A Balance, Redefined

Updated for the week yesterday...

Last night was one of the harder nights but they are all good. I may have given the wrong impression. Sleepless nights with baby are expected and I'm just keeping track of them. The goofy part is that she started out sleeping 3-4 hour stretches and night and has dropped to the 1-2 hour stretches. Which alone would be ok, but when she is up for 30min-1hr each wake up it gets a little harder. Though I was exhausted today I made sure to get on the treadmill a little...

Sleep was about the same but I went to sleep earlier and slept later so even with the interruptions still managed about 6hrs. Today however was so slow. I really feel "off base"... Did the treadmill run after baby time (Sandra's rest time). This has been a good routine so far and will help keep the mileage down. In addition to starting the NSAIDs again I did start Glucosamine/Chondroitin/MSM. So far so good. 

I took Kristen until about 11pm. Then slept in another room last night. I slept a good 6.5hrs with only one wake-up! The day was also the first one in a few months were I felt "normal" at the bench... Just treadmill miles, one at pace... Man would it be nice to run 26 of those back-to-back someday.

Last night was a rough one. From 10:30 to 2:30 Kristen woke up every hour. Then I took her and she cried for nearly an hour before I got her to sleep. The good news is that we then slept until 7:30 though it was co-sleeping and it was on her belly, two no-nos but it worked... The day was fine and today marked her 7wks "b-day". It was also my first solo daddy night as Sandra was doing an activity at the local Ward. It was great the treadmill worked charms on Kristen. She just watched me and smiled every time I looked over at her. She started to cry at mile 2.5 so I just increased the speed and the change in sound distracted her until I was done. Good thing I'm running so few miles... 

So far today has been the most “normal” since before my injury. The night’s sleep was still pretty poor, but Sandra took the brunt of that so I owe her tonight. I got in early to lab set up three experiments and was out the door for a run toward City Creek. It is funny how I can miss that run. The most boring part is all I could do today but it was still missed. In typical fashion of this year it rained on me but more of a mist and when I was out there it was still about 46F. Today I stop the NSAIDs again but I’m going to keep up with the G/C/M for a few months. Knee is tight but nothing out of the ordinary.

Overall a good day. Daddy duty all morning. Sandra even went out for a "run" then I headed out for mine around 2pm. Just a home loop. Nothing noteworthy which is a good thing. No news is good news.

It just so turned out that after family time I had time to take Kaitlyn for a run today. We did our SH loop. We didn't have any problems but did get rained on most of the run. Nice and easy effort and pace, 126/9:10...

Nothing special. Just a typical Monday finished with a treadmill run.

Commuter run to work in the snow. It was nice running outside and starting the day off right. However, my head was/is very foggy today. My knee was a little tight but not too bad.

Nothing special today. Felt better than yesterday but time caught up with me and I only had enough to squeeze in two treadmill miles.

Got some real sleep last night. Kristen has been sleeping 5+ hr stretches the last few nights and it really makes a difference. Also, I co-oped for Kaitlyn today as school so I got to sleep in. Overall a fun day. After the bedtime routine I actually headed out the door for a run. Nothing special I just beat the 8min guy (by 1 sec). It was cool out but I was dressed fine and going slow enough that it felt good. Also, it was just nice to be outside. Knee a little tight but watch-ya going to do? 

Nothing special today. Felt like I got a lot done in lab but still lagging a bit behind. Time to focus on that again some more. Next to writing some papers. After the bedtime routine I did a quick two miles on the treadmill before movie time.

Well I made my goal. I'm back up to 30 again. Slow and steady wins the race, right? Today was a good day. Spent most of the morning cleaning around the house and shoveled twice. By the time I made it out for the run the sun was out and it was pretty nice for a run. It says it is only 35F out but it felt much nicer. 

Well today was a good day. Started with the family breakfast then

church with Kaitlyn. After a few errands and lunch I went out for a run

in some beautiful weather. Knee felt ok so overall a good outlook for

the week ahead.

In to work early and out a little early as well. Ran with Kaitlyn toward SH but not around.

Went to sleep as early as Kristen would let us and then slept in as she decided to sleep a full 7.5 hrs. So overall I was pretty rested. I did the commuter run in to lab this morning and felt pretty good. Slow but not much pain.

Nothing special today. Felt very tired but otherwise plugged along. Did a treadmill run after the bedtime routine. Increased the speed 0.2 mph each minute starting at 8 min/mi.

Commuter run with an extended campus loop. It was chillier but still not bad. I was very slow this morning >9min pace but with the hilly campus and just overall fatigue that set in yesterday I was fine with the run. The knee was bugging me a little more today than on Mon but it wasn't worse after the run. My daughters also appear to have picked up a little cough and I'm wondering if I'm struggling with that in the background.

In to work early for a meeting. Then home to watch my older daughter while Sandra took my younger daughter to the doctor for her 2-month check-up. I just did some easy treadmill miles while we watched Word World. I tried the random hill mode today which was a good way to spice it up. I typically have just done flat and either one speed or adjusted it myself. It was good to use some of the other features on the treadmill considering we've had it for two years now.

Well things continue to move in the right direction. There is still knee pain but there doesn't seem to be more. Also, since the NSAID intake is so much decreased I would have to say overall there is less pain. The morning was spent doing family things we decided to tour the new Draper Temple with my wife's friends. It was interesting and probably not an experience we will ever get again. After lunch I went out to enjoy the beautiful day despite the fact that I know have the cold that everyone else in the house has. Luckily it is more or less just a runny nose so it didn't cause too many problems. I did the dog park/sugarhouse loop.

Still not the healthiest of campers. It's a shame that when my knee is finally feeling better this cold hit. Luckily the first one in the house to get it is starting to show sings of improvement. Unfortunately, she had symptoms for six days total so I'll hope for a shorter spell. We all went to sleep earlier and slept in later. So even with additional wakeups from the littlest one not being able to breath through her congestion, we got more sleep. I'm not sure if a full 8 but it was probably close. After prepping for dinner I did a loop around Liberty Park from home. It was fine except that the way back is all uphill. 

A typical Monday. In to work early to get some stuff done before lab meeting. The day seemed to fly by. With being sick most of the weekend I felt more behind than usual but managed to end the day on time. Then after dinner ran on the treadmill. The 8min progression run changing speed every minute. Kristen enjoyed watching, who needs a baby mobile when they have a daddy on a treadmill. With everyone still sick getting things done and planned has been a little rough but we make do and try the best we can...

Today was a pretty productive day. Overall happy with what I got done at work. Then after a conversation with Sandra finally made it out for a run at ~8:30pm. I little later than I wanted but still ok. I just ran southish and back. I kept a pretty good pace 7:46.

Today was the opposite of yesterday. Making waking up every 1.5hr during the night had something to do with it. During the day I just never got momentum to get stuff done. I did drag myself outside for a small loop around home.

Well today started off on the wrong foot but I did find some balance later on. I thought I was completely past my cold but woke up coughing a little. I think this has to do with the poor sleep the last few nights. Last night was probably the worst. We were woken 4 times between 10pm and 4am for about 30m to 1hr each. The longest stretch of sleep came when I turned off my alarm at 4:30am and was able to sleep all the way to 7am. This is where the day started awry; I ran start into work 2.5-mi then set-up an experiment. I then decided that I would finish my full planned run. So I ran toward City Creek 5.5-mi. Overall this decision helped to turn around the day. The run was pathetically slow but by the time I got back I was feeling better. The morning was swamped by people “needing” my help so I didn’t get to my own work until after a lunch meeting.

Planned day off. Tomorrow I may try 10 for the first time since STG. Last night was a better but still started off rough with unrest from midnight until ~1:30. I was then able to sleep all the way until my alarm at 5:45am.

Well today marked a couple milestones. First double digit day since Oct 4th. First week without worrying about my knee (I had my cold to distract me :)). And despite the random sleep I finally felt like there is hope for running in the future. I will continue with my slow and steady increase in mileage through probably at least the end of April and go from there. I did a new loop at 7:40 pace and kept my HR at a 142 avg. Last night was still rough sleeping but I was only up for two of the four wake-ups so overall it wasn't too bad for me. I spent most of the day doing errands and helping out around the house like prepping meals for today and tomorrow anything to help Sandra and her 4th night in a row with 4+ wake-ups.