I was just grateful to have raced..the profile picture on my blog is of Soren and I just before the race. What a peaceful way to start a race--just hanging out with Soren, I didn't need to sit by myself and turn on my ipod..not that there is anything wrong with that approach, but.....sometimes I think people take themselves too seriously, and with me, now, I just don't have that kind of time----and I was way more relaxed at the start having Soren and Dave around, just keeping the mood light for me!! I'll do a quick recap since it's been AGES.
Swim: 33:37
Bike: 3:03
Run: 2:07

Before the race, I called Amanda, I was overwhelmed, trying to find time to bike outside was difficult, doing two work outs a day was difficult, in general, I was stressed. I realized I think I bit off more than I could chew this year----too many long distance things. Actually, it was only TWO long distance events, the marathon and then the half ironman.....but when your little one is just that, little, things are so unpredictable and with a husband that works ridiculous hours, it's difficult for me to stick to a plan. Anyway, she threw out the idea of me possibly not doing the race. No way. I was doing it. So, I promised myself I couldn't get angry with my results. Even if I finished 40 minutes later than I did last time.

But you know what, for someone who only swam twice a week (not masters), and biked maybe 4-5 times total outside.....I held my own pretty well actually! I don't toot my horn often, but I actually think I did pretty ok. As per usual, I am always annoyed with my run...but 2:07 isn't bad. I can't complain, not when I wasn't able to put in as much as I wanted to.

My favorite part of the race, was literally tearing up on the bike because it's such a gorgeous bike course and I just felt lucky to be racing....happy! I loved seeing Dave and Soren out there---it was the best.

It's been a few months but I have a few people I need to thank....Amanda for supporting me and and letting me know I would succeed no matter how I finished, Kestrel for allowing me to ride the most amazing bike ever, wow, the Airfoil Pro flies, it's truly an amazing bike! Saucony, from the outfit to the shoes....absolute comfort, I used to shy away from wearing a light weight shoes, and I just absolutely LOVE my Fast Twitch 4's!!! Awesome! First Endurance----so grateful you guys stock up with the local stores because at the Expo, I found myself needing just ONE more gel flask, and they HAD it, I was thrilled!! Tri-Swim--you managed to keep me smelling clean after the race---I brought the shampoo and conditioner with me, perfect post-race "spa" moment! My friend Marit-----who leant me her ZIP 404's to help me delete every possible second from my bike time!! =0.....and last but not least, Dave----being the best sherpa dad out there and juggling a few bottles and other random baby logistics all the while managing to catch some shots of me while racing......you're awesome and i'm very very lucky!!!

Brief synopsis since July:
1. We traveled to Seattle, Denver and Minneapolis to visit and MOVE.
2. We now live in Brookline, MA....
3. I'm doing what I can in terms of training, lots of running and i'm starting to incorporate spin classes since it's difficult to get out to ride as usual, and i'm hoping to swim at least once a week (it's SOMETHING!)--my gym doesn't have a pool, so it's one of those rare times i'm grateful I don't totally stink at swimming!

Here's a few recent pics!!

So! There you have it, the "east coast" report....man, still can't believe I live out here again....but, it's going really well and i've met some great people, so we've been really happy!!! STAY TUNED!

San Diego International Triathlon Race Report...

2010-07-06T19:33:00.000-04:00

My thoughts before the race: what was I thinking doing a triathlon when I had done zero open water swims, no brick workouts, minimal biking and I truly mean minimal? Who was I to think I would be in "race shape," after traveling and training, but not training nearly where I used to. Would I like racing shorter distances after the last few years of doing longer races? Is it silly that I would even show up to race?

I finally had a talk with myself the night before the race and answered my own questions. Why does it matter how much i've trained, or would I like the distance or how much i've biked. I signed up, and I love racing, so just go DO IT and have fun! Such a difficult mentality from someone who while they were pregnant would get passed by a walker at the lake and try to mow them down! Just "go have fun,"....easier said than done. No matter how little training I do, I still want to mow the person down in front of me. Doesn't matter if I haven't biked over 33 miles at one time this year (Vineman 70.3 will be painful i'm sure).....or that I can't remember the last time I practiced running off the bike, I need to go back to the reason why I started triathlon in the first place and that's because it is FUN. I could still be competitive, but keep it realistic.

Due to my travel and pending move, Amanda initially told me to scrap the race--I think she was more worried about me getting upset if I didn't have a good race, rather than finishing. Hmm, she may know me really well =0. BUT! I promised I wouldn't whine if my race didn't go as it should've/would've in the past. I just really wanted to race. So, I did and here is how it went:

5:00-wake up, shoveled yogurt....literally that was it, a small yogurt. I grabbed a granola bar thinking I would eat it later.
6:00-sitting in the car outside of Starbucks watching people warm up, as I sat in the car feeding Soren..hoping that they wouldn't really close the transition area (thankfully at this race they don't).
6:15-I run to transition (my warm up)--see a girl I had known from a while back, Stacy D. who had also been stuck in a car pumping since she has an 8 month old and we both laughed and we're like "those were the days when we had time to warm up!"....we ran to our spots and started unloading.
6:30-I realized my years of doing triathlon had paid off, I had virturally zero things to unpack as the girl next to me unloaded 5 gels, two towels, and multiple other chotchke's that I didn't know whether I should have some of those or be grateful that I figured out how to minimize my "stuff".
6:45-crap, I forgot to get bodymarked....
7:00-bathroom.....and standing by the water as people asked me "are you going to warm up?"......I saw Stacy Schlocker which was awesome, I didn't know she was racing so I was SO excited to see her!!!! Relief!!!
7:05-helped some poor girl in my age group who decided to SWIM BEFORE putting on her wetsuit which led itself to a rather difficult situation in wetsuit-putting-onning. She was shaking and i'm like "it's ok, I promise, you'll be fine, we'll get there"-
7:10-in the water....treading...not warming up.....just treading....
7:20-I see Christine the Machine Gould in front with her fast goggles, I give her a high five she says "yayyy first race back!" I told her if she felt a slight tug it was me holding on to her ankles =0.

Swim: 15:36 (1,000m)
Well, my Amanda Lovato wetsuit was freaking amazing...seriously....I FLEW in the swim (my version of flying).....I know, you're not supposed to toot your own horn, but seriously people--with all my negative energy leading up to the race I have to be a little positive here, I was thrilled with my swim--the wetsuit was a little tight around my neck so I was super excited to have some TriSlide product to prevent any chafing, which it did...and FOGGLE which allowed me to have a race where I didn't stop constantly to wipe off my goggles! Love TriSlide because it doesn't get clumpy or sticky like Body Glide. TriSlide is a spray so you just spray it on and it doesn't get all gooey and yucky! Felt great in the swim, however, I forgot that "head pounding" feeling when you stop swimming and stand up. D'oh. Made it through though!

Bike: 54:55 (30k)
This was anyone's guess. I had zero clue how fast I was going because my speedometer wasn't working, as in I looked down and it said "Sleep Mode". So, not only did I know I hadn't been riding a lot, but I also didn't know HOW I was doing. Ended up being the best thing ever--I went solely on feel. I love this course. It's short and has some climbing, but has some fair rollers as well, just a beautiful, fun course. My Kestrel Air Foil in it's race debut was SO SO SO much fun to ride, it handles really swift and I love riding 650's!!! I like it because I think it's easier to maneuver! My amazing friend Marit has lended me her Zipp 404 race wheels so all my slowness was assisted with a fast machine and fast wheels!! Helped me be "way less slow!" =0. Thanks MARIT!!! I went up and down and saw a few familiar faces, some I passed, some I got passed by! No worries...just kept riding.....sipping my First Endurance powder and taking swigs of EFS....makes racing so easy..all my nutrition in one water bottle and one flask...no pesky tablets or gooey mess! I'll be doing this again at Vineman, it worked awesome! Nutrition in triathlon for me is simple, I don't like carrying a lot of extra "things!" Hopped off bike and had no idea what to expect for the run....hmmm...

Run: 48:47 (10k)..
Holy smokes people.....my legs felt awesome as I hopped off the bike. Now mind you, I didn't know how the run was going to go and I grabbed my inhaler because I figured i'd try everything I could to push through! I continued with my "timeless" knowledge, didn't wear a watch and raced on feel.....again, best idea ever. I didn't need to know that I wasn't really moving fast and to look down at my watch and feel disappointed....so, I didn't wear anything. Ok, so I actually FORGOT my Garmin, but whatever, glad I did! =0 I decided to just push..not to a point where I would blow up, but just push hard and if I felt bad, back off. I put on my Saucony Fast Twitch 4's and off I went! First of all, these shoes are SUPER light. Think running barefoot but with some cushion--I had been nervous to wear them because i'm used to more padding in my shoe, but they worked awesome and I swear I ran faster!! It's my blog and I can think that if I want to! My legs felt good so I just went with it, stopped for water a few times, sipped my EFS gel and felt awesome! Thrilled with my run!

The very cool part about this race though..were the people on my support crew: my MOM, Dave and Soren! As you guys know, my mom had major back surgery in December and it injured part of her leg in the process, so she's been rehabbing for months. Anyway, she was able to come out for a week to visit and she came to the race! She was so excited to watch me race and sometimes, well, you just want to see your mom. I loved seeing them out there-grabbing their cameras and shouting!

Crossing the finish line, I had nothing left, I felt like I did in my previous 5k and 10k races, like I had truly went as hard as I could--and I did. I said hi to some people and finally found my little crew...and my eyes filled up with tears. I almost didn't race. I didn't think I had trained enough and I hadn't because of our crazy recent schedule, I thought maybe I wouldn't love racing the shorter stuff any more.....but, I did. I raced and I had FUN and for one race, I finally stopped looking at my watch and worrying about nuances and just freaking knocked out a swim, bike, run with less analysis.

I said to my mom and Dave between tears that I had fun....I truly did....was so glad to have raced and I fell in love with triathlon all over again. Sounds cheesy--how can one "love" a sport....when you take some time away from something that you love to do-and you find your way back.....you'll rediscover what made you love it in the first place. I learned that I can do a race and be satisfied with my results, even if I couldn't train as much as I want, or it's not a longer distance---I love triathlon and I love racing and that's what was most important.

This season has been about learning all over again for me--learning to be patient with my progress in different sports with balancing life with a little guy. It's all worth it. I wouldn't change a thing----I consciously train less to have more time with Soren. He's only little once right-pretty soon he'll be wiping off my kisses and getting on the school bus. His time is now----but i'm learning I can carve out some time for myself as well!

MAJOR thanks to some super super awesome sponsors: Kestrel, Saucony, First Endurance, TriSwim products......I used ALL of you in this race and I like to think that you guys gave me some pep in my step!! Super appreciative for all the support and honored to represent your brands!

Amanda----thanks for believing in me and encouraging me to race ---even when I wasn't so sure I believed in myself!

Hugs to my mom, Dave and Soren-----always a shoulder and awesome shouting support!!! =0

Next up: Vineman 70.3....2 weeks...gulp!

Lucky, Lucky Girl...2010 Rock N Roll Marathon Race Report

2010-06-09T13:44:00.000-04:00

I didn't know it prior to the race but I would have 4:01 to come up with a title for this blog entry. However, I came up with it at mile 1. Lucky to be healthy, uninjured, to have figured out creative ways to train while having a little one, lucky to discover that I still have the self confidence that I had prior to having Soren--the same confidence that makes me love racing.

Lucky? To run a marathon? Please....how can one be "lucky," to torture themselves for 26.2 miles? Allow me to elaborate--- I had a very full life prior to Soren, we traveled, we ate out when we wanted, I raced as often as I could and only had Dave and I to factor into the equation. When I think of my life after having Soren, it is just as full, only more richer and sweeter and i'm reminded of how precious life really is. My priorities these days don't involve extensive recovery periods and stretching and swim/bike/run whenever I want, carefully planning out long rides and where I will ride and coming up with fun new run routes. My priorities these days are finding new solid foods for Soren to eat and coming up with creative little things for him to pull himself up on, encouraging him to crawl for an object or clapping with him when he does something for himself. My days are spent holding his little hands so he can plod his little feet down one at a time learning to figure out this "whole walking thing." These are moments that I can't "re-do." There is a typical pride that a parent feels when their child does something for themselves and discovers it----it sounds cliche but it's so true---and I wouldn't trade the time I spend with him for anything. My days are richer because i'm helping Soren discover his own meaning in the richness of life.

So--why does this make me lucky--how does having a little one and being able to run a marathon make me lucky? I guess it's because I feel fortunate enough that I met my goal and I felt GOOD about it---I was able to train and find creative ways to train without feeling like I was a total parent-failure. The balance of having a family and finding time for oneself seems to be the hugest debacle in parenthood. Even if you're not a competitive parent---maybe you work full time/part time, maybe you have other hobbies that take you away from your child.....but, maybe work and/or hobbies is what makes YOU....YOU! And it's an ongoing challenge for parents to try to achieve a balance in doing all of these things.

I'm lucky because there were times during training that I felt guilty. I spend my WHOLE day with Soren and I STILL FELT GUILTY. How is this possible?? It just is.

However, when the race began I realized--I did it. This race particularly wasn't about finishing, qualifying for Boston--it was a test to see if I could find myself and discover my love for racing again, all while being a mom.....and I did it!! So--for me, the race was already successful before I even began because I managed to train for it without feeling "too" guilty about taking time for myself. I may not always feel this way in the future, but on race day, I did. I truly felt like I had succeeded.

So forgive me if this isn't the type of race report you're used to reading....but my discovery to me, was more important than the "play by play" of how the race went.

Here is the play by play for those who are interested---
-4:20-wake up, get myself ready, get Soren's stuff together.....stress about whether to feed him at home before we leave or at the start.
-5:10-Dave drives my sister Trinette and I to the start. I now have to go to the bathroom but that will have to come second to feeding Soren.
-5:45-in the starting corral.....looking for Trinette and realizing i'm not going to find her. The National Anthem is sung and I realize now that I really really have to go to the bathroom and I'd rather miss starting with my corral than having to stop later. Proved to be THE BEST IDEA EVER since ALL of the porto potties I saw after starting had huge lines as well.
-The goal was to go super conservative for the first 15 miles and then see.
-Miles 1-15.....awesome, had to hold myself back, force myself to run 9:00-9:30.....wanted to run 8:45 and was aching too, but promised I would hold back since it's been so long since i've done a distance race, I didn't want to blow up.
-Mile 17-"do I go faster or keep with it?".....was having zero issues and really wanting to push, but nervous I would blow up.
-Mile 20-finally decided to haul ass and wow......my thighs were killing me, but I was able to run pretty hard--8:30-8:45 pace and maintain it for some time.
-Mile 24-I knew I was going to barely break four hours, or just miss it....tried really hard to run faster...my last mile was an 8:33!

I just missed breaking four hours, but that is ok!! Because I slapped hands, smiled, waved and had zero stomach issues, never stopped to go to the bathroom, and I felt lucky.......really lucky to be racing and I felt happy.

I set a personal record of 4:01.....and next time I know I can break 4:00....but to me, it was about the journey of balancing the joy of having a family and the joy of competition that makes me who I am.

I need to give a big thank you to Dave---someone who really doesn't get any time to himself---gave up many a run so that I could run and constantly encouraged me to get out there and get my training in....many days where he'd come home after working twelve hours, walk in the door and take Soren right away so I could go knock out whatever mileage I had that day.....he's the best and he's my biggest supporter in helping me get out, find my balance and race!!

My Coach--Amanda, you know me better than I know myself apparently and your sound advice during all of my training, you always amaze me with your ability to understand parenting and the support you give me.....thanks for finding a balance between understanding my priorities but still kicking my ass!

My friend Marit.....who always has an encouraging word for me and helping me early in the season to find my confidence again and who *always* offered to watch Soren and did watch Soren for my longest run-----truly a gift and I couldn't have done it without you!!

ALL of my sponsors......just amazing to have you on my side....I literally couldn't have made it through this marathon without my Trakkers teammates who have been amazing and fun group, Saucony for the super cute race outfit and COMFY shoes, and First Endurance--hands down the MOST effective race-day nutrition I have *ever* used----my first race EVER with ZERO stomach issues--how awesome is that!??

A more detailed race report to follow with pictures and details about nutrition!!!

New Digs for Boston: FOUND!!

2010-05-20T11:59:00.000-04:00

Thank you guys ALL so much for your comments/suggestions and just general support!! We found a place!! We'll be living in Brookline (with a parking spot =0)---about a mile from Children's hospital.....so excited! We're still flying out to Boston from the 15-19 we'll take a look at the place and figure out what we need to get rid of. Not that we have hoarding tendencies, but Dave for some reason has kept his REI tent forever and was hoping to use it to camp with Soren in the backyard----in Boston? Eh...so, he's ok with ditching the tent for now.

We are really excited..it has plenty of space for us, and meets most of our criterion----our only wee issues are that A: it's on the 3rd floor, great for safety, not so great when Soren decides he wants to "walk upstairs on his own" which i'm assuming the "independent" stage hits around 1-2?? Who knows, i'll cross that bridge when I get there! Other downfall is no dogs, but a week later, i'm feeling better about it and I know that the dogs are going to be in VERY fun places. My sister has a Newfy and a big hound, and my in-laws have a big lab and a Westie....and in both places they have a lot of "at home attention" since my sister is in and out all day with the kids and my father-in-law is retired! Actually Dave joked that they won't want to come back with us! Anyway..we're super excited and relieved!!!

What have I been up to? Just juggling training in with some naps and solid food feeding (er, for Soren not for me!). I know, if only everyone's life was so simple right? Basically, as I read on someone else's blog, there are a few things I won't give up so that I can train. One: Soren's nap schedule. I know, sounds ridiculous right? Well, we worked so hard to get him to sleep, and he really is a different baby when he naps. So, come hell or high water, he takes a morning nap. The afternoons.....if I don't get home exactly before he falls asleep, he'll sneak in a "power nap" in the car for 10 minutes and then won't go down for an afternoon nap. Grrrr. BUT--he's not necessarily unbearable either, so I can live with that! Basically I have a three hour window in the middle of the day where I can get things done---including training----or, if I have errands, I just do them after his afternoon nap.

So---we juggle a little--I have to say though--I do enjoy staying home--far more than I ever thought possible. Maybe it's because I have training as an outlet?? I honestly would go nuts if I didn't have a hobby that made me budget my time, etc. Most days i'm cramming stuff in----but it's all stuff I ENJOY.... each day I do something for myself--training and I also do things with Soren that don't involve carting him to the grocery store or around town. I try to take him swimming, or to the zoo, the park etc. I do count the YMCA kids center as time for him too---because he doesn't go to daycare, so i'm moderately obsessed with him being social. I really worry about him not getting exposed to things etc----so I like that he's at the Y kids center for an hour while I swim. We do go to Gymboree and I just try to mix things up with him.

Training is going really well, i'll admit, i'm wiped out on Sunday's and Monday's and I haven't been able to get in that last bit of training on Sunday's, but i'm averaging about 8 hours a week maybe? Maybe a little more/less per week.....but, the running is coming along great! I think that if my stomach cooperates, I can have a really solid marathon...*fingers crossed!*.

Marathon is two weeks from Sunday!! I'm really excited...because my favorite sisters are coming to town.....(well, my only sisters =0)! We've all been training and ready to rock---except.....my sister Dawn may have a stress fracture and is in a ton of pain right now, so she may not be running and we all know that in terms of sports there are few things worse than training for months and ending up super injured and you can't race---in addition to being in a lot of pain. .....she's been keeping her chin up though--keeping good perspective---but if she can't race, we'll all be bummed, but big picture: getting her healthy so she can continue to chase after her kids!! =0

Gotta scoot!

The essence of house hunting in Boston "all the good ones are taken."

2010-05-13T22:58:00.000-04:00

Alright, that's it..I'm blogging about this.....Our move to Boston. Here is the scoop: we are moving to Boston for a year, so Dave can do a fellowship in pediatric anesthesiology at Boston Children's hospital. It's only for a year, and no, we don't know where we're going yet, and yes, he's still in the Navy and yes, this adds one year to our owe-back time (enter sarcasm-YAYYYY!). Anyway..we ARE however super excited to live in Boston for a year, amazing city, i've spent some time there, whether or not I remember all of it is subject to debate--thanks to a few New Years' Eve's at "The Hong Kong" Chinese restaurant that served up some scorpion bowls. Any....way.....love Boston, excited. However, two things: equally as bummed to leave San Diego, and this looking for housing in Boston is absolutely the most irritating "research" i've done in a very ....very..long time.

Why? Well, we have a few things: two dogs (that do not walk well on leashes/our fault--whatever, that ship has sailed), and a little guy who will be a year old when we move. Picture me walking two dogs and a toddling toddler with a few feet of snow at 10:00 p.m. at night while Dave is on call. Not. Happening.

So, we either: A: need to find a place with a yard or B: find some amazing (ahem ahem..cough cough...sister and in-laws) to watch our dogs for a year. Dog #1 is Brownie.....he's a whole post in and of himself but the bottom line is, I had a friend actually "rescind" an offer to take him, he's that difficult =0. Dog #2, Parma is a sweetheart, super easy and a charm, everyone wants her! My sister Dawn has offered to take Parma and my in-laws would take Brownie (god bless them).

What's the big deal, find a place that allows dogs. Well, we have some other mitigating factors such as: Dave's commute. Apparently a few places we looked at, even 3 miles from the hospital could take 45 minutes to get to/from and with Dave's hours, we'd really like the commute to be walkable/bikeable. Easy enough right? Let me list some issues and then I will post pictures of some of the "said" issues.

1. Place is either completely unsuitable for living (kegs in the bedroom, trash, beer bottles). TRUST ME....at one time in my life I would find this amazing...not so right now!

2. Place is either too far/too close to the hospital so we have either traffic or sirens from ambulances.

3. Place has a yard...but isn't pet friendly. OR it's in a building with "walk-up" only, no elevator!

4. Place LOOKS great, but is on sketchy street, is too close to a bus route, is a "street away from a nice street." OR is in a building completely occupied by students and is written up on "Yelp" --as "horrifically loud."

5. I've also discovered if it looks too affordable, it's a shit hole (sorry mom!) =0

6. We also have the issue of traffic in general but living close to the hospital we have parking issues with Red Sox games.

7. Allows dogs under 25 pounds.....hmm, never understand this, bigger dogs tend to BARK LESS

We've lived in four places in six years in San Diego, never have I had this issue of finding something!

Here's the bulk of what i've been seeing.

There are no words......

I just can't even see past this stuff to picture ANY of our things in ANY of these places.

We have my cousin and his wife going to see a place on Saturday that really does look awesome, meets all of our criteria except...we don't know if it's a "walk-up" only and before anyone gets all "HTFU" on me......remember that Soren is about 18 pounds...add some groceries....not fun to do several trips up flights of stairs!

We are scheduled to go "~~shit hole hunting"~~ er, house hunting in Boston mid-June...hoping we find something prior to that, but you know what, the outrageous realtor fees they charge for helping you find something just may be worth it so I don't have to sleep in a room and feel like Punky Brewster!

Mother's Day "Report"

2010-05-10T14:11:00.000-04:00

Yesterday was awesome! It was my first mother's day and honestly it was just so cool to spend the day with Soren and Dave! However one spends their mother's day i'm coming to realize is personal....some moms want the day "off,"....or just a few hours to themselves, and it probably depends on how your "everyday" life is. If you're super busy all the time and you're running around, you probably crave hours to yourself. It was fun to read on facebook everyone's plans!

I just had a few requests...to sleep in, brunch and just really to spend the day with Soren and Dave. I even turned down an invitation to go get a manicure and pedicure....but, I guess I feel like if I wanted to on any given day I could go do that----for me, I just wanted an uninterrupted day with Dave and Soren. Many times on the weekend Dave is on call or working....he worked Saturday, had yesterday "off" (but still carried a pager), and he's working both days next weekend. For me, mother's day was about not "planning" anything for the day. Like most families we try to alternate training/working out, whatever..and yesterday I just wanted a day where I could just "fly by the seat of my pants." And I did, and it was awesome!

Soren was very generous....he gave me a very cute card and inside was a picture of my new Oakley shades arriving soon....custom designed in "Trakkers" Green =0.....can't WAIT to get those!!!

Even up until dinner time we just went with the flow---- I hadn't been hungry most of the day due to our good brunch, then we went for a walk at the lake. Honestly, it was really nice to WALK at the lake with Soren rather than running! And I smelled BBQ and I said to Dave "Hmm, Phil's would be nice." (Phil's is a BBQ establishment in San Diego, not even remotely close to our house but it's SOOO good). So, even though we previously decided Cheerios would be a good dinner since we didn't think we'd be hungry, Dave said "I'll go get it!"....and I think he had fun trying to do "little things" all day for Mother's Day and it was really fun!

Growing up my mom wasn't a huge fan of making a big deal out of mothers day, definitely no big fussing and absolutely no corsages...we sometimes went to brunch, but mostly just spent the day with her and that's how yesterday was for me! Maybe in the upcoming years when we have more kids i'll be wanting some more free time, but yesterday was perfect! I actually think I enjoyed mother's day more than most birthday's, because it felt like being part of a really cool "virtual club" that was having a party and all mom's were invited. I also thought it was cute on facebook to wish a happy mother's day to people with four-legged friends too! Just cute!

Ahhh, so, Mer are you training? YES! Training is going really well I think! I've knocked out some long runs, one being on Saturday---3 hours and I did 19.3 miles....happy with that. Last week I did a hill run which I haven't done in months, a year?? Who knows....anyway, that killed me. I actually called Amanda because I thought my thighs were going to split in half and I was worried about doing my long run (translation: worried I was going to have a death march).....after a few HTFU thoughts and chats with myself, I got it done. BUT: I didn't get it done on my own.

Apparently it takes a village to raise a little one....(Hillary was on to something =0), and Marit was amazing, I was going to have our sitter come watch Soren, but Marit offered to come and hang out with him! It was SO nice to be able to go run and not have a single thought of "I wonder if Soren is hungry..etc"....came home and they had had a great time! She even stayed around long enough so I could get in an ice bath and she served me a recovery drink! Something tells me her sushi at dinner tomorrow night will be "on the house" =0 (wink wink).

I always try to limit my posts these days to one thing, but anyone who knows me, knows I can't really do that!!

Other training thoughts....I am almost down to nothing with my First Endurance Ultragen.....I ordered more and would you believe those guys are awesome--they sent me an entire jug of their powdered EFS to try (most samples are packets right?) this is an entire jug!!! Awesome, can't wait to try TART LEMON LIME. Dave is salivating, he loves TART!

Because i've realized most people like pictures on blogs....here are some new ones =0

Maiden voyage on "Bat Girl"......I don't get to ride outside that often between our schedules, typically i'm on the trainer...when I finally rode outside again, I had tears in my eyes....reminds me how much I LOVE RIDING!! ....This bike is awesome....seriously, light handles terrifically and i'm just so happy with it!

Below: Cheerio Monster

Meeting Dave for lunch at his conference at Disneyland..decided the $72.00 wasn't really worth it at 8 months.....he had a blast in the pool, see below..

Saucony: Fast and Tasty

He stood up for the first time on his own yesterday--naturally in the safest of all places......the tub. This was just before he stood.

Standing!!

I was wearing these two days after my hill run which killed me....so I was trying to do "reverse" recovery the night before my long run... =0

Soren and I met up with fellow Trakkers teammate: Trimommykelly who was in town for the Irongirl races in Del Mar. She is awesome, an awesome triathlete, conversationalist (we needed like four more hours!), and....trimommy..as you can see, Soren had no reservations sleeping and drooling on her. So great to meet you Kelly!

That's it for now! Super bummed I couldn't be with the rest of the Trakkers Team for Rev3 Knoxville, Kelly and I were both saying we wished we could've been there!!!! Congrats to all those who raced ---you did awesome!!!!

Thankful.....

2010-04-28T00:41:00.000-04:00

My mind isn't on triathlon or training today....i'm thinking about the time in my life where things were most lonely, difficult and worrisome. I had been married barely a year, moved across the country away from everyone I knew and my husband was deploying almost immediately to Iraq. I was starting graduate school, thinking it would keep me busy. Busy, but not busy enough. I knew the being "separated," part would be hard, but I never fathomed how difficult it was to balance "worry," with "separation."

I remember the day he left as though it was yesterday. Absolutely gorgeous day in San Diego, we stopped by REI to get some last minute things and then I drove him to Miramar. We lingered a little in the car, stalled and finally, we said goodbye. There was a small part of me that feared he may not return. He was headed to Fallujah in the Fall of 2004--a hotbed of activity and little did I know, daily rocket attacks and not exactly a place where "everyone was just sitting around." What I didn't know I would learn later from journals that Dave kept. We both kept a journal and swapped when he came home. I'm fortunate to be married to an amazing person that despite his own political beliefs, he had a job to do--whether he agreed with where he was going or not. He decided he was going to "get the most out of these six months and make them count." That he did. He kept telling me that he was going whether we liked it or not, and he would be "damned if I wasted six months of my life." I was never so proud of someone. However, I couldn't fathom losing my husband for a cause neither one of us believed in, a war that left too many questions unanswered for us to agree with. But, such is the military, whether you agree or not, you go. The skills and exposure Dave got in terms of medicine and cases were unmatched----he was able to learn things that very few people could ever replicate in an ordinary training environment. He wouldn't wish that opportunity obviously upon anyone.....but he made the most out of the time he spent in Fallujah.

I held myself together pretty well until Christmas, he had left in August. On Christmas morning I was with my family and my brother-in-law offhandedly said to me "what's going on, are you ok?" and I couldn't hold back my tears. It sucked. Christmas really sucked. Just like Dave and I's birthday's sucked, our anniversary sucked, and now, Christmas. The hardest part sometimes was people trying to paint a rosy picture of "he'll be home before you know it!"....I guess they didn't know what to say, but I always appreciated it when people just let me say it stunk instead of them trying to cheer me up. Because honestly people, if you really had to live without your significant other for six months you would see that it really isn't easy, it's hard, lonely and everything is an effort. I made it through because of my amazing family and friends.

I also have to credit Dave for getting me through those six months. He called....everyday from Iraq. I couldn't really share that with some people in the squadron because a lot of people didn't talk to their spouses everyday----Dave called every morning around 9:00 a.m. (I had classes in the evening)--I would carry my phone with me running or to spin class..everyday when the phone rang and I saw "unknown" on the screen, I got so excited because I KNEW who it was! We learned a lot more about one another during those six months and I have to say, people who make it through deployments successfully, I think, honestly, have discovered the key to communication in relationships. If you can go six months without feeling like you've missed a beat in someone's life (writing real letters, emails, phone calls, videos) whatever it is.....you've keyed into something rare.

So-why bring all this up now? Because so many of my friends are affected by deployments and what you all see is a smiley face (after hours of crying), someone who is really "busy" or has a lot on their plate or they seem to be going from one activity to the next...it's because they're happy to be busy. But....being busy makes the hurt of being apart a little less so.

By the end of Dave's first deployment I was so tired of "being busy." I wanted to sit on the couch with my husband and talk. I wanted more than anything in the world for a hug. A hug I soon got and I told myself I would always remember how hard those moments were without him and I wouldn't ever take our time together for granted. Even now, it's been three years since he last deployed and I still get excited to do the little things together, grocery shopping etc. Now that we have Soren it's been an absolute joy being able to raise our little boy together. We're not sure if Dave will deploy again--we'll probably find out within the next year. I just try to live in the "now," and go with it.

I wanted to take the time to thank everyone who support(s) those who are deployed, and more so, those who are deployed. Thank you for putting your lives on the line and for supporting our country. And I wanted to give a hug and thoughts to my friends whose spouses are currently/gearing up for deployments.

Here are some pictures of Dave from Iraq.....

In order: Dave self portrait, phone booth where he would call from (fancy eh?), Dave in surgery, flag at sunset, Dave outside medical "building", medical tent he worked in, hanging with model planes, his arrival home via World Airways (WORST airline ever-they broke down in Maine)....it was just like you see in the movies, flags, little kids dressed in red, white and blue. The next picture is me seeing him for the first time. They had some commanding officer give a speech, so we had to stand there after NOT seeing each other for six months and listen to this guy speech (they literally had a rope separating the crowd from the servicemembers (ridiculous) ----you can see Dave is smiling in the way back--head popping up. The very last picture is of us in Carmel, CA---on our trip up the coast when he came home...best...feeling....ever.....

Christmas in April!!

2010-04-25T19:13:00.000-04:00

So excited!!! My new Kestrel Airfoil Pro SL.....speedy fast and I think i'm going to call her "Bat Girl"!! Cute yet stealthily? Honored to ride Kestrel and cannot wait to test "her" out in a race!...THANK YOU KESTREL!!!!!

Last week we were told a special package would be arriving for us age-groupers on the Trakkers team....we've already received quite a few goodies from our team and I was just in awe that there was yet *another* package coming (Mer claps!).....so, I opened the package and inside were the items to the left.....also an amazing Saucony bag and a full cycling kit (note: the shorts to the kit are not included in the pic because I wore them on my trainer ride this morning, thus they are not presentable at this time =0)......you're looking at a kick ass jersey, shirt and jacket!! Can't wait to suit up!!

It has occurred to me that I haven't said much about my team Trakkers in general, i've talked about them, but I wanted to take a couple of lines to explain what we've been up to! Basically most of us are on Twitter...I know, so for those of you who aren't on twitter or you think it may be pointless----i'm here to say that a TON of our team support comes from Twitter. It allows me to connect to some of my teammates who are far away and honestly, last week I was really sick----and I got a ton of "tweets" that were SO awesome, just wishing me to get well etc. It's funny, you wouldn't think a team that is spread out through the country could develop a "closeness." .....well, Trakkers has outdone themselves, what an amazing group of people.

I love that everyone on the team, whether they're a parent or they're single, *everyone* is juggling something, some are injured, some are setting PR's in races, some are struggling to get in everyday training, some are able to train full-time. Whatever it is...everyone supports each other. HOW COOL! Just like high school sports minus the catty behavior (just kidding, Trakkers is WAY cooler than high school sports all round!) =0.

Anyway...a Trakkers is heading up it's Kickoff Event for the----Rev3Tri Race Series: KNOXVILLE. It's the first in the Rev3 Tri series this year, followed by Quassy and Cedar Point races. If you guys are curious to see what the "Rev3" Tri Series is all about....please just click on the link above! The whole idea is to combine family time with racing.....a brilliant idea! I'm trying my hardest to get to Cedar Point this year--it's going to be tough with our move, so i'm still on the fence as to whether i'll be able to make it or not!

Just an FYI: Tara Costa from the Biggest Loser is racing ALL THREE of the Rev3 Tri Races...and i'm a HUGE "Biggest Loser" fan....so i'm also secretly hoping to get to Cedar Point so I can stalk her. Ew----did I just write that? =0 (stalking her in a friendly way of course =0)

Anyway, I just wanted to write a bit more about my team and what we're all about.....since it's the first time i've ever been a part of a true triathlon team as an adult, it's been amazing and incredibly resourceful for me...especially with becoming a mom----it's nice to see other "tweets/facebook posts" about people who are juggling the same things I am---and how they seem to find a balance!

Over and out!

Carlsbad 5000 Race Report..

2010-04-17T18:56:00.000-04:00

Albeit this is a week late...but, better late than never right? I think I have a hard time blogging these days because I think all my blog posts need to be "long," and I feel pressure to write, so i'm just going to try and keep things short and to the point!

Dave and I were super stoked because the Carlsbad 5000 has a staggered start, so Dave would run, he'd have some time and then I would run so that gave us plenty of time for the "Soren hand off." AND the starts were super late (9:25/10:25) so no getting up early and messing up everyone's sleep schedule! The cards were in our favor. PLUS: It was Dave's first race in over a year due to a leg injury, so he was curious to see how his speed would pan out. Man oh man, i'd give anything for his "slow" speed on my best day...more about that in a minute.

We get up to Carlsbad with plenty of time to spare, met up with Marit and Erin..Erin's husband was gracious enough to put himself on call for the day at the hospital so Dave took his place (props to Mike Kent...THANKS MIKE!), we got our numbers and it was quickly time for Dave to line up. Marit was super awesome to come out and support us after she and Nate had a grueling hike the day before and left them both wishing for a new set of legs!! Thanks Marit!

During Dave's I had to feed Soren, so I sent Marit over to watch for Dave and he finished in 21:13...yes, people, that's what, a 6:50 mile....with ZERO training, other than a three mile loop a few times a week with multiple stops for stretching. Kills me that he has this injury....he loves running! Hoping that with some ART and stretching and new shoes, etc Dave will be able to run again regularly soon. For now we just got him his first "real" swimsuit and goggles, so he's going to hit the pool for a while to see how that goes! Proud of him, hard to "switch" sports for even just a while when all you want to do is (enter favorite sport).

I actually had about 15 minutes to warm up. I don't know what happens to me, happens to me before every race/triathlon. I get worried that i'll be off warming up somewhere and i'll miss the start. That's why, technically, I never warm up properly. Seriously. This race was no different. Although, I spent a significant amount of time stretching my calves/hamstrings since it's been a while since i've gone "hard." I've had some speed work in my training, but no track workouts and it's been a chunk of tempo and distance runs. I had no idea where this would leave me. My 10k time at this point was around a 7:45-8:00, I didn't know what that meant for 5k....I would soon find out.

Amanda's instructions to me were basically "if you're not feeling like you want to puke, you're not going hard enough." Easy enough right? I mean, how would I "run-hard enough-to-puke-but-not-puke-so-that-I-could-finish".

I took a swig of EFS liquid shot .....this stuff is seriously like candy and gives me a boost! First mile, not a problem, knocked out a 7:20. Mile 2....I see a guy in all black, requisite "Nike" outfit (WHY does everyone where Nike even if maybe it's not the right shoe for them?). Anyway--it was a WOMEN's division 30-39, but whatever, said guy was in my way....so, I tried to pass him on the left, he moved....kept moving, so then i'm literally running on the yellow road divider....I said under my breath "dude, there's plenty of room," he turns around and I kid you not, whipped his head and said "F* you B*". I'm like seriously? I shouted "you're lucky you've got an iPod" on....I thought about what Dave would say he would tell me not to waste my energy that I had on this guy and put it into my run. I got *so* angry I wanted to trip him. I almost did, but unfortunately for me, fortunately for him, my parents raised me better...... Unfortunately, I couldn't blow past the guy, I wish I could write that I did....but I couldn't.....I still had a mile to go and I was already dizzy.

Nausea----not happening, Dizzy=check...I was doing something right?? Anyway, Mile 2 contains a slight uphill (screw you motto: Carlsbad 5000, fastest 5K in the world..right). And I was just pushing as hard as I could and I really didn't have anything left. My goal was to finish in the "22's"....and I crossed the line at 23:14! Around a 7:29 mile. I can be proud. I went as hard as I could, no regrets and that's what I did! My PR for this race is a 22:03 I think, so i'm happy with how I did! And, I broke in my new Pro Grid Triumph 7's.....they're a heavier shoe for a 5k, but I need to start breaking them in for Rock N Roll.....they're awesome!

Afterwards I seriously felt like I did a half marathon! Amazing, if you go hard enough in a 5k, it feels like you've run further! I slept super well that night!

I'm currently now battling the stomach flu, on the verge of getting over it.....just ugh...I just had this a month ago....hoping to recover by Monday to at least get my long run in...we'll see!

Getting closer....

2010-04-08T17:36:00.000-04:00

People often tell me how fast they went after pregnancy, or they "know SO many people who went faster."   I hate hearing that and I REALLY hated it when I was pregnant because I KNOW myself, I know how long it took me to run an 8:15 pace comfortably: 4 years and I had a sneaky suspicion that having a baby wasn't going to do much for my running, though I will say I am getting my speed back faster than I anticipated, and i'll just take that!

I will say that I DO think my running/athletics helped me in labor.....17 minutes of actual "pushing,"....ok, so I had an epidural, but whatever, I still pushed him out =0....back to my reason for posting about running/speed:

I ran 17 miles on Saturday in 2:31 and 14 of those miles were under 9:00, which for me is awesome. Gives me the satisfaction in knowing that I think I really can break 4:00 at the Rock N Roll marathon.   Previously I thought Boston would be a possibility, but at this particular time, it would be really impossible for me to do that, given that my longer run miles tend to be between 8:45-9:00. So, i'm going to aim for breaking 4:00 at Rock N Roll and then I just signed up for the Marine Corps Marathon in October and we'll see if I can get some speed back before October.

I don't normally spend a lot of time writing about my training specifics, but I was so excited about my good long run, I had to post! The week before I ran 15 miles and it was like a death march which involved a lot of walking, porto potty visits and multiple water bottle refills.....yuck. And the feeling of wanting to attack small children on their bikes so that I could bike the rest of my run.
Anyway....training is coming along well, I was stoked last week to receive my new racing kit from Saucony...it's AWESOME!! I'll post a picture here in a few days when I get the pictures up from our camera, but I have to say it is REALLY fun being a part of a team! Can't wait to wear my tri kit! Dave was jealous because I now have all these cool training/racing clothes and he's piecing together his dilapidated Adidas pieces. I suggested that if he learned how to swim more than float, perhaps he could be on the team too. With his leg bothering him, he said last night he may swim one day and run the next so he's going to start working on his swim, and we'll see where he ends up! I can hear it now "Mer....I think I need a Kestrel"

SPEAKING OF: My Kestrel is officially in the shop being built as we speak! SUPER excited to take it out for a ride...it's black and white and I just hope I do it justice!

Next up: Carlsbad 5000 on Sunday. My favorite part of this race: Dave is running before me!!! He hasn't run a race since I can't remember when--due to his leg, so i'm excited for him! And.....our race starts are far enough apart and Dave runs fast enough that we can take turns with Soren!

Stay tuned for my race report and pics!! I know, I never post pics....so here are some new ones:   All of us at Balboa Park for Easter brunch, me blowing bubbles with Soren and Soren after some home made sweet potatoes =0.

Recovery? What Recovery?

2010-03-22T00:01:00.000-04:00

I got lucky earlier this week with the stomach flu....I know, so lucky right? Thankfully it only lasted in the middle of the night and i'll just spare you the details by saying i'm ALSO lucky that my toilet and bathtub and right next to each other!!

Anyway, I had gotten slightly off schedule with training because I was in Colorado...then, I come back, I do one easy 45' run on Tuesday and then bam!...Tuesday night I get sick. No idea if it was breakfast with Dave or the seared ahi we made, or just a general "noro-something-or-other" floating around. Either way, I took a few days off and then today....I got our babysitter to come over and hang out with Soren since Dave is on call and I knocked out my two hour run. I tried to take another blogger's advice and just run "normally" don't try to "race" every run I do...so, I took it somewhat easy and ran 12.7 miles in two hours.

I really wanted to finish at an even 13 miles, 'cause that's how I roll. Yes, i'm that irritating person riding in circles in the parking lot to even out my 39.95 mile ride to 40 miles, or trying to finish a set in the pool so I finish evenly. No idea why, I mean, really does 12.7 miles differ THAT much than 13 miles? NO, but, I haven't run 13 miles since the Carlsbad Half in January and i'm getting anxious about my mileage for the Rock N Roll marathon!! All in good time....I trust Amanda and I've made a conscious decision to go easy with mileage before the marathon, maybe even slightly "under trained" to take it easy on myself. Truthfully, today I wrapped up at 12.7 because I needed to get Soren to the doctors and the pediatrician is only open for a few hours on Sunday, and so I had to get on the phone!

Anyway, my day went like this: I finish the run at 11:57, pick up phone while driving (I know, I know, bad...I put the pediatrician on speaker phone though).....pick up babysitter, drop her off at 12:05,

I make my recovery drink of Ultragen, I swear to god that stuff is better than Starbucks, SERIOUSLY. 12:15-I put Soren in the exersaucer and drink the Ultragen and piece of string cheese in my mouth while i'm taking a bath (I take a bath so I can eat at the same time =0) AND so I can smile at Soren and make him laugh while he plays =0.

The pediatrician calls back at 12:30 and wants to know if I can make it in by 1:20. Sure, no problem, i'm still in the tub, we live 20 minutes away and I need to feed Soren. AHHHH. I need another set of hands. No can do, Dave isn't home.......

12:40, I pull Soren out of the exersaucer...i'm still hungry.... and into his pack n play with some more toys while I eat the rest of the Indian meal we ate last night as I dry my hair.......feed Soren and we are out the door by 1:10.

I won't go through the rest of the day, but I laugh now at my "recovery" because it doesn't exist!! I know, most everyone else has this too if they're juggling a lot of things!! Gone are my ice baths, foam roller and stretching...however, I do actually sort of stretch out when i'm walking around for the remainder of the day and I feel good at least that i'm eating pretty well and i'm drinking the Ultragen!

Tomorrow I have an optional swim which i'm going to do because Dave his home and i'm guaranteed to finish a swim!!

St. Patty's 10k Race Report...first 10k post pregnancy!

2010-03-18T13:48:00.000-04:00

I wasn't sure what to expect with my 10k this past Saturday--I really didn't know what kind of pace I could manage or what my legs/lungs would do, so I decided to just go out there and run til it hurt (but not so hard that I couldn't sustain the pace). I decided to try to just shut off my brain and really try to just focus on running and nothing else. Sometimes when I run my mind wanders to: "how's Soren? I wonder what we're having for dinner since I didn't get to the grocery store, I wonder if Dave will sleep this weekend on call, we need to go to the beach since our time in San Diego is running out, I really need to make some more baby food it's sad Soren has only eaten one veggie since I haven't figured out how to make others.." None of that, just this: "how are legs: good, pace: good, breathing, faster turnover, push, see that girl ahead she's wearing high tops....she's toast".

I had a whole plan: I was going to wake up, feed Soren, stretch, eat my breakfast and get to the race early to warm up. Seriously, in the past i've been really good about my plans and i've been able to stick with them...well, with a little one you just never know how the morning is going to go--namely because i'm still nursing and I need to decide at the last minute whether Soren will get a bottle, or will I nurse and if I don't feed him, I have to pump (especially before a race!).

What actually happened: 6:00 alarm went off, I went to eat breakfast, got dressed...still no Soren. Finally by 6:30, I began to defrost milk for him because I knew I wouldn't have time to feed him and so Dave could give him a bottle. So, the 5 1/2 ounces of milk were defrosting and then I hear him talking. NOOOOOOO! I hate wasting a bottle if I can feed him myself, I prefer to use bottles if we have a babysitter or Dave is with him for long periods of time...it's difficult for me to "keep a supply" these days, so I hate wasting milk! So-I fed Soren, threw the bottle in the diaper bag and we were off. We got to the race at 7:10. Not exactly time for a warm up....but, I did warm up for about 10 minutes, definitely enough to get "warm" and shed that layer and the best part of all was, I found an UNCROWDED bathroom. Awesome, took care of business and I was all set.

I didn't see anyone I knew at the starting line which was a relief, I really wanted to just RUN and sometimes my chattiness gets the better of me!

We started and right away I was off and running.....I felt a little tired but definitely able to keep up with some faster people in front of me and eventually I settled into a 7:45-8:00 minute pace. Not bad....the last time I ran this 10K I ran a 47:14.....so, I knew I wasn't going to finish around that time, but honestly for being seven months post-partum, I was just stoked to be running IN the "7:00's" of any kind!

Around mile 4 the guy next to me said: you can do it, go faster....he was older and I laughed and sputtered out: I'm barely hanging on here! He said "I'm 66, you can go faster," I said "I just had a baby 7 months ago, I'm working on speed!".....we ran for a few minutes and he dropped back and it was right around then I got the "ohhh, I don't feel so good," feeling. I thought I was going to throw up, but the odd thing is, my legs felt fine and while my effort felt REALLY hard, I didn't think I was spinning out of control.

Enter Ironman thoughts: "you did an Ironman, you can certainly HTFU for the last 2.2 miles..seriously Meredith, suck it up.....it's just around the corner and back past the Hilton and you're DONE."

So...I actually listened to myself....but mile 5-6 wasn't pretty, I was really really wanting the race to be done, but I pushed harder and the coolest thing was, Dave and his mom almost missed me because Dave said "Um, well, we didn't expect you to come QUITE that quickly!!" =0. I saw the finish and this guy....literally edged me out of the way? Seriously--edging people out of the way in general is an "ass move," but in a local 10k? Really?? I wanted to say "ok, weekend warrior, calm down," but I was too far exhausted to even utter a thought so my eyes did the staring. I had nothing left to sprint the finish and I can't remember the last time I couldn't sprint a finish, even in Ironman I had a little left. No dice for this 10k though---I just kept my pace and crossed!!

Final stats: finished in 50:05: 8:04/mile.....super super happy!!

Tested out some AWESOME Saucony pieces that i'll be buying MORE of: Check these out, they're SUPER light and i've been wanting a lighter short for a while without going "shorter" =0

Saucony: Elite Split Short

Saucony: Hydrator Short Sleeve--Perfectly fitted but not too cumbersome and absolutely no chafing.....awesome shirt!!!

Yes you CAN!

2010-03-13T16:06:00.000-05:00

I just got back from five days in Colorado visiting my family and suffering through an 11 mile run at altitude. Denver needs more air....seriously. It was a terrific visit, my mom is so much more mobile now and able to get around sometimes unassisted, I left this visit much more assured of her progress. It's difficult to see your parents struggle and you just want to help alleviate stress or pain, but I realize just by keeping my mom company does wonders! We threw her a surprise birthday party while I was out there and she was so overwhelmed and excited.....my mom is definitely the most positive person I know and this surgery has tried even her own patience.

I said to her at one point "LOOK! you're standing up by yourself," and it took her a minute and she was like "You're right!"...I tried to point out little things along the way so she could remind herself of the amazing progress she was making. Last time I was out there she had a difficult time moving even with a walker and now she's doing stairs, going out with friends and slowly coming back to her usual "social self."

I said to her, "I know you want to just go out there and walk....but, you need to give yourself credit for the things you ARE doing today and not the things that you CAN'T DO."..seems i'm good at giving advice but not very good at taking it myself. I had a mini tantrum last week about just not being able to finish full workouts and being completely bewildered that I seemingly have ALL this time during the day, but can't seem to get in a workout....due to a nap, or missed nap, or what not. I wouldn't change it for the world---really....but, I need to let go of my "type-A-will-not-miss-training-ever" personality. My priorities are very different now and I love my time with Soren, I just need to be more gentle on myself when it comes to being unable to fit in a training session.

I'm working on taking my own advice.

This'll be a short blog post....I did the St. Patty's Day 10K this morning and for me, I went in with just trying to "let it all fly," and not get so stuck on "worrying about running out of gas," and I am super super happy with how I did! Race report to follow soon....off to put my feet up!

Someone is always "somebody's something."

2010-03-01T18:22:00.000-05:00

I had an awakening the other day and I hate to be cheesy and chalk it up to "parenthood," but, these types of thoughts weren't as profound as they are now.

I was crossing the 56 bike path on my bike last week and the "walk sign," was lit, so I started to cross and a large van was sitting there and the lane next to it I realized whatever car next to the van wouldn't see me, so I slowed down and sort of stopped before passing in front of the van. Sure enough---a woman in a large car comes zooming through the walkway, slams on her breaks (after she realizes i'm trying to cross)..she's holding a frozen treat and she's like waving "sorry," and then CONTINUES.

Seriously, she kept going--i'm IN the crosswalk WITH a "walk sign," lit...and she keeps going. I shouted at her a few four letter words but I also muttered to myself "i'm someone's mom." And it dawned on me at that moment, someone is always someone special--whether it's a friend, a dad, mom, sister etc. We're ALL important and life it too precious to be zipping around through crosswalks and operating machinery in a haphazardous way.

Yes, i'm guilty of texting and talking while driving...and i've pretty much stopped, but my encounter makes me even more aware of how just a bad decision at the wrong time has the ability to change someone's life.

I'm definitely more aware now of where I ride, I get nervous on Scripps Poway Parkway, I get nervous on route 67. Ok, I get nervous everywhere now. But, the fact of the matter is, accidents happen even on safe roads and if I want to ride, I have to get over being afraid of leaving Soren without a mom! Sounds dramatic, but how many moms do you know that DON'T worry? Just sayin.

So--now I ride through my neighborhood over to the 56 bike path and up the coast. Believe it or not even with all the traffic on 101, I feel safest and I feel like i'm more likely to get "door'd" by a tourist than actually hit by a car.

I feel like i'm finally coming along with all the sports..my legs have finally arrived somewhat and I don't feel as embarassing as I did the last few months. I know, I know, "you just had a baby six months ago," but no one likes to feel huge and heavy when they're running (or, huge and heavy in general).....so, i'm just excited to be feeling like my old self again!

I have also been enjoying my new-found NON-chloriney smelling hair and body....thanks to Tri-Swim.....it's nice now not having to shell out $35.00 for JUST the Pureology conditioner I used to buy. Yes, I spent $35.00 on ONE bottle of conditioner just to get my hair to not smell like chlorine. Now I can get shampoo and conditioner for less than that!! Check them out: http://www.tri-swim.com/

I also have to do one more plug, sorry.....seriously guys, i'm not used to using really cool and fun products....for you swimmers out there: FOGGLE is amazing. NO fogging of goggles at ALL while swimming. Then again, as my friend Jena pointed out, the less time you spend on the wall wiping your goggles, the less time you have to stall.....very true =0. You can get Foggle through Tri-Swim as well. DO IT (at least for your races when you don't want to be stalled =0).

Over and out.

Powered By....

2010-02-19T13:34:00.000-05:00

During my training i've tried a variety of nutrition products on the market and have used some in training: Gatorade, Nuun, Clif, CarboPro (both regular and 1200), various protein recovery drinks from Naked Juice and Trader Joe's =0.....and I just used whatever sounded easiest on my stomach. Truthfully, during my first Ironman training, I just used Gatorade, never took an ice bath, barely stretched and I just never even bothered to "recover," because I just didn't buy into the hoopla of stretching, "recovering," whatever, either my body would handle it or it wouldn't. What I didn't realize is, that with the amount of training I was doing it was just as important to recover as it was to actually DO the workout.

For example..what was wrong with Gatorade? It worked for all those amazing athletes in the commercials...so, I stuck with what was comfortable to me---not really branching out because I just felt like everything else was really gimmicky. I'm all for simplicity. I knew on Ironman day I didn't want to be eating two types of bars, three types of drinks, how ever many tablets..it just didn't make sense to me.

Enter my second year of Ironman training, I got a little smarter, I realized that I needed to recover (and Amanda in not so many words explained that by helping my recovery, I could recover faster and maybe go faster)..so...you name it, I did it...foam roller, ice baths, protein recovery drinks and stretching.

What is really funny, is the whole new "compression" clothing phenomenon, I managed to hold out from buying any of these ridiculous looking items until....OCTOBER..and my Ironman was November 23rd =0. After the SOMA Half at the end of October, my legs were absolutely shot and I had a six hour drive home--they were throbbing so badly--I actually drove to a running shop and promptly dropped $100.00 on compression tights. Drastic: yes, Needed: yes, Helpful: totally....honestly, I put those tights on and the throbbing was reduced to a slight "ache."

So--what i'm saying is when I started triathlon, I was more of a purist and it takes me a while to trust a new gadget or nutrition product. By the time I bought my Garmin 305, the 405 was already out. Now, they're up to Garmin 305xityie or something like that----no idea what it looks like---and you guessed it, i'm still wearing my 305.

This year already has been absolutely amazing---i'm learning that I need to figure out a way to cut my recovery times down--no more 20 minute ice baths and 20 minutes of stretching...I need to get my stretching in after the workout and in the shower, and my recovery drink needs to be quick and do the job super fast....because i've got a little guy that demands my attention!!

Enter: new nutrition products by First Endurance...and honestly, the First Endurance Ultragen Cappuccino (for RECOVERY) tastes like a Starbucks iced coffee...honestly..it takes me two seconds to mix it with water or my new discovery SKIM MILK (enter: iced latte!) ---and provides me with what I need to recover after a long ride or run. It tastes absolutely awesome, not gritty/watery/overpowering..absolutely perfect. I do 1 1/2 scoops with 16 ounces of water or milk. Sooooo tasty!!!

On my ride I tested out the First Endurance EFS Powder in Fruit Punch (smelled like Kool Aid when I opened it..YUM)-the BEST part about this product is that it has a sugary taste but minimal sugar unlike Gatorade which is powered by sugar. So, I just mix in the powder with water....AND it's CLEAR-----so you don't have to worry about annoying *enter color* stains on clothing and bikes! I used this (DURING exercise)

I also tested out the First Endurance Liquid Shots in Vanilla (similar to GU)---on my run and don't laugh--but I tested it out with a small taste and I go "HMMM," and Dave was standing there he was like "I WANNA TRY!"...so, he tries it and he's like "THAT is good." For me, some of the other "shot" products have always tasted like metal or some sort of odd flavor. This----tasted like caramel.....

Anyway, my point is: each year in triathlon i've become more open minded about trying "new" things....and First Endurance has graciously offered to sponsor Team Trakkers and in doing so, I was so thrilled to try out their products and ....they make their products easy to use and they taste AWESOME!

My favorite part: I'm marathon training: I want my liquid shots easy to figure out: I take in about 100 calories every 5 miles. First Endurance Liquid Shots come in a FLASK that is measured out on the side to 400 calories. And you can SEE how much you're taking in on the flask-----so, rather than carry four stupid, sticky packets of shots, I can carry ONE flask of yummy tasting Vanilla.

Here's the best part about these products. You do NOT have to be a triathlete to use them. Let's say you are a hiker, or mountain biker, or walker or kayaker, or skier---and it's been a long day. YOU need to make sure that you're taking in calories when you exercise for long periods of time (I would say over an hour)----and help yourself recover. It's not just for triathlon!! Actually, even after a hard game of tennis, or hockey, take time to recover (or quickly recover!).

So! TRY something new for a change and be open minded....you'll be just as excited as I was!! Check out First Endurance---they're in local shops as well as online!!!

Seeing results!!

2010-02-11T23:12:00.000-05:00

One of these days i'm going to update the look of this blog...I kind of want an all white, more professional looking background, I hate how the blog posts are so long (in physical length, not duration...that's my own fault =0).

So: quick update on the training...going *awesome*....i'm definitely able to get in some quality training and that I feel really good about---since I haven't gone back to work----which is a mixed bag of feelings, on the one hand I really do wish I was working, I really enjoyed my job!! On the other hand, I don't want to put Soren in a daycare we're not comfortable with and i'd rather wait for a slot to open up at the Navy center--and you know, I enjoy staying home a little more than I thought I would. But, that's probably true because i'm able to get out and train and I have an "outlet," AND just today..drumroll: I met NICE NORMAL MOMS at Gymboree....so, I think a few of us are going to try to do a playgroup!! So, that would be so much fun!!!!

I have to admit, when I read other people's blogs, I skip right over graphs, charts, etc....I already know people train, what I like to read is what's going on in their lives, how they balance kids, jobs, interests (both triathlon and NON triathlon =0).....

So, just a quick update: my running is coming along great, I knocked out some intervals earlier this week and did five miles and all five of my miles were under 9:00...averaged an 8:56 pace, so just barely under 9:00, but the intervals I did were all in the 7:45 range, so I was STOKED!! Had another decent swim...and had a 7 mile treadmill run tonight where I had to keep some intervals under 9:00. Turns out i'im actually doing really well with staying under 9:00.....my feet just hurt =0.

AND..i'm ALREADY losing a freaking toenail. Geez.....I already get pummeled by the pedicure ladies when I go--seriously, ask my friend Jena, *every time* we go---I get yelled at for callouses, black toenails..whatever...but, my theory is--I can throw some red polish on there and i'm good to go! And, seriously, with our move to Boston, who in the Northeast even does their toenails in the winter??? Seriously??

Best feeling of the week--got my BIKE FIT..WOOP! Will pick it up tomorrow or Saturday.

Worst feeling of the week: volunteering at the Navy doctor's spouses bake sale that raises money for scholarships. Which one of those words appeals the most??? BAKE...unfortunately, I didn't eat anything...and everyone there was exactly what I thought--fake and just "ugh".....thankfully none of them even know me or my blog so I can say whatever I want =0....it was just a waste of an hour I'll never get back.... I went out of my way to bake brownies last night at 9:30.....and sent them off with Dave....showed up today to volunteer, put Soren in the hospital child watch area and I was greeted just with an "i'm approaching a clique and everyone is staring" feeling. I'm not a self conscious person by nature, I work with people for a living--so for me, people are my thing and when I can't talk to FOUR people---it can't possibly be me..or is it =0. Looks like I won't be volunteering or socializing with them any time soon!!!

But, if I met cool mom's at Gymboree and that leads to friends for Soren, then that is way better than volunteering my time at another bake sale right!??

Off to find some Reese's Peanut Butter Cups from the home made recipe I was going to use for the bake sale and then at the last second, opted for my "emergency" Duncan Heinz from a box.....that I ended up using instead =0

The impossibility of scheduling...

2010-02-08T17:20:00.000-05:00

Here's the thing, when you have a little one-you DO have a ton of free time, it's just that it is next to impossible to try to "plan" something at any given time. So, for example, I can definitely get in some time to myself, or an hour swimming, biking or running...the issue is: the timing of it.

So--if I want to go to a spin class, I have to mentally "walk through" Soren's day, is he going to be hungry at that time, or tired?? I used to be able to just drop him off and walk out..now I have become one of "those" parents who mandates naps (I refuse to mandate a time for his naps...since he wakes up at varying times....so...when he's tired...he goes down)...seems logical to me....however, I do mandate naps in general whenever he seems like he needs one!

Bedtime however, IS scheduled: 7:00...for his parents sanity (and this did not come without some effort...sleep training...thank you Dr.'s Weissbluth and Ferber)

What i'm saying is, I have a ton of free time during the day, but at any given time, I may have to feed Soren or put him down for a nap....I can "estimate" when a good time will be, but sometimes it varies.

This isn't usually problematic for me at all, unless I am: trying to schedule a bike fit that takes two hours at a shop that is super popular/not a lot of fit times left and coordinate that with a few people who may be able to watch Soren, but they're available at different times than the shop has fit times....sigh.

Today: I had an absolute angel help me out!! Lynne Branchflower of Moment Cycle Sport knew that I had been calling a few times to try and see when they had fits available (my Kuota is BACK!!) =0, and she knows I have little Soren....finally after much discussion she's like "look, I don't know if you'd be ok with this, but I have Wednesday off and we can squeeze you in at 1:30 and I can watch Soren at my house which is near the shop." I just about melted...I had been stressing all morning because I couldn't find anyone to watch Soren during the day and I MISS riding my bike and I desperately want to get back to riding....but, it takes a while to get a proper fit and I have to do that first!!! So: Lynne will watch Soren while I get my bike fit.   SUPER AWESOME!!! STOKED! LOVE LYNNE!!! Actually, I love Moment Cycle Sport in general--I have been to most of the bike shops here in San Diego and honestly, they saved my ass before Ironman Florida and i've never forgotten! It's hard to mandate loyality to "one" shop, because they all support the San Diego Tri Club, but....honestly, Moment is the ONLY one that I would really classify as having "mom and pop love." So if you're ever in San Diego, PLEASE check them out--they're in cute Point Loma and super super friendly, and completely willing to help out (whether you have a baby or not) =0.

Back to my "scheduling," thoughts...thankfully my training is left in my own hands as far as timing goes...because if I had to promise that I would run by 3:00 pm, I would be in trouble! Because i'm such a planner, sometimes it's hard for me and it stresses me out if I try to plan several days in advance in terms of training. What i've been doing is figuring out with Dave if a day for him is going to be long or short.....if I have a run on my schedule---I typically see if he's going to be home early, that way I can run outside (I do have a jogging stroller, but if i'm doing intervals, i'd rather not make it more complicated by pushing a few extra pounds) =0.   If it's a swim day, I just take Soren to the Y with me....if it's a bike day--well, we haven't figured that out yet because my bike just arrived back...and each time i've tried to make a spin class, something "Soren-wise" has popped up!!

I think things will be easier once I settle in with my bike. One ride on the trainer and one outdoor ride a week for now..that I should be able to handle...it's just the spin classes that get tricky to schedule.

I *am* attempting masters swim this week...but only because there is a 12:00-1:00 lunchtime masters that has childcare!! The other four times I could go to masters, there isn't childcare, and 12:00 is usually a good time "Soren-wise" =0.

It's actually a toss up between what is more mentally challenging, training for an Ironman or just training in general with a little one. The odd thing is, I put WAY more pressure on myself prior to Soren and now.....I almost appreciate training a little more and i'm willing to work harder. Funny how that works out isn't it?

Quick update..

2010-02-06T11:33:00.000-05:00

Not to much to report..really---I had an awesome run the other day which included intervals and I had to do a nice warmup and then do: 30 seconds hard/30 seconds easy, 45 hard/easy..up to a minute and then back down, and repeat it twice....at my 10K pace. I had no idea what I could do as a "10K" pace, so I just decided to go out there and go hard enough, but not so hard that I felt like I should be running a 5K and run out of gas. I may have pushed it a little too hard---but, I was able to get most of the intervals in a 7:45 pace.....I was really excited about that.

It sounds grueling to some, but for me, i'd much rather have a run where I have to "do" something rather than just "run,"...it keeps my eyes off of my watch wondering "how much more do I have to do?" =0. I was just glad my body responded to some sort of speed, especially after a rather slow warm up! Even during Ironman training where some people get "slower," I had no choice to get faster since I couldn't GET much slower than I already was! I ran 6.5 miles that day and one mile I averaged an 8;33 pace....slowly getting back to where I was prior to Ironman. It will take quite some time, possibly longer than I want.

I'm signed up for the SD Rock N Roll marathon and my initial goal was to qualify for Boston..but, I knew going into this that I had worked so incredibly hard to get speed before Ironman that I knew post-pregnancy it wouldn't be easy, as running isn't easy for me. So....for now, i'll just settle for a marathon PR. Under 4 hours would be nice and I think more realistic than a Boston qualifying time.

That is reality talking....but, my goal is still to TRY to qualify....but, I don't want to disappoint myself or set up unrealistic expectations. Plus, my sisters are coming to town to race with me---so I don't want to get all wrapped up in trying to qualify and be all bummed. That being said, i'm still going to continue with my training as though i'd like to qualify!! If that at all makes sense!!

Yesterday was another successful swim. HOLY PULLING. Amanda must've read my blog where I said "bring it,"...'cause she did.....with part of my main set being 1x600 pull and then 4x200 pull with paddles....that's 1400 meters of PULLING people.....just 200 meters shy of a mile! I think there was another part in there that involved 2x50 with a band around my ankle-----I don't have a band so I used a bouy--specifically after Amanda wrote "band, NOT bouy"......I had to improvise right? =0

I had to cut the workout short since I made an ill-time decision. I signed Soren up for swim lessons, but not knowing it would take 20 minutes, so I dropped him off before I started the paperwork, and you get 90 minutes before you need to go pick them up, so I had to drop the "6x50 kick" (big bummer, I know =0) and my 100 cool down.

Not too shabby though, my big wake up call that master's swim may be necessary in the future is that my 1-4 descending 50's , my fastest 50 was in :40 seconds.....so sad. I can usually pull off a 36-37 if i'm in good shape!

Here are very recent Soren pics to "gnaw" on.....I need to post some pictures of my VERY VERY awesome sponsor items...need to get my camera uploaded though....STAY TUNED!!!

Success in the pool!!

2010-02-04T18:02:00.000-05:00

So, yesterday according to TP, I was supposed to knock out a trainer ride on my bike, except my bike is currently enroute back from Colorado where my sister was keeping it warm for me while I was pregnant.....bike arrived today-however needs a signature, so tomorrow i'll be sitting, waiting for my bike =0

I decided to "re-do" my swim from Monday instead.....and I nearly made it through the whole thing before I had to go save Soren from having fun =0..hehe. The lady at the daycare assured me, the more I bring him, the more he'll get used to it. I totally agree and I like that if i'm going to be at home longer than expected due to no daycare availability yet----he needs as much exposure to other kids/adults as possible.

My TP swim read "Easy recovery 3000 swim." I kind of laughed.....only Amanda would put "easy and 3000" in the same sentence...(except maybe Coach Jen Harrison who is also obsessed with swimming =0..hi Jen!)..... I actually LOVED this workout. It reminds me how much I miss swimming. I was thinking while I was swimming how that particular sport comes easy to me. I have to work so hard at running...really, really hard. Biking, it takes me a bit to get back into it, but it comes smoothly, but nothing comes as easy as swimming (except maybe tennis but it's been a while!).

Swim:
2x300 warmup
4x100 kick
4x400 (2 of these 400's were pulling with paddles; the other 2 400's were freestyle)
400 cool down

I got through 200 of the cool down before having to get out...for you non swimmers: it's about 1.7 miles.....and I don't think I swam hard enough even though I thought I was swimming hard because i'm not sore today. Hear that Lovato----BRING IT!!! =0

She's having me ease back into things which is the right thing to do obviously, if I was super sore, i'd be like "oh no...".

Sorry for boring post, this was just on my mind!! I love that i'm back in action...definitely takes some scheduling, but I think i'm getting into a groove!!

Up next: ordering some awesome First Endurance products to sample and try out at races!! I'm excited about this----new products that will help me avoid stomach issues while racing and training..i'm up for that!!

Reality...

2010-02-03T01:13:00.000-05:00

This'll be a short post....training "started," yesterday. It was such an odd day. We dropped the car off for maintenance and everything was just "off," the car wasn't ready when it was supposed to be, Soren missed a nap, Dave was sleep deprived after being up all night on-call....so, I knew I was taking my chances by going to the swim and putting Soren in the kids center at the Y. However, I have never in the two months dropping him off there had a problem......until...yesterday. I was SO excited to do my 3,000 meter swim set. I know, odd, right? I EVEN managed to avoid "circle swimming". Seriously, who circle swims, I hate it-you're either getting your legs hit down by someone faster than you, or trying to choke someone who is side stroking. I got in the water and felt awesome......I was doing my first of 4x100 kick, when I looked up and saw the lady from the kid center.

She did the "he's crying," sign....and I was like Oh no..poor little guy! I lept out of the pool, changed and ran to get Soren. Now, mind you--I don't wear my hearing aid after swimming or it's just asking for an ear infection.....so, I walked in sans hearing aid and he had been crying so hard he had hiccups! Just a bad feeling for me.... felt...like...a...terrible...parent. Afternoon nap missed and I thought he'd be ok.....sigh.....so, off we went to home.

I just felt so badly for Soren that I was like "ok..no swim today," but then, the more I thought about it, that inner voice in me was like "neener neener you missed a workout..." (like in that sing song voice)....so I panicked. What if I missed this swim and I can't finish Vineman. You know, because that is totally logical thinking right? Anyway, naturally, Amanda reassured me there would be *plenty* more swims in my future and "Soren is your Ironman!".....so =0....that of course made me feel better!!

Today: I got in a solid 45 minute run, so I feel back on track!!!

My sister Dawn shipped my Kuota back to me so I should have it ready for my FIRST EVER post-pregnancy bike ride on Saturday. Should be awesome, filled with plenty of snacks and bathroom breaks, you know, for a two hour ride =0.....the usual. Hehe...just kidding. I'm going to knock out this ride and then Dave and I have a friend of ours coming to hang with Soren so he and I can go out and get some wine and sushi!!!

Looks like this is how my training will go--some days i'll knock it all out, other days, it'll be foiled....just like life...and as i'm discovering with parenthood..some days you sleep well and make good decisions, other days you sleep like crap and make half-awake decisions =0.

The Power of Coaches...

2010-01-31T22:36:00.000-05:00

I was thinking on my run yesterday how things are different on my "own," training plan versus "Lovato" training and I have a lot of people who ask me why I train with a coach and what the benefits are--for me--obviously I love working with Amanda, we've become close friends and no matter what anyone says--I think in order for an athlete/coach relationship to mesh well, you do have to trust your coach enough as a confidant in some ways on a personal level because that is such an integral part of "the circle of trust" (so to speak) =0 (not to get all Meet the Fockers or anything) but, it's true--we work best and we mesh the easiest with people we get along with.

When I started out working with Amanda, I was intimated, not from a personal standpoint, but from a "wow, I have a coach, I had better seem like I have it all together,"..when in all actuality, I was doing the opposite of what I needed to do. The first year we worked together, I was "mostly" honest about how I was doing in training...but I neglected to tell Amanda I was struggling with Patellar Femoral Syndrome, Plantar Fasciitis and stomach issues. When did I finally come clean?? Two days before Ironman Florida. Imagine Amanda's surprise as we sat down to have breakfast two days before my "A" race...."MER!! Why didn't you tell me this, we could've adjusted your schedule? I feel awful--we could've done things differently and had you try resting, etc". I realized that by not being honest with her and with myself--and I was so worried she would think I wasn't pushing through workouts that I missed out on some quality training (or downtime). The next year before Ironman Arizona, I vowed to tell her everything, the good, the bad and the ugly.....the thing is, you have to TRUST your relationship with your coach and they have to trust YOU. That means if you're supposed to be running for an hour and you only ran for a half hour because your stomach was bothering you, or you were just plain too tired to run...TELL them. They can't read your mind (especially Amanda being in Boulder..osmosis only goes so far right? =0). It's to your benefit to be honest with your coach and it helps them actually learn more about you.

Now for example, if I tell Amanda something is "off," or not quite right....I know that *she* knows i'm not trying to get out of a workout, and she takes it super seriously----and you know what, if I was too tired----I would tell her and she'd say "ok, day off...feet up."....or she'll switch out a long run for an easy swim.

So, back to the initial question of--why do I work with a coach?? Well, I don't work with just "anyone," --Amanda and I's relationship is a product of a few years now of working through kinks and developing a good rapport---and her approach to coaching and her empathy and compassion for wanting ME to do well and me valuing her experience, thoughts and knowledge within triathlon and sport in general. I chose to work with Amanda prior to Ironman Florida because I knew doing an Ironman was a "big deal," and I knew I wouldn't trust myself to "train on my own,".....hence, I did some thinking and searching and met up with Amanda and the rest is sort of history. I thought at the time I was only going to do one Ironman (don't we all?), so I decided I was going to do it and do it "right." No messing around, no "what if's."

What happened? Well, I have always said I hated Ironman training (not necessarily swim/bike/run, but the duration of Ironman training is just..so....long....).....but, you know, I just love Amanda's approach to training and I truly love working with her--and how she's willing to adjust/fix just about anything to help me make my goals happen. So....after IMFL..I decided "what if I went just a little harder?". Naturally, Amanda and I worked together again for Ironman Arizona. Arizona was particularly awesome because she was at the race and we were able to really spend time together before, during and after the race --it was amazing to have her "right there!"......an awesome memory. It was also a little bittersweet for me, because I knew it would be my last Ironman for a while because I was really ready to start our family...but I told Amanda I would be back in action as soon as I could----though I'm not quite sure she thought I would come back to a coaching environment after having a little one----we would always remain friends either way. That brings us to now----

Year after year, i've watched myself grow with having an amazingly supportive coach, and although my season will be a little shorter these days since having little Soren---I still want Amanda's advice, support, butt-kicking and compassion.....and I just realized that while doing triathlon, I enjoy having a coach who pushes me harder than i'd push myself and someone who can help me grow and improve!

So, in a nutshell, the reason I have Amanda is more then just wanting someone to kick my butt----it's really a combination of building a relationship and having the support of an expert and someone who wants to help you succeed in your goals. And if you're lucky enough as I have been to find a friend in the process---all the better!

This season will be a little bit of trial and error i'm assuming, figuring out what works for me in terms of scheduling with Soren and what works for a solid racing year----and i'm excited to see what Amanda has in store for me...starting TOMORROW!! =0

Carlsbad Half Marathon..RR

2010-01-25T16:48:00.000-05:00

So from the picture above it totally looks like i'm walking....and the pain I feel today is reassurance that I most certainly was NOT walking!!

I did it!! I did my first post-pregnancy race and....I loved it. Oh, how I missed racing!! I didn't even know I missed it until I raced yesterday and I miss all those little things that go with racing: the obsessing over "not eating fiber the night before," ...worrying about: blisters, having to go to the bathroom, starting out too fast, not finishing, sunburn, hurt muscles. Why on earth would someone race and worry about all this stuff and still have fun??? Because despite all of these little "what if's" something about a little competition that makes me push myself hard and finishing a race to me, is like someone else's "knit sweater, novel completed, picture painted, scrap book finished."....I can't do any of these other things, so racing to me is something that I enjoy and I may not always "PR," but each race is new to me, or I learn something different, it's always interesting and I love that aspect of it.

My race report: I like to do race reports according to time, rather than paragraphs, otherwise I could write for hours about the lady in front of me who was easily close to double my age yet she was still ahead of me (wahhh) =0.

5:30: alarm goes off, Soren is still sleeping
5:40: I have to pump before I leave (sorry TMI, but this is all part of racing as a parent!, er, um, or should I say a nursing mom!); put out breakfast items and get dressed.
6:10: we wake Soren up, he's smiling and ready to go
7:05: we arrive at the race start --yes, I know it's pushing it, the race started at 7:30, but this was actually brilliant timing because it was 41 degrees (FREEZING by SD standards, remind me to HTFU when we get to Boston).
7:15: I run into about four people I know and it reminds me----of how small the running/triathlon community is and it's fun to run into people I know....though secretly, I don't want to run with anyone because I don't want the responsibility of "talking," believe it or not it is incredibly difficult for me to "talk and run," (ask Amanda-it's the only time she's ever seen me quiet =0), and the whole time i'm running with someone i'm worried i'm holding them back.
7:25: I realize i'm supposed to be in Corral 2..does it matter?? I panic that Dave may screw up Dave's timing system since he knew I was in Corral 2, he'd miss me if I wasn't in the right spot....could I really keep up with Corral 2???
7:30: Corral 2....here goes..wow, a lot of serious looking people. I look serious right?
7:38'ish: Mile 1 done....slow down Mer---

*Now I go by miles*
Mile 1-6....awesome, I knocked these out in 53 minutes, less than a 9 minute mile...super happy with that!!

Mile 6....I knew at the start of the race I had to go to the bathroom, but didn't feel like missing the start and climbing my way from the back with walkers (nothing against walkers, it's just hard to run in between them!)....I see the huge hill on Hwy 101 that i've biked up many, many times.....and I had to go. Thinking: Can I make it to the top where there are probably more porto potties=less waiting....NO. Cannot make it to top. Must. Stop. NOW. I stop. One woman in front of me....lady in front of her zips out, good.....the lady in front of me....was...in the....bathroom....for OVER FOUR MINUTES. COME ON LADY, do what you have to do and GET OUT OF THAT F'ing BATHROOM!

I know, why was I flipping out?? The true athlete/competitor/Leporati (my maiden name: we don't like waiting for anything).......was coming out in me and I wanted to GO GO GO. Damn the stupid carne asada taco's I had yesterday, damn the fiber!!! What was I thinking? Of course, my lack in planning of meals has come back to haunt me. Grrr. Deal with it Mer!

I go in, I zip out. It has cost me SIX MINUTES....why is that a big deal? Stay tuned, you'll find out at mile 13.1

Mile 7: I look for Dave, no Dave...thinking Soren was probably hungry...Dave confirmed later that Soren was indeed hungry and he stopped at Jack N the Box because he knew they'd have hot water to warm up Soren's bottle....interestingly enough Jack N the Box ALSO has chicken nuggets which Dave is a fan of. AND they also have: Raspberry Diet Coke.---which Dave raved about as well. (as long as my sherpa is happy, i'm happy).

Mile 8-10: Feeling a little run down here but just putting one foot in front of another...my feet were a little sore, perhaps some longer training runs would've been a good idea. No regrets: I did the best I could with the time I had!

Mile 10: DAVE AND SOREN!! Cheering and taking pictures.......so good to see them!!! Reminded me of how lucky I am---and I couldn't wait to give them a hug at the end!

Mile 11: Go time....push harder.....

Mile 12: I see: MIKE AND ERIN!! Erin runs with me and I offer her the oppotunity to run the last mile--she declines gracefully =0 and I wave goodbye......and No reason not to sprint this last mile, legs are hurting and actually my lungs were hurting more (another missed inhaler moment.....ugh, I actually FORGOT I needed to use an inhaler, that's how long it's been!).

Mile 13.1: Finishing time: 2:05....and that my friends is why SIX minutes makes all the difference in the world! My previous post, I was wishing to finish in under 2 hours but I thought it was unrealistic...well, turns out if I had followed my usual nutrition plan, I wouldn't have lost six minutes and I would've finished in under 2:00! It's ok though, the point is, I loved racing again and i'm super pumped for the 2010 season!!

This race gave me a lot of confidence for what's to come.....I haven't officially started training for my season yet, 2/1/10 is my drop dead date...expect more stories and soreness to come!....I may find myself readjusting my goals as the season goes on, but the bottom line is: I have a season, I have a great team i'm a part of and i'm just really excited!

I even pulled out the old compression tights for a post-race recovery and gasp! They actually fit..thankfully compression tights are ...well, spandex, so they adjust well to different weights =0.

Thanks for reading!!!!

First post-pregnancy race: TOMORROW!

2010-01-23T23:06:00.000-05:00

Um, yeah, so apparently i'm running the Carlsbad Half Marathon tomorrow. Did I know this? Yes. Did I agree to this: Yes. Did I train: to the best of my ability? Yes.

However, the "mer method" varies greatly from the "Lovato method" and i'm very grateful that come February 1st i'll be following the Lovato method which assures me that i'll not only finish a race, but chances are, i'll be happy with the outcome.

Wow, this race snuck up on me. It goes to show that early season races are sometimes hard to get motivated to train for. Actually--I think a lot of it is just post-maternity "getting started." Truthfully, I put on a considerable amount of weight and unlike some women, I didn't "lose it all in the hospital" or, "in the first week I was home." I still have a few pounds to go--thankfully not many---but enough that I put on a bathing suit and i'm like "Oh." =0. So--even an extra few pounds makes it a little more difficult to run---but I will say in all the runs I have done, i've made them count. There have been a few races in the past that I *know* I could've trained harder for---in this case, I trained as hard as I could with the time I had. There were days I didn't remember falling asleep--but I got up and we went to the gym---and days that Soren wasn't napping well, but I fit in a quick run at some point. Like any other "job" you have good days when you parent and days that you wish went smoother.

Tomorrow will be interesting..my initial goal was to finish in 2:30---and after spending a week in Colorado with my mom and family---and only able to run twice--i'm just looking forward to "racing!".....and yeah, ok, so the selfish, pre-mom/post-mom in me, wants to break 2 hours, but let's not get crazy. Dave is going to be out cheering me on with Soren, and our friends Erin and Mike and possibly Marit---but I just haven't touched base with her just yet! Although I will be at her house for book club tomorrow night so either way she'll get an earful.

Last time I ran this race was with my friend Shannon, in 2008 and I had bronchitis and a guy said to me "wow, you look horrible," as I coughed and gagged my way through the race---I was thinking "gee, I already felt like shit, now I look like it too--awesome."

It's funny, I thought I would feel nervous and typically, I do....but i'm not sure if having a little one puts things in perspective in the sense that "i'm lucky that I was able to get in as many runs as I did--and i'm thankful to just be racing," or if i'm just plain trying to enjoy racing with no pressure. Where did the pressure come from before?? Maybe just general triathlon pressure of wanting to always improve and get faster. That sentiment is still there--but i'm just not as focused on it as I was before--because I know that would be putting unrealistic pressure on myself.

I'm so laid back about this tomorrow, Erin and Mike just called wanting to know where they could meet up with Dave and what time the race started and I ...didn't know. My check-in bag was still in the car from this afternoon! So..now, I actually have time to sit and think about the race and wonder what will unfold. First things first--i'm eating my "night before meal,"......: pasta with a little butter, cheese and blue cheese crumbles. Yes, I was so unprepared that I don't even have chicken at home right now which is usually my staple. Typically i'll have chicken and rice....not tonight! Tomorrow's breakfast--I forgot to get bagels..will probably be toast. I don't even have bananas!! Don't worry, i'll still somehow get in enough calories before the race, I just am not quite as organized!!

My goal for tomorrow is to not go out so fast and just start out sort of slow and then hopefully get faster as I warm up. It's supposed to be a little "chilly" here in San Diego..high 40's at the start (I know--you cold-state people hate me).

Speaking of cold states.....guess what?? The Navy finally decided that Dave is worthy enough to become a pediatric anesthesiologist....so, come August of this year we'll be moving to BOSTON!! =0. Super stoked about the new opportunities...however, I won't lie....it will be completely, 100% bittersweet leaving San Diego. We have met and some amazing friends here and it takes me a while to develop true friends, you know, the kind where you talk for hours and you lose track of time? Six years we've been here and I don't have endless friends, but the ones I do have----we always pick right up where we left off and that's the best feeling. I'm going to miss them something fierce---but I think i'm pretty good at keeping in touch---so I have faith that we'll be back to visit and friendships will continue. The fellowship at Boston Children's is only a year--so after that time, we could get sent back here to SD, or to Bethesda, MD or Portsmouth, VA (SD is our first choice, then Bethesda and I can't even talk about Portsmouth..I think I would cry).

There are a lot of cool things about Boston (and I won't mention the two New Years' I spent drinking out of scorpion bowls at a Chinese restaurant and waiting for a cab in 2 degree weather)..ahh, memories! But, I will mention that my entire extended family cousins, aunts/uncles are from the NY area and several of my family members are in the New England area, Boston included..plus, a few friends from college, and I have a few that are still in Virginia so i'm very much looking forward to taking advantage of seeing them more frequently while we're there.

And....hello....time to buy a new JCrew peacoat...and all things "wool-related,"....I smell a new opportunity to wardrobe shop!!!

Stay tuned for my race report..oh, and don't worry, I think Dave'll snap some shots, and maybe a few of me wearing one of my awesome new Trakkers visor!!! Woop!

Great Run!!

2010-01-13T20:21:00.000-05:00

Finally, a run I can post about that i'm excited about!! It was just seven miles, but almost all my miles were below a 9:30 pace and one was even a 8:56!! YEAHHHH!! Super excited about that. I felt great. I was scheduled (in my head) to run 9....but some sleep deprivation =0 prevented me from doing so---so....I just dialed in 7 and went with it!!! My new Saucony's really are awesome.....not too "pillowy" and just enough cushion!!!

9:34, 9:11, 9:19, 9:14, 9:15, 8:57, 9:04 =my mileage breakdown....SO excited!! Encouraging for me!

Yesterday, I knocked out another swim, 20x100....I need to move up to 2500 soon....but i'd like to work on speed. Why do I find myself thinking I need to go to master's swim...ugh. We need to get little Soren's sleep schedule figured out first, THEN I can schedule master's. Right now, his sleep is way more important!!!

I won't even go into full details, even though it's MY blog.....I actually don't even want to write about the sleep training because it's a personal decision (how/when/technique/no technique) and people have strong feelings about it and yes, it's my blog but I do tend to like to keep things somewhat light hearted. I will say, since birth, we've done the whole "no-cry" sleep method..rocking, soothing, walking, you name it...we've done it. Now we're at a point where Soren really *does not* sleep unless he is either A: held, or B: in a car seat (yay for travel, BOOOO for all the other times we need him to sleep!). So, we're attempting a modified "Ferber" mixed with "Healthy Sleep Habits, Healthy Child"....tonight is night two. I can't even post about night one....it was that difficult. However, I DO strongly believe that it is imperative that he learn to fall asleep on his own. We tried the other way and honestly it was a three hour process to get him to go to bed. Which we were ok with for a few months, but now that he combines that three hour process with waking every ninety minutes and won't fall back to sleep without another long process....it's exhausting. So, we're giving this a shot......

Anyway...so, due to some lack of sleep, I skipped any exercise today...hopefully tomorrow i'll get in a run, that's the plan. We have some packing to do....we're headed to Colorado on Friday and Soren and I will stay til next Thursday, Dave has to come back on Sunday...hanging out with my mom.....and just relaxing!!

No word on Boston.....getting so tired of "sitting on the edge of my seat" for a text from Dave....he is working at Kaiser this month so he has his email forwarded to him.....each morning he writes "No word yet" since he knows I wake up and I run to my phone...sad, but true =0. Come ON Navy, how hard is this? Jeez!

HUGE Thanks to TRAKKERS who sent me like four visors and a hat to wear for racing...they're awesome! I'll post a pic soon when I have a bit more time.....SO EXCITED to wear an item in support of my team!! YAY!!

Topics or ramblings?

2010-01-10T12:29:00.000-05:00

When I read most people's blogs they're short and to the point. I wish I was organized enough and had enough time these days to pick a "topic" and write a witty summary of thoughts. Unfortunately my blogging is now wedged between Soren's naps or trying to get to the gym and sleep! So, I don't have time to be witty and "one-topic-focused." So, you guys are in luck---one blog (mine) out of the many will be unfocused and all over the place, which, I guess is kind of a good thing because if you ever met me in person that is exactly how I talk--I jump from one subject to the next without much linking the two! My sister actually has a game that she plays, she has people give her five words and then she puts them all together in a sentence like I would =0.

Dave is on call today....it's a Sunday, yuck. Weekend call really sucks....though, if i'm honest, Sunday call is probably the best..Saturday is the worst. If he goes in at 7:00 a.m. Saturday, works the day and then has a bad night, it means Sunday he needs to sleep a lot--although truth be told--with Soren, neither one of us sleeps a whole lot, which would probably come as a surprise to our family since we're known for being the "sleepers." I blame Dave. =0

So, what's on tap for today. Well, on Friday I ran 5 miles on the tready---it was HARD..I kept staring at the 9:35 min. mile saying "how on earth did I ever run faster?", so I let myself walk for 30 seconds two times..that helped my motivation a little. The 2nd to last "lap" I ran at an 8:57 pace and the very last lap I did at an 8:15 pace--and it actually wasn't too bad. So, I saw a little glimmer of hope that soon, i'll be able to run 8:15 again at some point!! Maybe it was my new shoes: THESE... I'm loving the new shoes, they're comfy but not too cushiony. My old sneakers just felt like that..sneakers. These definitely are way more supportive, lighter and have a lot of zip. I've raced in almost everything: Mizuno for years, Brooks, Nike, Asics and now Saucony ---I really enjoy the Saucony's because they seem to balance cushion without feeling "boat-like" better than anything else i've ever worn.

Yesterday I ran 6 around Miramar Lake and it was easier than the 5 on the treadmill, go figure---my goal was to get up to 10 by the Carlsbad half, but looks like i'll have to settle for 9. Today is a swim day, truthfully because my legs need a break and all the parents out there will appreciate this--since Dave is on call, it's easier for me to go swim and then I can fit in a shower at the gym immediately since i'm already soaked, as opposed to coming home and trying to find time to shower!!! =0.

My last swim I knocked out a 20x100, I couldn't hold a fabulous pace, but I did it reasonably well. Today i'll aim for the same just maybe pushing a little harder!!

This was a boring blog post sorry!!

Happy New Year!

2010-01-06T23:39:00.000-05:00

I'm keeping this short, since once again I am so close to finishing my book club book (I have missed the last three books.). Wait, no, I have purchased the last three books, but every night "The Office," or "30 Rock" or re-runs of SVU capture my attention. Sad, I know. Or, The Biggest Loser! Just wait, once Lost comes back, i'm never going to read again.

All things are going awesome here for the most part...minus a little erratic sleeping habits by Soren, but as i've read, apparently "we" as parents are to blame. Hmph! Go figure. Anyway, as we figure things out on that end, my time is somewhat choppy. For example, his first nap was awesome today, just a quick, 30 minute nap. The next one, came like clockwork, an hour. Then, all of a sudden....he was crying when he should be happy and happy when he should be sleeping......spent three hours trying to get him to sleep....finally, I held him (I see you parents--all rolling your eyes)...whatever....until I can commit to do some sleep training, I gave in a little, then I put him down in his crib. The thing is, i've learned with him, he can really sleep *anywhere*, any pack n play, crib, doesn't matter...his sleep is still strange. We had him on a good pattern of, typically asleep by 8:00, he'd wake up once..about 2:30, eat and then wake at 7:00.....no idea what happened. I'm following some guidelines via books and trusty friends (HI LAUREN!) =0. I'm trying to give him some napping "regularity" before I jump into the nighttime sleep training. Though we are very very close to attempting this "training".....

You guys may have noticed that I added some cool links to the side of my blog!! What are those?? For those of you who are not into triathlon or really just have no idea what any of those links are--except maybe Saucony...go ahead and click on them, they....are......my 2010..SPONSORS! Yes folks, even old, new moms like me appeal to companies these days =0. Naw, just kidding--my new team--Trakkers---has several sponsors and so yes, they are my sponsors and they didn't just take pity on me! This is the first time i've ever had an opportunity like this to represent certain products and to promote a specific brand--and i'm very excited about it. So, from time to time in my blog, i'll talk about specific things i'm trying out. Currently--i'm working on narrowing down a specific Saucony shoe.....and i'm about to order some sports nutrition items from First Endurance....so excited!!

I'm contemplating doing a 5K on Saturday--we'll see, I haven't decided! My first race is in two weeks!! Racing the Carlsbad Half Marathon..hopefully it won't be an embarrassing start to 2010....I haven't been able to run as often or as long as I want, but the other day I accidentally ran 8 miles at Miramar Lake instead of 5....don't you love it when that happens?

I was running and literally dying, I think I even walked a little, I just wasn't feeling it and then, I look up and at the four mile marker--the gate was closed..which meant I couldn't go THROUGH the gate, I had to run back around. I wouldn't have minded it if I had water, but it was a stretch. Oddly enough, I wasn't as sore as I thought I was going to be.

I've been back to the pool a few times and i've done a spin class....need to get the cycling back up to speed. Marit has already told me she'd ride Mt. Palomar with me to get rid of the cobwebs. Fabulous--i'll take that IV now.

Off to read my book!!!

I'm blogging and I should be packing...

2009-12-23T01:31:00.000-05:00

Thank you guys for your thoughts on my mom...it's been a roller coaster..good and bad...unfortunately she won't be out of the hospital before Christmas..however, on a good note--today marked the first time I talked to her where my dad didn't have to translate (she was on so many pain meds earlier that it made it difficult to understand her)....and she was trying to eat pizza!! So, today was a very very good day, also marked by the fact that she doesn't have to have an additional surgery on her hematoma....and that will heal on its own. It changes day-to-day, but for real, today was a GOOD one!!

SO...what have I been up to? Well, I did a sports drills class on Friday that killed me....rendered me useless on Saturday. Then, Sunday I did a spin class. Where did my fitness go? Ugh, I had a lady wearing full make up who was keeping up with me. Just wrong. If you go to a spin class and you don't leave absolutely dripping you are DOING SOMETHING WRONG. AND if your butt is flying off the seat and your whole body is shaking you don't have the RESISTANCE UP HIGH ENOUGH. (sorry, small PSA) =0.

The guy next to me had an old crusty "Wildflower" water bottle....like a small one.....I was impressed, I was trying to drink the plastic off my B&L water bottle just for more water and that was 16 oz.....

Anyway, spin class was almost as painful as the treadmill, I kept hoping someone would come let me know that Soren was upset/crying/had a diaper...but to no avail...turns out he slept snuggly in a swing while I spun. I actually did thank him later.

We had our first "paid" babysitter on Sunday and it was so awesome.....we've had other people watch Soren, but this was an official first "sitter," he did great..I wasn't "worried," honestly, I just didn't want him to end up crying so we'd have to go home =0......and he didn't! She even said she'd come back! We went to the Nutcracker and then out to Saffron (YUMMY!)......with some friends. Super fun.

Now....i'm supposed to be packing for Arizona..we're headed to spend Christmas with Dave's family--should be fun----car ride isn't bad and I managed to piece some wrapping paper around gifts. I would call it wrapping, but it's not, I wrap like a three year old-like all jagged edges, nothing is even and sometimes if the pieces don't reach to cover the gift, I'll cut another piece to go over it. Classy, I know.

Oh.....so, I left off yesterday. Yesterday I didn't get to work out because my butt still hurt from spinning and I showed up at the Y at 1:45 forgetting AGAIN that childcare is closed from 2-3....and no way was I going back....this isn't Ironman training or anything =0.

So...today.....to make myself suffer. I ran on the treadmill. Six miles. Let me tell you, that's a lot of Paula Dean and Giada to watch on Food Network...it's the only thing I can watch since I don't need to "hear" waht they're saying and I can't wear headphones when i'm running (due to my hearing aid)....I came up with a great idea: "Biggest Loser: Chef's addition".....starring: Dean, Batali....it's a great idea isn't it??

I averaged a 9:40 pace...eh, not bad...I ran the last mile in under 9 minutes......speedy for me at this point....it hurts. My old "pace" of 8:20 is now my sprint. Any guesses on how long it'll take before it's my pace again? Marit always tells me not to focus on time? How can I not?

OK over and out, I really need to go pack!! Thanks for reading!!! Happy Holiday's and i'll write again soon!!

Wishing California and Colorado were one....

2009-12-19T00:23:00.000-05:00

My mom had major back surgery yesterday and no matter how strong anyone is, they never want to hear "intubate/ICU/transfusion" in relation to a parent--regardless if you've been told that is probably how the course of surgery will go..anyway...my mom's "4-6 hour surgery" ended up being 12. I'm not someone to exaggerate and I KNEW she would be fine....however, just something about that "what if".....what if something goes wrong, what if she has an idiot that messes up? You know, you only get one mom! Anyway, my entire family is in the Denver area, so i'm the only one "not." And ...it sucks sometimes...it really sucks. Yesterday was one of those "suck," days. There wasn't anything I could "do," and I know it was a long waiting day..but, still, I just wanted to be there and not here. My sisters and dad were awesome (my dad even had his cell phone ON..that's when you know it's a big event =0)......and they kept me totally in the loop...and that was terrific...I still wanted to be there though.

And, until I got to hear my mom's raspy voice today, I still wondered if she was really "ok."....She is, she's doing much better----she had a fusion and other random nuts and bolts put in her back since she has arthritis and scoliosis and no cartilage left in several discs, so the surgery was a very last resort after many other efforts. However, she ended up having an clotting disorder they didn't know about, which complicated things. Everything ended up smooth....and today, finally hearing her voice, I knew she was going to be fine. I told her I was crying and she told me I wasn't allowed =0. She has this little saying that she used to say to me when I was little and it is the cutest thing--she always says: "I love you til the numbers stop, and the numbers never stop.".....

Here are some pictures of my mom!! She'll kill me that i'm doing this--i'm sure she'll hate her hair or something =0.....but it's my blog right? =0.

My mom is the best....she had snacks for me after school while growing up, she gave me m&m's for doing my math flashcards, she made me my very own stocking with my name stitched on it (and she hates sewing), she gives us an ornament every year for our collection, she makes her own cards/jewelry and gives it away even though she could make a fortune selling it, she makes things and helps people out that aren't always all that nice in return, she has a smile for everyone---always, people who meet my mom always ask "does she ever have a bad day?" (sure she does, but she usually chooses to be happy). She has supported me in every decision i've ever made, she has taught me that sometimes the right thing isn't always the easiest, you start what you finish and you can't sweat the small stuff (even though I try really hard to =0)....she always seems so patient and if I could be a quarter of the mom she has been to me....then, I will have succeeded. Love you mom--get better soon, you've got some grand kids to chase after!

6 "speedy" miles...

2009-12-17T00:15:00.000-05:00

Sorry, falling off the update wagon again already! Having trouble finding a few minutes to blog!! This past Sunday was an awesome day...because I ran 6 miles without the jogging stroller and I managed to hold a 9:30 somewhat pace.....very excited. So, i'm basically now running a pace that I ran for a very very long time..i'm hoping it won't take me too long to break into the "8:00's"....we'll see. I know, it's unrealistic of me to expect to just "burst" into speed (even then, 8:00/minute miles i'm sure by some standards aren't fast..but for me, they're blazing!).......but, I do like to move along quickly!

My goal for the Carlsbad Half Marathon is 2 1/2 hours....I think I can do it!! We'll see!

In other developments....we're still in limbo about Boston..very long story, but basically the Navy is still deciding whether there is a slot for Dave or not for 2010..if not, we've been told that we *may* be able to stay in San Diego for a year and go to Boston in 2011....a decision, WHATEVER it is, at this point would be nice. I'm ok with waiting, but when you give me a date....i'd like a decision. Go figure..the military..no surprise there =0.

Ran five yesterday and five today.....tomorrow I think i'm going to hit up a spin class...I really need to get the cycling back in action!!!

I'm super excited, along with my new team, i'll be purchasing a new ride...it'll be from Kestrel....check them out!!

And...as far as other very cool supporters..it's looking like Saucony *may* be helping us out as well.....so, check out their site for awesome goods!

I'm still debating whether i'll be able to attend one of the Rev3 races..a lot depends on our whereabouts and our move/no move schedule....i'd love to at least attend the race if I can't race it myself!!! It really looks like it'll be family friendly. The one in Ohio--my friend Lisa from around the corner is from Michigan and spent many a summer in Cedar Point, OH.....she said it's really fun, right on Lake Erie....perfect for families if you ask me!

Alrighty, as for now, not much going on....we have Soren hopefully down for the count..can't do "sleep training" yet, as he's too little, but as for now we currently have 9:00-10:00 p.m. to ourselves hehe..any hour before then is still up in the air!!

Thanks for reading...stay tuned...hoping to hit a spin class in the a.m....we'll see how that goes!! Today I dismantled Soren's car seat to clean it..and couldn't put it back together (d'oh!)...so I was stuck home all day..thankfully Dave came home early and I busted out with a solo run before dark!!

Thanks for reading!

First swim!! And..an updated picture of Soren =0

2009-12-11T19:59:00.000-05:00

So...today it was raining and Dave is post-call, which means I had plenty of time to get a manicure and pedicure before Dave's Christmas party tonight...both boys are sleeping right now, so I have time to quickly blog before getting in the shower (8 minutes to be exact) =0.

And.....I found time to SWIM. Yes, folks it has been SIX months since I swam..June to be exact. I think finally in June I just didn't have the energy to find a maternity "Swim" suit..sure I had a two piece suit, but the one day I tried to wear that and push off the wall, I nearly gave the Miramar Marines a good show....so, I was cheap and decided, no swimming post June.

How'd it go? GREAT actually! I'm sort of the opposite of some people, my form is actually better after taking time off.....when i'm tired and lazy and not motivated-that's when my form goes....so, today I just swam a mile----and did some pulls, kicks and straight swims....felt really good. Not particularly fast, but just solid. My shoulders were aching until the first 400 and then I settled into a rhythm. YAY! Now, I just have to figure out a way to incorporate biking again---i'm thinking a spin class tomorrow..depending on how my two glasses of wine sit with me tonight! Ha! My tolerance is hilarious after being pregnant...one medium sized glass of red wine..I am good to go!!

We have our friends, Kathleen and Ben coming to watch Soren! His first non-family babysitters! Actually---they're practically family....but, anyway, i'm so thrilled he has someone awesome to watch him and I've set up some dinner and hopefully Soren will behave for a few hours!!! Must go hit shower here are a few Soren pics.....we have hundreds..so stay tuned for more from time to time..he is smiling, coo'ing, holding his head up and all those cute things!!

Six miles!!

2009-12-10T23:27:00.000-05:00

I figured out in order for me to keep my blog regular, I have to be "ok" with writing short messages rather than feeling pressured to write one, huge, long note....so here goes!! Some days will just be a summary of what is going on and other days may be longer, depending on my mood and well, how much sleep Soren gets during the day. Lately, it's been a lot of "snaps" (snap naps) =0.

Today was interesting went like this: up at 7:00 and I gave Soren a bath and was out the door by 9:00 to get to the 9:30 a.m. spin class.....got there at 9:20.....and there was a wait for the child care center..ugh. I had my favorite employee check to see if there were any spin bikes left.....there were 7. By 9:45 I said screw it, and went home....at this point, Soren was hungry again and I couldn't exactly run in padded shorts on the treadmill. Some days pan out better than others...the thing is, I have to somewhat coordinate with Soren's "eating schedule"..i'm nursing, and I do use a bottle if we have a babysitter or if i'm going to be out for a while so Dave can feed him, but for the purpose of the "gym" i'd rather not waste a bottle on that.....only because I can't pump as much as I need to because i'm around Soren all the time---so leaves little time for pumping (sorry, TMI, just read over this part next time =0) but it's a part of my training and it has to be figured in!! =0

So....I went back home and guess what? Decided to knock out six miles for the first time. Mission accomplished WITH the jogging stroller....and, someone decided to sleep long enough for me to come home, eat lunch, take a bath, swiffer vac the floor =0, and fix up my toes so I can go get them painted tomorrow for the Christmas party at Dave's work...Oh..yeah and I shaved for like the first time in eons =0.

Tomorrow there is rain in the forecast, so i'm contemplating hitting a spin class or swimming...Dave will be post-call and so I won't have to adhere to any specific schedule.

I did go to "swim" the other day and realized I can't even FIND my goggles...and i'm down to one swim cap..Thank you Ironman for making the cheapest swim caps ever..it ripped like on my third wear of it in the Spring when I attempted to swim many weeks pregnant.

Thankfully Marit carries a million pairs of goggles and swim caps!!! So, tomorrow i'll be well outfitted!
Aha, Soren has awoken.....let the night begin.....good night!

Back in Action

2009-12-05T23:08:00.000-05:00

I know...I keep promising to blog and then I never do. I guess my problem is, I like writing long blogs, but I realize now that I can probably write just a few paragraphs a day and i'd be satisfied! My time is certainly more limited with a little Soren around, and now that he's getting older and realizing that "Hey, I have a mom and sometimes she sneaks out of the room to get a glass of water while i'm under my playmat" (enter a cranky noise). =0. SO! What I think i'll do is blog at night when Dave is home, that way I get some time to myself and I can update my thoughts!

Several developments here....firstly, I joined a YMCA so now Soren has a place to go when I workout and it gives me a chance to really get in a good workout. I can't leave the Y to go running or anything, but as I discovered today, I can kick my own ass on the treadmill with a treadmill workout. I'll be paying for it tomorrow, but it's funny how I "miss" being sore. Soren did great at his first Y childcare hangout. I walked in and there he was just hanging out in an exersaucer. I didn't even realize he was big enough for that yet---we have one, I just wasn't sure if he'd be able to hold up his head..but he is!

Another development--I have a more solid "race" season, i've decided to add some triathlons as well as running. I'm kind of like that song "and the cat came back, he just couldn't stay awayyyyy." Am I the only one that remembers that song from elementary school? Anyway---so in addition to running, i'll be returning to the tri community! And with that, I am super excited to share that i'm going to be a part of a team for the very first time in my "triathlon career" =0. I got the word on Friday that i'll be a part of Team Trakkers!! I am SO excited about this opportunity mostly because i've never been a part of a true tri team before and I think it will be a really fun experience. In talking with Trakkers---they already seem super supportive--especially of my "new mom" status and seem flexible enough with races which is great because as much as I am returning to the sport, I need to be realistic in how much racing I can do--there are several sponsors that support Team Trakkers---which you'll hear me talk about from time to time in my blog. Some of the sponsors i'm familiar with, others i'm getting to know, but am thrilled to have the opportunity to learn more! I just think it's an awesome opportunity as an amateur to have the support of companies behind you--and the more I can help out with supporting them--they can support me in return. Kind of a "win win" if you ask me!

I do need to give a huge "thank you" to Michael Lovato for supporting me in my Team Trakkers endeavor---he was a super huge help-probably more than I know-- and I promise to race hard or stay home =0 hehe.

OK..so, what's up for 2010?? Here goes:
*Carlsbad Half Marathon
*St. Patty's 10K
*Superseal Triathlon (olympic)
*San Diego Rock N Roll Marathon (hoping to qualify for Boston..we'll see)
*San Diego International Triathlon
*Vineman 70.3
*Possibly one of the Rev3Tri Series races

The Rev3Tri Series races are group of races ranging from the olympic distance-full Ironman distance and the whole idea behind the races is more "family friendly". So, you know you go to a typical triathlon and it's sort of all about the "athletes" racing. Rev3 is "revolutionizing" so to speak, the way triathlons are "done." Here is an excerpt from the Rev3 race site to give you an idea: the Revolution3 race series was created to change the way athletes, family members, and spectators view and participate in triathlons of all distances. One of our immediate goals is to make triathlons a more interactive, enjoyable experience for spectators by providing fun activities for children and family members during the race. Revolution 3 is about change! Change for the age grouper, change for the professional athlete, and change for the spectators.

Sounds like an awesome plan to me---maybe my family and friends will actually get some food at races now =0 hehe.

My only issue is the timing--i'll have to figure out which of the shorter races would work out with my schedule.....stay tuned. Regardless, the Rev3 series looks terrific and one of my worries as a new mom is that bringing my child to a race may not be the most fun for them----and the more "family friendly" a race is--the more spectators and parents that may be drawn to the sport of triathlon!

I will also do some of the Fiesta Island Time Trial series which I love and some Tri Club San Diego races.....and Aquathlons. I'm really really excited to return to racing....this year will be a different approach, obviously with our little monkeyman--it'll take some creative training and i'm ok with that-I just love racing and with team support now, I think it'll be even more motivating to train hard!

Also, there is a possibility we may be moving to Boston, MA for a year--Dave got accepted into a pediatric anesthesiology fellowship for one year at Boston Children's hospital, so we are currently waiting to see if the Navy will approve it...decision to arrive in two weeks. I'm "ok" with it now, after a few tears and stomped feet...i'm over it. Yeah, I know, Boston is "the greatest thing since sliced bread" according to people who live in the East coast. Remember folks, I grew up in Virginia, I've spent time in Boston. It isn't the "city" that i'm anxious about...it's the general "living somewhere for a year, who will want to be friends with me for a year" feeling. I anticipate a new love for my bike trainer and treadmill during that time.

Then again, I guess I could also sign up for Rhode Island 70.3 and possibly Timberman =0.....ahhh, East coast racing! Possibilities are endless. Though I may skip out on Syracuse 70.3...seriously? My friend rowed in that lake and it's supposed to be nasty....so, I think i'll pass on that!

Random ramblings here....I am off to bed soon---just wanted to share fun new stuff, mostly about Trakkers and getting started with training again. "Real" training will commence on 2/1/10 with Amanda ...so stay tuned for my usual "whine now, thankful later" postings =0.
Cheers!

Hello World! My name is Soren!!!

2009-09-17T16:35:00.000-04:00

These pics are all out of order..sorry!! The first one is very recent! Working on head control =0
Sleeping on dad..minus a sock =0
Wop! Take that toy!
My sister, Dawn, holding him--she was the first person to hold him other than Dave and I--(and nurses)...you can see how tiny he is. This is a special picture, as we had just been told that his levels for jaundice had gone up and he would need to spend time in the nursery.....so, the nurse handed him to Dawn to hold before we put him under the lights..
At home...in his bouncer...chilling and yawning (about 3-4 weeks old)
4 weeks..
3 weeks
3 weeks
The day after we came home from the hospital
Under the lights.....little guy....
Hi dad!!
Minutes old...
Snuzzled!!

So..guess who arrived a little early, four days after my last post?? Little Soren Anders Trowbridge was born on August 20th, at 11:25 a.m...he weighed 6lb, 7oz and was 18 1/2 inches long.....we spent a few days in the hospital due to a blood-type specific jaundice he had (not the typical jaundice--much more severe).....he is exactly four weeks old today and doing simply fabulous! My delivery was awesome---my water broke on the 19th--went to the hospital, they did an ultrasound and the little guy was head down, (yayy!), after a few hours of walking to move the contractions along, I opted for pitocin (I mean really, I was walking up and down the same hallway, Dave and I roughly calculated like two miles of walking) and finally I was like "ok, let's get him moving"....Pitocin it was....and then I finally cried uncle about two hours later and requested an epidural. We all have our opinions, mine was "epidural NOW". Honestly kids--I couldn't stomach the pain anymore--I was only at 3 centimeters and I was biting my knuckles and trying to picture myself doing something really painful to get through it (I pictured a track workout).

Trust me, no track work out could ever compare to contractions!

Once I got the epidural I could sleep a little...and then around 11:00 am. the nurse said "WOW, you are 10 centimeters dilated and his head is right there, it won't take you long. I thought to myself "I wonder how many women she says that to just to get their minds off labor". Well, my favorite doctor came back in (SUPER excited I got Dr. French, she's super awesome and I was thrilled!)......and she said "ok, get ready, set, push" and Dave goes "she can't feel her contractions" ......so, they just told me when to push. Annnd, 3 series of pushes (about 18 minutes) and he was out!! I couldn't believe it! It really DIDN'T take long at all!!

His arrival was amazing....life as we know it has been changed, obviously for the better =0....he spent a few days in the hospital and was a rough few days, he had to be under lights in a nursery and we could only hold him every 3 hours when I fed him--and his feedings weren't great that early on because he was early his eating behaviors weren't as strong as a full-term baby, so we had to work really hard to get him to eat (bottle/formula).....since we've left the hospital, no formula and he does get an occasional bottle from dad.....so--it was a very rough few days, it was very difficult to not be able to hold him, he would just lay there--and all I wanted to do was take him home. Thankfully by the 24th we got the "ok" that his levels had gone down enough to take him home. Over the few days he was there they went up and down a few times, so finally he was stable. It gave me a tremendous insight to parents who have babies in the NICU....I was incredibly thankful that his illness was not something that would progress or turn deadly-as we had caught it in time (his levels hit a 17 on the scale and 20 is when they start talking about brain damage/deafness)..so we were very thankful to finally have located a pediatrician that knows what they're doing (an entirely different blog post in and of itself).....

At the hospital, my oldest sister flew in the day after he was born and that was monumental for me, Dave and I really needed the extra support, but we didn't have the energy to have a TON of people around, my sister Dawn was perfect, she stayed at our house, took care of our dogs, took me to get food, just sat with us.....it was a difficult time, but a special time, one that i'll always be thankful that she was able to come out at the drop of a hat..and a HUGE thank you to my brother-in-law who took time off from work and watch my nieces/nephew so that my sister could come out! Dave's parents also came to the hospital which was awesome and they stuck around for two days and it was perfect.

It's funny, the first four weeks are a blur somewhat, a good blur, but they're definitely centered around feedings, and that sort of thing. The second day we had him home he went to Costco =0 and then since then we've taken him out everyday--I don't want him to be one of those little ones who "Doesn't like their car seat" ugh.....that is my worst fear! I'm too busy to have a little one that can't sit in a car seat! So, he does really well in his seat.....and it was wonderful having my mom out for two weeks---she came the day after we got home from the hospital--and she just was super awesome, helping us figure out why he was crying etc.

Honestly, he really doesn't cry all that much! He cries and there is something "wrong" he typically doesn't cry for no reason...we're pretty lucky..he's a sweetheart. So, now he is FIVE weeks old! And yes, this the first time i've had to sit and blog!! He's growing like a weed and eating well and doing all the cute little things he does.

We are very lucky parents and I couldn't ask for a more perfect gift!!

How am I doing?? Really well! It's tiring, but once you get up a few times during the night, it's really no big deal. I'd still rather get up at 3:30 and feed him than wake up for master's swimming..hehe!

Speakkkking of.....what am I doing?? Well, I started walk/running 4-weeks post partum. I have QUITE a few friends who have injured themselves returning to training too early after their children were born, so I am taking it easy. So, i'll walk/run until I get the "OK" from my OB at 6 weeks than i'll hit up the full run. I'm also doing some resisitance band/stability ball work while i'm at home. Gyms around here don't do daycare until the little ones are 6 months, so getting to a gym isn't feasible....so I am doing workouts at home..and then cardio with Soren at the lake or Dave hangs with him while I go! Slowly but surely.

From a physical standpoint, I gained almost 40 pounds with Soren (and for all you naysayers...I really DID gain that much, regardless of how I looked =0)...I hid it well with skirts and pants =0.......it was all in my thighs, so the resistance band and wall squats and lunges are good for me right now to get the muscle back up!

I can barely do 5 pushups by myself, so I do some girlie ones and then regular ones! It'll take time, but i'm signed up for the Carlsbad Half marathon in January...my goal for 2010---qualify for Boston at the Rock N Roll Marathon here in San Diego in June.....there, I said it, now I just have to go "git it"......

I'll try to post more as time goes on, I loved reading other peoples blogs post-pregnancy..it's just really hard to find the time!!! OH and for the person wondering when my next Ironman is...probably when my kid(s) are grown---I value the training too much to do it half assed..let's face it, i'm not a "5 hour a week" training person. I know the amount of time it takes to train the way I want--20-25 hours a week and I don't think i'll have that kind of time until my kids are older----since I anticipate going back to work in February.....even part time... so, for now, running is it....I think I may want to do a half Ironman next year, but Ironman, a whole other animal!!

Thank you ALL for your wishes!! Here are some pictures!!

Look who's bloggin! =0

2009-08-16T17:35:00.001-04:00

Yeah, so I am WAY behind here!! Shocker....I keep saying to Marit I don't know why i'm not blogging, I guess i'm just not that inspired? I think I found my training to be way more exciting than writing about whether Koala Baby travel yard sheets will fit our pack n play, or does Plus One really need anymore onesies??

So, let's do a recap since the last blog post! We had our BBQ/Baby Shower here at the very end of June, it was super awesome, all family members in attendance, friends and just a general good time--no games =0.....it was perfect! July somehow zipped by, I did a considerable amount of work, and then we capped off July with a family reunion on my side at Lake Tahoe...AWESOME! My doctor suggested I fly instead of drive..no problem there....and of course my flying didn't go unnoticed by a rather rude flight attendant who was male and wanted to know if I was ready to "pop" (and said this with a rather disgusted look on his face as though I was already feeding my kid McDonalds).....and I said "no, i'm not, I have a few more weeks, but thanks for your congrats" =0. I mean, ask me for my doctor's note or ask how far along I am, but to be rude? Not necessary!

Tahoe rocked---I spent much of my time deciding between Oreo's and Dorito's and deciding which of two tank tops I would wear that day, since yes, that's right folks, we're at that time when things are jusssst not quite fitting over the belly anymore. In fact, I went to Target today and caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror and thought "when did I become that person who left the house without makeup, shirt that doesn't fit and hair that is dying to be washed?" hmmm! Mental note to work on that! =0

So, yes, Tahoe was much needed for Dave and I --and any time you get a group of 26 people that actually enjoy each other enough to share ONE house for an entire week.....it's pretty amazing. Then again the house was like 6,000 square feet and on the market for 5.5 million and right on the lake, so we weren't exactly "camping." Although there were "bear" signs and "do not steal/use/touch/look at the neighbors' water toys" signs all over, that we were so scared when my dad pulled out his back water skiing that we were afraid to use the neighbors dock to get him back safely. Ridiculous.

Kind of all over the place here! Ahh, so HOW is Plus One? Well, the little guy is doing great, i'm feeling pretty good, turns out the altitude is not kind to ankles, but since our return my ankles and feet are no longer swollen. However....the little guy is transverse. Yes, I was given the option for a "version" to turn him, however the research I did left me with an underwhelmed feeling about it, with such a low success rate (I KNOW some people have had success) but unfortunately from my research this is NOT the norm. Most people I talked to ended up in an emergency c-section. So, for now we have a c-section scheduled for 9/1/09 and if he turns before then (they'll do an ultrasound that very day) then they'll cancel the c-section and let me go naturally (er, um, ok, vaginally with the distinct possibility of an epidural, who am I kidding?).

It took me some time to get to the point where I was "ok" with this, I had to go through the whole "wahhh, no movie scene where my water breaks/I hit Dave, he falls out of bed and we rush to the hospital"....but, really, if he isn't turning, there may be a reason and i'd rather not push it. I'm great with endurance pain....acute physical pain, not so much.

I have tried various things to get him to flip: frozen food on my stomach, playing music down low, laying on an ironing board upside down with music playing low and a light shining on my stomach to get him to move "towards the light" (seriously)...and I did flips in the water at Lake Tahoe.....to no avail.

Anyway, it's a personal decision and I just feel better about it! One of the pediatric anesthesiologists that works with Dave, she's had four kids all vaginally, and she's a big runner and she said "I think he's doing her a favor, if he doesn't come out via the birth canal then that whole area pretty much stays in tact, sure she'll have the c-section healing but she won't have to worry about the possibility of pee'ing herself when she runs in the future." and THAT folks, is definitely the "bright" side of things. So, thank you Dr. Bachstahler for perking me up a bit =0 hehe.

Lots of other random funny things, like Marit burst out laughing when I showed her how loose my shoes were tied, it looks like they're just bubbles on my feet, I can't bend low enough to tie them tight....speaking of running shoes.

How is Mer's exercise? Non existent folks...yes, I know, how awful. Did you ever think I would write that? In fact I laughed in the doctor's face when she said that they encourage at least 20 minutes of walking everyday...I asked if that could be within Old Navy, GAP or Target....she sort of looked amused. Because he is sitting so high it's hard for me to breathe, so i'm not thrilled with doing anything really at this point. So, I DO walk when it's A: not hot, B: when I feel like it and C: when I remember...hehe, yes, ANY excuse to get out of exercising. There, I said it.

However, I am SO excited to get out for walks once the little guy arrives.....i'm just sort of savoring my "taper" right now.

Ok, so it may sound crazy to compare pregnancy to ironman training, but, it's really sort of similar if you think about it. For example, when I used to picture my ironman finish before I actually did it, I would tear up....and today I pictured our son arriving and I teared up. The same right? Hehe, (JUST kidding).

But, physically, I do feel like i'm in a "taper" right now---taking care of myself, making sure my "transition" bags are packed for the hospital, the car seat base is installed (much like bike maintenance only WAY more confusing), I have "nutrition" (er, that would be baby wipes/diapers).....and his "podium finish" outfit for him coming home! See! Just like Ironman! Hehe.

I really can't wait, i'm so excited, I don't even care if I sleep and I know I won't...really, I really could care less...I just want the little guy to arrive NOW. We can't wait to meet him and hold him and see his little personality!!

Stay tuned!
PS: yes, i'm racing in the later half of 2009. The Jingle Bell 5K to be exact..hehe...it's in December. Then, next up: Carlsbad 1/2 Marathon. Amanda thinks i'm nuts, she wants me to be patient and see how things go with the baby.....unfortunately i've already decided i'm doing these things =0

I promise to be better!!

2009-06-17T19:58:00.001-04:00

Here I am! A month later.....still haven't blogged. I had lunch with Marit and I was telling her funny baby belly, competitive walking, stuffy stroller stories and she's like "YOU HAVE to blog about that, I swear it's hilarious".....and I admit, this time in my life has led to some hilarity....is that even a word? Anyway...here I sit, nearly 29 weeks pregnant and it's fun, I have to admit, I don't mind the big belly, I don't mind wearing clothes that kind of don't match because i'm too cheap to buy *another* tank top since the previous sizes now no longer fit over my stomach, I don't mind that I get up every 2 hours when i'm sleeping to pee, I don't mind that I haven't ridden a bike since Obama took office, I don't care that I still get that determined competitive face when i'm just "walking".........because really, when I sit for a second and little Plus One starts moving--just to remind me that it isn't beer weight that is making the scale tip this time, it's hopefully a very cute snuggly little guy who hopefully will be as prompt as his mom when it comes to delivery =0.

Ok, so it is it ALL roses?? NO, of course not, nothing in life is, but like everything else in life, i've learned, women who complain excessively in pregnancy....*usually* complain excessively about life in general.

Case in point: my friend Jill just had a beautiful baby boy.....he arrived at 9lbs, 10 oz and 23, yes TWENTY THREE inches long.....now Jill is one of the funniest people I know (Lauren, you're a close second =0) and during her pregnancy she got asked repeatedly if she was having twins because she was measuring like at 46 weeks when she was only 35 weeks or something ridiculous like that......and she was checked twice a week for months due to excess fluid.....fast forward to her delivery..they shut OFF her epidural before she actually started pushing, she pushed for over 2 1/2 hours and did NOT have a c-section.....and when I finally talked to her, she was cracking jokes and she said the nurses kept saying "wow, I think you're being sarcastic and funny." So, my point here is, people who take things in stride or are able to "weather" difficult/hard moments, typically I think handle pregnancy better.

I get tired of people raining on my parade, reminding me of how little sleep i'll get, how my body will never be the same, my time won't be my own and my personal favorite is: you'll rarely travel. My response to that is: usually along the lines of "everyone is different and you know what i'm OK with adjustments because in the end like I said i'll have a little guy running around."

I guess you know you're ready for parenthood when you get defensive about your choice of wanting to have kids. I never ever give people a hard time for NOT having kids, whatever their reasons are....I actually encourage it, if you don't want kids, then don't have them.....it really affects me ........oh wait, it doesn't affect me at all! But, when I tell you we're excited to have kids, please don't start listing all the awful things that we have to look forward to, because really, all you're repeating is the negative stuff that unhappy parents or parents who had kids too early/too late, whatever are saying to you. Just have a little faith in Dave and I that we were so excited to make this decision and we couldn't be more excited!!

So....like I said pregnancy isn't all roses, but really it's such a short amount of time..and yes, i'm guilty of missing ice baths and long runs..there I said it, but it'll all come back in good time....I just want to savor the "time" that i'm in right now!

I started running again at 25 weeks and then I realized last week at 27-28 weeks it was a bit much, just harder to breathe and physically I just cannot do it anymore. So, now it's back to competitive walking and ellipticizing....and I dragged myself back to the gym to get working on my arms again. I have nixed swimming since like February......I don't know why, but I realize now I need to get back into it! Actually i'm rather enjoying these "40/60" minute workouts as opposed to being gone on my bike for hours, i'm ok with it!

I've learned a lot about decision-making as parents.....what crib/stroller/glider(rocker)/car seat should we get??

SHIT who knew there were SO many options. GEEZ! We got our stroller/car seat earlier this week and I have a confession, I can no longer make fun of people with ridiculous strollers....we got the Bugaboo Cameleon..and before I get flamed for this purchase, let me just say that I know everyone out there has a Graco Travel System, but....when I looked at them, they were too heavy for me, not very ergonomic and honestly they look like they're going to fall apart with all the plastic on the stroller..... my sister's barely lasted her through her first baby and then the wheels fell off. What I liked about the Bugaboo is that it comes apart, it's pretty lightweight and it's simply a frame so there isn't much damage to be done. Plus their customer service is supposed to be excellent so if we do have a problem, we can send parts back etc...so, I used to make fun of people for this stroller......now I own one. I've become "one of them," I guess as long as I don't start walking around the lake in wedge heels I can still fend off some of that "image." What's even funnier about this story is I tried to show Dave other strollers.....but he loved the simplicity and the easiness of the Bugaboo, and he was sold. Talk about marketing =0. But, we literally went back and forth to the baby store like five or six times, JUST to analyze the stroller. Ridiculous. I know. However, we're thinking about having possibly three kids, and i'd rather not purchase more than one "full sized" stroller. Er, ok, other than the Bob Ironman stroller which we registered for =0......anyway, last night, Dave assembled it, since I rendered myself useless in all mechanical reasoning ---since I put several things on backwards. So, we assembled it, pushed it through the house and then we thought "it does kind of look "showy"....sigh. Oh well, hopefully it'll last the way we want it to and we'll get our money's worth!

I'll save another post for baby furniture and the glider...oh man, who knew a rocking chair was such a big deal? I sat in cheap ones, expensive ones and finally found one at the same baby store--I swear Dave and I alone are funding some kids college education at that baby store.

SO: all major things have been purchased and ready to roll. Now we just need him to get here =0. Ok, so I can wait a little bit longer!

We have our first baby class tomorrow night......how much do we possibly need to know??? I'll report back. I promise!

Oh, and pictures to come, our shower is next weekend so i'll post pictures then!

The Grove 5k (er, 2.88 mile) RACE REPORT =0

2009-05-26T21:29:00.000-04:00

Yeah, so my friend Erin is training for Ironman Arizona....she was also one of the girls that came out to cheer me on in my own IMAZ adventure and we're in a book club together and our husbands are both in "anesthesia class" together (as I like to call it)....anyway, she sent me an email saying that she knows i'm not running really anymore, but that there was this really cool 5k race at UCSD and it was all about sustainability and their triathlon club was sponsoring a race that was completely "green," and all that jazz.....was I in?

I thought quickly about our plans for Saturday, we had to head up to the OC for Dave's brother's graduation weekend, but Dave had to go in to work Saturday morning for a bit. So, YEP! I was free. 5k at 25 weeks.....sounded reasonable to me. I could walk it and just take my time.....and just have fun with it.

Seriously, who was I kidding?? Have "fun" with it. Right.

My "race report" makes me laugh I was constantly comparing my "morning ritual" that I performed on Saturday with all the other pre-race rituals i've done. By far..Saturday was the BEST.

The race started at 9:00, I was meeting Erin at 8:15. Typically I would probably get up at about 6:30-have some oatmeal, no orange juice, slather on sunscreen, stretch, pick out a visor, clean off my sunglasses, stretch some more, get to the race start at 7:45 or so, do some stride outs.

Saturday went like this: My alarm went off at 7:15 (and I was a wee bit tapped from celebrating with Stephen and Sassy Shan at their fabulously smart PhD party the night before at Dussini, nevermind we got home at 10:30, I was still tired =0). So I rolled over and went back to bed, woke up at 7:40. Yikes, I was late already. I down some cereal with milk and orange juice. Milk and OJ a recipe for disaster in a typical race for me. I was already late. Parked in the parking garage and had to haul ass for maybe a half mile? I was late so I decided to run to the start area....not bad!

Met up with Erin and we chatted and before long we were lining up on the track. It was a small race maybe 150 people? I told Erin to go ahead and I was just standing there, not really nervous, just excited to have a different "venue" to "race" at! I stood there wondering how fast I could really walk a 5K, then I wondered if people would make snide comments about being pregnant and in a 5K.....I just thought "well, just walk and see how you do."

Someone started the race and everyone took off....I mean..EVERYONE. Everyone was running....I was like "wait, isn't SOMEONE walking?". Then I thought "f* it, i'm running." I ditched my walk and off I went .....about an 11:30 pace. We did one lap around the track and then up a small hill.....where I was still getting passed by people.

I turned around and...

I was LAST. LAST people, dead....F'ing last!!! I chuckled...and said "Ok, Mer, you are 25 weeks pregnant you really do NOT need to be finding your competitive spirit at this point," my next thought "whatever, there is a woman up there in a tennis skirt (I KNOW what a running skirt looks like, this was NOT one of them) and she was also wearing an SDBC bike jersey and shoes that looked like they were for gardening. She...was...going.....down. *Cue catty music* where was this coming from? Seriously, Mer, just enjoy the walk, it's a chilly day, just have fun with this.

I can't, I can't do it.....I was after "skirt/bike jersey woman." I couldn't really catch her in the beginning because she was quite zippy as it turns out. D'oh. At the one mile mark, people started to walk and I was like "a-ha!!" I have found myself amongst those that have the endurance to do the mile, but can they hack it for 3.1??? *cue more competitive mean music*....(I realize i'm being a tad ridiculous but I secretly enjoyed that they had to slow down to walk) and I was hoping when I "flew" past them at my rapid 11:30-12:30 pace that they would say "Hey, she's pregnant and i'm not letting a pregnant woman beat me."

I carried on and the eucalyptus grove was an awesome place to run, not flat really, but such an interesting and really pretty run. I was so focused on catching skirt/bike jersey woman that I forgot about the possibility of rattlesnakes...but I was careful enough to walk down some of the paths that were rocky (not worth risking Plus One right!?).......

Finally, I see skirt/bike jersey woman, I pass her for good and catch a few others along the way.....I see Erin at the top of this little hill waiting for me (she backtracked after finishing since she's like super fast) and she's like yelling next to me "GO MER GO!" and we see a few people and she's shouting to people (all four of them along the finish line) =0 "she's running for two!" I say "you are SO DEAD Erin!"......I seriously didn't need the shout out, but it was cute =0.

As it turns out it was 2.88 miles and I finished in 35 minutes! Didn't care about my time at all, what I did love is that I BEAT skirt/bike jersey woman! It may sound catty, but it just reminds me that I really do love racing and even if it's little milestones like picking a person to pass, it's all fun for me! And as it turns out, I felt GREAT running, so yesterday Dave ran with me around the lake about 4 miles.......it took me about 50 minutes but I was running! So, I guess running is "back on" for now...but it's not an everyday thing and I just do it when I feel like it.

My friend commented the other day that she thinks it's funny how i'm such a "swimmer" and i'm not swimming, but RUNNING. So true. Who knew? I guess at this stage in my pregnancy I want the fastest workout possible and running always makes me work the hardest. So...running it is, for now! Not to worry, I still go by my doctor's guidelines: no dehydration, no running in the heat, and keeping my pace conversational (which is somewhat laughable). I remember Amanda running with me for the first time and she jokingly said "I find it hard to believe that you would ever have a hard time talking." Sure enough we started our run (with Angie too!).....and she was very surprised...I cannot talk when I run, unless it's a whisper.

SO! That's my "race report" so glad I ran!!

Getting settled!!

2009-05-21T00:37:00.000-04:00

We've had a few busy weeks here! We're all moved in and thanks to some persistence, completely unpacked and house is all set! My mom was here for five days and let's just say she has a license plate that says "Scurry"...she isn't one for sitting still so we were all over the place. My only thing was I did not want to buy anymore "things" for the house, we had to work with what we already had.....we did end up buying a random curtain for the guest bedroom, but other than that, everything else was just rearranged.

Unfortunately i'm one of those people who doesn't buy a lot of knicknacks, so I tend to put the same stuff up in all the houses we've lived in.....but, this time we rearranged photos, and Dave and I actually did just purchase a new couch/chair/coffee table, (hence the reason for NO more buying of anything else =0)......so, things feel "fresher!".......we love our new place. Cue Brady Bunch music when you drive through our neighborhood, like all the golden retrievers, kids in strollers, "slow down" signs...yep, we officially live in suburbia and I don't even have to close my shades all the way in the front of the house in fear that someone will pull a Jack Bauer on me and land inside my house! It's great. I really like it. There, I said it, I like suburbia.

What I like even more is the frozen yogurt, pizza and mexican places that are within walking distance to our house! Awesome!

On baby news----the crib bedding arrived! My mom bought it for us as an early shower gift---of course it arrived the day she left...too funny! I'm more of a modern fan...but we managed to find somewhat of an animal/safari bedding that has some modern circles/colors in it, so it isn't really "cutesy" and all baby-like....i'm super excited about it! In other thoughts we are deep in the "name game," trying to avoid super popular names, but I also don't want a "Kristofer" or a "Jaysin".....so we'll see. The list is rather short for boys, for some reason I just don't like that many names out there!!

Plus One is very fortunate that while I don't buy nicknacks for the house..I do however manage to find very cool onesies and outfits at Baby Gap and Old Navy for about $5.00 on sale.....I think i've actually memorized most of the Carter's for boys line for summer and "Little Me"...it's ridiculous how picky I am about outfits, probably outfits he'll wear for an HOUR before I have to change it! I find myself cringing at baseball themed outfits (and I LOVE sports) and things that say "thank heaven for little boys." Yikes. Different strokes for different folks right?? And regardless, all little babies look cute in whatever they have on, so I guess it really shouldn't matter what they're wearing! I've found it hard to find "clothes" for infants.....onesies/pants, yes...but clothes are hard!! Then again, aren't they usually swaddled and in in t-shirts most of the time anyway since you have to change them so much??

So! I'm feeling good, I think I covered most baby related things, still waiting on the crib/dresser we ordered....it'll probably be here in June which is ridiculously early enough as it is, so i'm not even thinking about that...the only reason I want it here is that I love just walking in that room and knowing that in just a few short months we'll have a little actual person in those little clothes and sleeping in that little crib! It's just really a fun/wonderful time to picture all of these little moments to come!

I notice I don't have quite the same energy level, today I walked four miles and what's funny is that I can "do it" the endurace is there...but my feet, oh man, the bottoms of my feet feel as though they almost get blisters...then I came to a shocking realization...i'm still wearing the same sneakers I had for Ironman training. Has it really been six months since Ironman.. WOW. And, should I waste money on sneakers at this point??

My "exercise" has literally been moving boxes, unpacking, running around with my mom, little time for sitting...so today marked my day back with "exercise".....I may try swimming tomorrow, although I miss the hospital pool.....Miramar pool only has open lap swim from 11:00-1:00...good thing my work load is rather light these days (grrr..but I won't complain about that right now....a little unrealistic to do that!).....

That is it from here! Thanks for reading!

Not dead!!

2009-05-08T13:13:00.000-04:00

I can't believe it's been almost a month since I blogged! It was so cute to see everyone's comments about "keep blogging, you're not boring!".....I guess when I was training it was a huge source of relief to just write about my everyday thoughts and since i'm not training anymore and I find myself with more thoughts along the lines of "is this lemonade too sugary for the baby".....I guess I don't want to inundate my blog with baby thoughts...but the truth is, that's where i'm at right now and I wouldn't change it for the world.

I was talking to my sister the other day about training, she was going to do the Boulder Long Course again this year and opted to just stick with the sprint and olympic distance, part of her reasoning it's just really hard with three kids under five to justify going out on those five hour rides and she wants exercise/training to be FUN, she doesn't want to dread it and waking up at 5:00 to swim and then scooting kids around all day and then trying to fit in an evening workout, she was just plain exhausted last year, she had an awesome season of racing, but she wants to find a better balance between "training" and not missing out on things that are important to her family. I tend to agree, I see a lot of "triathlon or running" parents who, in my own personal opinion spend way too much time at their "own" races than just chilling out with their kids on the weekend. (Pro's excluded =0)...I want Plus One to grow up watching his dad and I race...I think that is SUPER cool, on the other hand, I don't want to be that mom who brings her bike trainer to the soccer game and rides the trainer while my son plays soccer (trust me i've heard of people who do this!). There are sacrifices that you make as a parent (so i'm told =0) and honestly, that's the way it should be---you decide to have children and there are things that come second, because your kids are really only little for such a short amount of time (before they start school) and I don't want to spend Saturdays frustrated because "potty training" isn't going well because I was gone on a ride for four hours......that just sounds odd to me!

This doesn't mean you give up YOU....it just takes a little bit of finagling to fit YOU in to the picture a little more creatively.

I've said before on my blog that I never expected to fall in love with triathlon, or to enjoy it, or even become remotely decent at it....I just did it because I wanted to see how far I could go.......am I "done" with triathlon?? No.......but, after the baby comes, I don't want to put unrealistic expectations on myself as far as what I will have time for. I want to have FUN with sports, and at the same time, I want to be there for my son!

Having said that, there was a bittersweet moment when I was cleaning up my bike to send it off to my sister for the summer (and I wouldn't have it any other way, what on earth would my tri bike be doing other than sitting in the garage..that bike is HOT and deserves to be ridden!)........I got a little choked up, not because of the BIKE....but, I knew at that moment that things were changing....for the most awesome of reasons--but it is still a change. Kind of closing the triathlon chapter for a bit........And anyone who knows me very well is that I have a very difficult time with change. Maybe it's because all the major decisions I make in my life I weigh very heavily, so when I make a change, it's one that i've sat on for a long time. And once I decide to make a change, I very rarely look back. In fact, I have a difficult time "looking back," like I don't even enjoy going back to my Alma Matter, JMU, because to me, it just feels different, I had an amazing four years there, but once I left, I cried my eyes out and then that was that...I moved forward.

This doesn't mean I won't ever do another Ironman =0....it just means I need time to just let life happen....I don't like doing something 10%, and if I did Ironman soon after a baby, I really don't think I could put enough time into both so I felt like I was doing a great job either way. I know people do it...but for me.....I think i'd rather try out some half ironmans before returning to Ironman...see how that training goes.

So..where does this leave me with thoughts of sports for post-baby? My goal is to search for that inner "runner" in me if that is possible. I think I was on the cusp of some really great running while training for Ironman, but because I was balancing swimming and biking, I couldn't really focus 100% on running. SO, my goal for post-baby for now is: January 2010-Carlsbad 1/2 marathon, and then i'd like to run Rock N Roll San Diego in June 2010......my ultimate goal is to qualify for Boston and if i'm just focusing on running, I think I can do it....especially with Dave spectacting and holding Plus One while I run =0.

And on a Plus One note..he is MOVING! It's been the most amazing thing ever, seeing my stomach move and he's just bouncing around in there! My last appointment, the nurse said "wow! you have a crazy baby in there" (then again, most people I know tell me their baby is "crazy" so I think most babies are pretty active!??)...i'm doing great....I will admit, running has ceased. Here's why:
1. My legs feel like 100 pounds and just with the extra pounds, running is NOT fun
2. I started to get frustrated with my stamina (lack thereof) and decided it wasn't worth it to run/walk for 90 minutes and complete 4 miles =0.
3. Running a 12:00 minute mile.....really, I might as well just walk

So......I am proud (or slightly embarassed) to say that I walked my dogs in our new neighborhood for 35 minutes and the next day the outside of my butt absolutely KILLED. HA! So much for muscle memory =0. I will say the move knocked the crap out of me, I didn't realize that just because I wasn't lifting, that I would be wiped out. My legs and feet were throbbing by the end of the day. I didn't expect to feel this way until I was really big!

I realize now, that I can't move at warp speed like i'm used to..and it's OK...it's ok to take breaks......and just walk when I feel like it....and just to drink more water and try to just take it easy. That is very.....very difficult for me...especially when I read stories about people doing half marathons at 30 weeks pregnant.......dude, I can't even walk 2 miles without my legs/feet swelling, I can't imagine RUNNING that far at this point. I totally thought i'd be that super active pregnant woman, but i'm still active, it's just not quite the 2-3 hour training session that i'm used to!

I'm 23 weeks today and doing great!! Now that i've gotten all this off my chest i'm going to go walk!!! =0 There I said it i'm officially a "walker" and "elliptical" person...d'oh!!

It's a........BOY and other musings....

2009-04-09T00:14:00.000-04:00

So, um, yes, it's been almost a month since I blogged..YIKES! I have had some subtle reminders here and there....so, why haven't I been blogging? You know, no real reason, I still stalk other people's blogs, leave messages and read blogs, so why don't I update mine? Hmm, well, I realized I didn't want to bore people to death with "baby talk" yet, at the same time that's what I have going on these days in addition to quite a bit of travel and WORK! YAYYYY! Ok, who cheers about work? ME. After sitting on my butt for months it feels great to be back in the world of "helping others."

Some pics from Kauai which was absolutely amazing.....just a perfect balance between being busy tourists and chilling. Next time I go though i'm eating sushi and gulping Mai Tai's..this time it was water and cooked shrimp =0.

If you look closely you can kind of see a "bump" I swear it truly depends on what i'm wearing these days, not really "pregnant" looking but if i'm wearing something fitted you can sort of say "hmm she's either eating a lot or maybe she's pregnant!" =0

On our rafting trip on the Wailua River......so crowded =0. We were the ONLY ones on our "tour" so it was kind of a private tour!
Oh, look at that, Mer is "hiking"......contrary to popular belief that all athletic people love all aspects of the outdoors, I do.....not =0......I used to call hiking "walking without a purpose." This was different, it had a purpose, see below....

Not quite this purpose......Dave......and yes, it was *that* muddy for most of the hike, but hey, like i've said it was KAUAI so who's complaining....
Those Asics went promptly in the trash....thank goodness for worn running shoes right? =0

Here is where the hike ended, Wailua Falls, we have better pictures, but seriously how many pictures do we need on a blog? You get the idea...
I thought Dave was actually really brave..I stood in the water and he's like "oh, i'll get in," what you can't see is him nearly hyperventilating as he is "floating".......=0

I just couldn't believe how BIG the falls were!!
Dave studying for his next anesthesia rotation at the Sheraton beach =0

GELATO!

Our boat cruise...i'm the loser trying to do the "hang loose" sign.....

This picture makes me laugh....for those of you who don't know me that well, this picture above is a very "Mer' face.......somewhere between laughing and slightly annoyed =0

Our boat cruise up the Na'Pali coast

Can't keep noodles away from this guy!! We found an awesome Japanese noodle house.....YUM!!

SO! That is Kauai in a nutshell........so, what's going on in the world of "Baby Developement?"

Well.......as you read: It's a BOY!!! And I had a gut feeling it was a boy, but for no other reason than a lot of my friends have boys, so I was naturally thinking "BOY," but I really had no idea to think either way! The last time I wrote I was almost 15 weeks. I had a "quick" ultrasound at 17 weeks and they said 75% boy......75%?? Right. Well, that isn't quite good enough for me, so my "20 week" or BIG ultrasound was actually scheduled for this past Monday, so I was 18 weeks and 3 day (you getting all this?)

ANYWAY: verdict on Monday: 99.9% boy and all looks great! I called the doctor this morning for the results....after I talked to my friend Lauren (HI COMES!)-----she made a good point, the doctor would have called me very soon after if something had been "off" with the ultrasound. The doctor had previously said my placenta looked low, so I held off on a bit of running, and got the "go ahead" to continue today.

Sadly, I ran out of time to run today (hehe, ok, so I ran a mile with the dogs!).....but yes, I can still run.....although I must admit, it's a "run/walk" at this point, but I can still do the 4.6 mile loop I have and it's just slow.

For those of you who follow my blog you know running is my achilles heel to begin with--yeah, i'm still banging out 11:30 miles. However, I count every day that i'm out there exercising as a "YAY" for me.....and i've started swimming again.

F****......I lost my swim ability ....that quickly. I used to knock out 3-4,000 no problem. I swam 1,000 last week and nearly died. Yesterday, I lifted weights and then I swam 1200.....swimming was much easier, but I get winded! My goal is to get up to a mile (1600) again!

So....other nitty gritty: weight gain. So, yeah, um, that whole "your body knows what it needs" apparently mine has needed weight, but I can't figure out honestly where it is....my thighs definitely have grown and my stomach.....but 15 pounds?? In almost 19 weeks. I read things where women are like "I gained 4 pounds in 20 weeks".....I skipped right over four and was in double digits before I could think about it! I'm TRULY not complaining, I actually think it's amusing.....my doctor wanted to know if I was really hungry......what's funny is that I AM hungry, but I eat when I'm hungry and I exercise, so I guess my body is doing what it needs! Don't get me wrong, I do indulge, but my body must need the extra weight! I'm guessing the whole quick weight gain may have been something to do with going immediately from Ironman into pregnancy. Just an interesting observation.....I guess I just thought I would be one of those "four pound" people, but everyone is different and so far, honestly, i'm still able to exercise comfortably and I think i'm doing ok! And as long as the baby is growing healthy I consider that awesome!

Just being honest here, I don't mean to sound all "analytical" with weight gain, but come on..it IS part of the process and if it means the baby is growing then i'm glad!!

It has been really fun getting weekly updates to see how/what is going on with the baby...and realizing that we are having a SON is just really amazing!! It's so fun to think about him and what he'll be like! Oh yeah and wondering how the two bags of Baby Gap clothes I have sitting here will look like on him =0. In my defense it was ALL on sale.....like crazy sales, like $5.00 onesies, I couldn't resist.

Dave is currently in San Antonio for a month...guess i'd be more jealous if he were like in Paris or something, but you know that military, the more boring the place, the better!

I just got back from my friend Jill's baby shower in Minneapolis and i'm headed to Denver tomorrow until Tuesday to visit with my family.....YAYY! It's been way too long and I miss them!!! So, stay tuned and I promise to get some pictures up when I get back!!!

Thanks for reading, sorry so boring, as things get busier here, I think i'll have more fun things to write about, right now it's all "Plus One development", some travel and getting ready to move. Yes, move..just up north a bit and the funny thing is, we move May 1st....Dave comes home April 30th....I wonder who is going to pack?? Hmmmmm.....

Aloha!!!

2009-03-12T12:19:00.000-04:00

Quite a few things have happened rather quickly and fast around here......here they are in somewhat of an order:

1. We're moving! Very excited...we are going to be saying goodbye to "urban living" and hello to the suburbs of San Diego.....we currently live on, let's just say a rather interesting side of the "805" highway here and we'll be moving to Scripps Ranch.....still renting but the house is *awesome*, small, but super clean, totally upgraded and great backyard (the owners are leaving the swingset!).....it'll be a great move for us!

2. I got a job!! =0; solidified everything yesterday..i'll be doing what I was doing before, and actually it's with the same company, but different "group", there are a lot of contracting groups within my old company, so this will be solid work (hopefully!) and basically i'll be going to the veteran's center and I basically do transitional counseling for vet's with disabilities, so they are given a rating by the VA and with this specific rating comes benefits for education/additional training which they can take advantage of, so I help them figure out what benefits they want to use for educ/training and then I write up a plan if they want to go back to school etc. For example: i've put people into plans for vet tech school, nursing, auto repair, etc....just depends on what they want to do...it's really a fun job and many of these vets have done one thing for so long, and now have acquired a disability on active duty, sometimes it's hard for them to imagine their next step, so it's truly an amazing process to be a part of.

3. We....are taking a trip! Dave surprised me with a trip to Kauai!!! I found out Tuesday night and we leave SATURDAY!! AHHHH!! SUPER excited!!! We totally need this time away and i'm just so excited to spend time with him and to relax....we're planning on basically hiking, snorkling and just relaxing....we're staying down in the south end in Poipu, so hopefully a bit more sun then the north side!! Suggestions are greatly appreciated =0.

That's it for now =0 hehe......Plus One doing great! 15 weeks tomorrow, still running along here =0

Coming Along!

2009-02-26T23:45:00.000-05:00

Hmm, not too much to report here..Dave is getting ready to do his board exams for anesthesia so at night it goes kind of like this:
ME: You studying
Dave: yeah, for a little bit
ME (like ten minutes later): Are you still studying
Dave: yes, I just have to do (enter number of questions he feels like doing so he can sleep without feeling guilty).....questions
ME (like a half hour later): *this time, I don't talk, I sort of sneak up on him
Dave: Mer, I promise i'll come out and hang out in a few minutes...

So we are very much looking forward to when boards have passed and we can hang out again! I complain sometimes about Dave's schedule..but it's actually sort of predictable for the most part 10-12 hour days and then 2-3 hours a night of studying....which leaves for little time to hang out, then if he's on call on a weekend, it's hard to find time together. When boards are over and he switches rotations next month it'll be much better!

His schedule made this past weekend a treat...we were able to go to a party at our friend Mike and Erin's house to send off our friend Jackie who came to cheer me on in Arizona...she is doing IM New Zealand next week...so we had a party for her, it was fantastic! Then, Sunday we went and watched the finish of the Tour of California...which I do have pictures of, but i'm too lazy to post them right now =0. What's even more fun is we went with our friends Chris and Lisa and their son Oliver...and Lisa is pregnant and expecting about 3 weeks before me, so that was fun for me to pick her brain a bit! It was SO awesome to have a "normal" weekend before the studying resumed.

I have to be honest, Dave does study his butt off, but he also totally takes nights off to hang out =0, like tonight we hit our favorite pizza joint, Bronx Pizza (cash only and they answer the phone typically "Bronx, whaddya want")....love it and it's the ONLY place here in San Diego that tastes like the pizza I used to get with my family on Long Island when we used to go visit. Not quite "Little Vincent's" but close.

Hmm, I could do a whole post on pizza, but people in San Diego seem to froth at the mouth of for this place in Solana Beach called "Pizza Port" and I get suckered into going because "yelp! how you could you *not* like pizza port"....well, I don't, I think it sucks, way too much cheese and it's so overrated and the crust is awful. =0. So if you're ever in San Diego, go to Hillcrest and go to Bronx, parking is heinous, but so is the parking at Pizza Port, so in that respect they're about even. Oh and I Dave and I got a large cheese with two drinks for $16.00. Cheap!

Wow, this is a RANDOM post, but that's what you get when I don't have a lot going on. Some people have like "topics" for their blog, i'm not that organized and it seems that the only time I actually have an organized thought is if i'm talking about my family---or a specific person, then I can talk about them forever, but life in general, I can't be tied down to one subject....(and THAT is very evident if you ever meet me in person =0). My aunt used to say "slow down Meri, I can't hear that fast" =0

Running coming along great (thanks to Ursula)..had solid run yesterday at 4.6 miles, today I ran 3.5...tomorrow will be a "long" run of maybe 4.6 to 5.00 we'll see =0. Did some lunges (which I *think* I need to stop because I may be tweaking something that should *not* be tweaked).....wall squats, leg lifts, you get the idea. I'm also in the habit of doing 3x10 pushups.....10 real pushups and 20 girlie ones...whatever I can get in!

We had another plus one appointment today!! I should do a whole post on that, how exciting for the non-pregnant readers right? All is awesome in Plus One Ville......(POV??) heartbeat was loud and clear.....Dave said "OH I KNOW the baby is going to be JUST like you based on the heartbeat" (hehe).....who wants a mellow baby....really? =0.

So, typically sonograms are done not regularly, so we had one at 9 weeks and the next will be at 18 (18 isn't a regularly scheduled appointment, it's a special sonogram one!) BUT. Dave has to go out of town in April so he will miss the 18 week appointment, SO, today I did some small begging of the OBGYN to see if on my 17 week appointment (regularly scheduled non-sonogram appointment) she could try and see if she can see the gender. She said she would try, it would depend on how busy they were......she seemed as though she could be persuaded, I wonder if she likes m&m's?? =0.

Wow, this is long, over and out, just me, reporting live from my couch!

Thanks Ursula!!!

2009-02-19T14:11:00.000-05:00

Yesterday I decided to switch things up from my usual run route at Balboa Park.....I really needed a change of pace, so I went over to Mission Bay Park....I know, all the concrete, but it's flat and I love running past all the parks/kids and there are tons of bathrooms (which are very valuable these days as I found out on Monday when I begged a woman near the zoo to let me use the bathroom she was cleaning...I almost didn't make it!)

I start my run, my heart rate went from 110 to 170 in literally like three seconds. My first thought was my Garmin was kind of off. For those of you with Garmins you know sometimes it takes a few minutes for some reason if you're near trees or what not to get the thing accurate. So, I walked. Start again, heart rate goes from 130 to 165. Walk. Start again, 145 to 170. Walk. I did this for 30 minutes. At this point i'm ANNOYED. I'm NOT winded, not struggling for breath, my perceived level of exertion was exactly how I felt--a walking exertion.....I basically did two miles in 28 minutes.....so, I basically "walked" the first two miles. Why was it taking my heart rate so long to adjust. I reminded myself I was running for TWO, not just "Mer" anymore =0. I felt FINE though, so what was up?

I look up and i'm like "she's pregnant!! damn she is MOVING fast, her husband with the stroller can barely keep up!.." the lady flies past me with her approximate 6 month belly and husband in tow with older child. I'm like "ok, that lady is moving way faster than I am, and i'm sure she does this regularly when she's not pregnant." What gives?

On my way back, I see her walking and i'm like "just ask her." "Will she think i'm nuts". Just do it.

"Excuse me, I couldn't help but notice you're pregnant and hauling ass! I'll be 12 weeks on Friday and I just had a random question about heart rate and exertion etc."

She got all excited and blurted out with her South African accent "OH!! You should totally read this book I read.....don't WORRY about it, your body is used to it, just do what you want, if you're used to exercising at a high level, your body will tell you when enough is enough. Don't get stuck on some number for heart rate. For me, I get overheated, so i'm careful with that. Girl, i'm from South Africa and women have been working in the fields a very long time, so you know, I think we're tougher than we think"

Husband chimes in "the more you worry about heart rate, the higher and worse it is."

Ursula pipes in "keep up the cardio, trust me, you'll need it and build up those biceps, you'll need it when you're pushing on that table, it's exahusting and your arms you'll need more than ever...tell them no drugs. From my first contraction to delivery it was 4 hours. you can do it, drugs will slow you down. I walked the halls of the hospital until I was 8 centimeters and stood in a shower until I was ready! Just do cardio for as long as you can. I had to stop with my son at 20 weeks because of pelvic pain, but if you can do it, keep going and don't worry, your body is used to it" (the one time I was grateful to have my "Ironman AZ finisher" hat on, at least that gave me some credibility).

Everyone needs and Ursula or some sort of mentor/boost every once in a while. I'm fortunate to have awesome sisters and a mom who give me sound advice......but Ursula gave me a "GO DO IT GIRL" kind of advice, which I think I needed.

Actually, I smiled because she kind of reminded me of what Amanda would be like pregnant, like all bad ass and tough and just "DO IT".....(even though Amanda isn't pregnant) =0 hehe (hi Amanda!).......but, I was like "oh this is so cool, my very own coach for like 2 minutes and she's Amanda only pregnant"....

Anyway, we didn't like exchange numbers or anything, but I totally got the feeling that she knows her stuff, so I was wondering if there were any well known South African runners named Ursula training here in San Diego....anyhoo, she was my inspiration for the day.

And, wouldn't you know it, my heart rate finally calmed the *F* down and I clocked a 10:48 next mile and a last mile at 10:23.....not bad after runwalking 14 minutes earlier.

She gave me some pep in my step...so THANK YOU URSULA!!!!

Awwww! THANKS GUYS!!

2009-02-10T13:02:00.000-05:00

WOW!! I never expected Plus One's debut on blogger to be so news worthy, but it brought a huge smile to my face reading everyone's comments and just in general, it's really exciting! Thank you guys for all that you wrote!!
I feel badly, sometimes, I "lurk" on blogs and I never leave notes and so when people leave messages on my blog, I feel badly because i'm like "OH I TOTALLY have read your blog before but i've been too chicken to write". So, I vow to be better at that from here on out!!! Thank you guys for your notes!

It's funny the little things that stick with you as you kind of go through the steps, stages, whatever you want to call it, to "parenthood,"....i'm realizing that I think one of the sweetest things people can tell you is that they think you'll make a good parent. I'm not sure why but I've found that to be one of the nicest things, I guess it feels like a combination of a vote of confidence, and also that they think you must be a decent person as well and hopefully you're creating a decent person =0 (hehe).

So..how am I feeling!? Well, I had some nausea and dizziness for about 5 weeks, but that seems to have subsided...and the only symptoms I really have are feeling super tired at the end of the day and then there's this other symptom where I find myself actually filling my bras instead of tightening them (TMI?? sorry).......it's the truth, not gonna lie!

Now that i'm unemployed AND pregnant =0...just add some barefeet to that and you have a good picture. Just kidding.....barefoot is NOT an option for me, in fact, Dave and I drove up to Newport Beach's "Fashion Island" to "Babystyle" and I assure you that my feet, nor myself will be "bare" any time soon. I invested in some good clothing, that is for sure. I normally don't mind dressing a bit laid back, but I have this unhealthy fear of looking frumpy....so I bought some things that I think will keep me out of the "barefoot and pregnant" category.

"You're already not fitting into clothes!?"....is that what you're asking!? If so, then, let's just say it's a similar feeling to thinking "oh man, I ate way too much spaghetti,"....like one day it's "oh, these require some more torque to close," then it's "ok, the button is leaving serious imprints on my stomach," and then it's "ok, I may very realistically pop the button on my Joe's Jeans, which would not be good considering they're not cheap." Then.....it's time to buy the Bella Band (do a google search). So, I was wearing this band for about 2-3 weeks and this past Sunday night I went to put the Joe's Jeans on and i'm like "oh crap, i'm not only about to bust the button on these, but the zipper is going to split,"....not to mention when I wore them the day before, it left awful marks on the side of my hips and instead of feeling cute in my designer jeans I was super aware of the now-muffin-top-esque formulation on the sides of my hips. I have since divided my closet into "then, now and maybe later (meaning when i'm in full maternity gear). The Joe's Jeans are now in "then" ....I could wear them, but why chance it and split the jeans?? Especially since investing in a maternity wardrobe hasn't come cheap.

I know, I know, why don't I buy cheap stuff? The truth is, I did! I bought some stuff from Old Navy and other regular stores that have longer shirts....but I have noticed a lot of stores are "online" so it's harder to gauge a fit on things, so it was nice to check out Babystyle....unfortunately, they filed for Ch. 11 and you can't order on-line from them anymore and the only store here in San Diego "Pea in a Pod" was something short of awful.

What still fits right? My running stuff =0. Thankfully all my shorts are elastic, yay! I'm still running.....instead of my old "fast" pace of 8:20-8:35...i'm now averaging about an 11:30 pace....which is actually 100% ok with me. Each time I run i'm like "yayy, I can still run!". I know my belly may become a hinderance in the future, so I really do cherish each run! I run about 4-5 miles about 5 days a week. I swam once last week, but i'm trying to save swimming til the summer when it's too hot out for me to run. We opted to receive care outside of the Navy, which has gone really well so far and i'm excited about the practice we chose. My doctor is up on the latest info regarding exercise and she confirmed my beliefs which were to keep exercise to about 80% of my max (I wear a HR monitor just to keep an eye on it). My other guidelines are no over heating, keeping hydrated and keeping my exertion level conversational. So my goal right now is to keep up with my "jogging" =0, until I feel I should become a walker for a bit!

I'm still continuing with a job/volunteer search. I'm officially on the volunteer roster at Challenged Athletes, so i'm excited about that..and I may submit my resume to them for a possible job!

Thanks again so much for leaving all your cute messages!! I totally appreciate them!! Stay tuned!!!

Introducing....."Plus One"

2009-02-06T12:11:00.001-05:00

Not sure if I actually blogged about my thoughts for 2009, but they went something like this "i'm going to approach having kids the same way I approach training...thoroughly and with a lot of research and hopefully with a little luck on our side"......looks like luck came our way very quickly =0.

Dave and I are absolutely thrilled to announce that on or around (it'd better be pretty close) to September 4, 2009, we will be beginning a phase in our lives to last forever known as "parenthood" =0

Here is a shot of just how precise I was in making sure that the test really WAS positive......below you can see the increase in "positivity" =0 with each test.

And since the "lined" version wasn't good enough, I drove out and bought the digital kind as well......since "faint" lines aren't reassuring enough for me...
It's actually a really fun story for me to tell.....you know how when you get engaged, or married, you remember every moment that happens leading up to it, or all the minor details (well, sometimes, I guess it depends on what kind of bride you were!) I was pretty laid back (I have a super creative mom who took care of the nitty gritty). So....I remember all the details.

Finding out you're going to be a parent is one of those moments that you go "NO WAY. REALLY. ME!?" i'm actually OLD enough to be someone's parent?? We look at our parents and go "wow, they're so much older than me.".....but....what we never see is how young they were when they HAD us!!! Anyway..back to my story.

I started to feel nauseous around December 15th/16th and some people tell me this is "WAY" too early to be feeling anything, but the fact that I was out of breath just walking, dizzy and nauseous...I knew something was off, but I didn't know what. I suspected I was pregnant, just because I couldn't imagine it would be anything else. So, finally on December 23rd, I took what you see above..a handful of tests =0 (well, some were taken over the course of the next few days).......and low and behold. It was positive.

I stood in my bathroom, Dave at work and I thought "this is so cool, right now i'm the ONLY one in the world that knows." It was such a neat feeling! I tried to get Dave to meet me for lunch, I wanted to tell him. Looking back that would have been such a not so great idea, me showing up at the hospital, Dave on his way to a procedure....hmmm, it would have resulted in a very flighty anesthesiologist and I don't think his patients that day would have appreciated it! Worked out that he couldn't meet.......so.

I put the test in our Christmas tree and when he came home I said "Look! I bought a new ornament." Dave told me later he was thinking "what the....why is she buying ornaments?" (my mom gives me one every year and I have over 30).......so he walks over and he saw the test and exclaimed "NO way!!! That's how we roll..oh y god!" ....we were both really excited and we kind of stood there in disbelief and excitement. Part of our disbelief was that it was exactly one month to the day that I had finished Ironman..so needless to say things happened pretty quickly!!

We had to wait about five weeks until our first appointment which was last Friday and we heard the heartbeat and saw the little "Plus One" on the sonogram, it was really amazing!! Just nice to know everything is where it's supposed to be and growing well!!

So..how'd it get the name Plus One? My number for Ironman was 2137....so, weeks before Dave would call me 2137...as in "how is 2137 today?" "2137 ready to rock her race".......so, when I found out I was pregnant Dave said "Now you're 2137 Plus One!"........so, it stuck!

I'll write more later on my "training" and how that has been going....still running along here =0. More on that another time, but wanted to get the word!!!

VERY EXCITED!! =0

Comparing "Physique"

2009-01-29T11:25:00.000-05:00

Wow...so, since December, i've been working on trying to keep some leg strength while backing off from cycling a little bit. The thing is....cycling was great for my quads...and that is about it...it did absolutely nothing for my butt and I think my legs could be stronger. So....enter some "lunges/squats/wall sits".......i've been doing them maybe twice a week and I TOTALLY over did it yesterday, but I love it. I feel sore! It's been forever since i've felt sore and it's really fun =0. The best part about all this, is that it takes 15 minutes.....and I HURT today!

So, this was interesting, the other day I was looking at pictures from when I did mainly olympic distance and triathlon.....and then my first half ironman. Maybe to the average person, you couldn't tell, but I was laughing because while "weight wise" i'm actually the same....oddly enough....but, my "physique" to me, is totally different when you compare pictures of me racing shorter versus longer distances. Obviously, when you think about it, you know while training for the Half Iron/Full Iron distance you are swimming/biking and running *that* much further, but it's amazing to me to compare the pictures. Ok, so you guys will be like "whatever"...but, for me, it's really funny to see! Check it out:

Above: post-2006 LA Triathlon (this is where I qualified for the Minneapolis Tri for the elite division). My arms look so little!

Another LA picture---2006Above---My first half Ironman, the SOMA half----also 2006----arms still looking reasaonable.....
Above--on the run in SOMA 2006.....
Above...Ironman Florida Finish...2007......arms pretty strong!!

Above: September of 2008, two months out from Ironman Arizona....DUDE....hello swimming arms/shoulders! Above--on the bike in Arizona....hello quads....must have been all the riding?? =0

Above: Ironman Arizona...this past November. PROOF in my back muscles that I swam a lot =0....

It's just cute/funny to me to see how bodies can change! I think with Ironman, I just completely "bulked" not in a bad way, but just in the way that ANY muscle I had, rally came out......although I will say......I am living proof that you can train 20 hours a week and NOT have abs of steel. Granted, I did absolutely NO core strength while doing Ironman training, which probably isn't the way to go....however, for those of you who DO train 15-20 hours a week, how do you fit in core work? I typically did two sports a day, and I was working at the time, so I don't know how people also fit in core strength while training this much!

I'm not complaining, I certainly don't need 6 pack abs, I was just surprised how defined everything else got, minus my stomach. I'm also living proof that sometimes, it's not just HARD cardio that blasts your stomach....I did plenty of hard cardio and still had a soft stomach!

This was a fun project for me, comparing my physique from shorter racing to longer racing!! Very cool!
Oh-----I'm not looking for compliments =0, just comparing the two distances and how different I think my body handles those types of pressures and what not. I'm also in awe of people who can fit in core workouts while training full time for long distance races. This was a fun comparison for me and it makes sense that our bodies would adapt to whatever distance we're going because we're using our muscles for shorter or longer durations and at different speeds. Thanks for reading!

Rock N Roll..Phoenix..

2009-01-23T15:16:00.001-05:00

So...in keeping with tradition, Jeff (brother in law) and Dave ran their 4th marathon together (other ones they've partially run together) this one.....they ran most of it together. Their goal: Boston 2010......Jeff endured some hard training runs in the cold of Denver, Colorado which included ridiculous headwinds, covering his face with a shirt in 10 degree weather....but he worked his tail off! Dave is balancing working as a resident, juggling a "on call schedule" and a pest of a wife....trying to log in all his miles. Somewhere in the midst of the race they both realized that it just wasn't "on" for them that day.....so, they dug deep and decided to try to go sub 3:30.....and they did..they finished with a time of 3:28....which is a PR for Jeff!!!! They'll get to Beantown eventually, it'll just make these moments all the more memorable......as always, it's such a fun tradition and we LOVE spending time with family....check it out....
Getting their shoes ready........SMELL IT!

Me with Brownie our Cocker Spaniel....he fell asleep like that!! He's very snuggly.

Pre race pic!!

8:00 a.m. isn't too early for sugar right?? Keeping them occupied while waiting for dad!

Mile 14!!! here they come! Jeff ran over to high five the girls!

Dave doing his best to clap and say "thanks,"......poor dude was hurtin' already at mile 14.....

Post-race smiles....and Mia with Uncle Dave and his medal =0

We ROCK!! We're busy guys, we're tough and we still went 3:28!

Uncle Dave...Uncle Dave...will you hold my hand??

Ahhh...post race cupcakes AND post race PEDICURES......for Mia's 4th birthday......

Day after.....sure, let's go to the park and.....run a little.......=0
Dave braves the slide....

Swinging......
Dawn and I swinging...

Hanging with the nieces!!!

SO! Our weekend was awesome! Dawn and Jeff's little guy, Finn, stayed home in Colorado with my parents...so we had some quality time with the little girls, they proved to be excellent cheerleaders and very much enjoyed their first pedicure....they're hooked!

Same old same old here, as I posted before, just applying for jobs, keeping up with light training and avoiding things that take VISA =0.

That being said, i'm off to buy a new coffee table today. We've been eyeing it since November..hmm, maybe i'll post pictures of the new coffee table when it arrives. Now ......*that* is exciting =0

Thank to you guys for all your posts and saying "hang in there" and "enjoy" it.....you know what they say though, it's no good being alone....if I had someone to make trouble with, i'd be much better off. I love it when I have a random friend tell me "i'm free for lunch" i'm like YAYY!! So.......I am just rolling with it...I do enjoy it...trust me, I just wish I had a little more "busyness," but i'm sure that will come in due time =0

I'm not dead!!!

2009-01-13T22:55:00.001-05:00

I'm just "mellow." The thing is, I don't find my everyday life interesting...so, if I was going to blog about my everyday life i'd find myself analyzing why people in southern California think it's acceptable to tailgate in the slow lane when the other two fast lanes are wide open, or why they pass on the right going 80....at least pass on the left. Or, I would blog about my dogs..and how they get *way* too much attention since I am currently on the dole (ie, receiving unemployment). Or, I would blog about how awesome it is to go shopping on a Tuesday at 1:00 and get a killer spot at Fashion Valley which one can never do, since even when it isn't the holiday's, parking there makes my blood boil. I could also blog about how i've fallen off the frozen yogurt wagon. I know, I gasp as well....I just haven't been craving it....now I wonder how many pounds I would have lost during Ironman training if I HADN'T eaten that many hurricanes.....but, I seriously would have gone mental if I hadn't eaten the hurricanes....they were a big training reward =0

We had an awesome time in Montana...i'll post pictures soon, did a little skiing (TGPink if you're reading this, I TOTALLY agree, skiing on the East is "wet, cold, ice" skiing on the West is "powdery, still cold, but not as wet =0)......some sledding, eating and relaxing! This weekend we're actually headed to Phoenix....Dave is running the Rock N Roll marathon on Sunday, along with my brother in law....my sister will be there with my two nieces......should be a really fun weekend!

For those wondering, what DO I do all day? Well, it's come to this:

8:00 a.m.-I usually wake up.
I spend the next hour eating breakfast and surfing the internet for jobs (ok, well, most of that time is on Facebook). BUT, I DO look for jobs, I have two very possible ones "pending".
10:00-I usually run or swim.....doing well in those categories =0......biking, well, I got a flat tire about four weeks ago, I used "Pit Stop" and realized I actually needed a whole new tire, not just a tube...so I bought the tire.....and still haven't changed it. Nice. I'm super motivated right?

It's just "easy" to go to the pool, and "easy" to run..biking involves a bit more driving some place and a lot more equipment =0....but, it's funny because I love biking the most probably.
I've also been lifting a little bit of weights, I know, hell must have frozen over, I stepped into a gym.

Post workout---I usually have some sort of errand to run, you know really important things like buying dog food or renewing my passport (cause you never know when you might *have* to go overseas?? right, someone could like invite me to their lair in France and i'd just *have* to go)......I actually have some friends I meet for lunch from time to time...but, really, it's just a lot of free time. Complaining, not really..feeling like i'm getting "stupider" everyday...kind of. Don't get me wrong I *love* the sleeping in.....but, I feel like I should be doing SOMETHING!

Bottom line, I have a ton of free time....why am I not volunteering?? Hmm, good question, i'll think about it. I really should volunteer, seriously, I have nothing else to do while the unemployment check comes in and I wait for these two jobs to let me know either way....

The thing is, I volunteered all through graduate school, so I have done my fair share of working for free, so i'm a bit picky where I want to spend my time these days. I'm going to look into the Challenged Athletes Foundation.....it's an awesome organization and i've done some volunteering for them in the past, so maybe tomorrow i'll give them a call.

Seriously, I need to get off my butt....i'm married, no kids, with a master's degree, finding something for me to do should NOT be this difficult =0. I need to kick my own butt since Amanda is on coaching hiatus until further notice =0......hehe!

Well, that is IT from here.....more at some point when I feel like I have something else to say..this is a super boring post =0

Post-Christmas, pre-New Years!!

2008-12-29T12:10:00.000-05:00

And..the terrible blogging continues. I just really don't have a whole lot to report. Other than....my run last week was super fun with Eileen and Marit....I drove up to Rancho Santa Fe to Eileen's in-laws house (E lives up in Nor Cal but she was down here for christmas)......and so, we all met up there and let me tell you, the house was absolutely gorgeous. Like one of those houses with the gorgeous huge christmas tree and the espresso machine IN the wall.....and filled with super nice people making super tasty food =0. Anyway =0, back to our run. My goal was really to keep up, I knew my talking would be minimal, but I thought I could hack it.

They...kicked...my...butt. NOT only that, but they TALKED while they did it. It started out Me, Eileen and Marit in a line running, this lasted for maybe three minutes as we ran down a small hill, Reid (Eileen's awesome husband) was running with us as well. Then, we hit sort of the first patch of uphill and I dropped back a bit thinking in chunks "cannot....keep....pace." But, was also thinking "big girl pants". Reid say's "Do you want me to hold your water bottle, Eileen likes it when I do that." I don't even hesitate "SURE...pant.....thank...pant.....so much." We slowed down quite a bit toward the end and I jokingly said "oh, that had to have been like high 7:00's" Eileen goes "7:10"......SEVEN TEN? Ok, so *they* were going 7:10, I was probably more like 7;20 at that point, but MAN. That was working. I don't even know how far we went....but we ran for almost forty minutes. I am quickly reminded how fast I can get out of shape.

The thing is, so, ok, these girls were moving quite quickly and you know, I didn't feel bad, or competitive or anything, I just was loving watching them move and thinking "wow, they are doing this and they're conversational and they're kicking BUTT!"......I can't wait for their 2009 season....these two girls are going to kick some butt. mark...my.....words!!

So, thanks to you two for running with me....and for Reid....making me feel better when I said panting "I can't really talk right now, I know it's awkward running next to someone not talking." He replied laughing "I'm a guy, we don't really chat while running anyway".........TOTALLY made me feel so much better!!! =0 We wrapped up the day with coffee and I drove home to wrap up the rest of Dave's presents!

How did Christmas go!?? Well....truth be told. Quiet. Very quiet..almost too quiet for me. I'm used to major Leporati Christmases (Leporati is my maiden name)..i'm used to opening presents with my cousins on Christmas in Vermont and skiing down the slopes at Okemo Mountain with a full stomach of Tang and burnt English muffins drenched in my uncle's layer of butter. To this day, I cannot eat an English muffin unless it is burnt like "oh my god, it's almost on flames" burnt. So, i'm used to multiple people, multiple kinds of fudge and absolutely"wet cold" skiing......so, transfer over to: hummus, a run in the morning with shorts, no kids and watching movies is totally new for me!!

I shouldn't lie, we usually alternate between my family in Denver and Dave's in Scottsdale, but this year we couldn't go anywhere due to Dave's call schedule, so we stayed put. My fam came out for Turkey Day, his parents came last weekend and we hit up the Nutcracker (which was *awesome* by the way!).......so, this year was just a quiet year.....but still fun, Dave and I got in some quality hang out time and I love that kind of time.

This week....I'm going to continue with my running....this morning it is: POOL TIME. I'm sucking it up, headed to the pool to swim for a bit in addition to my run!

We are taking a mini vacation come New Year's Day...Montana!! Our friends' parents have a place in Red Lodge, near Billings, i've never been to MT, so i'm super excited...and cannot wait for the COLD! I have all my ski stuff ready to roll....not sure if we're skiing, but we will be drinking hot chocolate and EATING!!

Stay tuned!!!

I know...I know..

2008-12-24T10:58:00.000-05:00

I've been an awful blogger!! I was talking to Amanda the other day and I was telling her I didn't feel like I had anything to report.....she begged to differ! Apparently she thinks that my small abscess I had drained (courtesy of my doctor husband with his at-home-remedies) and signing up to get my butt kicked this morning in a run are very "news worthy." I'll spare you all the details of the abscess draining, let's just say it kept me out of the pool and away from riding for over a week (still haven't done either)...however, my running has been doing pretty good!

Which brings me to my next "newsworthy" item....my run this morning. I'm running with two pro triathletes......Eileen Swanson and Katya Meyers...and my new awesome friend...Marit (who recently ran a 19 minute 5K)........root for me hmmm kay??? 'Cause the sufferfest is about to begin.

Actually, since it's the off season, I may stand a chance to inhale some wood chips up against my shins, rather than my nose, because I may be able to sort of keep up a little bit...we'll see! I've been promised it's for fun and they just want to have a good time, and from what I know, they all seem really cool so i'm not too worried, but I know I got my "time" back up to about 60 minutes, so I can do that and the rest will just have to be a little more endurance....or "HTFU".....what does that mean?? (MOM STOP READING).........-----"HTFU" means "Harden the Fuck Up" sometimes, things are just hard and you have to do them because they make you stronger....like swimming in a harder lane, doing track repeats in 30 degree weather with your coach..ahem ahem...Amanda!

What else is up with mer. NADA. ZILCH. The work-gods don't seem to be biting, so here I sit collecting unemployment and tweaking my resume. I went to Harvard right? Ok, so I haven't resorted to lying on my resume, but i'm hoping that something bites after the holidays! We'll see. In the mean time i've been busy somehow christmas shopping, hanging out with friends and just keeping busy!!!

Off to HTFU!! Merry Christmas!!!!

Idle hands....

2008-12-10T12:14:00.000-05:00

Never make for a good time..so, I did what any normal athlete does when they're not in structured training and have nothing else to do.....I signed up for the San Dieguito Half Marathon in February! I know, I know, some of you are rolling your eyes "I thought you were done with this." Uh, Uh, not quite people, I said I was SEMI-retired from Ironman....not "all" racing and certainly not running! Besides, honestly, a week after Ironman I was aching to run. Badly. I thought swimming and biking would take my mind off not being able to run, but nope. Sometimes, even though I hate it, there is nothing better than a good run.

So..I ran Monday....and then I ran again yesterday, 5 miles in 42 minutes. That wasn't very smart. Two days of running consecutively after not having run since a marathon that was part of an Ironman. Not to mention that the 5 miles I ran yesterday weren't leisurely, I kept trying to push myself faster? Why? Because it felt good and I was SO excited to be running and not itchy from cholorine or "not really worked" from biking.

Brilliant idea Mer (or MUR as i'm affectionately called). That's why folks, in the past, i've been under close watch by my brilliant coach, Amanda...who i'm sure is reading this thinking "EASY MUR"....I shouldn't be pushing it. But, I did....because it's just me leading me now......no formal coaching. Which can be really fun, but i'm learning really dangerous as I nearly croaked getting out of bed this morning. This morning's leg soreness isn't too bad, but I probably shouldn't be "this" sore from running just yet.

Know what else I did yesterday? I thought of two things. Doing the Tri Club San Diego race this Saturday....or running a 5K really fast. What is wrong with me? I don't really know. I think the thing is, my recovery from Ironman was/is going awesome, and I actually don't feel like i've lost much fitness. Sure, i'm not ripping out 7:00/minute miles....but I clearly wasn't doing that before anyway (remember my 9 plus minute Ironman marathon!.....grrrr). Anyway...the thing is, when you feel good and you LOVE to race, you come up with crazy ideas.

Never mind that Ironman was less than three weeks ago...i'm already on to something else. It's funny, last year I had a huge post-Ironman slump, disappointed, depressed that Ironman was over..and I knew I had another one in me. THIS year, no slump, no depression, no future Ironman.....I don't know why!?? Maybe it's because I think it's secretly fun to see how I can torture myself on my own without a coach, so that keeps me entertained, or maybe it's because i've switched into possible "attempting a family mode,"...I don't know.

Wanna know how Dave found out I signed up for the half marathon!?? It went like this:
Me: Do you want to run the Jingle Bell 5K with me on Saturday??
Dave: How much is it?
Me: $40.00 for each of us, but it goes to arthritis
Dave: Seriously, $40.00 each for a 5K??
Me: Well, the money does go to important research...but, don't worry, we don't have to do it, I signed up for the San Dieguito Half Marathon and that was $40.00, so it was sort of cheaper???
Dave: Oh!! You signed up for San Dieguito....

And then he has no choice but to be supportive right?? Since Active.com doesn't do refunds......and he's supportive anyway, and he knew I was aching to sign up for something...I was just annoyed the Carlsbad Half is sold out. I was determined to re-run that from last year when I had borderline bronchitis and people handing out water were so kind as to point out that I "Looked terrible." Thanks.

The thing is, i've learned, for me, this stuff is just a way of life, whether it's a 5K, or an Ironman, i'm always trying to get better, faster and fitter..and it's FUN for me and keeps me sane. Rock on!

Feelin it.....

2008-12-09T12:27:00.000-05:00

This whole unemployed/non training thing some would find absolutely amazing...but, seriously folks, I think we can all agree, you could probably do it for 3-4 weeks and then you would start twiddling your thumbs. Thankfully this year I have plenty of people to buy for Christmas, or I would be......super bored. So, i'm doing my best to get back into the swing of things with training.

Since Ironman:
Swim: 3 times
Bike: 3 times (two of these were for 2 hours and i'm riding again on Thursday morning).
Run: ONCE (WAHOO!)

I started running again yesterday...ran for 40 minutes, woke up this morning and enter thought: ohhhh, I LOVE this! Waking up slightly sore from running! I have such a love/hate relationship with running. I have a very fine line I walk of running too much and not enough.

The thing is, it's easy in the sense that I can run out my front door, I don't have to drive somewhere to do it....you can get a good work out relatively quickly and i'm done for the day. Cycling involves driving somewhere and a wealth of food etc......swimming is wet =0 and involves immediate showering. Oh, wait, doesn't running--well, not the same urgency I feel to shower immediately after itching from the chlorine in swimming!

I don't have much else to report on the "training," end....other news here in our house is that the one dog who had been constantly pooping on our carpet (thanks to drinking water from the Christmas tree) finally seems to have things under control, only after we spent $100.00 on a steam cleaner from Target. I am still job searching....someone from my book club has a friend who works for a foundation that has a home for individuals with traumatic brain injury and the provide transitional services to those individuals so I am doing my best to "network" to see if they need someone to help provide job seeking services as well. So, that's my "degree" in a nutshell....helping individuals with disabilities find jobs....most individuals have a newly aquired disability so they can't do the job they once performed....and so I figure out what skills they can continue to use and what additional training they may need.

I'm off to finish up Christmas shopping and i'm going to aim for some yoga here in a bit. Stay tuned =0