Who Am I?

Well hello there! It has been more than two years since my last post, and a LOT has happened. Since February 2013 I have changed jobs three times, had a second child, run a whole bunch (on and off with the pregnancy), and pretty much just loved life. No time to fill you in on all of the above, although I will say that Maddie is now 3, Phelps is 1, and they are the two most incredible kids in the whole world. I am obviously biased as their mom, and I'm okay with that.

A few weeks ago I formally resigned from the bank in order to have more time with the kiddos. I am the type of person that needs some form of work outside of taking care of the kids, and I also believe in the benefits of daycare, but lately felt as though I lost the balance between the two. A friend of mine that works as the CFO in a privately held business offered me a part time job on the finance side of things, and I've accepted. Today, for the first time in 9 years, I am not a banker. I am actually not anything right now because I don't start the new part time position until next week ... which brings me to my question in the title of this post ... Who Am I?

The kids are currently in day care, Jason is at work, it is almost noon and I am at home with absolutely no responsibilities. Don't get me wrong, my to-do list of put off projects from the past few months (years in some cases) is about a mile long, I also plan to make dinner, pick up the kids early, buy Maddie a new swim suit, you get the idea - but there is not anything that I absolutely MUST do by close of business today, or tomorrow, or next week for that matter.  I've already gone running, showered, drank my coffee, and walked the dog; now I'm getting ready to leave the house and go into public for the first time and I got stuck in my closet. 

This will sound so silly to some of you, but I don't know what to wear! I have plenty of clothes, but for nine years I have had "work clothes" "running clothes" "church clothes" and "weekend clothes".  I LOVED getting dressed up for work. I love work dresses, I love skirts, I love suits, I love the way I feel when I arrive at work for a big meeting and not only am I prepared, but I LOOK prepared.  When in college I took the phrase "dress well test well" to heart, and do believe that when you feel good about yourself, you are more likely to succeed.

So now what? Am I the type to put on make-up, do my hair, and don a cute outfit even though I won't see anyone I know today? Do I put on another running outfit because I have so many, even though I've already run and showered so the goal is to not break into sweat again? Am I a yoga pants and cute workout shirt mom?  I just don't know! Obviously I'll figure out what to wear, but this thought process begs the deeper questions of who I am now that my identity as a banker is no more? While I always swore my career would not define me, that I wanted to work in order to live and not the other way around, my job was where I spent the vast majority of my waking hours.

My largest obstacle with this change will be finding purpose and meaning in my new set up. Spending more time with our children (I am hoping) will be so rewarding, and I know that they will benefit from it as well; but I have a lot of self-induced guilt from not providing as much financially anymore. I worry that I am “wasting” my talent in the corporate world and will miss it.  I struggle with what my working mom friends will think of me, and I fear that they will feel judged by me since they are continuing to work and I’m charting a new course.  Other working moms are how I made it this far; and I don’t want to lose them as friends.  There is an unspoken connection between working moms (most anyways) because they know when you get the “sick kid” phone call the hoops you will now have to jump through to take care of your child without wrecking your career in the process by missing one more day un-expectantly.  Working moms know the delicate dance between two working spouses, the mutual respect required of each other’s career in tandem with the selfish desire to put yourself first just this once and to ask your spouse to take care of the kids this time.  My working mom friends know all too well the guilt of wondering if you really are making the right choice to keep pushing just one more year.  Wondering, am I showing my daughter the importance of working for what you believe in, am I instilling in her the belief that she too can conquer whatever she sets her mind to. Am I showing my son that women are intelligent and capable too; that it is okay and commendable if his wife wants to work, stay home, or something in between.

On the flip side I worry that I won’t fit in with the stay at home moms that I am now attempting to befriend. Will I come across as arrogant if I reference my old job? Do they judge me for sort of quitting the corporate world, but not taking the full plunge because I’ll still be working part time and have my kids in day care?  Do they view me as incompetent when my kids both start crying at once on our first outing with other moms and I drop my diaper bag while simultaneously knocking over the stroller because both babies want to be held at once? (yes – this happened)

When people ask what I’m doing now, I find myself immediately starting to defend and explain myself instead of just answering their question. Like with any important endeavor in life, finding the answer to who I am will take time, I know that I need to rein myself in and stop rushing to figure it out.  

Oh, and in case you are wondering – I ended up in khaki cargo shorts, flip flops, and a shirt from a recent race I ran in. I’ll save the “cute” outfits for a play date. 

At Tweetsie for the first time, so fun!

My First PPPR!

Hello! It has been just about three months since my last post and my goodness have things been fun in my world! I’ll start by filling you in on one of the most important parts of my life … Maddiecakes! She is 6 months old now and thriving. She can sit up, reach for and grab toys out of my hand, knows her name, and is very close to crawling. We have begun to feed her puréed fruit and vegetables twice a day, and so far her favorite seems to be apples. I absolutely love finding new ways to make her smile and laugh, but usually just my walking into her line of site is enough to elicit a big gummy grin! I am absolutely in love with everything about her and thank God every day that I get the privilege of being her mommy.

Maddie at 5 Months

Roxie and Maddie at 4 Months

Reese and Maddie at 6 Months

Maddie after some sweet potatoes!

Jason and Maddie at Christmas

Maddie and I at 6 Months

Maddie at 6 Months

 Things in the running world have been progressing nicely as well, with just one minor hic-up along the way. I had been told that Maddie would be bringing home all sorts of germs the first year in day care and that my immune system was in for a rough ride, but I had no idea just how rough that ride was going to be! At the beginning of February I was logging 30 miles per week including a 10 mile long run on the weekends, and my pace was coming along much more quickly than I had anticipated with most of my runs in the 7:30 range. Then Maddie came home with a cold, which was no big deal, she’s had one before and I knew it was just a matter of waiting it out until she felt better. I got her cold as well (as expected) but continued training. Then her cold turned into some weird eye irritation (the doctor said it wasn’t pink eye, but it was all gunky looking so they put her on medicated eye drops “to be safe”) which I also got. Then I woke up the morning after the super bowl freezing cold, my body full of aches, a 102 degree fever, and a nasty cough … I had the flu. After 5 days in bed I started feeling better, but there was this lingering pressure behind my left eye that wouldn’t go away no matter how many times I blew my nose. After two days of misery, I went to the doctor who confirmed that I had a sinus infection. Oh my goodness, I was one tired mamma. Fortunately, Maddie showed no signs of illness after the cold and eye stuff, and Jason is the most wonderful husband and father in the world and took over full time Maddie duty. After 12 days of no running, I finally felt well enough to head out the door for a 2 mile test run. The Disney Princess Half Marathon, which I signed up to run with my cousin, Laura, was only one week away and I needed to get moving!

Laura ran this race last year in an awesome first half marathon time of 2:07, and I was thrilled when she brought up the possibility of us running it together this year and aiming for sub 2. My mom and sister, along with Laura’s mom, came to cheer us on and add to our fun girl’s weekend in Disney World.

Friday night we all converged on the Orlando Airport and made our way to the Walt Disney World Resort. We were so tired from travel that we barely remained awake through dinner then trudged back to our rooms for some much needed rest. This was my first night away from Maddie … ever, and I worried about my ability to sleep knowing I couldn’t check on her to make sure she was still breathing if I woke up during the night. My fears were for naught though and I slept, well, like a baby knowing that Jason was home with our baby. I will pause in the race re-cap here to say that I am blessed beyond all measure to have Jason as my best friend, husband, and father of our child. After getting over the initial anxiety (and guilt) I felt from leaving them alone for the weekend, I did not at any point the rest of the trip worry about Maddie in any way, because I knew that she with her Daddy.

Saturday, after a scrumptious breakfast consisting of Mickey Mouse Waffles, eggs, bacon, yogurt, oatmeal, and fruit (yes, all of that is what I ate, I’m not sure what the rest of the crew had, I was busy chowing down!) Laura and I made our way to the race expo. I LOVE RACE EXPOS!!! Running as a whole does not require much gear, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t a-whole-bunch-of-stuff-you-don’t-actually-need-but-it-looks-so-cool-you-want-to-buy-it-anyways for sale! I was a good girl and limited myself to 4 new pairs of balega socks, a sweet pink shirt that reads “motherhood is the ultimate endurance sport” and as much free food as I could possible fit into my bag. Once we had scoped out every booth there, we made our way to Universal Studios to meet up with the rest of the crew and explore Harry Potter World.

Me, Sam, and Mom in Harry Potter World! 

 As many of you know, my maiden name is Potter, and I am quite obsessed with the Harry Potter books. I have read every book at least twice, listened to each book on tape at least twice, and watched every movie who knows how many times. Going to Harry Potter World was like the mother ship calling me home. Fortunately for me I was not alone in my excitement as my sister is even more obsessed with Harry Potter than I am. We quizzed each other on little known Harry Potter facts the entire afternoon while my cousin and aunt looked at us with amusement as though we were speaking another language … silly muggles! That evening we watched the most amazing show I have ever seen, Disney’s Cirque Du Soleil, followed by a delicious dinner at Wolf Gang Puck. Unfortunately in order to fit all of that excitement in one day, we did not go to bed until 10pm … 2am race day morning came awfully soon!

2am Sunday morning my alarm clock went off … good thing I’m a morning person! I fumbled my way through my morning routine then with my second cup of coffee in hand made my out the door at 3:15am to meet my cousin for our bus ride over to the starting area. I must give a massive shout out to my mom here, and also provide some context. I am still breastfeeding Maddie, and plan to continue breastfeeding for the entire first year if possible. That means my breast pump is my ball and chain, wherever I go, it goes, and I pump every 3-4 hours, every day, no matter what. So, leaving the hotel room at 3:15am for a race that does not start until 5:30am and will not conclude until 7:30am (hopefully!) meaning we won’t get back to the hotel until 8:30am at the earliest, presented a bit of a problem for this milk-pumping-mommy. Even though it would have been just a bit longer between pumps than usual, who wants to run 13.1 miles … how should I put this … full? This is where my mom came in. She got up at 2:30am and came with me to the starting line for the sole purpose of taking my breast pump from me before the start of the race so I wouldn’t have to risk losing it in the bag check. My mom is awesome. At 4:30am we jumped a little gate between information booths, ducked behind the booth, and I was able to squeeze in one last pump.

3:30am ready to load the bus!

5:30am just before the start!

And We're Off!

 Before long I had hugged and kissed my mom goodbye, it was 5:30am, and Laura and I were about to embark on our royally magical princess journey! The race was great, and I am so glad that this was my first one back after having Maddie. I felt no pressure whatsoever since I was not racing for a new PR, and I was confident that Laura and I would obtain our goal of sub 2. I was ready for a fun tour of Disney World with 26,000 of my closest running friends! Due to the large number of runners the first few miles were extremely jam packed, and we were 30 seconds per mile slower than our goal pace at mile 1. I assured Laura that this was to be expected with such a large event, and that during almost every world record set in any distance event the runner negative split, and we were far better off to be too slow at this point than too fast. Miles 2-3 came and we had made some headway in lowering our pace, but we were still 10 seconds per mile slower than goal. I was not worried at this point, but knew these next few miles were where we would make it or break it. Fortunately Laura rose to the occasion and when I quickened the pace a bit she did as well.

Cinderella's Castle!

Laura just after the castle!

At the half way point we ran through Cinderella’s Castle and we were now just 3 seconds slower than goal pace. From that point on the race seemed to go by much faster, probably because I knew we were running back towards the finish line. Around mile 8 I took a self inventory, and realized this was the farthest I had run in 3 weeks. Aside from a general soreness in my legs which is to be expected 8 miles into a race I decided that I felt great and was in good shape to finish strong and continued encouraging Laura to do the same. At mile 10 it dawned on me that every step I took was farther than I had run at any point in the past two years! Disney did a great job of keeping the course entertaining despite being on a high way between parks; there were characters about every half mile and plenty of music along the way. At mile 11 I knew we had it in the bag. We were dead on pace, and Laura’s stride looked just a strong as it had when we first began, I knew she and I both had what it took to finish fast. Mile 12 came and I encouraged Laura that it was time to give it all we had. There was a good group of six or seven other women that we had been with the last two miles, and they all came along too as we sped up. I continued shouting encouraging words like, “Mickey Mouse Waffles waiting for us after we finish!” and we continued to quicken our pace. After several turns that I thought would be our last, the finish line was finally in sight. Out of no where Laura found another gear and I thought, “well crap, now I have to catch her!” as I took off as well. We crossed the line side by side and I ecstatically pointed up at the clock which read 1:59:59 as we ran under it. Our chip time was actually 1:58:55, but it was fun chasing down the clock at the end to make sure we were legitimately under 2 hours.

Proud Princesses!

I am so proud of myself and Laura for this accomplishment. For Laura, this was a HUGE PR, and for me it was the jump start I needed to fire up my excitement for racing. While I did not set a PR this weekend, I did gain some much needed confidence in my ability to continue pushing myself in that direction. On my way there, I am planning to have a lot of fun setting some PPPRs…

Post Partum Personal Records here I come!!!

Hi, I'm Maddie's Mom

As the title of this WAY overdue post indicates, Maddie has arrived! She has actually been here for three months, but as my priority is now being her mom, things like typing up blog posts have taken the back seat. So let me fill you in on some particulars:

August 21^st, 2012 at 8:16pm Madelyn Nicole Mercer arrived weighing in at 8lbs 5oz and measuring 20.75 inches long. From the time my water broke (at work!) to this very moment, nothing has gone the way that I thought it would, but it has all been perfect.

Madelyn

Our Family

Jason and Maddie

 By the end of my pregnancy I had gained roughly 50 pounds and was ready to pop. I don’t know the exact weight gained because after the 50 pound mark I stopped stepping on a scale, which was about two weeks before Maddie came. Those of you who saw me the last two weeks can make your own guesses as to how much more I put on, but I’m sticking with 50! I have always wondered which is harder, giving birth or running a marathon, and I now have an answer: It depends on whether or not you get an epidural! I really wanted to have a natural labor, and was determined to make it through the contractions as we headed into the hospital after my water broke. I had proclaimed previously to anyone that would listen that I could survive anything that I knew would come to an end. What I am sure now all mothers before me heard was “I am an idiot that has no idea what she is saying, please smile and pretend I’m not making a fool of myself as I say this because I just don’t know any better.” Thank you, mothers everywhere, for being nice to me when I said such silly things!

After receiving the epidural I was a happy girl! I won’t go into the details of the actual birth, but following a few short pain free hours (thanks to the wonderful needle in my back) it was time to push, and push I did. You see, this all happened on the 21^st, and my birthday is the 22^nd, and I really wanted Maddie to have her own day … so I pushed! While the first words out of Jason’s mouth when he saw her were “she’s perfect!” the first thing I said when they put her on my chest and I saw my baby girl for the first time was “She’s HUGE!!!!” And my life has been forever changed.

Maddie and Me

The next two weeks were a blur. There was very little distinction between days and nights, and I questioned why people ever decide to have more than one of these crying/pooping/eating/sleep stealing machines. After week two we started to feel like there was some hope of sleep again in the near future, and I began to crave some form of exercise as I finally had some energy to spare. At 3½  weeks post partum, I went on my first 1 mile run. It was not pretty, but I was so happy to be moving that I didn’t care how horribly slow and out of shape I was. When I got back to the house Jason was standing outside with a screaming and hungry Maddie; apparently she was not a fan of my little jaunt down the street! As the weeks went on I tried to squeeze in 1-2 mile runs whenever possible and Maddie became more and more willing to allow my brief absences without causing a scene.

The next 4 weeks my anxiety began building, and I started feeling trapped. Maddie developed colic around week 2, and would consistently cry (read as all out scream and shake her little fists) inconsolably for the better part of 2-4 hours somewhere between 7pm and 2am every night. I felt helpless throwing myself at this little person who was sucking me dry (both physically and emotionally) without giving me anything in return. People would ask me, “Are you getting the hang of things being a new mom? Do you know what she needs now that it’s been a few weeks?” The honest answer was “No! I have no clue what I am doing! I am winging this entire thing and praying she doesn’t remember any of it because I am sure that I am doing it all wrong!” But of course I would smile and say something vague and positive sounding; I couldn’t have people thinking I was crazy!

Then one day it all changed … Maddie smiled!!! At ME!!!! It was not gas (yes, they trick you into thinking they are smiling at you, then they let it rip) it was a true smile, and it was all for me. In that one little look of happiness she stole my heart. I no longer felt helplessly trapped, for the first time, I felt like her mom.

Maddie's first smile!

It has not all been sunshine, flowers and rainbows since then, but it has been good. I’m not sure if it was my attitude change, Maddie growing out of her colic (thank you Zantac!), or a little bit of both; but 6 weeks was a turning point in the Mercer house. She shows more and more personality every day, and has recently begun to laugh, which just melts my heart every time! Our furry babies are doing well, and have accepted her as part of the pack (thank goodness!). Roxie and Reese get very upset if I don’t lower Maddie’s car seat down to their height so that they can greet her when we all get home in the evening.

Mercer Girls

Maddie and Reese

Roxie and Maddie

                                   

As far as running goes, I am pleased. I usually strive to run 4-6 miles, 4-5 times per week. I’d love to get up to a 10 mile long run by the end of the year, and then start incorporating some speed work as well. Fortunately for me, Maddie LOVES the jogging stroller! She usually stays wide awake and looks around at the trees as they pass for the first few miles, then drifts off to sleep. Tentative running goals for 2013 include running the Disney Princess Half Marathon in February with my cousin, Laura, racing a half marathon sometime late spring in hopes of setting a new PR, then in October I will attempt for the third time to reach my goal of running a sub 3 hour marathon. A lot can happen between now and then, but I like having goals, so there they are.

Maddie and I after a run

Since having Maddie I have thought a lot about my dad. He was extremely involved with my running (and life), and I know he would have been an amazing grandpa. When I was in high school, at cross country and track events he would walk around and introduce himself to people as “Stacy’s Dad.” He never started with his name; the identity he was proud to proclaim was that he was my dad. I will never forget that, and I understand now what he was really saying. He was saying, “I love my daughter more than myself.”

So, with that said, my big goals for 2013 and on are:

To be Jason’s wife, and Maddie’s mom.

Happy Living!

Monster Month!

For those who are unfamiliar with the term “monster month” it is the month during marathon training with the highest and most intense mileage, and begins roughly 6 weeks prior to the marathon itself. It is the final push prior to enjoying a two week taper (rest) period before the big day. During monster month, runners typically experience one or all of the following symptoms due to the intensity of the training:

• An insatiable appetite
• An obsession with remaining hydrated,
• The need to take an embarrassing number of bathroom breaks at work (caused by the hydration obsession)
• Restless legs
• Trouble sleeping due to constantly obsessing over the big day that is fast approaching
• A lost or dazed look while taking on tasks that at one point seemed simple, but due to the constant fatigue and lack of sleep now seem insurmountable
• The need to groan or grunt when going from standing to sitting and vice versa
• A constant desire to hide under the desk at work to catch a quick nap
• An uncontrollable need organize and reorganize your race day gear to make sure you don’t forget something essential, like your shoes (I’ve done this)
• An inability to talk about/focus on anything other than the training plan and the big day

As I entered the 34^th week of pregnancy two weeks ago, and realized that I had 6 weeks to go, I couldn’t help but think about the similarities between how I feel 6 weeks out from a marathon compared to how I feel 6 weeks out from d-day (delivery day). Looking at the above listed symptoms, I can’t find a single one that doesn’t apply to how I feel now … I am in pregnancy monster month!

Having experienced both now, I will be so bold as to say that pregnancy is way harder!

For one, there are no “off” days during pregnancy. Every day, all day, no matter how I feel about it, no matter what the weather is, no matter what else is going on in the world, I am pregnant. This has a good side to it in that every day I am rewarded by feeling Maddie move. During marathon training, sometimes you don’t feel anything good for several days and it is hard to remember at times why you are putting in so much work for something that seems so far away. I never forget why I am working hard through this pregnancy, and I feel blessed every day because of it.

Second, for some reason when you’re training for a marathon and say it is 6 weeks away, people tend to assure you of how much time you have left to prepare. When you are pregnant and say it is 6 weeks away, everyone tells you that you are in the home stretch, it’ll fly by, and you’re “almost there!” Who cares that I dread going to bed each night because I can’t find a comfortable position, I’m almost done right? Wrong! I will not consider myself “almost done” until I’m on my way to the hospital. It’s just like during a race; you NEVER tell a runner that they are “almost there” until the finish line is in sight. Not around the corner, not just a half mile away, actually in sight.

Last, the marathon is guaranteed to happen on a specific day that you can count down to. When Maddie decides to come is pretty much out of my control, and while the doctors will make educated guesses, they are still just guessing. I was told two weeks ago that I am measuring 3 weeks ahead of where the charts say I should be. I got so excited at the thought of the pregnancy ending 3 weeks early that I actually started fist pumping the air! The doctor just smiled and said, “now don’t get too excited, it could just mean that when you deliver her on time she’ll be a really big girl.” Well if that doesn’t sound exciting I don’t know what does … staying pregnant for several more uncomfortable weeks and delivering a big baby! Go me.

In marathon training, you reach a point where you wish the race would just come already so that you can put all of your training to the test. I was so nervous the week leading up to the Boston Marathon that my boss at the time sent me home a half day early because I was absolutely worthless sitting there obsessing over every mile split I was planning to hit. I am rapidly approaching that point with the pregnancy as well. Our house isn’t quite ready yet, work is busy and probably always will be, there’s really no right time, but I can’t wait for THE time because I’m just itching to meet my little girl!

Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes!

My my how much can change in the course of a few weeks! Well, I’ll be up front with it, running in any shape or form (yes, including joggling) is now officially done until after Maddie is born. Fear not though, I am determined to stay in shape. Actually that is a bit of a mis-statement in two ways. (1) I am not currently “in shape” by my standards, so to say that I am going to stay that way is just wrong, but you get what I meant. (2) The physical shape of my body I am sure will not “stay” either, as I am bound to continue expanding for the next two months! I guess what I am trying to say is that I plan to continue some form of exercise or another in order to be as healthy as possible.

In addition to the exercising, I have had to make a few changes to my diet. At a recent doctor appointment, they commented on how much I have “popped” recently and inquired about my carb intake. I said that I eat a ton of carbs, I always eat a ton of carbs, I’m a runner! Then it hit me … I am not a runner at present. They were kind enough not to point this out as it appeared I got to their desired conclusion on my own, and the great epiphany was that I am not currently eating the way I should. Yes work got busy with some projects and we’ve been staying late at our new house making renovation decisions and often do not arrive home until after 9pm, but that is no excuse to eat poorly. So, I have made the following changes:


-  No more 2^nd breakfast, eat a more filling 1^st breakfast instead
- No more pre-dinner snack of chips, substitute with fruit or veggies
- Occasional pre-packaged dinners, but much more cooking
-  Always have a vegetable with dinner
- Eat dinner before 8pm, even if that means preparing it ahead and taking it with me
- No more sugary cereal and ice cream together after dinner, it’s one or the other

So far I’ve been pretty good at following all of the rules, I do love rules!

There has been one other rather significant change in our household … we sold our mustang convertible. The writing has been on the wall for a while now and we were trying desperately not to look at it. A few weeks ago we took Eleanor (that’s her name) to Buy Buy Baby in order to test once and for all whether or not a car seat will fit in the back seat … it does not. Technically it would fit, but there cannot be a person in the passenger seat at the same time, which means the three of us could never ride in that car together unless one of us sat in the back and the other acted as chauffeur.

After much research and debate, we settled on a Nissan Pathfinder as Eleanor’s replacement. We already have a Nissan Murano (Molly) and after 130,000 miles have never had issues with the quality. The Pathfinder drives like a truck, which Jason loves, and has ample room to grow. So we made our decision, found a 2011 with only 14,000 miles at a nearby location, and scheduled a test drive. Before we left Jason gathered together the keys and title to the mustang “just in case” this car was right for us. After the test drive we were sold and it was simply a matter of filling out paperwork for the trade.

Four hours later, it was a done deal and we found ourselves standing in the parking lot under the lights asking the sales lady to take one last picture of us in front of our beloved Eleanor. Jason handed her the keys and she walked inside, leaving us standing between out past and our future … and I began to sob. I don’t mean I got misty eyed, I mean it was the ugly boohoo. The one where your face gets all swollen and red and you sound like you’re hyperventilating when you try to inhale. All I could force myself to say as Jason was holding me trying to calm me down and figure out why in the world I was so upset was, “I made you do it!”

Last picture with Eleanor!

I could blame it on the fact that it was almost 11pm and I was just too tired for any other emotion, but I know the truth. The weight of all of the changes we have thrown at ourselves over the last six months finally caught up with me, and reality came crashing down.

Since December:
- We found out we are pregnant
- Jason took a new job
- I took a new job
- We listed our current home for sale
- We purchased a new house
- I gained 30 pounds

Turning over the keys to Jason’s car was the straw the broke this camel’s back. It is the first decision we’ve made regarding the baby that wasn’t fun, it was actually quite difficult. Fortunately for me, Jason is the most wonderful person in the world and knew all of the right things to say to calm me down. I was still sniffling as I climbed into our new car, but I managed a smile as Jason held my hand (benefit of an automatic over a stick shift … hand holding!), cranked up “Big Eleanor” aka “Big E” and we drove off into the night ready to take on this new chapter of our lives together.

Jogging + Belly Jiggling = Joggling!

Time sure does fly when you are having fun. It is hard to believe that a month has gone by since the Austin 10-20. I ran 10 miles that day, and since then, may or may not have run 10 miles total! I really struggled after that race, much more so than I had anticipated. As I stated in the last post, my muscles were fine, it was my body as a whole that was having trouble adjusting to the pregnancy changes. After Austin, I took a much needed full week off of running. I then expected to get into a routine of 3-5 mile easy runs, 4-5 times per week … wrong! Merely 1 mile into a planned 4 miler I found myself walking and in pain. To be safe, I walked the next mile, then jogged a mile home. Yes, it would have been more intelligent to just turn around and walk home after the painful 1^st mile, but I am stubborn and it was a beautiful day that I could not stand the idea of missing. I took the rest of the week off and decided to start walking instead. By the next weekend I figured I had rested enough and attempted another jog … no luck. I then resigned myself to the fact that my running days were over until after Maddie comes and reverted to walking.

Fortunately for me, I was wrong again. It seems as though I experienced a massive growth spurt after Austin (gained 5 pounds in a week) then hit a plateau for a few weeks (still grew, just ~1 pound a week). I discovered that during a plateau period I can run for 5 minutes, walk 1 minute, and then repeat for a total of 25 minutes. I have gained just under 25 pounds so far in total, and have noticed that while I jog, my belly jiggles quite a bit. I have dubbed my new form of exercise “joggling!” (I am pretty sure I did not come up with this word on my own, but I do not remember where I heard it first, so I am not sure where to give the credit … feel free to think I am actually that creative!) Roxie, our 6 year old hound mix, seems to LOVE the new pace. Reese on the other hand, our 4 year old terrier mix, looks bored out of her mind! I only make it out to joggle once, maybe twice a week, but I am so happy to have found a way to continue exercising.

      

7 Weeks - No weight gain
Still running 20 miles/week

 

 21 Weeks - 15 extra pounds!

Ran Austin 2 days after this photo

25 Weeks - 23 extra pounds!

This was last Friday 5/12

I realized just yesterday that I need to be careful how I use this “joggling” word. I was sitting at my desk at work thinking about our plans for that evening and sent Jason the following email: “Hey, it’s a gorgeous evening, do you want to joggle with the girls after work?” Obviously I was asking if he wants to run with me, Roxie, and Reese after work; but I can only imagine what the people screening our work emails think when they read stuff like that.

I have found other ways to stay connected to the running world aside from actually performing the activity myself. The Right Moves for Youth Twighlight 5K was last Friday night and I took Roxie out with me to cheer on the runners. The little kids especially liked patting Roxie on the head as they ran by, and she loved every second of it! The next morning I was up with the sun with Tyler to hand out race packets at the Girls on the Run 5K. We volunteered for the race last December as well and had a blast both times. It is an amazing organization and I am glad to have had the chance to help again. I would love to be a coach at some point for one of the local schools, but that will probably be another year away as I am not sure what our new family schedule will look like come this fall with the little one making her debut.

It is funny how your perspective changes when your priorities are in line. Last year when people asked how my running was going, and I had to answer that I wasn’t running due to my stress fracture it absolutely crushed me inside. Now it doesn’t bother me at all when people ask how running is going, and I reply that it’s not really. I miss it, and cannot wait to get back out there and really run without worrying about hurting the baby or myself, but I would not trade this time for anything in the world. Plus, while pregnant, our local Chick-fil-a carries my food to the car for me! What’s not to love? 

Austin 10/20 Race Recap

At 6am the alarm clock went off notifying us that race day had arrived! Once again I was impressed with our crew’s ability to get 5 people up and out the door with only 1 bathroom in record time. The drive there was pleasant enough, and we listened to some sort of Irish music that reminded me of the theme song from “Braveheart” to pump ourselves up. There are two conditions under which I am allowed to run while pregnant: (1) My heart rate doesn’t get too high and (2) I don’t overheat. I wasn’t really worried about my heart rate because I knew the pace would be something I could handle. The weather though, was a huge concern as Austin typically experiences temperatures in the mid 80s this time of year. Somehow we lucked into experiencing one of the chilliest days Austin has had in the last month, and by that I mean the low almost slipped into the 50s the night before and the high that day didn’t reach 80! To make it even better, it was overcast and drizzly most of the race. I could not have hoped for better conditions.

Andrew, Christine, me, and Jason before the race

This was Andrew and Christine’s first big organized race, so I made sure we did things right and gave them the full experience. First, we stood in the long line at the porta-potties. It is an art to pick the fastest moving line, one that I have never mastered, but practice makes perfect! Next we did some plyometrics to loosen up our muscles.

Andrew warming up

                             

After we were thoroughly stretched out, I made a mad dash for the bathroom one last time, the rest of them were brave and decided to hold it. Just a few short minutes later, the gun sounded … and we all stood still. Just like the last race I ran back in March, we were far from the actual starting line and slowly walked up to the start before our real running began.

I haven’t posted in a while because running while pregnant is really not all that exciting. What you don’t know is that I have had to stop and walk instead of running multiple times during the training leading up to this race. Nothing dangerous for the baby is going on, I’m just … growing … and stretching … in areas that aren’t necessarily the most willing to give … and it hurts! Depending on the day I can head out and run 9 miles with no problems, or barely make it 1 before I am forced to walk back home and accept that fact that things are just going to be different for a while.

From the first few steps in Austin I could tell I would make it the full 10 miles, and that was a huge relief! I could also tell from the first few steps that I already needed to pee again! So, at the 1 mile mark I found myself standing in line at the first porta-potties in sight as Andrew and Christine forged on ahead (Jason was kind enough to stay with me). Thus began our 10 mile game of run a mile or so to catch the Tilts, stop to pee, and run to catch up with the Tilts again. I took 4 bathroom breaks total, a new personal record!

I knew Jason would run the full 10 miles just fine because a few weeks ago on what was supposed to be an 8 mile training run, I took us on a “short cut” that added 2 additional miles. The Tilts were the unknowns, but they were awesome! Our goal was to finish under the 2 hour mark, and the entire race we were looking good. The bands along the way were pretty decent, but I think over all the crowd was disappointed at the low volume of the music. We had hoped for the sound of one band to carry us forward to the sound of the next, but instead there were several minutes of silence between each band stand. I am sure the pros that were running 5 minute miles thought that the music carried well between each stand, but for the rest of us back there, a little more volume would have been appreciated!

Around mile 8 we all stopped for a bathroom break, and this was the first time I started to worry about our ability to run sub 2. We were not behind our goal pace, but we had no room for error in the final miles. I did not say anything because the group seemed to pick up the pace right where we had left off, but at mile 9 we had noticeably slowed. I told them where we were time wise and that we could not afford to slow down or we’d miss the goal, and slowly the pace picked back up again. What seemed like forever went by, and we found ourselves rounding the last turn. The finish line was in sight … I looked at my watch … we had exactly 60 seconds left. I started yelling for the group to sprint, and as many encouraging things as I could think of. I could not tell by the look on Christine’s face if she was going to sprint, stop and walk, or slap me for being so annoying. Fortunately for me after a second’s hesitation she started sprinting. We all took off chasing down the finish line as fast as our legs would go. “30 Seconds!!!!!” I yelled out as we continued to close the gap. “10 Seconds!!!!!!! RUN!!!!!!!!!!!!” ….. “WE MADE IT!!!!!!!!!”

Official time: 1:59:57! Go Team!

Jason and I at the finish!

I am so proud of our accomplishment to run 10 miles, and run within our goal time. The whole weekend was a huge success and I had a great time. Now that the race is over, I am not sure what my next move will be. To be honest, I am way more sore after this than I had expected to be. My muscles are fine, it is my body trying to adjust to all of the changes going on internally that just make running fairly uncomfortable at times. I plan to take the remainder of this week off, then figure out what running/exercising feels good for the next few months and just cruise.

When I will post again is a mystery, but until then … happy running!