Nine days to go!

Hello!

Well, it's nine days until little Charles arrives, and I am looking forward to several things:

• being able to draw a deep breath (this kid is taking up a lot of space!)
• working on not carrying around the 20 or so lbs. I have gained with this baby
• having the chance to "get out there" again after I recover from delivery and begin walking long(er!) distances again
• getting some new shoes! I realized the only properly-fitting ones I still have are from the triathlon last summer. Not only are they old and grungy-looking, there is no way they can provide the support and etc. that I need. Fleet Feet, here I come!

I'm also looking forward to finally meeting this little guy, though I am nervous about what I have come to call the Postpartum Fog of Exhaustion. But I don't think I'll be shy about asking for help, so, my friends, when I call, you've been warned :-)

I don't know if I'll be ready for the Cowtown again in October....delivery is set for June 14, so 8 weeks of recovery from that lands us in mid-August....I suppose it's possible to get ready for a half marathon in 7 or 8 weeks, but that does not seem like a lot of time to me. We'll see how things are going. Otherwise, look out for me on the trails this fall and at the Shamrock'n next year!

A Post Every Six Months is Not So Bad, Right?

Hello!

Well, since that last post waaaaaay back in....January....(that's me hanging my head in shame right there), lots has been going on, but I have not been keeping up on the blogging.

We are now 19 days from the delivery of our little boy, who will be named Charles, so I have been battling fatigue and trying to Keep Up With Everything the past few months. I did not send a single Christmas card, I did not do my usual load of holiday baking, I have just sort of been going along. Never mind that in February we moved, and we still have some boxes in almost every room of the house. I did take the giant leap of hanging up a couple of pictures this past week, and that was quite the moment. The crib and all are ready, and wee Charles will not mind if there are boxes of his big sister's toys on his floor. Well, not yet, anyway.

In all that, I have had a very hard time with the whole athletics thing. I finished the Shamrock'n 5K, which was GREAT, and I managed to do it in the time I set as a goal. Now, my goal was an hour, which is not exactly a lofty one, but since I was doing this 6 months pregnant and all, I cut myself a break. I think I actually finished in 54 minutes, which came out to a 17:30 mile or so - not bad, especially considering that when I started all this business a year and a half ago, I was having a good day when I did a mile in 20 minutes. So, while it's a challenge to keep it all in perspective, I do try. Right now, I am just ready to not be pregnant anymore, and I'd like to get recovered from delivery and all so I can get back out there on the trail. This baby is going to grow up in a jogging stroller, I tell you.

I hope to be able to keep up on this better, really. Us "real" folks need a voice and a place to speak up - to realize YOU, yes YOU are (or can become) an athlete in the best and truest way, even if you don't feel or look like one today. Heck, no-one walking down the street would say about me, "hey, I bet that chick did a triathlon this time last year!" but I did. Nightmares about lake weeds and all, I did it. So hang in there!

Back on the blog....finally!

Hi everyone,

As I was made rather painfully aware last weekend, there are actual people actually reading this who would like an actual update!

So here it is: training for the March half marathon (the Shamrock'n, in West Sac) is well under way. I, however, am planning on doing the 5K instead. What??? Why?!? After two half marathons and a triathlon last year? A wimpy 5K???

Well, it's all for a good reason. I am expecting a baby boy in June, so at the Shamrock'n, I will be about 6 months along. While my doctor is a runner and totally gets it, it will not be wise to put my body through that sort of extended punishment - oh wait, I meant exercise and personal achievement - while pregnant. I do, however, encourage anyone and everyone to join the Runnin' for Rhett training group and get out there!

One actual, real benefit of doing all that work/exercise/achievement of personal goals last year became very clear to me recently. When I was expecting our daughter, I had to do the icky glucose tolerance test for gestational diabetes. I did not "pass" it, and had to do a three-hour version of it twice afterwards. This time, I did that first, one-hour test, and the results were fine. No need to do the even ickier three-hour test. It was great to see a result right there before my eyes of the benefits of walking and pushing myself to do what I never thought possible.

Now, going to the pool and swimming tomorrow, in the rain and the cold? That might be actually more impossible than the half marathon....!