A Balance, Redefined

So how do parents with a new born spend New Year's? We tried to go to sleep early. Sandra has been a trooper with feedings every ~2hrs the last few nights and wanted to get a good nights sleep. So at 9pm we did our "midnight" toast. However, 2hrs later Kristen still wasn't ready. We finally got to bed at ~11:30pm and by 12:15am I was handed the baby... She finally went down for a decent stretch at ~2am. Needless to say none of us are too rested today. In the meantime I've still been plugging away at the grant. I'm normally a slow writer but between breaking ground in a new field and the sleep deprivation the going has been extra slow. Two more weeks and at least one of the grants will be out. Wanting to keep up the momentum I now have going with the running I did do some treadmill miles. I have to keep to my current priorities, baby and grant, but at the same time your health should always be a priority so I'm making sure to get in a little at a time. There will be a place for training again (hopefully sooner than later).

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

I had a restless night. No particular reason, just didn't seem to be sleeping when my eyes were closed. Kristen actually only woke up twice between 11pm and 5:20am when I got up so that wasn't the reason... I got some good grant work in the morning but the rest of the day has been "elsewhere." Today will be my last "official work at home weekday." Monday it will be back to the bench as some of my reagents are finally here and I have to do two experiments to see if I can use the data for the grant. Other than that Kaitlyn kept me company on another outdoor run. The weather was nice for a winter run and by the end of the run my hat and gloves were off and my sleeves were rolled up.  

Well nothing special. Last night was ok for sleep. The grant work drags on and as it is boring to read about it in these entries some days it is as boring to do. I've enjoyed reading about a new field of research but getting it all into coherent paragraphs takes time. However, as with anything the more you do it the better you get. Just taking breaks for meals with family at this point, maybe a little pre and post playtime but I should really have the first grant done by Friday so… The weather wasn’t too bad outside but the new snow and the wind made me decide to just go the treadmill route.

Something of note. I’m not sure if this is a good thing or a bad thing. This is my highest mileage week since St. George. Bad thing because that is a long time to be away, good thing because at least I’m finally moving in the right direction again.

No running today. Today was a full day, as I'm still working. I got up early to get a head start on the grant. But even with the extra hours I'm still feeling underwater today... The only thing I did not grant related was to eat and run a few shopping errands with Kaitlyn. I'll stop at midnight no matter what but had wanted a full draft tonight that doesn't look like it is going to happen :(

As much work as I got on the grant done yesterday is as little as I got done today. Going into the lab is dangerous. It is nice to feel needed but sometimes the constant questions get overwhelming. I was able to get the “final” preliminary experiment started and should have the data by Wed…

Today was my first full day back in lab and it was hard being away from the girls. I really enjoyed eating all my meals with them.

On the treadmill late. I wanted to get in a run but was running out of time so I decided to go a little faster. I even did the last mile at 6min first ½ and 5:30 second ½. It felt great to sweat again. Leg actually felt better after the run than it did before. Maybe the pain has been my legs on strike from being a slacker…

Today was too much. I thought I was going to be away from the bench and back to the grant but things have a way of getting in the way of each other. 

I'm now on errand duty for everything, especially with the snow we've been having. So I spend an extra two hours in the car going to school and back and forth from work. Kaitlyn was not up to having her daddy leave her at school. It is strange she's talked about school everyday during the break and when she got there she definitely did not want me to leave... In the end everything worked out though. 

Oh yeah on top of the grants, it was "suggested" that I write two abstracts for a meeting later this year. The good news is I had to write one for the grant anyway and the other one I was supposed to have had written up already so this is a good kick in the butt.

Anyway enough stalling back to work :)...

How is the saying? Two steps forward, three steps back. Overall, things went well today. I worked from home and got more done on my grant before than the previous two days combined. Also, when I did go into lab in the afternoon I got some results back that fit my hypothesis and allowed me to write another section in my grant. Problem is I had to write another section in my grant. That took extra time out of my day but at least it was for a very good reason. In any case by the time I finally got home and done with family stuff I could either run or get a slight head start on the grant (admin stuff due tomorrow). So I got that other stuff done as I've found running while stressed and sleep deprived is not a good idea. So for a running blog here is yet another long-winded entry with no running involved, sorry...

I couldn't let three days pass. My work load increased again today, don't want to write about it. But I'm keeping a positive attitude and will forge ahead. I was looking back and I've been in this mode for a little too long. Good news is that on the 23rd no matter what the grants will be out of the way until at least July if I don't get one and maybe for up to three years if I do. Wouldn't that make it all worth it? So after mommy quiet time (and daddy baby time) I did a few on the treadmill. My knee was stiff as I hadn't stretched the last two days either.

Tried to get a little extra sleep. I think the last three months have gotten to me. When you get into something sometimes you don't even realize how long it has been going on and sometimes it is better not to know... At least the abstracts for the meetings were completed today. Now if I could just get this grant out of the way. It amazes me to think that there are researchers out there with multiple funded grants much larger than this one. I guess it is all based on experience and I'm definitely still learning. Stayed home to keep from lab distractions but many of them found me anyway... I guess I could close my e-mail but sometimes a little help to others is needed "now". I was able to eat both breakfast and lunch with the fam which is nice. Then a little bit ago I needed a break so ran some on the treadmill. Now back to it, the clock is ticking (tick-tock).

I want to search how many times I use the same phrase, quote, etc.
Slowly, but surely. Is a common theme. The last 24hrs were rough on the mind. This is the largest grant I've written. It is for three years and also includes a budget. I could act as a bridge grant to my independence and begin my faculty career. It is amazing how tough it is. I underestimated the challenge of writing down three years of planning in seven pages. Trying to cover all you want to do in a concise way is tough. I met with my mentor for about 2 hours on Thurs and it took me until 4:30pm today to tackle everything we addressed, and I'm not sure it was all covered yet. But it is back in his hands. So I took some daddy daughter time and a quick treadmill run to wind down. Also, finally took a night off and spent some time with my wife.

Continued in "recovery" mode. Still no word about the grant I'm hoping that means it is better and doesn't need a lot of work that or it was such a headache that my boss put it aside... In either case it is supposed to be submitted to the university tomorrow for final submission on Thurs. In the meantime I'm to be working on the second grant for Friday and a presentation for my lab meeting tomorrow. Oh boy!

Spent the morning with Kaitlyn, just did a treadmill run and now back to it...

I really wanted to start this week out right. But with lab meeting and then thinking I could do bench work while finishing up the odds and ends of my grant I ended up being in lab from 5:30am to 6pm... That alone would be fine except now I start shift two. Goal is to be asleep before midnight. No run as it didn't seem like the best thing with lack of sleep and what else I still have to accomplish tonight.

I forgot the most important part. I did get a running surprise. The St. George Results Book arrived today and Kaitlyn and I are featured front and center in the internal picture montage. It was a nice surprise. Also, Josh S. made it in there as well though he looks like he might have just run a little bit harder than I did :)...

Last night Kristen reminded us that the person who coined the phrase slept like a baby didn't have kids. She finally tired herself out but not after frazzling mommy a bit. I unfortunately passed out from the long day and actually woke up exactly one hour after my alarm was set for... The day ended up going fine despite the fatigue of the day and night before. Overall very frustrated about the horrible parking situation at The U took me over 20 min to find a spot twice today! What a waste of time. But otherwise things are moving alone in the right direction and one way or another the grants will be behind me in 10 days. Just a few on the treadmill to stay sane. I haven't talked about my knee much and I have to admit I still feel something but not enough to make me concerned at this time. Next month (with at least the grants out of the way) I will focus on getting my weekly mileage back into the 40 range.

Well today is the day. I decided to do some bench work while trying to complete the grant. It led to a very long day. However, when it finally ended at 12:05am I had one of the grants submitted. After bedtime I decided a few miles on the treadmill were in order.

VERY tired and still one more grant to go. The day was a fun break though. We co-op at Kaitlyn's school and I got to go and play with all the 2yr olds this morning. Then into lab for a little more bench work and then back to grant number two. Soon it will all be over and back to just the "normal" workload. As reward for getting the first grant done I went home a half hour early and ran outside pushing Kaitlyn. 

Today I was pretty tired. However, I was still going to town on the second grant. It was due to the internal powers that be today. The day went fine and I did a "hard" run on the treadmill. 

Nearly 7hrs of sleep with only two interruptions. The rest of the day I was finishing up some loose ends with lab. I thought I would be done at 10am and didn't finish up until nearly 3pm. Then spent the rest of the day with family.

I'm glad to more or less have the grants behind me. Now starts the waiting game. The day was spent with family and running errands around the house. During nap time I headed outside for a run. It was great to get out. I also bumped up the mileage to a crazy 6!!! I know I have to calm down. However, the "full" night's sleep (only up for about 30 min at 2am and again at 5am ea.) must have had me over-ambitious. My knee is tight from the efforts but I'm coming to grips with the fact that I may just have to "learn to live with it..." Ran over past suicide rock and back.

It is hard to believe but I just double-checked. This is my longest run since St. George...

This has been a good week. The second grant was more or less completed at 11pm tonight. I did some treadmill miles after bedtime.

Nothing noteworthy. The AHA grant left my hands "forever" at 11:20am this morning. Now it is the waiting game. 

Just trying to build back the mileage. The hardest part now is finding the time. I've easily recommitted about 8hrs a week so to get any "real" mileage in will be a challenge. As I get back into the lab routine over the next few days we'll see what I can work out. Today I came home a little early with the intent of going running with Kaitlyn. However, listening on the radio to how this was one of the 5 worst air quality days this winter made me change my mind. Instead I just did the treadmill while Kaitlyn played. At least we still get to talk. In some ways it is more interactive than when we go for a run together outside.

Loving the treadmill... Having my nights back to me instead of work is a strange experience. My wife enjoys it as I've double my baby duty time.

More treadmill miles. The RED air quality just doesn't do it for me. I was short on time as I wanted to get the run in before dinner so I decided to spice it up some. I started the treadmill at 8mph and then kept clicking it faster every 1min or .25 mile or both... I got to 6mpm by the end of the first mile then kept going. I wanted to break 19 min so I really ramped it up the last to the max of 12mph or 5mpm for the last 0.1 of a mile. I broke 19 and my knee felt pretty good. Sore but "ok". 

You have to love the rain. It finally knocked the crud out of the air. The conditions reminded me a lot of St. George. It was just below 50F and rained on me the whole time. Luckily it wasn't so windy. I wanted to add on another mile this week as I build back to "real" running. The first three miles were all just above 7:30pace. The next mile was just over 9pace but through the dog back and a 1/2 mile stretch of ice. Then the last three miles were all just at 8. Overall pace was 8:01 and my HR was 146. My knee was tight at the end but not the sharp pain from before. It was nice to get a solid week of running in again. 

A week in review.

Saturday was a split day. It finished my longest week since St. George with my longest run (7-miles) and one of my fastest miles. This had me feeling great. In fact my legs felt the best they have since before the injury. However, by the end of the day my knee felt the same that it did immediately after the run.

Sunday and Monday I took off. Lack of sleep helped me make those decisions.

By Tuesday I just wanted to do anything so I did some miles on the treadmill. Wed was more of the same. But the night’s lack of sleep and more work back in lab had me dragging my legs. Thurs however we were blessed with a full night’s sleep. Kristen slept 8hrs straight. Thur and Fri were just more treadmill miles. The problem with when baby sleeps that much, is she is rested. The next two nights were horrible. She didn’t really go down until about 2am on Fri and woke up every 1-2 hrs on Sat. Today I was a zombie. I don’t see how she could get three nights like that in a row so wish me sleep.

Saturday I got outside and did a home loop with a SH loop. Avg. 8:19 HR 142

The good news is that my knee feels relatively ok. The bad news is that I’m back on the NSAIDs… I’ll give them another week and go from there again. Also, I’ve readjusted my mileage goals and will add on more slowly.