catherine's running efforts

We had errands and yet more unpacking today, so it was almost 7 when we were ready to head over to the gym. We called first and found out that it was about to close, so we bundled up to head outside for our runs (I only wanted a couple of miles, so Eric was going to run with me until I was done and then continue on his own). It felt warmer than it was last night, and I was ready to buckle down and just get it done, but the sidewalks were super icy and I'm pretty afraid of falling down. Or tweaking my back. So I turned around after about a block. I'm counting it, though. And we're going to post a gym schedule in our apartment. 

At the gym with Eric after work/school. Alternated .5 walking at 4.0, .5 running at 6.5 (my confidence is shot after Friday night's debacle). We might turn into evening runners this semester. It's harder to fit around eating, but it's easier than waking up at 4:30. 

3 miles running, 3 miles walking at 4.0. I was just going to do 3 miles running interspersed with 2 miles running, but Biggest Loser was on and that show makes me want to stay on the treadmill like nothing else. 

You know the random pains? At our appointment yesterday the doctor said that if I feel them when I'm running, I should stop running. I'm 92% sure they're GI related, though (and 4% sure I'm making them worse in my mind than they actually are), so I'm trying to work that part out before I really stop running. Except with all the walking I've been doing, haven't I stopped already? I feel like such a poser posting walking miles on here. But it's so depressing to only post the running miles.

One mile running, 3.2 miles walking. 

Two miles walking at 4.0. 

On the treadmill at the gym. I've never been into the Bachelor/Bachelorette shows, but somehow the new one makes the treadmill time go quickly. Alternated .5 walking at 4, .5 running at 6.5.

I figured out the GI stuff (for now), so I think that was what was causing the random pains, but I still get some weird tightness.  The Internet makes it sound like it's the fake contractions, and it seems like it's normal and stuff, even at 18 weeks, but it's unnerving. I'm thinking about switching to swimming and cycling. But I don't want to be a swimmer or a cyclist...

Walking on the treadmill at the gym. 2.5 miles at the 8.0 incline, then .5 at 10.0 incline. I caught the last 30-40 minutes of Biggest Loser. It's so crazy to think about losing 12 pounds in a week. 

Just a mile walking at the 12 incline. I got to see a little bit of that Live to Dance show, though. 

Nada. 

(I wrote it in Spanish because I'm working on a Spanish survey at work, so I'm practicing. I only know a few words. (Someone else is doing the translating.))

50 minutes on the elliptical, then fake pullups and dips. 

Good luck to everyone who's racing today!

Yesterday I noticed the tops of my thighs touching, so I have a renewed commitment to work harder at whatever feels like a good idea. 30 minutes on the bike (I was still in bed for the 8:00 spin class), 30 minutes on the treadmill walking at 15%. I had to remember to keep pushing on the bike (it helped to watch the cadence thing), but overall I think it was an okay workout.

It was about 9:30 tonight before we were done with everything, and I still needed to go to the gym. I kind of didn't want to go, but then I thought, "What would Nan (or Allie or Melody or Lily or any number of people on the blog) do?" Probably they wouldn't have waited until it was so late to go to the gym. But if they *did* find themselves in such a situation, I'm sure they'd go. So I went. It was fine. I walked (semi-briskly) for 30 minutes at the 12% incline, and based on my heart rate and how much I sweat I decided it was similar to an easy run. That made me feel better. 

Then I did fake pullups and dips, and Eric helped me with the bench press. My goal is to be able to lift the bar on my own. :)

I'm so lucky to have a spouse who will fit his gym time around my schedule. It makes it a lot easier to go when I know he needs to go too, and it's nice that he helps me lift the weights that are too heavy for me right now. 

An hour on the treadmill at a 12% incline, alternating between two brisk walking speeds. I can tell it's an okay workout because it's hard enough that it makes me want to quit early. I tried .25 of slow running at the end, and I think that the jiggling of my belly is maybe what makes the tightening come. Unfortunately, I'm not big enough yet for the support belt we bought.

I also did the incline bench press machine since I don't want to be flat on my back and the empty bar is hard enough that it's pointless to try to do it at an incline. It turns out that the machine without any weights is just the right amount of resistance as long as I do my arms separately. Yes, my arms are that wimpy.

And I got the waterproof mp3 case from Bonnie in the mail today! She's the best. I'm so excited to try water jogging.

An hour on the treadmill at 12%, alternating between the two walking speeds again. I think that tomorrow I'm going to try the whole hour at the faster speed. I was going to try the water jogging with Awesome Bonnie's waterproof mp3 case, but I had to get home to finish some grading (one of my goals for the year is to stay on top of that), so I'll probably wait until Friday when I have more time to do the whole clothes-swimsuit-clothes thing. 

Oh, and I started running a little because yesterday's .25 was okay, but then the tightness came so I stopped. Also fake pullups and dips. My shoulders were a little sore from yesterday's fake bench press thing. 

And really, Live to Dance isn't great. And I think that real lindy hop should mostly be a club/social dance, not a performance dance.

I was all sorts of cranky about a kid who plagiarized in one of my classes and then dropped the class when I confronted him, so I wasn't really in the mood to go to the gym. But I knew I'd be glad I went, so I ended up with an hour walking on the treadmill at varying speeds and inclines. Then I worked on the fake bench press machine. 

I think I'm getting burned out on the walking on the treadmill thing. *So* excited to try the pool tomorrow. 30 minutes on a bike, 30 minutes walking up a fake hill. 

Also, I know I'm supposed to gain weight because I'm pregnant, but I feel like mostly I'm just getting fatter. I feel bad for eating more, especially since I'm not running, but I'm just so hungry...

And Eric did *great* on his first-semester grades. We should all congratulate him for his hard work while still running and spending time with me at home. :)

One time I did a sprint triathlon. It was a bunch of years ago, and I can't remember why I wanted to do it. The swim part was in a lake, and I think I had gone swimming maybe twice in preparation. I started swimming like everyone else, but there were so many people that all the thrashing kind of threw me off. Then something touched my leg. Anyway, I got tired after about 30 seconds, so I started dog-paddling. Then I got more tired and decided I didn't care what people thought, so I alternated between the paddling and kind of a back stroke. A race volunteer came over in his canoe to make sure I was okay. I told him I was just slow. I think I was second-to-last overall. 

So I'm not a swimmer. But guess what? There's a lot else that I can do in a pool that still feels like a good workout. Thank you again to Bonnie for helping introduce me to something that makes me hate being pregnant a little bit less!

I wasn't exactly sure how water jogging would work, but Eric said something about needing weights. I started with one of those ankle weights on each foot, but they weren't quite weighing me down enough. I put another set on, but I was still just kind of prancing around. It was better in the more shallow part, but for 3/4 of the length of the pool I could just bob around on my toes. I think our regular gym (pool was closed today in AF) has waist weights, so I'll try those on Monday.

I didn't want to get my head wet (and plus I'm still self-conscious about regular swimming (my swimmer brother is going to give me some lessons)), so next I grabbed a noodle and started kicking back and forth. That actually made my legs feel really good and tired, so I did that for about 15 minutes. But I wanted to work my arms, too, so I switched the noodle for those weird foam barbells and did little tricep thingies as I was kicking. It was awesome. I was visualizing how ripped I was going to get. Then I realized that was probably unrealistic, but I think it'd definitely help me be more toned.

So...best day at the gym in a long time. Yay.

Another attempt at the pool running, this time after reviewing the things that Bonnie posted. The video helped a lot. I think I was successful. Eric wasn't so much. He thinks he's too tall. I think he needs to watch the video.

I also tried regular swimming. It kicked my butt. I could only do four laps before I felt super out of breath. Eric says it looked normal, so I think I just need more practice. I like that it makes me tired, though.

Today I was more stressed about not getting caught up on work stuff than I was about not going to the gym, so I skipped the gym. I'm glad I've been being consistent, but I also don't like waking up every day and feeling like I'm more behind than the day before. 

I felt super dumpy after missing two days at the gym. Plus, last night my muscles were doing this really weird thing where if I flexed them (like if I pointed my foot hard or tried to flex my calf) they'd seize up and hurt. And then I was all antsy during the night, so maybe my muscles started to atrophy or something. 

So tonight I decided that I was going to run. I walked on the 12% for a mile, and then I ran a mile very slowly. No tightness. Then I walked at 12% for half a mile, and then I ran another mile. I sped it up after the first half and got some tightness, so then I went back to the very slow run.

Our 20-week appointment is on Tuesday, so I'm going to ask about the tightness again (again). It doesn't at all hurt (though sometimes I'm sore like an hour later), and running just feels really good in the rest of my body. And it's going to be warmer outside soon.

Really Friday's entry should have been on Thursday, and this entry is for Friday. Anyway, Eric picked me up from work so that we could go to the gym before going to the gymnastics meet (go Utes!). The Sugarhouse gym is weird. It's like a dungeon with mirrors. I hung out on the treadmill walking up a fake hill for awhile, and since there was a mirror right next to me I spent some time thinking about whether I'm noticeably losing muscle tone. So then I did the quad machine for a bit. 

I pulled out the belly band, and it fits now. Yay. So I tried running a really slow mile to see if I got any tightness. I don't think so, but the band was on kind of tightly. It's kind of like the question of whether I feel any pressure. I don't know what's pressure and what's needing to go to the bathroom. Or what's crampy from gas and what's crampy not from gas. It's all very confusing. 

It felt good to do the mile. I really like running. The Bachelor was pretty good, too.

Long day, even though I didn't go to work. I cried for a lot of the trip to Salt Lake for our 20-week ultrasound because of some story on the radio about a man who killed a puppy, and then I cried for most of the trip back to American Fork (fun day for Eric) after our afternoon appointment because I can't decide if we should keep going to our OB or switch to a midwife (more emotional support and still at the hospital with doctor backup, but what if something crazy happens?). 

After I finished teaching my online class I was pretty tired, and I'm probably coming down with a cold, so I thought I'd be completely justified in skipping the gym and just going to bed. But then I thought that I'd probably be happier in the long run if I just went. And maybe it's lame, but seeing that Biggest Loser would still be on was kind of the deciding factor.

About 40 minutes walking up a fake hill, then the quad and hamstring machines. I don't care about my arms. They're dead to me.

And we're having a girl. She's fine so far. I might have some arrhythmia. We're thinking of naming her Elliot, but we're still open to suggestions. 

P.S. I'm *totally* 117 and not 123 like the doctor's office scale said.

I stayed home from work today and slept in so that I could maybe get over the cold faster. I don't know if it worked, but I'm less tired and I didn't cry at all today. But I had to go to Salt Lake anyway to get the holter monitor (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holter_monitor) to follow up on yesterday's arrhythmia thing. Also to get Eric's birthday present (his birthday's on Friday). 

I was feeling a lot better by the evening (moved from the sore throat stage to the runny nose stage), so I did about 40 minutes on the treadmill walking at various inclines and speeds. I got an oreo milkshake on the way home because of Allie.

Spent some time on the elliptical and treadmill in between work and the dinner for Eric's birthday. Happy birthday, Eric!

My swimmer brother (he's 9th in the state in his event) came to the rec center (they *do* have an indoor track!) in AF to give me a little swimming lesson. When I was in the locker room about to go out to the pool a cardiologist from the hospital called and said that the results from the holter test (a 24-hour EKG) had been really abnormal, and she asked me all sorts of questions like had I ever fainted and did anyone in my family ever die suddenly. I'm supposed to go to an ER if I get light-headed or dizzy or if I faint, and exercise may or may not still be okay. It was kind of weird and scary. Mostly I wish I hadn't gotten the phone call when I was out and about in my swim suit so that I could have taken notes or something, because really I have no idea what she was saying except that there's some medicine that they'd prescribe except that I'm pregnant. 

I figured that nothing about me changed just because of the phone call, so I went out for the little swimming lesson (I told my brother, though, so that he could pull me out if it looked like I was dying or something). I learned that my arms should go down instead of out, I'm supposed to roll my hips as I go, half of my water-side goggle should be underwater when I turn my head to breathe, and I should make 16 arm strokes per length when I'm in the pool at Gold's. Then my brother was showing me the difference between what I do and what I *should* do, and one of the lifeguard people came over and told us we had to get out because some kid had pooped in the pool. So we went home. Short lesson, but we got reimbursement passes and I feel like I learned a lot.

Later we stopped by to see Lily and pass on Bonnie's waterproof mp3 player case. (See picture. She has one that includes Eric.) It was fun to meet her and get to know her better. I hope she's able to run again soon!

While I was at work the hospital called and said that a cardiologist wanted me to meet with an electrophysiologist. So I went in in the afternoon and found out that part of my heart hasn't been beating right. Since it's the bottom part it's more of a concern (like some people have no symptoms and some people die), so they admitted me to make sure that I respond okay to the medicine that should fix it.

I'm pretty mad about the whole thing. I'm mad at myself for not going to med school or even taking anatomy and chemistry so that I'd be able to understand more about what's going on, and for believing the person who told me in high school that feeling my heart pound sometimes was normal. I'm mad at society for not figuring out how to fund more pregnant woman and calcium channel blocker studies. I'm mad whoever posted the picture of a two-headed calf on Wikipedia's entry for teratology. I'm mad at every doctor who's listened to my heart and didn't think anything was wrong.

But I'm grateful that I'm at a good hospital. I'm grateful that Eric was able to spend the night here with me. I'm grateful that I'm otherwise healthy.

Still in the hospital. They switched the medication from verapamil to diltiazem, and the new one has helped my heart rate to go down and has reduced the PVCs. I might get to go home this afternoon. And everyone (3-4 cardiologists and an OB or 2) says that the baby should be fine. And they could take me off the medicine after I give birth so I can breastfeed, and I could have the surgery really soon after and only miss 24 hours of feeding and then be normal again. So right now I'm just crossing my fingers that they won't want to increase the dose (it was suggested by someone this morning), because I think I'd say no to that. Apparently it's at the higher doses (okay, probably way high) when the bunny fetuses in animal studies start dying.

All in all, I guess it hasn't been too bad. Yeah, there's been a lot of crying, but that's because I worry a lot about the baby. Eric's pretty tired, and I know he's stressed about keeping up with his schoolwork, but the weekend is coming. The hospital kind of blows, but most of the doctors and nurses and aids are really nice and helpful. I have an awesome TA who can teach my class for as long as I need, and people at my job at the church office building are fasting for me. And at least it's something that *can* be fixed, even if I have to wait until after baby comes (hopefully healthy and un-defected) to have the surgery. 

Plus, apparently all this time I may have been working off of fewer productive beats - like if my heart rate is 80, counting the "appropriate" beats it's 40. The bad beats don't happen as much during exercise, but maybe fixing the problem will eventually help me run faster.

I stayed home from work today (but taught my class) to catch up on rest. I also looked up my diagnoses (premature ventricular contractions and sustained ventricular tachycardia) online (it's weird that I didn't do that in the hospital, but it's probably because I spent most of my internet time looking for stuff about the medicine and fetuses), and it made me kind of scared. Most of my worry had been about how everything would affect the baby, and I forgot to worry about what could potentially happen to me. Anyway...I've decided to stop looking up things on the internet for awhile. :)

I went to the gym with Eric in the evening since I'm supposed to do whatever physical activity feels okay, and I just did some super wimpy walking with a small incline on the treadmill for an hour. I was kind of scared to do it, but I figured that whatever's wrong with my heart is better now than it was a week ago, and I exercised a week ago and was fine. It felt good to move my legs, and I didn't at all feel dizzy or light-headed, but I'm pretty sure (according to the monitor on the treadmill, but who knows how accurate those are so also Eric checked) that my heart rate didn't get above about 55. That seemed weird to me, so I'll ask the doctor about it today. I actually felt really good for the rest of the night, though (no palpitations). And I decided to stop judging people who look like they're doing wussy workouts on the treadmill.

When it's warm(er) outside and I see people running it makes me really really really want to run. So after my week-long hiatus from the gym during which I tried to catch up on grading and work stuff (I'm still behind, but less so now), I did a little running (alternated with walking). It's probably been 2 weeks since I ran and a week since I did anything at all, but it went pretty well. I wore the belly belt thing and had minimal jiggling and I'm pretty sure no tightness, and Baby was all sorts of active for the rest of the evening. I'm going to try to work back up to...I don't know, but more than a mile. 

And, weirdly, I'm excited to go swimming again (thanks probably to Bonnie and my swimmer brother). 

The heart thing is going better. I had a follow-up appointment on Monday and they said it looked like the medicine is helping, and I have another appointment in two weeks (the day before our next ultrasound). I also have to wear a monitor for 30 days (21 days left!) and send recordings throughout the day, and so far there hasn't been anything that's led anyone to tell me to go back to the hospital.

I was mad sore in the pelvisal region after my tiny run on Thursday. Probably because I hadn't run in awhile. But it really felt like I had been riding a bike. You know...the pain on the bones, almost. I tried again today and felt the soreness come back, and I didn't want to do it anymore. It just doesn't feel good. So I'm not going to be one of those cool people who runs through her pregnancy. I'm probably going to get uber fat. I won't run a marathon this year, I'm not going to make my goal of running more miles this year than I did last year, I'll be super slow when I start running again, I'll lose my awesome leg muscles, and oh, did I say that I'm probably going to be so fat? 

After the gym I bought a maternity swim suit and some chocolates. At least I like swimming now. And I got faster once...sometime probably I can do it again.

I went with Eric to the gym tonight to try my new puffy-tummy swimsuit for the first time. I did about 25 minutes of back-and-forth kind of water jogging with the foam weights, and then I did regular swimming for 6 lengths. It was fun because I could see Eric every time I was on one side since he was on a treadmill overlooking the pool. There were also some triathletes doing laps, and a guy in the hot tub who kept trying to have arguments with people. 

The six lengths kicked my trash. Eric says it's because I'm spending too much effort on keeping myself out of the water (I'm afraid of getting the nasty pool water in my mouth). I'm going to work on it.

Eric and I went to the water aerobics class at our gym tonight. It was about how I thought it'd be cardiovascular-wise (not hard), but it was way harder than I thought it would be muscle-wise. Mostly because I have no arm muscles and we had to do this longish set of stuff with the foam weights. Sounds wimpy, but Eric has arm muscles and his arms got tired too.

Oh - at the beginning of the class the instructor asked how far along I was. It was weird because that was the first time someone who I didn't tell I was pregnant asked about it. I guess it really is obvious now. Or at least it is when I'm wearing a swim suit. 

The instructor had us check our six-second heart rates throughout the class, and she wanted me to keep mine in the 70% range (everyone else got to go up to 80%). No problem - mine (between 9 and 11 each time) never got over 60% (according to the chart that was near the pool). I blame the heart medicine, because Eric's in way better shape than I am and his was always a little higher throughout the class. It'll be interesting to see if the new low heart rate pays off for running after Baby comes.

And speaking of Baby, today we're at 24 weeks, so according to our doctor Baby could survive if born now. Hopefully she'll stay in for a lot longer (though I'm okay if she doesn't want to make me wait the whole 40).

Today was a really hard day because we found out at the ultrasound that Baby's not measuring as big as she should in her abdomen. The medicine can reduce blood flow to the placenta, so it's hard to not think that she's not doing well because of something I chose. 

The other difference between now and three weeks ago is that I haven't been exercising as much. So tonight I went to the gym with Eric and did about 35 minute on the elliptical. Just in case exercising can increase the blood flow to Baby. 

60 minutes on the elliptical during the worst basketball game I've ever seen. It was like when you're watching a stupid show and you keep thinking, "Why am I watching this? This is such a waste of time." Once my 60 minutes hit, I hopped off and went over to the treadmill next to Eric and didn't even care what happened in the last few minutes of the game. *So* stupid.

My heart rate was between 120 and 140 pretty much after the first 10 minutes. I don't know how cardiovascular stuff really works, but I kind of imagine it as an hour during which Baby was able to get what she needs. I really hate that my body isn't working well enough to keep her growing like she should. 

2 minutes on the elliptical, then 28 minutes walking on the treadmill because it had a better TV. I'm not sure what my heart rate was, but I didn't really get sweaty or anything. I did feel some pain in my abdomen (I'm pretty sure it was from gas), so I slowed it down a little for the last 8 minutes. 

Lots of ice cream for dinner. Probably not the best choice. 

A half mile on the elliptical (what does that even mean?). I was watching people on the treadmill, and it made me want to run, so I did a half mile really slow. It was fine. 

30 minutes on the elliptical. My heart rate was between 120 and 140. 

Eric said something to me yesterday about how he thought it might be hard for me to get back into running after the baby comes, and it made me want to try harder now. So I went to the track with him and Tigger and ran a very slow mile (*very* slow - like 12:00). I wore the belt thing and pretty much felt fine. My goal is to do another mile Friday and Saturday, and then bump it up to one and a half starting on Monday. Then up to 2, then eventually to 3 for as long as I can. Now that I'm used to how it feels to be pregnant, I'm a lot less worried about every little ache/pain, so maybe the running will go better this time. And who cares if I'm slow? It's not like I'd stop gaining weight if I were going faster...

It was so nice outside! I went to the AF high school track and was just going to do a mile, but I kept going for the extra half since I didn't run yesterday. Everything felt fine, but my lower abdomen/inner thighs got a little sore during the last two laps. Tigger trotted along and seemed to enjoy himself until we had to pass the colorguard/flag people on the way back to the car. 

At the track with Tigger and Eric. It was kind of painful after the first lap - like some sort of side ache or stitch in my abdomen/tummy - but I kept going. Later Baby was bopping all around, so I know she's fine. I'm going to stick it out until Friday to see if the pain goes away - maybe it's just soreness after not running for awhile (and then being 20 pounds heavier). 

I wanted to keep up with my running-every-day goal. But during the second lap my abdomen hurt, my inner thighs hurt, my pelvis hurt, and my back-bum (the SI joint problem) hurt. So I decided to stop. I felt like such a wuss. Plus, I *want* to run. Nothing else makes my leg muscles feel good. And I want to be able to get back to it soon after Baby comes. I'm really disappointed in my body. I expected more from it. 

I guess it's cool that it's growing a person, though. 

Thirty minutes walking on the treadmill (15 minutes at an incline, 15 minutes faster on the flat). 

Twenty minutes on the stairmaster. This might be my new favorite not-running thing because it actually makes my legs feel like they're doing something. 

Probably elliptical. 

Probably elliptical. 

Something. I can't remember. Probably elliptical. 

Something. This might have been the day where we went on a walk with Tigger and got caught out in the crazy wind. 

Something on the elliptical. Probably 30 minutes/2 miles. 

Went to the gym in the morning (ish...after I got out of bed, so really it was more around noon) and did about 30 minutes (2 miles) on the elliptical. Then Eric went back later to do his meathead workout, so I did another 1.5 elliptical miles. I was pretty happy about the week since this is the first time in maybe several months that I've done something every day. 

I've been feeling super antsy staying home and not exercising this past week, so I decided that today was going to be the day to start running again. Plus my weight has stayed the same for about 4 days (after dropping 1-2 pounds a day after Baby came) even though I'm breastfeeding and not eating a ton. 

So I took Tigger out to the high school track a few blocks away and started jogging. Things felt jiggly but not too bad. Then I peed myself. Even though I had gone to the bathroom before leaving home. I knew there had to be a limit to how much pee would come out, but after a quarter mile it didn't seem to be stopping so I went home.

I'm going to try again on Monday.

I didn't feel like waiting until tomorrow to try running again. So I slapped on an adult diaper and took another trip to the track with Tigger. I felt pretty good during the mile and thought about going longer, but I stopped just in case there's a reason my doctor said to wait at least three weeks before running. 

I was really really glad to be out, though. I stink at breastfeeding, and staying home every day makes me miserable, and several times a day (and night) I want to run away, but at least I'm going to be able to run again.

Here's a picture of Baby. She's two weeks old today! And already she's changed a lot since she came out.

There was something going on at the high school track so I did a mile on the treadmill at the gym. Not as good as being out in the sun, but still nice to run (even if it's only a tiny bit). 

Down the street and back with Tigger. Slowest mile so far, but I keep telling myself that right now it's just about consistency. 

Around the track. It was okay. I wish I were running the AF half tomorrow. Good luck, racers!

At the track before church. I'm *so* ready to have my normal body back. It felt like a lot farther than it really was. 

A short jaunt down the street.

Baby had a weight check today and was up to 6 pounds 3.5 ounces - almost a pound above her birth weight of 5 pounds 5.9 ounces!

Almost three minutes per mile faster than normal (for me right now). I was running to the Smart Cookie store, so I stepped it up to a pace that felt like I was pushing (but not too hard). It was still a bunch slower than I used to be, but it gave me a lot of confidence to see some improvement. 

Barefoot (because I didn't feel like changing out of my regular clothes/flip flops) on the treadmill at the hotel at Eric's family reunion for a half mile (because that's how long it took before I started peeing myself). 

I'm registered for a 5K on Monday - a bunch of people in Eric's family are running it or the half marathon (Freedom races in Salt Lake), and I thought I'd be able to beat the cousin who had her baby 10 weeks ago. But she decided to upgrade to the half. *And* she can breastfeed her baby. I'm such a dud. 

On the treadmill at the hotel with Eric. His parents watched Baby for us. It's the first time we've exercised together since back in the day. 

A bunch of people in Eric's family were doing the Freedom half marathon or 5k today. I had registered for the 5k a few months before Elliott was born just in case I'd be able to run, and when she came 11 days early I figured the race would be a good goal. Even though I wanted to beat everyone in Eric's family who was running it, I was going into it thinking it would be kind of a practice fake-long-run for me. 

Eric's parents met me at the capitol building to watch Elliott (Eric was already off doing the half), and I rode the shuttle bus to the start with two of Eric's cousins and an aunt. They were talking about run/walk strategies and waiting for people at the finish. I didn't want them to feel like I was going to ditch them so I didn't really talk about my goal of finishing in under 30 minutes. I used the port-a-potty about 5 times in hopes that I wouldn't have bladder problems, and then we moved to the start and began.

I tried to go only a little faster than was comfortable. I had the adrenaline at the beginning, and my first mile was 8:21. I felt pretty good, but I kept slowing down. My second mile was 8:45, and after that I got super tired (probably because I only got 4-5 hours of sleep last night because of Baby, and I've only run up to 2 miles since her delivery 4 weeks ago). My third mile was 9:35, and the last 0.08 (the course was a little short according to my Garmin) was at a 7:51 pace. My average pace for the race was 8:52.

So I did beat everyone who was doing the 5K, but they weren't trying to race me and they don't run much. And Eric's sister beat Eric's cousin in the half (though the cousin didn't know he was racing the sister), so Eric and I won a thing of Jelly Bellies from Eric's brother. And the cousin who had a baby 10 weeks ago finished the half in about 3 hours and wished that she hadn't tried to run it.

When we were hanging out after the race we saw Allie and met Fiddy. He seems very British.

Overall it was a good experience. It's a lot slower than I was last summer, but it's faster than I was before last year. Cardiovascularly I was fine, so I think I'll do better once my body gets used to running again. As with the other running I've done since not being pregnant, it feels a lot harder than it should. It's no fun being out of shape. And I'm going to be a bunch sore in my back and pelvis region. But my starting place could be a lot worse, and if I keep doing things that are a little hard they'll become easier.

Also I really need to stop being an emotional eater so I can drop the rest of my preggo weight. That'll help too. :)

Barefoot at the track. Just to do something. 

It was too hot to run outside by the time Eric was home and I was on a break from feeding Baby, so I went to the gym for some treadmill time. Three slow miles, and then walking for a half mile to stretch out a bit.

Every day this week I've wanted to run, but it's been really easy to find excuses. We're still struggling with the breastfeeding so the early morning feeding lasts around 2 hours (but the feeding-pumping-feeding routine must be working, because yesterday Baby was 7 pounds 6.5 ounces (2 pounds above her birth weight)), and I never feel like getting up an hour or two later to run before Eric leaves. By the time I can leave Baby with Eric in the evening I'm so tired that I just want to go to sleep. But there are tons of people on this blog who have babies and who still get their runs in, so hopefully I'll be able to suck it up and do better next week.

Down the street right before going to bed just so I didn't have to have 0 for the day. 

I picked Eric up at school so that he could watch Elliott while I ran on the treadmill at the gym. It was nice to get a run in when I wasn't too tired. 

I tried .1 mile at a faster pace and it kicked my trash. I can't believe I used to run a bunch of miles at that pace. But my body is still getting used to running again, so probably it'll be easier later. 

So...I'm afraid of the dark. I never run outside at night when it's dark unless I'm with someone else. Eric got the book Free Range Kids for us to read, and from that book I know that something bad happening to someone doesn't mean that there's an equal risk of something bad happening to me, but when I run outside in the dark alone I feel like there are killers and attackers lurking in every dark shadow.

Anyway, I had to watch presentations for the online class I teach tonight, so I missed the window during which I felt like going to the gym. So I headed outside just before bed for a quick "run" (another one like Monday's, but hopefully a little longer). A couple of blocks away I heard a guy on a phone walking toward me on a perpendicular street. He said, "Hey, what up, dude? No, this is Biscuit, man!" I assumed he was a drug-dealing attacker and that Biscuit was his secret gang name, so I casually turned around and ran back home.

Here's a picture of Baby. She smiles now. 

A mile and a half at the gym before I had to watch presentations for the online class.

After the presentations (but before it was dark) I went out for a loop (3.5) around the Mt Timpanogos temple that I've been wanting to do since we moved here. It was a little rough. On the way up I was thinking that I didn't want to wuss out on the hill, and then the thought of the jelly bellies and two servings of ice cream I had had earlier kept me going. By the time I was a little over half done I wanted to call Eric to come get me. But I kept going, and even though I was super slow I'm glad I finished.

I signed up for the Tour de Donut on Saturday. Mostly because I want the excuse to eat as many donuts as I can. Partly because it raises money for the Huntsman Cancer Institute. I haven't ridden a bike since last fall-ish, but hey...the donuts...

Here's a picture of Baby.

I ran part of the walk with Eric and Elliott. Let's call it a taper.

I also practiced on the bike for tomorrow. I felt like a little kid learning to ride.  

Last Sunday I found out that a few of the women in my ward were planning on running in a 5K this Saturday. Eric tells me that several of them run in the early mornings, and I've been curious about whether or not they're fast. So I signed up for the 5K to see. 

It was kind of a hard course - hilly, and steeper than rolling. I was a little worried as we drove to the start, but it ended up going okay. The race wasn't competitive at all (the winner was an 11-year-old in 21:50), so I didn't feel too frustrated about being out of shape. I was annoyed that they started almost 10 minutes late, because the Tour de Donut was an hour after the 5K start and was 20 minutes away, but it worked out. I ran close to the same time that I ran an almost completely downhill 5K two weeks ago, so I feel like I'm making progress.  

I was a few minutes late starting the Tour de Donut, but it was okay because it was chip timed and I wasn't going to win anyway and I was kind of nervous about starting with 600 other cyclists since I don't have a ton of experience on the bike. Plus it was fun passing the people at the back (except for the weaving kids who made me super nervous).

The race is three 7-mile laps with a donut break between each. There's a 3-minute time deduction for each donut consumed. The donuts are really why I registered for the race; I thought it sounded fun when I heard about it a year or so ago, but when I was reading Fat Cyclist's blog earlier this week I was super hungry and I wanted the excuse to eat junk. I was able to eat 4 donuts after the first lap, but during the second they didn't feel great in my stomach. Also, I figured that since I was going to be slower than most people regardless, eating more donuts wasn't really going to help anything. So I skipped them after the second lap.

It was a super fun day. Eric was very sweet to wait until later for his run so that I could do my thing, and he was very supportive and encouraging. My mom watched Elliott for us, so Eric rode the last two donut laps with me. It was nice to have the "alone" time.

Elliott had a good day, too - until the ride home when she woke up and was hungry.

No, I couldn't tack on the extra 0.08 to make it 3 miles. 

I've decided it might be easier to get my runs in in the mornings, so I went out this morning at 7:00 for what I wanted to be a 3-mile out-and-back. It did not go well. I was kind of tired after having the 2-6 shift with Elliott (she wasn't awake the whole time, but the sleep I got was spotty), and my feet and calves and shins and back were sore from Saturday. And I got pretty crampy (not sure if it was poops crampy or post-pregnancy crampy) after a mile. It was one of my slower runs since Elliott. It ended up being more of a loop that brought me home just short of 3 miles, but I was very ready to be done by the end.

The frustration of being so out of shape has been a good lesson to me. I guess it's okay to get out of shape because of making a person, but it would be a huge bummer if I ever got out of shape just because of laziness.

Speaking of babies, Elliott's going bald. Every time we wash her head or put lotion on some of her hair falls out. Did that happen to anyone else's babies? It seems a little normal according to the Internet, but I'm wondering how long it takes for the new hair to come in.

At night before it was dark-dark. *So* tired. 

Around the neighborhood at night.

I feel like I'll never be un-tired. 

No running today. Elliott was up *all* night last night. We think it might be because of the two diet Dr. Peppers I had at dinner. Stupid, stupid, stupid. But to be fair, I didn't know that would happen. 

Still *so* tired. I went out for my little 1-mile loop, and as I was passing our house and about to go around the cul-de-sac a bug flew into my mouth. Usually I can be tough about bugs and not let them bother me, but somehow the idea of it got to me and I puked. I staggered into our house and puked again in the bathroom and some of it got on my shoe. Gross. 

Here's a picture of Elliott. She was up to 8 pounds 9.5 ounces yesterday.

The distance was beyond my current fitness level, but I wanted to do this race for tradition since I've done it the last two years. 

I started at the very back since I had been waiting in line at the start for a potty, so I got to pass people almost the whole way. It was neat for the first couple of miles to be able to see the big mass of people down the hill ahead of me - it reminded me of when I did the Country Music Half-Marathon and could see a sea of people filling the street. A little way in I saw someone wearing a "The Quiet Pirate" sign on her back, so I ran up to her and asked if she was The Quiet Pirate. It turns out it was bye-wing, and she said that RAD was ahead with the same sign. So I looked for RAD for the rest of the race, but she was way too speedy for me to catch. I loved the idea of signs, though - I vote we all wear FRB signs at all of our races so that we can meet each other.

I liked when the motorcycle escorts and the lying-down-bike guy passed. It made me want to be at the head of a race with a motorcycle escort someday. Maybe after I'm done childbearing I can find a race that's big enough to have motorcycles but small enough that it doesn't attract people who are fast. Or men. Because they only have motorcycles for the lead, right? Not for the male and female leads?

Since a 10K is out of my current range, I was really only happy for the first 4 miles. Then I wanted to quit (the race and running in general). My feet were killing me, and my legs were about out. But it was about when the race joins up with the parade route, and I felt all sorts of social pressure to not walk in front of the parade-watchers. And I tried to think of Elliott and how I want to set an example of not quitting for her. I can't say enough about how much I don't like that 200 E stretch, though, and the bit up toward the park is worse. Even when I'm in shape I hate it.

I did have a kind-of goal to beat my 2009 time (55:32). I was pretty much just in "finish" mode, but I thought that since I was faster in 2010 I'd be a little faster now even though I pretty much took the last 6 months off. But I didn't make it. Based on my splits and how I felt, though, I'm pretty positive that I would have been at least a few minutes faster if I had run just a little more in the last couple of weeks. Gosh - how many times do I need to learn the consistency lesson?

I wrote in my last year's race report that it was interesting to see how different I felt in 2010 compared to 2009. I was *so* sad at the race in 2009 - I had just left all my friends in Pennsylvania, and I felt really alone. One of the things that made me cry (I cried every day for at least a week after I moved (I'm not good with change)) was seeing all the people waiting for people at the finish line. I specifically remember a woman finishing and running over to her man-partner and baby. I thought it was really neat that they had been waiting for her. At the race in 2010 I was super happy to be with Eric and stuff. And even though I felt like crap (and stupid for doing too much), the end today was the best so far.

Splits: 8:33, 8:11, 9:05, 9:07, 9:37, 10:14, 10:54 (0.2)

(Last year's splits: 6:28, 6:31, 7:20, 7:16, 7:10, 7:29, 7:32 (0.2))

On a pretty bike path that parallels a little river. 

Eric took Elliott to work today so that I could get some school stuff done at home, so I slept in a bit after helping get her ready to go and then went to the gym since it was pretty warm outside. Two easy miles on the treadmill. Felt okay, but my lower legs were a little sore from Monday. 

It's nice that a mile feels super easy again. Still slow, but that'll change as I get more miles. 

As I was out on my little loop through the neighborhood, a truck of guys passed and whistled. I flipped them off (I know - super uncouth), but my timing was a little off and they were already past me, and it looked more like I was directing the gesture toward an oncoming car. Now I'm afraid that it was someone from our ward. What if it was, and what if they recognized me and waved or something, and what if they think I gave them the bird in response? How embarrassing.

Elliott was 9 pounds and 1.5 ounces today, up to the 15th percentile from the 5th a few weeks ago. She's turning into a little tubber. :)

AM: I haven't run yet today, but last week I only posted my distances so I wanted to catch up on the blog part.

We were on vacation last week so Eric and I each had an easier time of getting out for our runs (check out his adventures over on his blog - http://facelessghost.fastrunningblog.com). I was excited to run all six days, but then with the driving home and everything I didn't make it out on Saturday. But I had good runs all the other days, and I'm looking forward to doing a little bit better this week. I also saw when we got home that I had dropped below 120 - I had kind of hit a wall for a bit, and I was convinced that the breastfeeding was actually making my body retain weight instead of being a magical weight-loss solution, so it was nice to see a change after several weeks of staying the same. 

I hope everyone had a great weekend!

PM: Today was my first day back at work. I was kind of excited to go back because I had been feeling antsy and unproductive at home, but I was nervous about missing Elliott. When I got to work I had a hard time for a bit because there wasn't a place for me to pump (there was supposed to be, and they fixed it later, but maybe I cried a little for a second (but in the privacy of my office and the bathroom)), but then Eric called after Elliott had gotten her 2-month shots. She was screaming in the background, and I completely lost it. But he took good care of her and she's fine now. She's lucky to have such a great daddy!

And I ran 3 miles at the gym after I got home.

On the treadmill at the gym after work. I'm really really grateful that it's easier to run now. I'm still not fast, and I dread going longer than 4-5 miles, but it's *way* better than it was a couple or few weeks ago. 

I'm *not* grateful about my new weight-loss plan. After staying at about the same weight for about a month I decided it was time to be more proactive, so I signed up on myfitnesspal.com so that I could track (roughly, I guess, since it's not like I have one of those arm things like they have on Biggest Loser) my calories. The program gave me a number of calories to stay under in order to lose weight, and it's not very much. Monday I exceeded it by almost 1,000 calories, and today I decided to buckle down. I kept to the limit, but by dinner time I was super hungry and probably more than a little cranky (sorry, Eric). I'm going to try it for about a week before I decide whether to stick with it. But weight loss is supposed to be hard, right? If it weren't, we wouldn't have the obesity problem?

Really I just want to sit down with some Oreos and ice cream. Maybe Extreme Moose Tracks. Or anything Ben and Jerry's.

Day 2 of staying under the calories given by myfitnesspal.com. It wasn't quite as hard as yesterday, but I was a little more cranky by dinner. I skipped the cheese at lunch so that I could have a little bit of ice cream (1/2 cup of Ben and Jerry's) after dinner. That made me a little happier.

And three miles at the gym, with 2 quarters toward the end at my goal (for now) 5K pace.

Here's the video Eric sent me while I was at work today. He'd like me to clarify that when he says "Say hi to Mommy," he's talking about me and not him.

Big fail day on the running front. Elliott was crazy fussy for Eric all day, and after I got home she was crazy fussy for me. She slept during our 45-minute walk, but after that she was fussy again. It was almost 11:00 by the time things were settled down, but at that point I wanted the half hour of sleep more than I wanted the run. I could have gotten it in by running instead of walking or by leaving work earlier or by just forgoing the sleep, but I didn't. 

I was still under my calories today, but since I didn't run I didn't get to have the 2 glasses of milk I wanted after dinner. 

Here's a picture of Elliott in the stroller.

The pee problem is back. Stupid pelvic floor or whatever...

No running today. Yes, I'm a slacker. These days all of the stars have to align in order for me to want to go running. I've been super tired before and after work (but I'm quitting the full-time job in 2 weeks and will just be teaching a couple of classes (one online, one regular) this fall so that I'll have more time to spend with my cute little Elliott and on the dissertation that has to be finished before 2014 (and sure we'll be poor, but it's temporary)), and then sick, and there's the pee thing, and so...I haven't been running much. 

But my sister joined the blog (part of the agreement in which I give her the Nike Frees that I hate)! So once she gets things up and running, please give her a welcome (http://bonsue.fastrunningblog.com)! 

A 5k at Eric's school. Almost the same course as the BYU Homecoming 5k. I wanted to sit down and cry on the uphill part, but we made it in with the first stroller.

There was a girl there with weird-looking Launches. It turned out that she had someone take the soles off, make it so there's zero drop, and add in some sort of 1,500-mile sole. Also that Jon guy who won Deseret News was there, and obviously he beat everyone by like 20 minutes.

I haven't been running much since I went back to work full-time, but next week is my last week of that. Also, it bums me out to run wearing a diaper. Not as much as having pee pants, but still quite a bit. I'm working on the kegels.

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. 

With Eric and Elliott. We were going to go farther but I got scared about whether Biscuit or his goons would be on the bike path. I was kind of a scaredy-cat before, but now with Elliott I'm maybe a little irrational. 

Afterward we went to Blue Lemon. I had some sort of pear chicken pecan salad. It was good but not great.

I have a friend who wants to lose a lot of weight who just started going to the gym. She's gone every day for 3 weeks. It makes me feel like I should be more consistent. It's a lot easier for me physically, even with whatever issues I have. Plus I want to have toned legs again. And not keep 8 extra pounds every time I have a baby.

First time running two days in a row since mid-August. I was just going to do a mile, but when I got there I did 1.5, and then I decided I would do 2, but once you've gone even a step past 2 it's less than a mile to get 3. And on the pee problem - in case anyone's wondering, for now I've decided that my two options are to run with a bladder problem or not run at all. So there it is. 

Eric and I have been talking about how we can get a little more time to work on the things we need to do, and today we thought of having someone come in our home while we're home for a few hours a week to entertain/take care of Elliott. So we can be there but not have to stop working when she starts to fuss. Any ideas about how to find someone for that kind of thing? 

Today I really did just do a mile. I still have a bunch of grading I have to get done tonight, and I'm not prepared for my class tomorrow afternoon, so I opted to just put in an appearance on the treadmill. 

Tonight we also figured out that we have over 550 ounces of breastmilk in the freezer. I'd try to donate some if it weren't so caffeinated (doesn't bother Elliott). 

I went to my first Zumba class. Just for the last 30 minutes. It was fun, but I'm not sure yet how it's different from a dance aerobics class. I was afraid I'd be the most awkward person in the class, but I wasn't. 

Then 3 miles on the treadmill in the cardio cinema to Return to Me. Not the best treadmill movie, but whatever. 

Remember my friend who's trying to lose a lot of weight who goes to the gym every day and who inspires me to run every day? We're myfitnesspal.com friends and I noticed that she burns more calories walking for a half hour than I do running for a half hour. That doesn't seem fair. But it also doesn't seem fair if walking for her is the same effort as running is for me.

Maybe I ran too soon after eating dinner. Or after eating about a hundred candy corns. But I had a side ache the whole run and felt pretty sick for the last mile. Fortunately (?) I didn't puke. 

I didn't know if I'd feel like doing 3 miles today - I was up pretty late working on stuff, and then this morning our carbon monoxide detector went off while we were still sleeping (false alarm), so I got about 4 hours of sleep. But I wasn't too tired and Clueless was on. 

I'm pretty sure we saw Sasha today on I-15 in Utah County. I waved but he didn't see me.

Long day at work. The gym was almost closed when I got home, and I didn't want to drive to another gym like I did last Friday. And I'm afraid of running in the dark. So...there it is. 

At the 800 N gym in Orem. Take the Lead was playing in the cardio cinema. I had never heard of it, but it kept me interested for all 6 miles. I even wanted to stay longer to see how it ended, but Eric and Elliott were waiting for me at Eric's sister's house. I did ballroom dance while I was at BYU and sometimes I miss it. Eric says he'll go with me but we haven't made it happen yet. 

And...this week was my highest mileage week of 2011. 

Tonight's going to be a really late night because I have to catch up on some grading before tomorrow, so I didn't really want to go run and I felt totally justified in staying home. But I remembered how RAD went running recently when she didn't feel like it, so I went so I could be like her. :)

On the way home I stopped by the grocery store and there was a kid on one of those big, tricked-out, low-rider bicycles. I was kind of making fun of him in my mind, especially when I heard that he had some sort of boom box (are there boom boxes anymore?) or bike stereo playing gangster rap. But then I saw his face and realized that he's someone's kid and I felt bad. I hope no one ever makes fun of Elliott, even if it's only in their minds.

Some of the things that motivate me to run:

* Looking at the graph view of my mileage for this year and last

* Seeing lean people

* Starting to run and remembering that I really like it

* Seeing un-lean people

* Thinking about how I'll regret not running if I don't run

* Thinking about other people who are consistent runners

* Thinking about people I want to beat in races

* Thinking about race times I want to eventually get

* Looking at the scale :)

* Seeing pictures of myself when I was consistently running

* Thinking about all the things in my life I'm a slacker about

* Wanting Elliott to grow up with parents who run

Outside. It was really really nice. 

Yesterday was the first day in about 3 weeks that I didn't run. Boo for me. 

Just a mile on the treadmill.

A half mile on the treadmill. The week (~5 hours of sleep/night) was starting to catch up with me. 

I was totally going to run last night. I even made it to the gym parking lot. But Elliott's 5 months old on Friday and I had decided that I'd stop pumping for her at 6 months and I was pre-sad about it and some people going into the gym saw me crying and then I was embarrassed so I went home. 

But today in my class some students were talking about the Halloween Half and their times, and I thought to myself, "Self, you should have run that race." So I was all sorts of motivated to run tonight. 

Speaking of running and babies, lots of times I feel sorry for myself because of all the fatness I got when I was pregnant. But the other day I noticed that I was only about 10 miles lower than Eric for the month, and I realized that he's had to sacrifice a lot too. I'm proud of him for still doing something every day, especially since most of the time it happens after midnight.

I'm pretty sure that at some point my body is going to naturally not want any more Halloween candy. I'm all about being natural (much like the tarahumara), so until that happens I'm going to keep eating it. All day every day. 

Three easy miles on the treadmill, but .10 at 6:00 twice during the last mile. 

Elliott likes oatmeal. 

Thursdays are like my Fridays because once I teach my class in the afternoon I don't have anything else I really have to worry about until Monday nights (my Friday/Monday job requires very little thought). And lately even Tuesday-Thursday hasn't been that bad because we have someone come over to watch Elliott for about 8 hours during the week, so I've actually been able to prepare for my classes. This means that often I feel like everyone else is taking care of Elliott more than I am, but I figure it's just until the end of the semester (when I quit the Friday/Monday job! Yay!). 

Three easy miles on the treadmill, and Cold Stone for dessert (we got those discount coupons from Costco). 

I didn't think I'd run today - late night last night, early morning this morning, and then right after work we're heading to Orem to babysit Elliott's cousin so his parents can go to the BYU game. But I realized that I could run to meet a friend for lunch at Himalayan Kitchen. It was warm enough to run barefoot. My tummy was too full of yummy food to run back to work, though. 

Gym was closed. I ran towards Cold Stone until Eric and Elliott picked me up. 

Last .25 at 6:31.

I went to Penn State for the PhD I haven't yet gotten (deadline:2014). I never went to a game and I hated campus on game weekends, but I still felt and appreciated Joe Paterno's influence while I was there. And Graham Spanier is a sociologist and demographer and plays the washboard (three things that make people cool). I'm sad about some of the decisions being made, though I know I don't know the whole story.

Anyway...tomorrow I'm going to see a urogyn for the pee problem. Sometimes I think that talking about the pee problem on a public blog is TMI, but then I think that sometime someone else trying to run with the same problem might read my blog and find it helpful.

And here's Elliott! She turned 5 months old on Saturday. I love looking through my posts over the past few months and seeing how much she's changed.