catherine's running efforts

I decided not to run last week. I was feeling really discouraged about my running issues, and it was my last week of working full-time and my first week of teaching my class at BYU, so I just decided to drop running from my list of things to do. 

Speaking of my BYU class (sociology of gender), this semester is going to be harder than last semester. I have twice as many students, and somehow they seem to be a lot more conservative. Last semester I worried that I wasn't feminist enough. This semester I'm worried about the several students (male and female) who have said in class or in their papers that they don't think that women should get paid the same as a man for doing the same job.

After Eric got back from his "epic" ride with his brother, Elliott and I trotted out with the jog stroller. It was my first run pushing the stroller, and it went pretty well. I was a bit slower than normal, but I was glad to have the additional arm and core workout.

Another 3 miles with Elliott in the jog stroller. It was easier than Monday. I like pushing the stroller because I feel absolutely no pressure to try to go fast. Plus it makes my arms sore. That's good because I'm afraid that when Elliott gains a few more pounds I won't be able to carry her. My arms are *that* wussy.

And my class went better yesterday. I think that one of the articles I assign for the first day causes students to get more defensive than they normally would. Probably I'm going to drop it for future semesters. 

And remember all the heart stuff? Tomorrow morning I go in for an attempt at ablation to fix the problem permanently. It's relatively minor for a heart procedure, but I'm still scared. It'd be great to not have to worry about it happening again next time I'm pregnant, though.

And I broke the 115-pound barrier. All of you who said that I'd eventually lose more weight (back when I was stuck at about 123) were right. I should have trusted you. :)

We went to the hospital this morning so that I could get the ablation thing done for my heart. But after trying for about 2 hours to induce the arrhythmia, the doctors decided that it wasn't going to happen. I was awake for about half that - it was pretty wild feeling them pump me full of stuff to get my heart up to 190 bpm while I was just lying there (and I think that that should totally count as a workout). So we might have to deal with the heart problem if I get pregnant again, but at least I know that for now my heart is super healthy. 

In other news, we stepped into the cutest baby clothes store I've ever seen on the way home (I just have the effects of the general anesthesia, so I'm pretty much fine), and I wanted everything for Elliott. But there's no way I'm going to spend 70 dollars on an outfit (~100 if I wanted the shoes) that she's going to grow out of in a month and a half. Eric and I don't even spend that much on our clothes. (Okay, sometimes Eric gets an expensive pair of jeans, but it's because he's so tall and skinny that only a few brands fit him well. But he wears them for like 5 years.)

I went out for a jog with Elliott in the stroller and turned around after just a bit because of the bladder problem. Maybe I should ride the bike instead of running. 

Anyway, as we were going home a car pulled alongside us and a girl took a picture with her phone. It was weird. Then the driver said, "Is that a real baby?" I said, "Do you mean am I walking around with a doll in a stroller?" She said, "Yeah." I waited for her to answer her own question. She didn't, so I said, "It's a real baby." She said, "Oh, I thought it wasn't real - I only saw it was real just a second ago." I said, "Okay." The passenger said, "You're a friendly one, aren't you." I said, "Your friend thought I was pushing a doll in a stroller." And then we continued home.

It makes sense to think that they were just trying to say that Elliott is cute. If that's the case, that was nice of them. But I think it's wrong for people to take pictures of people's children without asking. I also think that there's a difference between being matter-of-fact and being unfriendly, especially when strangers interrupt someone's walk of dejection (because of the bladder problem) to ask stupid questions.

Elliott and I walked Eric to his internship, and then we did 3 miles with the jog stroller. 

At what point do I go see a urologist? I'm okay with waiting it out, but if I'm going to end up there three months from now anyway...

We renewed our gym memberships today. So I did three sets of knee raises and a mile on the treadmill in the cardio cinema to Juno. I like the gym. It's peaceful there. 

And here's a picture of cute Elliott. She's growing up into a funny little girl. 

Eric and I have been staying late in my office at BYU to get our studying/working done. So far we're both more productive there than at home, and when we're both studying at the same place we can take turns taking care of Elliott. So today I decided that I would run around campus a bit before we head back to American Fork. I really enjoy running around BYU. And Elliott likes hanging out in my office. 

In the dark with Eric and Elliott. We didn't see Biscuit.