3 days and counting...

I know, I know, I've been neglecting this blog. I've been busy! I swear! My son was hospitalized with pneumonia (yet again), and we had a death in the family. Between work, training, and taking care of the family, this blog kind of slipped to the back of my mind. On the upside, here I am, ready to catch you up on all that's been going on in my little world.



                                           NYC HALF MARATHON....MARCH 2011

My husband and I took a weekend away from the kids to head to NYC to run the NYC Half Marathon back in March. We applied for the lottery drawing for the race and got in, so we were very excited to run. I went out with a plan to get a PR (personal record) for my 13.1 miles. Didn't quite happen. I hung around my usual 2 1/2 hours but enjoyed the race immensely! It was awesome to run down the streets of New York, right through Times Square! My husband and a friend ran with me, so we all had a great time.

MOTHER'S DAY DASH....MAY 2011

May 8th was Mother's Day. In honor of this wonderful holiday I found a "Mother's Day Dash" 5k not too far from our home. I even got MY mom (who was not a runner. Notice I said WAS. I got her hooked!) to run too! Even better...they had a kids race as well that my daughter ran in. That's 3 generations of us that celebrated with a run!

Our daughter, Me, my Mom, Hubby, and our son

The kids race was before the 5k. It was a half mile run around a grassy field. My daughter loves to run, and she sees both my husband and I run all the time, so we had her do the kids race. She was so excited! (mind you she is only 2 1/2 years old). I am pretty sure she was the youngest competitor there.

After stretching, the kids lined up and were off! My daughter held her own for quite awhile, and I ran right along side her cheering. When we looped around by the basketball courts she got distracted ( "look mamma a ball!!!") and she occasionally stopped to smell the flowers. When we rounded the corner to get to the finish line everyone was cheering for her! Our Gracie was dead last, but she could care less! She was all smiles and you could tell from the look on her face she was so proud. We are so proud of her!

After the kids run, the 5k started.  Grace was happy to climb into the jogging stroller and drink her juice, sit back and relax for the ride. Prior to the race we decided my husband would push the kids in the double jogging stroller and he would run with me. It was a hard decision, as I do love to run pushing the kids (I love the little voice yelling, "Go Mommy! Faster Mommy!!", but I really wanted to try for a PR on my 5k race time. Happily, with the help of my husband giving me those extra words of encouragement throughout the run, I broke 30 minutes! A PR on Mother's Day!!! That was the best Mother's Day gift ever!!! (the Keurig he got me comes in a close second!).

THE Y TRIATHLON....MAY 2011

Two weeks ago I competed in a sprint triathlon to get me ready for Ironman 70.3.  It was a 300 yard pool swim, 10 mile bike, 3 mile run. During the swim I thought I was going to drown, although towards the end of the swim I started to feel better in the water. Conclusion...once I am warmed up I will do fine. 1.2 miles is far to swim. I may not be fast, but I will get through it. I felt awesome on my bike, and on the second lap (it was a two loop course) I passed many people. The run was great! I felt like I was flying. I pushed through the "OMG I need to walk my legs feel like jello" feeling, and ended up pulling off my fastest 3 mile run time ever. That's right...EVER~!! (24:38 for 3 miles at the end of a triathlon) The day of the triathlon I was awarded 3rd place in the female 30-34 age group. While checking the results online a few days later, come to find out I placed 2nd instead! I really don't care that I have a 3rd place medal and not the 2nd place one I actually won. I am just walking on air knowing I GOT SECOND!!!!! Yipee!!!

And now here I am. It's Thursday. The Ironman 70.3 Mooseman triathlon is on Sunday.

 Am I nervous? HECK YEAH!

 Am I excited? Well, when the nerves are at bay I am totally excited!

The bike racks are on the minivan, the hotel reservations are made. The kids bags are half packed. I have to work the night shift tonight and once I get out at 7am tomorrow morning we are headed up to New Hampshire.

Sometimes I think about this race and get emotional. It is a big deal for me. I always looked up to triathletes who competed in either a full or half Ironman. Now I will be one of them. I can't wait to cross the finish line and see the look on my children's faces, as they say, "LOOK! It's Mommy!! That's my Mommy!" I want to make them proud. I want to show them that their Mommy can do anything she is determined to do, and they can to.

There is a quote hanging on my daughter's wall. It reads...

"She believed she could, so she did."

This Mommy believes she can. And she will.



"Mommy take pants off"

In honor of the big race this coming Sunday (NYC Half Marathon), I decided a trip to the store was in order so I could get a new running outfit. As I browsed the racks, my daughter pointed out all the different types of clothing ("socks! pants! shirt!"). It was ridiculously funny. I picked out a pair of shorts, a pair of capri pants, and a long-sleeved shirt. It was time to head to the changing room.

Mistake #1: calling it a changing room. I  should have just said "fitting room" instead. Oh well. My daughter kept insisting, "NO! I don't need a diaper change!" the whole walk to the "changing room". Once she was calmed down and realized we were not, in fact, changing a diaper, she was all smiles again. I pushed the cart into the family changing room (which was wonderful...the whole cart fit inside, along with the toddler, infant, diaper bag, and myself.)

Mistake #2: Letting the toddler get out of the cart. I thought this was a great idea. Give her time to run around (she couldn't get out of the changing/fitting room), while I tried on some new clothes. As soon as she saw me take off my pants, she started saying, "Mommy take pants off! Mommy take pants off!" very loudly. I couldn't do anything but laugh. I am almost certain everyone else in the changing room was laughing too. She then proceeded to take her own pants off. And run around the changing fitting room in just a diaper. Oh boy. Hey, at least she was contained to a small room!

I did end up scoring a cute new pair of running shorts, a pair of capri pants, and a sweet long sleeved shirt (which was on clearance for $9!). A successful shopping trip, in more ways than one. Both kids slept the whole way home.

1 week and counting

I am 7 days out from the NYC Half Marathon. I am trying for a PR (personal record) for this distance. My best half marathon time so far is 2:20. I am trying for 2:10, but will be happy with anything less than 2:20. Oh who am I kidding...I will be happy just finishing and having a good time while doing it! It's New York! We get to run through Central Park, Time Square, and we get to see many other landmarks. What better way to see the city than running down the middle of the street? It's also exciting that the runners for this race were chosen by lottery, like the full NYC Marathon. Kinda makes me feel special. They picked me! They picked me! Me, along with many other runners, too. One of which is my husband. We have a sitter for the weekend and are spending an "adult only" weekend in the city. Yay for not only "date night", but a whole "date weekend"!

Went on a 7 mile run today. Was planning on running 8, but my right shin was bothering me, so I opted on the side of safety and headed home to ice it. My daughter was helpful in this (see photo below). I have concluded this is not a running injury, but a swimming injury. I had bruises on my right shin, and the other day finally figured out where they came from. As I get out of the pool I hoist myself up and put my right shin against the of the pool edge. Great for getting out of the water, not so great for my poor beat-up shin. Glad I figured this out now and can change the way I get out of the pool. Also glad it's not a running injury!

mobile naptime

When I got off work at 7:15 this morning it was raining. My original plan was to head to the pool to swim laps, come home, and then go for an 8 mile run. Like planned, I swam laps and then headed home. Lucky for me, Little Man decided he was going to take a 2 1/2 hour nap, which allowed me some time to shut my eyes too. Except for the fact my daughter had other ideas about this. As I tried to squeeze in a few zzzzz's on the couch, she periodically climbed on top of me and would poke me in the eye, and then try to open my eyes. Needless to say I only got about an hour of sleep. I soon got up and brewed a pot of coffee.

As I was letting the dog out, I noticed the rain had stopped. AND...it was actually warm out! About 50 degrees!!! Mind you, this isn't terribly warm if you look at the big picture, but it DOES mean it is warm enough for me to take the munchkins along for a run!

After 10 minutes of getting changed and dancing to the Black Eyed Peas, we were ready to go. Water bottle? Check. Milk bottle for the baby? Check. Snacks for the princess? Check. IPod with only one working ear bud? Check. ( I really should get a new set of ear buds before the half marathon next weekend). Off we went!

First thing I noticed was how hard it was. Last summer I ran with the kids all the time, so it was the norm. Lately, however, I have been running sans-kids (due to the cold weather), so this was quite the change. Added up, the kids plus stroller is about 80 pounds I am pushing! 80 pounds! Talk about a killer workout!

2 miles into the run my daughter passed out cold. Sweet! Nap time on the run. Mile 3 and my son is asleep too! Now that's what you call "Mama multi-tasking!" Get in a workout while the kids nap. Fresh air does a kiddo good, I always say.

Ended up running 5 miles total. I would have loved to run further, but the whole running-on-no-sleep thing (add in a swim workout) , and the fact I was pushing 80 lbs, 5 miles was just fine.

I will go longer tomorrow. Without the kids.

You want me to do what?!?!?! (The story of my first swim meet)

                                           
That was the first thing I thought when I saw my name on the list to swim the 200yard freestyle relay, 50yard breaststroke, and get this...50yard FLY! Sure, I can swim freestyle, and I can do my version of the breaststroke, that's fine. However... I HAVE NEVER SWAM THE BUTTERFLY.  EVER. Never even tried it for fun. I looked at my husband with what I'm sure were "deer in the headlight" eyes. All he could say was, "You'll be fine. It's good to step outside your level of comfort every now and then."

Oh Boy.

Did I mention I also don't know how to dive in off the blocks? Yes, still. I was going to attempt to learn this past week but that didn't happen.

First, I was in a fun race. I was the last leg of an underwater 200yard swim relay. I was so glad this was the first event I was swimming in! It didn't involve me diving in, since I was the last leg and was at the shallow end of the pool. Yay for that!

When it was time for the breaststroke, I hopped in the water and got ready. I'm sure I got more than one strange look. "What? I can't dive! Nope, don't know how." I was certain I would get strange looks and laughs. None of that. Everyone went on with their merry business and the race started. Mind you, I was immediately in last place because I didn't have the extra force that goes along with diving in the water, but I did  my best.

My "Super swimmer husband" swam a few events after that. He is such a great swimmer! The kids and I cheered for him and I couldn't help but laugh every time he came by and the kids clapped and said, "Yay Daddy!"

When it was time for the butterfly, I was really freaking out. I even tried to find other people to swim for me. When I told everyone, "I DON'T KNOW HOW to swim the FLY!", everyone responded, " That's ok, this is just for fun. Just try it."

Just try it??? Ok, here goes...

I once again climbed in while everyone else got on their blocks, and the buzzer went off. The only thing I could do was try to simulate what I had seem my husband do when he swims fly. I am sure I looked silly, and I know I did  my legs wrong, but I think I sort of managed to look like I knew what I was doing. It was the hardest stroke I have ever done, and I swear I thought I was going to drown. Afterwards, I was told by many that I did great. Still don't know if they were just being nice, or if I actually pulled it off. I have to admit, it was fun to try something new. Maybe I will enlist my superstar-swimmer-of-a-hubby to teach me some of his tricks.

When it came to the 200 free relay I felt good. It felt easy, compared to the previous races! Afterwards, one of my favorite cheerleaders had a little fun with my swim cap and goggles...

Overall, it was a great day. Even better because we got some training in, and we did it as a family,

The Thursday Slump

Once again it's Thursday. Every week it's the same thing. 12-hour shift (11am-11pm) on Tuesday, then again on Wednesday. Thursday is my "mini-break", if you want to call it that. I don't have to be in until 7pm (yes, for another 12 hour shift.). I always look forward to Thursdays, because it's a day home with the kids (yay! No daycare!), and it's my first day being able to workout since Monday. Here is the problem...

I am so freaking exhausted from working the back-to-back 12 hour shifts that there is not enough coffee in this house to motivate me! As it is, I am so behind in housework that I have a million things to get done. I still have a load of diapers in the dryer from Monday, and this house looks like a tornado ripped through it.  Did I also mention that Thursday is grocery shopping day??

Needless to say, it's 12;20pm and I still haven't worked out. I have, however, cleaned  the bedrooms, kitchen, and "ordered" the groceries (I love grocery stores that let you input your order while the kids nap, and then all I have to do is just pick it up!). All I am waiting on is the "food coma" that accompanies lunch. Once these two munchkins are in bed dreaming sweet dreams maybe I can hop on the bike.

Maybe.

I think I need to brew another pot of coffee.

Sink or Swim

The triathlon team my husband and I belong to is hosting a swim meet this Saturday. Great, right?!?!?! I thought so! I signed up for the 50 free (one lap). I was excited...until the question came up whether or not I  would have to dive into the pool off the "scary-looking" blocks. Yes, indeed I would have to. Here lies the problem...I DON'T KNOW HOW TO DIVE! There. I said it. I am 31 years old and have no idea how to dive into a pool. Sure, I can jump feet first. But DIVE????? That scares the crap out of me. Something about going in head first. Ever since I was little, I have never been completely comfortable in the water. I can meander around, and I can make it through the swim in a triathlon (no scary diving blocks...you just walk into the water during a race).
Basically I have 1 week to either figure out how to dive into a pool, or be the dork  only person starting the race from water level while everyone else dives in.

I will keep you posted.

10 miles of random thoughts

Today I ran 10 miles in 1 hour 54 minutes, which was awesome because this past Tuesday I ran it in 2 hours 5 minutes! Although, really, I can't compare the two, since they were totally different routes. Tuesday had more flats and today was VERY hilly. One would think my time would be slower all the uphills.  On the contrary~ with every UPhill, there is usually a comparable DOWNhill. Hence, the faster time. I must have really sped up on those downhills.

When I run, I tend to think random thoughts. Here is some of today's randomness...
~ I plan out our meals for the week. Which is quite funny, since, by the time I get home I can't remember ANY of the meals I had planned. They always tend to be healthy, too. When I workout I get to thinking, "Yes! This is it! No more junk food, no more chocolate, only lots of veggies and fruit." and of course, as soon as I walk through the door I am just so darn hungry from my workout I pickup the bag of tortilla chips and salsa (at least it's fresh salsa, not the jar kind) and go to town.
~ I either need to get a new (good) sports bra or stop breastfeeding. Since the second choice is really not an option (I plan to nurse my son until he is 1 year old, which is still 8 weeks away.) Plus, breastfeeding burns 500 calories a day and I LOVE that! So...I guess it's time for a little shopping trip.
~I think about what my kids will wear to our races this summer. Ironman 70.3 especially. Sure, sure, they could wear anything and it wouldn't really matter. BUT, this is a huge race and I'm all about the dorky "Go Mommy" and "Go Daddy" T-shirts. When you are racing [any distance], it really is a mental lift to see that little cutie in a personalized shirt clapping for you. So, yes, my kids will have dorky, hand-crafted (by me!) T-Shirts that have catchy slogans on them. That being said...
~I basically designed their T-Shirts! All during my run! Of course, now I have forgotten what they look like, just like our meals for the week.
~I wonder if people are looking out their windows, wondering what this crazy girl is doing, running in the snow. I'm sure no one even notices, or even cares. On the flip side, I am looking at their houses, wondering why on earth they still have their Christmas lights up. It's freakin February!!! Then again, we do still have a wreath on our front door. Maybe the owners of the homes with Christmas lights have babies. I know that's the reason why our lights are still up. We say (just about every weekend), "We should take the lights down today." And by the time the angels are asleep in their bed we are, a) too exhausted,  or b) we just plain forgot.

10 mile snow run on country backroads

Monday is PP night!

Monday is PP night, and NOT because we are trying to potty train our 2 year old. Monday is POOL and PIZZA night!

I started the day with a plan to go to Stroller Strides with my Mom. She had the day off and was excited to come workout with us. I got up when my wonderful husband kissed my cheek to leave for work and noticed...
"Oh my it's snowing again!". Mind you this is the 20th time this year I have gotten up to see it snowing. OK, I'm exaggerating a bit, but it HAS been snowing a lot this year.

Class cancelled.

I decide later in the day to ride the bike. Baby boy went down pretty easy for an afternoon nap, while the little princess watched Curious George. This was my chance! I climbed on the bike and started pedaling. Then the phone rang. It was hubby. While pedaling and talking on my cell phone (good thing I was indoors, there is probably a law against doing that on the road), the princess decides she is ready to do what any 2 year old does for absolutely no reason at all...tantrum. For no reason at all. Wait, I already said that. Anyways, that was the story of the rest of my afternoon. One child set the other child off. Needless to say after 30 mins of cycling I had to get off and tend to the little monsters precious angels.

5:30pm could not come fast enough. I was suppose to meet my husband and the pool at 6. That's when he would be finished with his swim and I could do mine.  I had the kids bathed and in their PJ's, packed up in the car and we were on our way. The princess decided her grilled cheese sandwich wasn't good enough, so she threw it at my head while I was driving, and then screamed the rest of the way there. By the time I arrived at the pool to do "the swap", I was ready. Will took my car home with the kids and I headed inside to swim. I swam for 30 minutes, and it was the most relaxing 30 minutes of the day. I purposefully kept my ears submerged underwater as to drown out any noise. It was very peaceful. This mommy needed a time out and the pool was PERFECT! I ended my swim with a dip in the therapy pool, which is kept very warm. It felt amazing.

On the way home I picked up our pizza (the refrigerated bake-at-home kind). I arrived home to both kids asleep in their beds, the oven had already been pre-heated, a glass of red wine had been poured, and our favorite show was about to come on TV. I love our PP night tradition!

Creative ways to squeeze in a workout

These are some of the things my husband and I do in order to be able to train...

* Obviously, when it's warm enough outside we run pushing the kids in the jogging stroller. For times that it's just too darn cold, we do the following..
The "errend run"~ This is where one of us leaves the house and starts running in the direction of the store we need to go to. At a previously determined time, the other one then packs up the kids in the car and drives to the store. Then, on the way home we switch. The driver then runs, and the runner drives the kids home. This also gives you the opportunity to do a point to point run, instead of a loop. It's a nice change of scenery.

* We have one of our bikes hooked up to a trainer in the livingroom. This allows us to hop on the bike during naptimes or when the kids are occupied with a movie.

* The gym we belong to has a daycare, however, only for children over the age of 1. Great for our daughter (who is 2), not so much for our son (who is about 10 months). In order to get in those swim workouts we have devised this schedule. On Mondays and Fridays, my husband heads to the pool right after work to swim. I plan to get there about an hour later. He then takes my car (because it contains the sleeping children) and I stay and swim. We then meet up at home, put the kids to bed, and enjoy a nice dinner together while  we  he enjoys the smell of chlorine on his skin.

* I attend a mom and baby workout that incorporates resistance bands and cardio, for a great all over body workout with the kids in tow. Not having to find a babysitter to workout is wonderful!

These are some of the creative ways we try to fit in a workout with 2 little ones. Do you have any creative workouts you would like to share?

Running outdoors

It was 50 degrees out today!!!
I have been longing for the days that I can strap the kids in the double jogging stroller and go for a long run outside. Granted, on weekends my husband  and I alternate our runs so someone is home with the kids while the other is getting their workout in. However, because of how cold and snowy it has been this winter, the weekends are the ONLY times I have been able to run.  I took it for granted last summer. It was just so easy! Want to go for a run? Sure! As long as it wasn't raining I took the kids out all the time. I remember putting them in just a onesie and packing sippy cups full of ice water. Now, I can't even get outdoors without 3 layers, a hat, and gloves. It's going to be about 50 degrees again on Thursday. I see a 9 miler in my future...with the kids.