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2.03.2013

One fish. Two fish.

So now that we're finding our bearings in Kansas City, we thought it was about time to introduce the Little Lady to one of my happy places...the pool. So when my friend Ozzy brought a mommy and me swim class to my attention, I knew I had to jump on the opportunity to get Betsy in the water.

Turns out...the girl is a natural. She loves splashing around and is getting used to kicking and pulling motions. I am certain that she'll be one fantastic, confident little swimmer in few years. But really for now we just want her to respect the water and learn those basic survival skills. No doubt there will be plenty of time to learn flip turns and the IM relay. Surely she'll be the ONE person in our family to master the fly. 

She already is proving to have better form than her father and me and doesn't flip out when she goes under. It's only a matter of time before she's peeling off 5x500's with me. 

Working on pulls to push the duck underwater.
Master kicker while learning to float on her back
Hooray for swim class!
And in other news...I apparently have an 11 month old. I have no idea when or how the hell this happened. But time is flying by at such a ridiculous clip. I find myself wanting to freeze moments and just savor them because life as we know it will never be the same and I'll never get to relive these precious days with the Little Lady.

Eleven months old...who, me?!?
Sigh. 

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1.13.2013

The thing about running...

The thing about running is when you don't keep it consistent over a semi-regular period of time, it totally kicks your ass.

You think I'd learn my lesson over here. Right?

Ha ha...no.

I should really make a better effort to fix that.

I did, however, take part in an Ugly Christmas Sweater 5k a few weeks ago. The little lady even joined us. And let's overlook the fact that there may have been more drinking Sam Adams and indulging in deep fried pickles than running involved. Mmmk?




In other news...we've moved back to Oz. Admittedly, it's kind of nice to be surrounded by so many Jayhawks and have the ability to zip over to Lawrence for a Basketball game whenever our fancy strikes.

And it's strange to think that we've got a 10 month old on our hands.

Ten. Month. Old. You know...as in two months away from having a 1 year old.

When the hell did that happen? Sigh.

More fun news on the horizon. Some of it involves running. Some of it doesn't... ;)

5.08.2012

Daily Dose of Cuteness

Not too much going on over here lately. Still working on finding motivation to get more miles in. Test rode some bikes and it looks like I'll be the proud new owner of a pretty pink Quintana Roo 2012 CD.01 ...so that's pretty fantastically awesome. Some women get gemstones and jewelry as their "push present" after a baby. I, on the other hand, wanted a bike. :)

Betsy is still growing...arguably too fast. I keep finding myself excited to hear what her voice will sound like (her coos are like a beautiful wind chime...her wails are like a skinned cat)...but then secretly hoping we never get there and that she stays pint-sized forever. I'm already dreading going back to work at the end of the month, so I'm trying to relish all of the time I get to spend with her now. Admittedly, I'm fearful of how my work schedule is going to get in the way of my Betsy time. A life in advertising is notorious for having work-life balance challenges, but I'll deal with those as they come...hopefully it won't be too rough on me. 

But enough about all that. Here is your daily dose of cuteness...


...if that doesn't make you smile you may want to go lay out in the sun and melt that ice cold heart of yours.

4.17.2012

I'M BACK, BABY!

Okay. Sorta back.

If you count getting cleared to workout by the lady doctor and going for a run...then by all means, I'M BACK BABY!

If you don't count that as being back. Then well...whatever. Go home and play with yourself.

Last Thursday I got the thumbs up to get back into the swing of things again...albeit slowly...but cleared nonetheless. So Friday afternoon, I laced up a new pair of kicks that I bought days before learning I was pregnant and went for a test run.

It was...
without a doubt...
the most painfully slow...
painfully ugly...
painfully painful...
TWO POINT ONE miles of my entire life.

I was certain I had run 3 [maybe even 4!!] miles! But no. Google Maps confirmed it was a sad little 2.1 miles. I have no idea how long it took [forever and a day]...and I'm pretty sure I looked like the village idiot with form that would make any runner cringe. [Do you have any idea how difficult it is to run with the porn star boobs that nursing gives you?! HOLY HELL IT HURTS...which reminds me I need to invest in a few more supportive sports bras to layer.] I found myself wanting to wear a sign while I ran that said "Don't Judge. I had a baby six weeks ago. I'm an Ironman. Really. I am."

Sigh.

I know my legs will eventually come back to me. I just need to keep reminding myself of that John Bingham quote...The miracle isn't that I finished. The miracle is that I had the courage to start. And right now, I'm starting from the very beginning. Because home girl has NOTHING in her endurance-wise right now.

What I do have in me in some goals. And a 2012 race plan.

For the rest of the spring and early summer I'm basically going to work on finding my rhythm again. Short workouts a few times a week covering all three disciplines. Possibly a bit of strength training in the mix, too. Nothing major. Distance and intensity will ramp up in the late summer and fall. 

So what am I planning on doing?
A sprint tri.
A 5k swim. [Yes. I'm apparently stupid enough to want to swim 3.1 miles.]
A nautical 10 mile trail run.
A half marathon.

I've got time goals for all of them...the most aggressive of which is the half marathon. But I've got plenty of time to get my rear in gear for it as it's late in the season.

To help me find my motivation [as if looking in the mirror wasn't enough], the past few days Betsy and I been watching old Ironman footage. I've been giving her pointers on how to be the most amazing of spectators [just wait until she's 2 years old and can rock a cowbell like it's nobody's business!] all while explaining the importance of tempo runs and single leg drills. I know that I'll eventually get back to the 140.6 distance. It may not be until the lil' miss is a wee bit bigger or until she's a big sister [wait...what!? Did I just enlist myself for another 9 months of being ill everyday? Why yes, yes I did...] but I will return one day. Until then...I'm going to settle on a 2013 70.3 and test the time management family-work-life-training balance.

3.20.2012

Introducing...

BETSY!!
Though you may go ahead and call her the Ironman World Champion for the year 2035.


Miss Elizabeth Claire was born on March 2nd at 3:01pm...weighing in at 7lbs 11oz and 21.5 inches long.

It was a lot of hard work...with 27+ hours of labor...of which 25.5 was done without the use of an epidural. Yes...27+ hours...this girl is already an endurance athlete and a glutton for pain. [Abridged version: I had planned to go completely natural, but due to little miss thing being sunny side up causing horrific back labor...and then she was a compound delivery to boot with her arm and back shoulder coming out with her head...uhmm...ouch.]

See? Here I am. Working hard. Or am I hardly working?


But in the end, it was worth the hard work and we couldn't be happier with our little bundle of perfection!


We're still getting used to each other, and we haven't broken her yet...so we must be doing something right.


I think we're going to keep her. ;)

2.27.2012

Forever is a mighty long time.

Still here.

Still pregnant.

Slightly more ready than I was a few weeks ago. But still not 110% ready to step into this role.

(I know, I know...ready or not, she's-a-comin'!!!)

But waiting for a moving target, like delivering a baby, is like doing your 20 mile long run on a treadmill with a broken odometer. Exhausted, you keep going and going with no concept of when it will all stop.

I seriously feel like I'm going to be pregnant FOREVER.

And forever is a mighty long time.

But forever also has an end date.

March 9th.

So sometime between now and March 9th...baby girl will make her debut.

My guess is later rather than sooner [much to my chagrin]. Afterall, she does come from endurance blood. And us endurance folk were built for distance, not speed. So she's no doubt holding out in there.

2.06.2012

Things I've learned while knocked up

Everyone has an opinion of how to have a baby. And according to them I'm doing it all wrong. Odds are you're doing it wrong, too.  

Just because I'm going to try for a drug-free birth, I am a "whole different level of crazy." Rather than judge me and tell me to go ahead and just get the epidural, why not actually offer up an iota of support? The birth process is such a personal decision. I don't judge you for deciding to get an epidural. Why judge me for attempting to go all natural?

Just because I'm going to try for a drug-free birth, does not make me a hippie. It just means I've educated myself on the pros and cons of the drugs given during the process and have decided to be open-minded regarding the situation. I understand that I may change my mind in the middle of it all should my pain threshold be reached, but for the moment, the benefits of no drugs outweigh whatever pain I may feel during labor and delivery.

Every girl deserves a doula. An awesome doula. One like Natalie.


At some point during pregnancy, you'll realize who your real friends are. It's eye opening. And sometimes a little sad.

The true kindness of strangers is amazing. The amount of insanely cute pink ruffly clothes received from someone I don't even know in Arizona has been overwhelming and restored my faith in mankind. Thank you, Katrina.

Every pregnant gal will cheat at some point during the pregnancy. That small glass of wine I had while in Prague? It's not going to cause fetal alcohol syndrome. And the few occasions I've indulged in lunch meat? Totally worth every bite. Sure, if she comes out with three heads and seven eyes I'll feel guilty...but until then, I'm enjoying life and not being too strict on myself.

Every pregnancy is different. Just because I've been vomiting the past 36 weeks doesn't mean that Baby B is going to be an only child. We'll make that decision down the line. But hopefully it means she'll be a little bit easier once she's in the world and be an exceptional eater, sleeper and an all around easy to care for baby [fingers crossed...I can dream, right!?].

Weird things happen to your body ALL THE TIME. Like taking a bath and seeing your belly move and shift involuntarily. Things ache that didn't exist even in marathon training. And at least I've got a dog to blame for the gas.

You can tell everything you need to know about a person based on their first 10 seconds of interaction with you. To the shithead who nearly ran me over while me and my big ole belly were crossing the street today at lunch, kiss off. To the elderly gentleman who backpedaled to open 3 doors for me while he was already outside and carrying about his day, thank you. You know...this actually goes beyond just being pregnant.

I can go from completely and totally okay to being a raging lunatic or complete hysterical basket case in less than 3 seconds flat. While amusing for some, it wears me thin most of the time. Case and point? There is absolutely zero reason for me to be crying at this movie trailer. And the end of the Muppet Movie? I could've gone through a full box of tissues. And heaven forbid you look at me wrong...just be prepared for an uncontrollable wrath. Key word: uncontrollable. I am fully aware in my brain that what is transpiring is nothing short of ridiculous and uncalled for...but you'd never know that based on the hormones and emotions projecting outward. My sincerest apologies to anyone who has experienced this first hand.

And last, but certainly not least...elastic-waist pants are HIGHLY UNDERRATED. These should really be the staple of every woman's wardrobe regardless of whether or not she's pregnant.