tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-47971043574058942792024-02-18T21:27:50.062-06:00KC Tri ChickSwim 2.4 miles. Bike 112 miles. Run 26.2 miles. Brag for the rest of your life.Juliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02949615504950021142noreply@blogger.comBlogger142125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4797104357405894279.post-9210446678392660612011-01-13T17:01:00.001-06:002011-01-13T17:03:01.551-06:00Movin' on overTime for a new blog! Follow if you like :)<br /><a href="http://joggingstrollerdiaries.wordpress.com/">http://joggingstrollerdiaries.wordpress.com</a>Juliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02949615504950021142noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4797104357405894279.post-64285604515636920342010-09-07T16:31:00.003-05:002010-09-07T16:39:21.140-05:00Better than Ironman<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAZ-WF2ZJ4MrYvcq_FmahTlj1q5EqcEYTTqMGPhDAjAZJis-Y-L1eq-TMkw8cCqSBlb88OX54Y9_VnLBPxhbfYL1qD0QE7tZPbQg8p3Mz0wMU-8_46EPUcTIFztdk_J1O1dmQlTHTEtJnz/s1600/9-5-10+004.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5514287656902429362" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAZ-WF2ZJ4MrYvcq_FmahTlj1q5EqcEYTTqMGPhDAjAZJis-Y-L1eq-TMkw8cCqSBlb88OX54Y9_VnLBPxhbfYL1qD0QE7tZPbQg8p3Mz0wMU-8_46EPUcTIFztdk_J1O1dmQlTHTEtJnz/s320/9-5-10+004.jpg" border="0" /></a> Miss Bridget Elaine Hurley made her appearance on Thursday, September 2nd at 5:14 pm, weighing in at 8lbs 1oz and 18.5" long. I was actually scheduled for a c-section tomorrow (Wednesday), but went for my regular check up on Thursday and got sent to the hospital for monitoring since my BP was a little high. A couple hours on the monitors and we got the word that my doctor decided it would be best to get the baby out that night. So we had about an hour's notice before I was taken down to surgery. Not really the way I had planned it, but at least I didn't have time to sit around and worry and be nervous! Hard to believe this perfect little thing was balled up in my belly for the last 9 months!<br /><br />Things are going well, she's a bit of a night owl, so we're getting adjusted to running on a couple hours of sleep. But I wouldnt have it any other way :)<br /><br />The other good news, is that my swelling is already almost completely gone! Hello feet and ankles! Don't *quite* feel like running just yet due to the incision and whatnot, but at least I should be able to get my running shoes back on now.Juliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02949615504950021142noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4797104357405894279.post-76636514622013462462010-08-30T11:41:00.002-05:002010-08-30T12:04:27.422-05:00Oh, hai1. Yes, I'm still here.<br />2. No, I haven't had that baby yet.<br /><br />Does that about cover it? I thought so. (seriously though, people can stop asking me the two above questions ANY DAY NOW)<br /><br />So yeah, 1 week to go. Well, more like one week and two days. Yep, I have an actual date and time. The good thing about this is that it satisfies my inner planner who needs to know exactly when everything is happening and where and why and who will be there and how long it will last. The bad thing is it means I have to have a c-section. <br /><br />That's right, this child is breech and appears to have no interest in turning herself head down. I've tried everything; various positions and exercises, chiropractic, accupuncture, and.....nothing. She likes where she is. We even tried a version last week, which is where the doctor pushes on the baby (i.e. pushes on ME) to try to get her to turn. Let me tell you what this kid did. As soon as the doctor would get her to start moving, she'd duck her head out from under the doctor's hand, and stick out her legs to put on the breaks. Little Miss Attitude already!<br /><br />I shouldn't be surprised. This is my child, afterall. She appears to be taking after her mama and will not be forced to do something. She likes where she's at, thankyouverymuch, and you can't convince her that moving just a little bit would be better for everyone involved. I predict a lifetime of us butting heads due to identical personalities.<br /><br />So yes, it is a bit disappointing. I'll have to get the epidural that I was not going to get, and I'll have to meet my daughter while I'm strapped to an operating table, and all of those benefits of a natural, drug free birth that I was so excited about are out the window. Not really ideal. But, I know this is just the first of many things that I will have no control over when it comes to parenting, so I'm just going to have to roll with it. Because regardless of how it happens, I WILL get to meet my daughter, and at this point when I've been waiting nearly two and a half YEARS to bring home a baby, I just can't even fathom being upset about how it happens.<br /><br />And let me just say that as much as I have enjoyed and felt completely blessed to even be pregnant in the first place, I'm done with it. I've officially turned into that crabby 9 month pregnant woman who would like to punch you in the face for asking how I feel. There's just nothing comfortable about the last couple weeks of pregnancy. But, it will soon be over, and I'm assuming there is some built in mechanism that makes women forget how shitty they feel the last few weeks, because plenty of people seem to go on to have more than one child. And I can only assume that the husbands somewhat forget too, because I'm pretty sure there would be no repeat baby makin' going on if they remembered clearly how "pleasant" we are to live with these last few weeks before the baby comes.<br /><br />It doesnt help matters that we've had the hottest summer on record for the past several years, and now that it's starting to "cool off" and I'm starting to get hints of fall being around the corner, I am ready to put on my running shoes. One morning last week I walked outside and it was SO nice and cool, it just felt like a race morning. I dont know exactly what it was, but it felt so wrong that I was not getting into a wetsuit or lining up at a starting line somewhere. I am ready. Assuming things go as planned, I should be able to start running again by mid-October, which is PERFECT timing weather-wise, and I'll be able to start back up with Runners Edge in Januray. I can't wait. I'm literally chomping at the bit.<br /><br />Now, to just get this child out!<br /><br />39wJuliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02949615504950021142noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4797104357405894279.post-22349200577709191842010-06-17T11:34:00.005-05:002010-06-20T14:45:04.973-05:00Chugging along...on swollen feetSeriously, my feet are out of control. Out. Of. Control. I am running out of shoes that I can squeeze them into, even my Crocs are tight. And I'm not talking about "comfortably" squeezing my feet into shoes. Oh no, we passed that stage a long time ago. I'm talking about being able to have some sort of covering on my feet since it's generally required if you are going anywhere in public. Or work.<br /><br />I put my old running shoes on the other night, and they went on, but barely. And rather painfully. I'm surprised the seams didnt bust.<br /><br />In other news, Tuesday was night 6 of Bradley classes. Yay! Halfway done! This class was all about pushing, or Stage 2 labor. About what you'd expect. Lets just say that I heard the word "perineum" spoken more in that 2 hour period that I have in my entire life, or ever care to again.<br /><br />I am starting to get sick of some of the people in our class though. (this is where my "I Hate People" disorder comes into play) One couple in particular. The wife is CONSTANTLY touching her husband. And not just holding his hand or something benign like that. Her favorite thing seems to be stroking his face. She is always stroking his face! I'm glad they're in love and all, but come on. It's a little sickening. I'm not big on PDA anyway, but I'm normally not totally turned off by it. These two just take it to a weird level.<br /><br />And they ask the stupidest questions! Mainly the husband. Look dude, you dont need a detailed explanation of Kegels. You're not the one who's supposed to be doing them. And if you cant figure out where the cervix is even though there is a freaking DIAGRAM with LABELS right in front of your face, then go home and study up. Don't waste our (my) time asking about it. And for the love of Christ, when your wife is in labor you will "let" her move about whenever and wherever she damn well pleases. You dont need to ask for a detailed list of the times it is appropriate to let her move. Not to mention it is THEIR fault we have class in a church over in Mission Hills. Our instructor normally teaches it out of her house, which happens to be literally half a mile from our house. But because these two live in LEAVENWORTH, our instructor found somewhere a little farther north to accomodate them better.<br /><br />I normally get irritated pretty quickly by people, but dang. These two just push my buttons more than normal. Even though I THINK I have done a pretty good job of keeping myself in check the last few months, I'm going to blame this one on the hormones.<br /><br /><br />28w6Juliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02949615504950021142noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4797104357405894279.post-73749534734328918312010-06-11T15:35:00.003-05:002010-06-11T16:08:16.941-05:00Friday RandomnessI am seriously about to move to Alaska. For two reasons.<br />1) I am DONE with summer. And it's not even officially summer yet! I feel huge and uncomfortable and awkward and bloated and sweaty. My hands and feet will not stop pouring sweat from them. I'd walk around naked if that were appropriate, but I still dont think it would help much. So Courtney and I have decided we're going to go live in an igloo and adopt some penguins and a polar bear cub to keep us company. Sounds like a plan.<br /><br />2) The Big 12 is totally fucked (well, it's basically GONE) and I am no longer looking forward to football season. I dont want to be in the Big 10! I don't care about Penn State or Michigan or Ohio State or Purdue. I like the Big 12. About this time every year is when I really start looking forward to football season, and that is just shot to shit now. UGH.<br /><br />Oh, and thanks a lot Tom Osborne, I no longer get to look forward to the KU/Nebraska game every year and giving Dan a bunch of shit for it. And we'll never get to take our kids to a KU/Nebraska game. Sad. Oh sure, maybe we'll end up with a few non-conference match ups, but it wont be the same. It won't mean anything. Stupid as it may be, I was sort of looking forward to 20-some years from now getting to take our kids to games in Lincoln, and before the game go to the bars I used to go to in college, and play the same teams we've always played. Now I'll have to take them to a fucking WISCONSIN game. Who cares?!<br /><br />I am so depressed. And gawd, I cant even drink my sorrows away. Ugh ugh ugh ugh.<br /><br />The one bright spot in my day is that we finally get to pick up the nursery furniture tonight. Yay! That room has been empty since we moved into the house almost 2 years ago just waiting to be able to fill it up with baby stuff, and I finally get to. I felt sort of stupid ordering the furniture as early as we did, somewhere around 14w. But they said it would take 12 weeks to come in, and it did. I officially hit 3rd tri on Monday and have been silently freaking out that the nursery is still empty. I know I still have 3 months, but dang, for some reason it suddenly feels like TOMORROW.<br /><br />Oh, and had Bradley class #5 on Tuesday. It was all about 1st stage labor and what to expect during it. Probably the most helpful part was a chart that's included in the book that lists various common physical signs, emotional signs, behaviors, etc, for each part of 1st stage. Our instructor said that she's been able to tell where each of her doula clients was at in their labor based off of that chart. So we shall see how accurate it is.<br /><br />One thing that was funny, is that when I was reading the "mindset" associated with each stage, I was totally comparing it to IM. First there's the excited "yay, this is it!" stage = right before the swim. The "lets get down to work" stage = during the swim and the first part of the bike. The "this is starting to be really hard and painful" stage = the last part of the bike. The "this is too hard, I dont think I can do it" stage = last half of the run. And the "I'm almost there, lets do it" stage = the last few miles of the run.<br /><br />I know I keep thinking it, but there has GOT to be some sort of correlation. I literally thought that I was actually dying during a few of those miles in the last half of the run. Or more like I WISHED I was dying because that would have put me out of my misery. I kept plowing along through that, so yeah, I'm not too worried.<br /><br />27w 4d.Juliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02949615504950021142noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4797104357405894279.post-59667232463987052202010-05-27T16:01:00.002-05:002010-05-27T16:24:31.762-05:00Bradley Part 3 & 4Ok, the classes are starting to pick up, but still pretty general. Great information, and we're learning a lot, but still pretty general. Week 3 was just about general pregnancy stuff, week 4 was about the coach's role. Some highlights from the last 2 weeks:<br /><br />- Experiencing mood swings? Eat a piece of fruit! This is where I really love our instructor, she's great about pointing out the parts of Bradley that she thinks are crap. She said Bradley apparently thinks that every pregnancy related malady is caused by some sort of nutritional deficiency, and fruit is the cure for mood swings. I'm pretty sure Dan would get punched in the throat if he told me to eat a piece of fruit when I'm having one of those days.<br /><br />- A baby coming out of your vagina is a sign of pre-term labor. No shit.<br /><br />- Analgesics are likely to just make you high and do nothing to help with the pain.<br /><br />- Many of the medications commonly administered during labor are in the same family as cocaine.<br /><br />Um, I think those are the main things. No, we really did go over quite a bit, nothing totally earth shattering though, but good to hear. And I know Dan has been a little skeptical of the whole natural birth thing, but he gets more and more on board every week with all the new information we get. Which is definitely good. He's all about doing things the old fashioned way, and you dont get much more old fashioned than that! Well, unless I wanted to go out and squat in a field and then come back in and churn out some butter.<br /><br />Some other things of note:<br /><br />- Holy woah! My feet do not like the "heat". It's been in the 80's for 4 days now, and they are about twice their normal size. It looks like I'm walking around on a couple of pork tenderloins. So much for being the cute pregnant lady walking around in sundresses and flip flops. Shrek feet dont really compliment the look.<br /><br />- Mmmmm, pork tenderloin.<br /><br />- It is virtually impossible for me to paint my toenails. I attempted it last night, and had to stop to catch my breath and reposition myself after every toe. Needless to say, I did not get a second coat on.<br /><br />- Same goes for shaving. If it didnt mean I'd have to let it grow out, I'd just have Suzanne wax my legs while she's at it.<br /><br />- LessthantwoweeksuntilthirdtrimesterandIdonthaveanythingdoneholyshit!<br /><br />- Baby is getting a lot more active. I'm starting to be able to see movement from the outside now. Cool. But, weird.<br /><br />- I think the dogs are starting to realize something is up, Penny won't eat unless I'm sitting right next to her.<br /><br />25w 2dJuliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02949615504950021142noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4797104357405894279.post-49486492977703417612010-05-17T13:54:00.003-05:002010-05-17T14:15:09.762-05:00Bradley, part 2Oops, I'm a week late. So last week was our second Bradley class. Dan was back in town for this one, so no more feeling like a teen mother. This one was about nutrition, and to be honest, I was half thinking of skipping it. If it hadn't been Dan's first class, we probably would have. I feel like I know what I need to know about good nutrition, so didn't really see the point in sitting through a 2 hour class. That is not to say I practice good nutrition all the time, but I do pretty well, and feel like I have a pretty firm grasp on it.<br /><br />I'm glad we went though! I did learn a few things. The class focused around good nutrition during pregnancy, which is (or should be) obviously not the same as good nutrition when you are trying to lose weight/maintain weight/train for an event/etc. For instance, I did not know that a daily protein intake of at least 70g has been linked to a drastic reduction in your chances of developing pre-eclempsia. And pre-E is bad, if you develop it, they pretty much just make you deliver your baby right then and there. We dont want that. There is a whole slew of pregnancy maladies that proper nutrition can virtually eliminate, but that is the biggie.<br /><br />Aside from the protein, they arent so much concerned with hitting a specific number for calories/fat/carbs/etc, but there is a list of stuff that I'm supposed to eat every day. Including:<br /><ul><li>4 servings of dairy</li><li>2 eggs</li><li>2 servings of leafy green vegetables</li><li>1 serving of other vetetables</li><li>4 servings of grain, one of which should be whole grain</li><li>1 vitamin C source</li><li>3 servings of healthy fats</li><li>1 serving of fruit</li></ul><p>Huh. Not hard, and mostly in line with general nutrition guidelines, but takes some planning ahead. I have ALWAYS been bad about getting my fruits and veggies. I just dont do it. I like raw fruits and vegetables, I am just not nearly as good as I should be about eating them. And the eggs, I like eggs, but who eats 2 eggs a day? That one is going to take some work. I also LOATHE whole grain products. I know, i know, that is not the PC thing to say. You're supposed to think they are super delicious and taste better than white bread. But, they dont. So I will have to figure out a way to choke those down.</p>So, our assignment for the week (and Dan is supposed to do it too) was to keep track of everything we eat, with the main goal of getting enough protein. I have done this off and on over the years, but typically when I'm trying to lose weight or lean up (down?) or something. Through using several online sites, I've found that <a href="http://www.sparkpeople.com/">www.sparkpeople.com</a> is the easiest to use. So I logged back on, and of course had to right away change my daily "goals". Last time I used it, my daily caloric intake was 1,600-1,850 cal/day. Yeah. That one got altered quite significantly.<br /><br />I actually had no problem hitting the protein goal (except for Saturday, but lunch at the bar + baby shower food + BBQ does not really light up the ol' nutrition scale). Everything else, uh, not so much. To give myself credit though, I did buy some whole grain english muffins, and on Sunday made myself a breakfast sandwich. It would have been much better on a regular english muffin. But whole grain, yay! And egg, yay! And bacon, not so yay. But hell, I had to dress up that cardboard somehow.<br /><br />24wJuliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02949615504950021142noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4797104357405894279.post-30679339784634298462010-05-07T14:28:00.006-05:002010-05-07T15:03:13.000-05:005 on Friday1. Confession: I love the Miley Cyrus song Party in the USA. I feel dirty now that I've said it out loud. But it's true, the radio always gets turned up when it comes on. Back in December my girlfriends and I had our annual sleepover (yes, grown women can still have slumber parties) and I discovered it's not just me! When that song came on, we ended up with an impromptu dance/karaoke party in the kitchen. Nothing better than a bunch of 20- and 30-something women dancing around in their pajamas singing Miley Cyrus songs. I know, it's every man's fantasy.<br /><br />2. A while back, Nemmie passed along a recipe for a chopped salad. It's actually Ten Restaurant's signature salad. I have never eaten there, but if they came up with this salad, I might just have to. It is seriously my favorite thing to eat, I pretty much make it weekly during the summer. I dont know if it's the mustard vinaigrette, or the blue cheese (mmmm, blue cheese) or what. But I love it! I could eat it every day.<br /><br />Make it. Eat it. Love it.<br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><em><strong>Nemmie's Chopped Salad (aka Ten Restaurant's Signature Salad)</strong></em><br /></span><br /><em><span style="font-size:85%;">Salad:</span></em><br /><em><span style="font-size:85%;">romaine lettuce, chopped (about half a head)</span></em><br /><em><span style="font-size:85%;">iceberg lettuce, chopped (about half a head)</span></em><br /><em><span style="font-size:85%;">1 tomato, seeded and chopped</span></em><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><em>4 green onions, sliced</em><br /><em>6 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled</em></span><br /><em><span style="font-size:85%;">penne, cooked and diced (not too much, about a handful of uncooked pasta)</span></em><br /><em><span style="font-size:85%;">blue cheese crumbles, to taste (I love blue cheese, so I dump in most of the container)</span></em><br /><em><span style="font-size:85%;">2 boneless skinless chicken breasts, grilled and diced (season with salt & pepper before grilling)</span></em><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><br /></span><em><span style="font-size:85%;">Vinaigrette:</span></em><br /><em><span style="font-size:85%;">1/2 cup vegetable or canola oil</span></em><br /><em><span style="font-size:85%;">2 cloves garlic, minced</span></em><br /><em><span style="font-size:85%;">1 Tbs rice vinegar</span></em><br /><em><span style="font-size:85%;">1 tsp red wine vinegar</span></em><br /><em><span style="font-size:85%;">1 tsp water</span></em><br /><em><span style="font-size:85%;">1 tsp dry mustard</span></em><br /><em><span style="font-size:85%;">1 tsp sugar</span></em><br /><em><span style="font-size:85%;">1/2 tsp salt</span></em><br /><em><span style="font-size:85%;">1/4 tsp dried oregano</span></em><br /><em><span style="font-size:85%;">dash black pepper</span></em><br /><em><span style="font-size:85%;">dash red pepper flakes</span></em><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><br /></span><em><span style="font-size:85%;">Mix all of the salad ingredients up! The mix all the vinaigrette ingredietns up, and pour it over the salad! Then mix it all up! Then eat it!</span></em><br /><br />3. My dogs make me laugh every day. Sometimes they are a huge pain in the ass though. Having them around means the house is never clean. They have scratched the hell out of the hardwoods. Walter likes to occasionally mark his territory still....in the house. But even still, they make me laugh every day. The door that leads to the basement is all scratched up, because Wallter gets so excited to go in his crate that he tries to claw his way through the door whenever he knows it's time to get in his crate. The little ledge between the kitchen and family room is all scratched up because when Penny gets excited, she gets on the love seat next to it and paws at the ledge. I have had to give up my favorite blanket for snuggling up with on the couch because Max loves to snuggle with it more. The window frame in the living room is completely destroyed because all three of them go nuts and try to break through the window whenever somebody walks by. But how can I be mad about any of that?!<br /><br />The previous owner of our house had installed a cat door from the family room to the garage. It is still there. And whenever I come home, if the dogs are out of their crates, the first thing I'm greeted with is Walter's head with his big googely eyes poking through the cat door to see who just pulled into the garage. And Max gets so excited to see you that he jumps in circles when you come home, and half the time damn near knocks himself out by slamming into the wall or the furniture in the process. And little Penny, she's so happy to see you that she practically starts hyperventilating, and she wont go out to potty until she has been petted by everyone. No person is ever that happy to see you.<br /><br />They always make my day brighter, I cant imagine ever not having dogs in the house.<br /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5468618393622685042" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_hE9oZzhaorviyD7xolw3C7BSH6EcIkoLG_9rWGDjW8Z131nhSclfrlHiR64s-pRbFiiXdrn3cYSc67Bk6m_oPtdjGEQ8_AbaLumuB6Ds9D4LplG8FqP63Q2Ihw1tDRjpsB168PfDuAcI/s320/123008+029.jpg" /> 4. I have to work tomorrow morning, I really dont want to. I hate having to work on Saturdays. I only have to work about 3 Saturday's a year, but I still hate it. <p>5. However! I am happy just to have a job. This week, Gardner laid of basically their entire planning department. Which has made more than one planner in the metro a little nervous. If Garner was able to eliminate the entire department, what's to say that other municipalities won't soon follow suit?? Everyone is still having to trim their budgets, and since development is still slow, planning departments everywhere are not nearly as busy as usual. What's even more awesome, is that our 2011 budget is supposed to be approved at the end of July. So....if I were to get laid off, it would be about 6 weeks before I have the baby. Awesome. Just what I need to worry about. But, there's nothing I can do about it right now, so I'll just continue to keep myself as busy as possible and hope for the best.<br /></p>Juliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02949615504950021142noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4797104357405894279.post-35182502307319494532010-05-05T10:24:00.003-05:002010-05-05T11:03:29.474-05:00Bradley, part 1So. I am planning to have a natural birth. No drugs, no epidural. For some reason, a lot of people feel really strongly one way or another about this issue. There is the group that thinks anyone who tries to give birth without drugs is a complete moron, and there is the group that thinks anyone who gets an epidural is an uneducated fool. Personally, I couldnt give two shits how someone else choses to have a baby, but being that so many people feel SO strongly one way or another, I kind of feel weird even discussing it with anyone. <br /><br />A lot of people, when they first found out I was pregnant, were like "get the epidural! Dont try to be a hero!" Mmmm, ok. It kind of makes me scratch my head, because so many people seem to think that it's about trying to prove something. It's not. Next time I want to prove something to myself or to the world, I'll do another Ironman. Women have babies every day, that proves nothing. I've done a fair amount of research, and feel that for me PERSONALLY, it's just the best option. There are plenty of statistics and other evidence that led me to feel that way, which I wont even try to quote. But for me, it's just the way to go. I know a lot of women automatically go on the defensive once they hear that you are planning on a natural birth, I guess because they think you are judging them somehow. Trust me, I couldnt care less if have the doctor knock you completely out and reach up in there and pull the baby out.<br /><br />So anyway, that was my little "disclaimer" before I get to the point. We decided to take Bradley classes, which are a 12 week course on preparing you and your partner for a natural childbirth. I wasnt 100% sold on the idea of committing myself to 12 weeks of classes, and honestly, it seemed a bit unnecessary. But when we met with our doula for the first time (I know, doula doula DOULA), she talked about how helpful they are, espeically for the husbands. I'm more of a "I'll research it and figure it out on my own" kinda gal, but Dan likes the structured learning environments. So he was actually the one who was more for it. Plus, I think he's a little trepidatious about the whole no drug thing. I think he, like a lot of people, are of the midset that doctors and modern medicine make EVERYTHING better. And while that may be true in most cases, there is something to be said for letting your body handle a natural process the way it was designed to. So I think some schoolin' will do him good.<br /><br />Last night was our first class, and of course Dan is out of town for work. Of course he is. Let me tell you, going to a birth class by yourself makes you feel like a huge tool. I totally felt like a teen mother or something. Now, I had read kind of mixed reviews of Bradley classes, some people have ended up with instructors who are totally militant and all "doctors and hospitals are the devil!". So I was a little apprehensive going into it. I was half expecting to walk into the room and find it filled with a bunch of hippie weirdos. But alas! Everyone is normal! There are 4 other couples in the class, and everyone is totally normal and seems like people I would actually hang out with under normal circumstances. So that's good.<br /><br />The class was 2 hours, and mainly just focused on introductions and a general background of the Bradley Method. I did learn something interesting. I know a lot of doctors have kind of mixed feelings on Bradley, and now I know why (at least for the doctors around here). Apparently, Gloria Squitiro, Mayor Funkhousers wife, used to be the only Bradley instructor in the area. When she said that, everyone was like "oh God, that explains everything". For those that dont live in KC, the Funk's wife is INSANE. Just google her. So yeah, having her associated with ANYTHING does not help.<br /><br />After the introductions and background, we talked a little about the basis of Bradley, which is relaxation. Talked about how we can identify ways that have helped us to relax and deal with pain in the past, and went over a few basic exercises. The exercises are meant to help you just relax in general, as well as target specific areas of your body that you'll be using during labor and the birth. There was a lot of talk about how there ARE plenty of things we can do now and throughout the rest of the pregnancy, as well as during labor, to help the baby get into the correct position and to help the whole birth process along. Apparently, and I didnt know this either, you dont want the baby just head down. It should be head down and facing your back. And there are ways to coax the baby into that position.<br /><br />So really, class 1 was pretty general, but did provide a lot of good info on exatly WHY we'll be learning what we do over the next 12 weeks. Hopefully Dan doesnt miss any more of them, becuase I have had my fill of flying solo at birth class. I feel really confident that I found a good instructor, one who is pretty mainstream and is not going to make us sit in a circle and sing Kumbayah while doing weird visualization exercises. <br /><br />22w2dJuliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02949615504950021142noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4797104357405894279.post-56806253564847423832010-04-30T09:38:00.002-05:002010-04-30T09:57:43.043-05:00No more McD'sLast night after I got home and changed into my comfy clothes, I went to put on my Crocs (yes, I wear Crocs around the house, sue me) and noticed that my feet and ankles were swollen up like sausages. I had cankles. Oh. My. God. It's too early for this! I'm not even 22 weeks! And it's not summer yet! My feet cant be swelling already!! In a panic, I texted Courtney and she suggested that maybe I just need to start watching my sodium intake. Hmm. I did have McDonalds for lunch. Dammit. Now, I have been pretty good lately, it's not like a few months ago where all I wanted was fast food. But every now and then I just want something greasy. Guess I wont be doing that anymore!<br /><br />And on top of the cankles, earlier this week I was complaining to my friend <a href="http://scottandnemmie.blogspot.com/">Nemmie</a> about some pregnancy related aches and pains, and she said "maybe it's 'roids in your girl parts!" Wait. What!? No, that cant even be a real thing, you are mistaken, Miss Nems. So of course I had to google it, and let me just say that that is NOT something you should ever google. EVER. Suffice it to say, it is a real thing, and I am now scarred for life. Pretty certain that's not a problem for me just yet (and hopefully never), but Christ! They should warn you that it's even a possibility before you decide to get pregnant!<br /><br />19 more weeks. 19 more weeks. I can make it 19 more weeks. I'm over half way, I'm on the donwhill slope. Oh shit, I have to take care of a baby in 19 weeks! Baby dogs I am good with. Baby humans, I really know nothing about. And here in a few months, I'm going to be expected to like, keep one alive and healthy, and stuff. There's got to be a class that will teach me everything I need to know, right? RIGHT?!?!<br /><br />21w4dJuliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02949615504950021142noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4797104357405894279.post-79883552614206352592010-04-22T09:15:00.015-05:002010-04-22T09:42:55.176-05:00Its a....Girl! Woah, I'm going to have a daughter. I'm sure she'll be all sweet and cute for the first few years, and then hate me until she's about 30. It's just the law of nature, it can't be helped. The ultrasound was really cool, baby was moving around quite a bit but not enough for me to feel. She must be going absolutely nuts when I am able to feel her! We got to see her do a somersault and suck her thumb, so that was neat. <div><div><div><div><div><br /><div>Here she is with her foot up in her face, about to poke her eyes out with her toes:</div><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 238px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5462970615885201810" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCMxenw9vLQhBxI0bmtays9yOvmyZ_Oq5YDtmIV6VKSHIkKgsg4IORbXDnIq9_xK-UMHhgiVfry7V3yMmVE34C6Gw9FfDS7DmI_EV3smtcCPRn83dTOnk8hJ75SSPEXuQgk8nlJyKvCUPa/s320/20w.JPG" /><br /><div>Speaking of feet, check out the big gap between her big toe and her second toe! She definitely gets that from me, I have freaking lobster claws:</div><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 239px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5462970441889744674" border="0" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_veIThGZ5WkQ/S9BerD9MByI/AAAAAAAAAks/_VzvF_NOKcw/s320/20w+feet.JPG" /><br /><div>Here's a shot of her legs all stretched out with her ankles crossed. She's got her arm resting on top of her leg. Long arms!</div><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 252px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5462969395193320242" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhksA_FcTnWfIjBodUI24J_t2MtA8QbhIKYO-gK8KDBcgrzfNxAas4dd6uOd33Q0Ybv3wCB3NlF7vYxNQ_Z022EFwo14EE67zsbpcT26qqtXhEDJWhCmUy9eqpvz7Bt-tcn41OCBEMErwEd/s320/20w+legs.JPG" /><br /><div>....Long arms and big hands. This is looking down from the top, she's got her little (big) hand up in front of her face. Those are some basketball playing hands! Dan is so proud.</div><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 250px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5462969034715219362" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwWrp50u5HjgxgJbVpiHaN9wzpR7sax6AKgIizr7Q8wNeWGsPXg2qYfuCvFx_sgFRVl5Nu5Tw46MZn-DkgL9ii9V43CGsJ9rthUWq4Ub7z2I2Wa3O9cG-U8-_3fR3pFuVO2EAcfekl-NLW/s320/20w+hand.JPG" /><br /><div>And just as a comparison, here are her hands at 13 weeks. She's done a lot of growing in the last 7 weeks!</div><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 244px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5462968714555437522" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihBLE1kJEn7cFwznUcVdPP9tXR5vLBE1h5nMOwSZvmhL45QBqz9zertgBEqHkNpgB8ImzbtoWo7UjdNY4xSjMnZ0pQqd_luhlqcMd3KvAU93ZohEOXmdnVPmc7XhgvyU3duWa_v2N2FpGJ/s320/13w+hands.JPG" /><br /><br /><div>Here she is the first time we saw her at 6 weeks, just a tiny, indiscernable bean with a flicker of a heartbeat. So amazing that she has turned into an actual PERSON in such a short amount of time!</div><br /><div><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 253px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5462967657317315474" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqBGiLF6yUuLkkX_XEoHx9Gx2iN9DZjAOgGeusbx2B1b84MWobQV7ssr3plkGvsPoh1x0bzHBvpiHEwbD0ncfgrGEbHUBuQbtg4THema7dCX6xpXHwKItvmNEbNfiIZrnYAfJLfK0-McvZ/s320/6w.JPG" /></div></div><div><span style="font-size:78%;">That tiny gray blob that the arrow in the middle is pointing to? That's the baby.</span></div><div><span style="font-size:78%;"></span></div><div></div><div></div><div>Let the pink shopping frenzy begin!</div><div> </div><div>20w3d</div></div></div></div></div>Juliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02949615504950021142noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4797104357405894279.post-15341981928808310732010-04-20T08:58:00.011-05:002010-04-20T09:24:41.745-05:00Half BakedHalfway there! Halfway there! Man, I cant believe this kid is already halfway done baking. If this were a marathon, I'd be past mile 13. Except, in a few miles I'd start hurting really bad and crying and wishing for death. So, uh, lets not compare this to a marathon. Because if the first part of pregnancy was the best part, then I am in for a world of hurt. So lets just nix that comparison.<br /><br /><div><div><div><div><div><div>The belly is definitley growing-</div><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5462225208047681026" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFs2CZcM7Q41R4GjG8fjQwSPVe_qtuIGmI7x8s3GX55vPWaHA44tK6dQ7VILKSVRjMAt41TTbY4OAKN9Cj5t6q4Ixv5cOKRiqTRzAyNum2r2CPn_8oxmCNPQGZY-HIzZ5JoW_QLqJIVjjy/s320/20w.jpg" /><br /><div>Aside from the ever expanding waistline (and still NON-expanding boobs, WTF), there still isnt a whole lot going on. I did start work on the nursery by getting it primed and the trim painted. I know priming isnt all that exciting, but if you saw this room before I did it, you just might be excited afterall. For some reason, I had decided after we moved in that I should paint the room red. We're talking bright, Husker red. Except, painting a room red takes about 500 coats, and I got fed up after 4. So it never really looked very good. Plus, I made a mess of all the trim in the process, so there were red smears all over the trim. Awesome. Oh, and the woman who owned this house before us had touched up the trim using about 5 different shades of white, all in a flat finish. Who uses flat paint for trim?? Also, she didnt actually use WHITE, it was more of a yellowish, antiquey-white color. Barf. This is before I did the trim, so you can see how yellow it looks:</div><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5462224825192477874" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiepbkmrr3-B6nI8PvOg1R2-4PHZviuj7SlN5N6jfSUNG8N0rOa32-BEz0WzUDOh5M5CE91UyhAguopKhsHSxc7XmodcdwqME1EARGPc08n0HThN1cESSHzsM5uevKGZrrYz5NtVM8kvJPj/s320/nursery+001.jpg" /><em><span style="font-size:78%;">You can see </span><a href="http://decoratingobsessed.blogspot.com/"><span style="font-size:78%;">Ashley's house </span></a><span style="font-size:78%;">out the window. Hi Ashley!</span></em><br /><br /><div>Ah, much brighter. Also note the new windows! Eh, they really dont look any different than the old ones, except for the fact that they aren't rotting apart.</div><br /><div>Annnndddddd......we should find out boy or girl tomorrow! Yay!</div></div></div></div></div></div>Juliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02949615504950021142noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4797104357405894279.post-906339466874621332010-04-16T16:21:00.002-05:002010-04-16T16:35:25.824-05:005 on FridayWell it seems that these "5 on Friday" posts are pretty popular in the blog world, and since I apparently need every motivation I can find to post, I will jump on the bandwagon.<br /><br />1. Did you know that being pregnant makes it hard to pee? True story. I had always heard that you have to pee a lot when you're pregnant, and you do, but it turns out it's because you cant empty your fucking bladder. I go to pee, and barely anything comes out. So when I get up, I still have to go. WTF. I am going to start wearing Depends so I can just go whenever I want instead of having to run to the bathroom only for nothing to happen.<br /><br />2. I miss beer. I think I miss it more than wine.<br /><br />3. When I was driving back to work after lunch today, I was in the turn lane to make a right hand turn, there was a green right hand turn arrow, and the person in front of me had to do a granny roll through the entire turn. Dude, you are driving an Infiniti G35, I'm pretty sure it can handle turns better than the Element, we dont need to slow to 2mph. And when I passed you 3 seconds later, it was clear that you were not an 85 year old woman with bifocals, so there is no excuse. I HATE people that do this! Seriously, I spend half of the time I'm driving having road rage. If I ever mention wanting to get a concealed carry license, please stop me, because I'm sure it would end in me getting into some sort of shoot out over someone driving too slow.<br /><br />4. I was in BRU the other day, I went on my afternoon off to avoid the cluster it becomes on the weekends. Plus, it is out at 135th & 69, and it is just best that I avoid that area during heavy traffic times for the above mentioned reason. Well apparently every stay-at-home mom in JoCo had decided it was a good time for a trip to the ol' baby supply store, so there were women and babies EVERYWHERE. Which was fine, until one baby started crying, which made another one cry, which made another one cry....you get the idea. I about had a stroke, and it cut short my perusing through the cute teeny tiny baby clothes. I dont know if I'm ready for my own screaming kid. I have a lot of patience for my dogs, I just hope that transfers to the baby.<br /><br />5. I am so happy it's finally SPRING. I feel like I've been in such a funky mood lately, and I'm sure it's because I've been a shut-in basically since Christmas. This weather makes me actually WANT to get outside and do something instead of laying on the couch watching Criminal Minds reruns all night.<br /><br />Hooray for the weekend!<br />19w4dJuliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02949615504950021142noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4797104357405894279.post-65491934217123454072010-04-09T15:28:00.003-05:002010-04-09T15:43:32.046-05:00I had a doctors appointment today, and for the first time in my life they had to move the BIG slider on the scale. Yup, officially passed the 150 lb mark. Oh well, that mean's baby is growing and getting bigger. Although, if you look at any of the pregnancy weight gain charts, they all say I'm gaining too much weight too fast. Those charts can kiss my ass.<br /><br />Baby is about the size of a potato, and the big news for the week is that I can finally feel it moving! Everything I've read says that they already have a sleep/awake pattern established, and it figures that my kid would sleep all day and be up all night. I feel it the most in the evening, and whenever I wake up in the middle of the night I can always feel it. Although, if I jiggle my belly during the day, it wakes up and starts moving. Ha! Wake up kid, we're going to start work NOW on getting you on an acceptable sleep schedule. You always hear that the first movements feel like flutters or bubbles popping or whatever. I think it feels more like I have a giant tapeworm crawling around in there. Not that I would know what a tapeworm feels like. Whatever it is though, had a nice healthy HB of 150 today though, so right on track<br /><br />Last weekend I was reminded again of why men arent the ones who get pregnant. We were headed up to Omaha, and as we were driving through St. Joe Dan asked if I wanted to stop at this bar that one of his friends owns and have a drink. Um, no thanks? The man honestly forgot that his wife was pregnant. So you know if they were the ones to get pregnant, they'd forget about it until they were 3 beers in and then realize "Oh shit!!!"<br /><br />Only 12 more days till we get to find out! I still say girl, we'll see if I'm right. Although, the only baby dream I've had so far involved me getting an u/s and the tech pointing out the boy bits. So really, I won'tbe surprised either way.<br /><br />18w4dJuliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02949615504950021142noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4797104357405894279.post-90938208440381900992010-03-26T16:02:00.003-05:002010-03-26T16:30:43.580-05:00What they don't tell youIn browsing various pregnancy forums, I have learned one main thing. There are a lot of dumb as shit women out there. (no, riding a bike will not "give you an abortion". Yes, your baby is alive even though it is not breathing air while it is inside you). My friend Jules and I have had numerous (drunken, sitting by the pool) converstaions trying to decide if people are really just that stupid, or if we are just that smart. Because lets face it, everywhere you go, someone is always making you wonder how they manage to function. And apparently, pregnancy bring the morons out of the woodwork. Gives a bad name to pregnant women and moms, if you ask me.<br /><br />But aside from being shocked at peoples' intelligence levels, I am almost more shocked about all of the "OMG I DIDNT KNOW THIS WOULD HAPPEN" comments you see. Yes, being pregnant makes you fat. Yes, being pregnant makes your skin freak out. Yes, being pregnant makes you moody. Yes, being pregnant makes you tired. Yes, being pregnant makes you constipated. Yes, being pregnant can make hair grow on your stomach. Yes, the baby has to come out of THERE. No, your husand does not give two shits about what kind of bottles you register for. Seriously, do you people not have friends, or mothers? Because, uh, if you have ever met anyone who has been pregnant, you have heard all of this stuff.<br /><br />The thing that nobody ever really tells you though, is that being pregnant is boring. There just isnt much going on. Every day at least one person asks me how I'm feeling or how things are going, and I usually answer with "fine", and they keep looking at me expectantly like I am going to have something to add. I dont know what people want me to say. "Oh I'm doing great, peed 6 times between the time I got to work and lunch, my belly is getting strangely fuzzy, got winded walking up the stairs last night, and I officially can't button any of my pants". Do they want to hear that? Probably not. Just like when they ask how a race went, they dont want to hear "well I pissed myself at mile 12, had to make an emergency stop at a port-a-john at mile 16 so I wouldnt shit my pants, and had a blood blister pop at mile 22". It's just stuff that nobody wants to know.<br /><br />Speaking of marathons, I actually got a little teary eyed when I got the notification the other day that Chicago has filled up for this year. Yes, I'm thrilled to be pregnant, and duh, I didnt expect to be running a marathon a month after I have the kid, and yes, it will still be there next year. But after I did it last year, I sort of got it in my head that I was going to do it again this year. So it just made me a little sad thinking about not doing it.<br /><br />Thats another thing that nobody tells you about being pregnant; that you will start to feel like you are missing out on stuff, and that it's NORMAL. But nobody ever tells you that, because, well, I dont know why. You're just sent the message that you are supposed to be 100% overjoyed about the prospect of being pregnant and having a kid, and any thought otherwise means that you are going to be a shitty shitty parent. So then when you DO start feeling kind of bummed about not being able to do this or that, you start feeling totally guilty for thinking that way in the first place. But, everybody says that being a parent means that you are in for a lifetime of feeling guilty about SOMETHING, so I guess this is a good start!<br /><br />And on the topic of missing out on things, the other day I was thinking about the fact that summer is fast approaching, and that we live close to the Prairie Village pool. What's nice about that? They have an adults only pool! Yeah! We can go there and avoid all the kids at our neighborhood pool, and sneak in booze in plastic water bottles! For a minute there I honestly forgot that a) there will be no laying by the pool getting drunk for me this summer, and b) from here on out I am going to be one of THOSE people who takes their kid to the pool. Woah, man. Reality check.<br /><br />16w4dJuliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02949615504950021142noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4797104357405894279.post-52332030768182071962010-03-11T14:41:00.004-06:002010-03-11T14:56:12.193-06:00Car shopping, Hurley styleThose of you that know me know that Dan likes cars. As in, likes to get a different one every year or so. It's a disease. He has a spreadsheet of all the cars he's owned in his life, I saw it once, I think there are close to, if not more than, 40 on there. And for someone that is 39.....yeaaaahhh. He has slowed down a bit in the last few years though, he's only had 3 different cars since we started dating in 2005. And 4 motorcycles, but I digress.<br /><br />I have been saying for a couple of years that "this is it! No more cars!", but now I mean it. I dont know, somehow it just doesnt seem very responsible to be trading cars like they are freaking baseball cards when you have a kid. Call me old fashioned. His latest car was a PT Cruiser, which I HATED, and may or may not have made fun of him relentlessly for driving. And my friends may or may not have gotten in on the action. But in all practicality, it's a pretty small car, and with 3 dogs and a new baby, I just thought we might want something bigger. Especially since I'd like to be able to keep a car for a while and use it when we have a second kid. Two kids and three dogs in a PT was DEFINITELY not going to work.<br /><br />So here is what happens when someone like that marries someone like me who is all "I need immediate gratification, stop hem hawing, just do it NOW!":<br /><br />Julie: so, I think we should trade the PT in on something bigger.<br />Dan: How about a Crown Victoria? (WTF?)<br />Julie: Um no, how about a Pilot?<br />Dan: OK<br /><em>Spend a few days finding links to used Pilots</em><br />Julie: Want to go look at this one?<br />Dan: Sure. Tonight?<br /><em>Go testdrive Pilot, be underwhelmed.</em><br />Salesman: Well if you like Pilots, you'll love the CX-9. Want to drive one?(we were at a Mazda dealer)<br />Dan: OK<br />Julie: OK<br /><em>Testdrive CX-9</em><br />Julie: Wow, I really like it!<br />Dan: Me too!<br />Julie: Want to get it?<br />Dan: OK.<br /><br />And that is how car shopping goes in the Hurley household. Although to be fair, it DID stretch into two days, because the first night we went to look, the banks were closed by the time we were ready to talk numbers. So we had to deal with all that the next day. At least we slept on it.<br /><br />14w3dJuliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02949615504950021142noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4797104357405894279.post-10122994973868891752010-03-08T09:02:00.004-06:002010-03-08T09:17:51.559-06:00Its a....<div>Baby! Yep, definitely a baby in there. I had an ultrasound last week at 13w1d (13weeks 1day, for those of you not up on the pregnancy lingo) to check for certain birth defects. It's called an Ultra Screen (or 1st Tri screen, or NT scan) and includes a blood test. Then they plug in the measurements they took on the ultrasound and the results of the blood test and your age into some program, and it spits out the probability of your baby having Down Syndrome and a few other chromosonal defects. It's optional testing, though I think most doctors recommend it if you're over 35. I'm not, but since I'm adopted and dont know any family medical history, figured it would be a good idea. Ok I'm lying, I just wanted an excuse to see the baby. Because even though I KNOW I'm pregnant, and my doctor had found the HB with a doppler at my last appointment, and I had an ultrasound at 6 weeks and saw the little flickering blob in there, and have been feeling like death....I still didnt really believe it. In my warped mind the blob we saw at the last ultrasound could have been some sort of tumor, and the HB I heard could have been mine. Granted, it was 176 bpm, but hey, that is a pretty normal running HR for me, so not out of the question. Except, I wasnt running at the time. But still! You never know. Anywho, here is the little bugger:</div><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 218px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5446280233325117490" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkmiZsVNlV3agT_ner2FT-R94eBKN_EsYGfmhOF1ifFhkbnJPLZeewS_kPf6ZZdGKZONNqO0GKQkw8oZARFIStK2r4wvK1iXFNZteYh6Ofc-UEbTx6HHL6ziCeoakRQBWKFooi8ZXFubrW/s320/13wk.JPG" /><br /><div>See, definitely a baby. Not a tumor. She was wiggling around all over the place and getting pissed when the doctor jiggled my belly (like a bowl full of jelly. Har) to get her to switch positions so he could get the measurements he needed. And I am calling it a her, even though we obviously dont know yet. I just think of it as a girl, and I dont like calling the baby IT. Conjures up images of scary clowns. And with the u/s picture already making the baby look like Skeletor, I dont need to think of scary clowns too. I truly, truly dont care what it is. Dan on the other hand, is hoping its a boy. But doesnt every guy? I keep telling him that he's so scared of having a girl that that's what we'll end up with for sure. And on that note, I made my appointment for the BIG ultrasound, so we should get to find out on April 21. Not too much longer!</div><div> </div><div>Other than that, things are good. I'm officially in my 2nd trimester, and starting to feel better. Still feeling pretty crappy first thing in the morning and at night, but much more functional during the day. And, it's starting to get nice out, which is giving me the itch to go run. One of these nights I'll have to give it a whirl....if any of my running shorts still fit, that is.</div>Juliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02949615504950021142noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4797104357405894279.post-1517878720350779932010-02-22T15:47:00.004-06:002010-02-22T16:05:04.728-06:00It's the small thingsLast week was more of the same, laying around the house and eating out. On Friday we headed out to Pennsylvania to visit my sister-in-law and her husband. She moved out there before we even got married, and we still hadn't been to visit. Oops! They are also getting ready to put their house on the market, so between that and and the baby, we figured we had better get out there. Plus, we found out last Monday that she is also pregnant and due about 3 weeks after me. So our wee one will have a cousin the same age. Fun!<br /><br />On Saturday we went up to Hershey, and while you might think that the CHOCOLATE was the highlight of the trip (especially for a pregnant chick), it wasnt! Nope, it was these too cute for words, tiny, single serving ketchup bottles at the Hotel Hershey!<br /><p><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5441188849046188818" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYYJQt2jWnfykg5_IvwI1hpzDiFgcqLV8izydPxMV1Zwp_LJxdHYGQY7KQ1FmMxvncmPsNe6rf1nMcHtUDMU14Qw0OYUKZUMXgLSQHjdpYUYqcVn9h0Q57Wn_-R14eEH0TatLwsaPqjiWW/s320/PA+001.jpg" />I need to figure out where to get them and buy a stash. I love tiny, miniature things. Like those teeny tiny binder clips. You know, the ones that only go around like 10 sheets of paper. Those are the best. So anyway, if you happen to know where to get those tiny ketchup bottles, LET ME KNOW!</p><p>Sunday before our flight left we hung out in downtown Baltimore, and had a late lunch at a great little Italian place. When we walked down by the harbor after that, I made the mistake of setting my to-go box down on a bench, and this seagull decided to try to get into it. I guess I cant blame him.</p><p>Sunday happened to be a really nice day out there and there were TONS of people out for a run down around the harbor. That, and just being by the open water made me want to do a race BAD. Ah, nothing beats jumping into a big body of open water and taking off on a swim with a pack of other people. So I was all "dude, I could totally do a race at the end of May, I wont even be 30 weeks, and I shouldnt be too big yet". Right about then I bloated up so bad I thought my stomach was going to burst and my head started pounding and I realized I was EXHAUSTED from a weekend of eating and driving around....and a 15 minute walk. So that killed my race fantasy. But man, I cant wait until next year! And yeah, I'm smart enough to know that racing while one is pregnant, especially if said person has been a total lazy-ass for the last 3 months, probably isnt advisable. But there is nothing like knowing that you CANT do something to make you really, really want to.</p><p>So that was the excitement of the weekend. We missed out on some sleet here, and for some reason our plane was delayed leaving from Baltimore because KCI had run out of de-icer. Not really sure why that matters when you are landing, but mmkay.</p><p>My goal for this week is to make dinner 3 times, and by "make dinner" I mean MAKE DINNER, not fish sticks and fries. Cooking just really holds no appeal to me right now, which is weird, so we'll see how that goes.<br /></p>Juliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02949615504950021142noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4797104357405894279.post-44095535052488871222010-02-12T11:54:00.002-06:002010-02-12T12:14:30.082-06:00I'm not deadI know, again with the lack of blogging. But I have been doing stuff. Since I started this blog as a training blog when I was getting ready for IMFL, blogging about anything less than IM or marathon training seems kind of....pointless. With the three marathons last year, I was able to have SOMETHING to blog about, even though it was never as consuming as IM training. I DO want to keep blogging, I just need to reconcile myself to the fact that it may not always be about an 18 mile run followed up by an 80 mile ride. And if you are OK with that, so am I.<br /><br />So, if you get bored with the direction I decide to take, I apologize in advance. But, I wont be writing too much about any awesome training adventures or races this year. In fact, I wont be doing any races at all. But I do have something pretty exciting (at least I think it's pretty exciting) planned for Labor Day, or thereabouts. Yup, we're adding to the family, and no, it's not another dog. This addition will be of the baby human variety.<br /><br />As of today, I am 10 and a half weeks pregnant (and no I have not announced it at work, so keep your mouth shut you know who you are), so I have about 30 to go. So far, pregnancy has been "interesting". I always swore I would never be one of those pregnant women who ate junk every day and sat on their ass watching TV. But sadly, thats what I have been doing most of the time. I swear I dont want to though! But when your "morning sickness" lasts all day, and you are doing good to keep your eyes open past about 2pm, thats what happens. The closest thing I can think of to compare morning sickness to is a hangover without the headache, and it's been with me for about the last 4 weeks straight. They tell me it's supposed to subside when you get into your second trimester, so I've got another 3 weeks to tough it out. And really, I HAVE been feeling better, the last week or so I kind of get a break during the middle of the day. So Dan probably thinks I'm a total faker since all I do at home is laying the couch but manage to function at work.<br /><br />And I'm not ashamed to admit that so far I've gained about 8 lbs, which can no doubt be attributed to the fact that my body has decided all it wants to eat are McDonalds french fries and chocolate shakes. Oh, and lets not forget the complete and total lack of exercise the last 2 months. I have become one of THOSE pregnant women. Yuck! But, once I stop feeling like I'm going to hurl every time I stand up, I plan to get back at it. Of course I realize I wont be out running any marathons in the next few months, but I'd at least like to keep SOME of my fitness this year. And pregnant or not, I'm just not used to being sedentary this long (and eating this much fast food), so it will feel amazing to get moving again.<br /><br />So! I dont plan to turn this into a total pregnancy or baby blog, but that will probably start occupying a lot of it. Hopefully pretty soon I can start talking about the fun of trying to run with a passenger, and next year move on to the adventures of dragging along my child AND husband to some races. Should be fun :)Juliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02949615504950021142noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4797104357405894279.post-4916596328962867722009-11-03T09:11:00.013-06:002009-11-03T09:43:58.543-06:002 Years2 years ago, I was about 50 minutes into the bike portion of IMFL feeling like I was going to die. I had major stomach issues after that swim, and the first 12 miles of the bike royally sucked. But I did it! Man, I cant believe it's been 2 years already. In some ways it feels like a lot longer, and in some ways it feels like I just did it.<br /><div><div><div><div><div><div><br /><div>I just got done reading my <a href="http://tri-chick-julie.blogspot.com/2007/11/blood-sweat-tears-ironman.html">recap</a> and boy, does it make me want to do another one. I will, just probably not anytime in the near future. The next time I do it, I will be better. Just like the next marathon I do, I will be better. So I've got a lot of work to do!</div><br /><div>Speaking of that, I've been doing good with getting myself to the gym, and last night I did my first interval workout on the treadmill. I only did 4 quarter mile repeats, but I did them at a sub 8:30 pace, and I didnt die, so that is a good thing! I'll get that sub 30 minute 5K, then we'll work on a sub 60 minute 10K. Right now my half marathon PR is about 2:35, so I'll have to assess things and figure out a new goal for that. And we all know what my marathon goal is. All in good time!<br /></div><div>So, since IMFL, here is what has kept me occupied:</div><br /><div>- I took a year off to be fat and lazy</div><br /><div>- I got laid off, and spent 4 months getting caught on my Soaps instead of taking advantage of the time off and training. The only productive thing I did was paint the kitchen cabinets.</div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4nystjDSNgb6l6wbw9qBiYC555VMGrRRSwpBFRsU8xYqW24YKsHN-D9svKJvdSE4RTGqvh4U-JnScotigGrLARxxuxB0ohTOYlugdROu7uznKCdvmuLArNjJx6AzArKNKKLUTvFUJbftu/s1600-h/Picture+087.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5399899703853086274" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4nystjDSNgb6l6wbw9qBiYC555VMGrRRSwpBFRsU8xYqW24YKsHN-D9svKJvdSE4RTGqvh4U-JnScotigGrLARxxuxB0ohTOYlugdROu7uznKCdvmuLArNjJx6AzArKNKKLUTvFUJbftu/s320/Picture+087.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div></div><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div>- My sister in law got married in Colorado</div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjBxxaiQXFhU24t3FzyrPy5dgIP0H61mF0uA7ZBj64V7zcM1S_0RvFJWHYnAjG-L2TNY1sg3TzVSvNpmnEQSDp29DB-CFUQsY-krimi9XzrUyV0m5_UD6SbFVxEf-XKIZFPhYcL_1qMEVG/s1600-h/6-16-08+072.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5399899963135472050" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjBxxaiQXFhU24t3FzyrPy5dgIP0H61mF0uA7ZBj64V7zcM1S_0RvFJWHYnAjG-L2TNY1sg3TzVSvNpmnEQSDp29DB-CFUQsY-krimi9XzrUyV0m5_UD6SbFVxEf-XKIZFPhYcL_1qMEVG/s320/6-16-08+072.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div></div><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div>- We sold our old house (in 3 days, I might add) and bought a new one</div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-hSuU8tftu7Y8EVC1Nwlj8R3fN9sHavdcmXWt5KDBuVvmksQn5vOnlJ-fjzd4jHEPqdWdxznrkSy12es-z_COFKEsvi_0w5vC1smIVIBZORFK7tRsszejkEk_7lpv7qREP1_5c3b9RF8E/s1600-h/front.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5399900238744617586" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 213px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-hSuU8tftu7Y8EVC1Nwlj8R3fN9sHavdcmXWt5KDBuVvmksQn5vOnlJ-fjzd4jHEPqdWdxznrkSy12es-z_COFKEsvi_0w5vC1smIVIBZORFK7tRsszejkEk_7lpv7qREP1_5c3b9RF8E/s320/front.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div></div><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div>- I turned 30</div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVLCq5_WJWhWxxnorl0KWzaDHzQAvWeGve3HYqw7ojHZLnvexqP6t5EY0hcZM3N7OUPyTVBVxgTNp12c7nEEKs5CiF5dyNmIrTPS-awbGICvrTvEZZD1sID3c-rSmArcbI4c9_O-yDtSEI/s1600-h/11-14+121.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5399900382417340082" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVLCq5_WJWhWxxnorl0KWzaDHzQAvWeGve3HYqw7ojHZLnvexqP6t5EY0hcZM3N7OUPyTVBVxgTNp12c7nEEKs5CiF5dyNmIrTPS-awbGICvrTvEZZD1sID3c-rSmArcbI4c9_O-yDtSEI/s320/11-14+121.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div></div><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div>- Courtney got married</div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhdEgoBNru06rrfajz82ILuC3iiit9fOhaV4CRkef-vemm0oVwMaciHDXYfgg1F7Xnfyav41twsIioYwf0D-pAOggG6Uwq5vs3GpdwVPkroYzhkPFqFfLTjlmM43AcNVI3lV4EFdTqXLws/s1600-h/courtwedding2jpg.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5399900852963643410" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 238px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhdEgoBNru06rrfajz82ILuC3iiit9fOhaV4CRkef-vemm0oVwMaciHDXYfgg1F7Xnfyav41twsIioYwf0D-pAOggG6Uwq5vs3GpdwVPkroYzhkPFqFfLTjlmM43AcNVI3lV4EFdTqXLws/s320/courtwedding2jpg.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div></div><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div>- I hosted a fetus party (baby shower) for my friend Julie</div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhI4tXvzv1iXQpCaQ9BcqqO6HxiWVrRDSKdeuz8Fqer78Y80fOPQE3IH0DYAUxxfNMUmNrnoNQ5Ox0ErYUpG_m0ChJNETExpI9ZoaPBnsIpSkD5DnaofI-konn9WNWUxJjnw22qv1Z6cnLT/s1600-h/123008+057.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5399901195565429698" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhI4tXvzv1iXQpCaQ9BcqqO6HxiWVrRDSKdeuz8Fqer78Y80fOPQE3IH0DYAUxxfNMUmNrnoNQ5Ox0ErYUpG_m0ChJNETExpI9ZoaPBnsIpSkD5DnaofI-konn9WNWUxJjnw22qv1Z6cnLT/s320/123008+057.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><div></div><br /><br /><br /><br /><div></div><br /><br /><br /><div></div><br /><br /><br /><div></div><br /><div>- I got to touch Chrissie Wellington</div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgQ95c-7NzOkobPs-2J0B8bUC5tFmkv9CFW6NOmlR5rWSI_hAT678T8LY_DvcPvyoN_Cw1P1frQjvNTQVE5rhJgGpXazHUc_xmU3PDUxuVQUg7Ddw4fJY4cdkzXHlwM1yK2gO5NUXEbH3M/s1600-h/imks3.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5399901462701938178" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 233px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgQ95c-7NzOkobPs-2J0B8bUC5tFmkv9CFW6NOmlR5rWSI_hAT678T8LY_DvcPvyoN_Cw1P1frQjvNTQVE5rhJgGpXazHUc_xmU3PDUxuVQUg7Ddw4fJY4cdkzXHlwM1yK2gO5NUXEbH3M/s320/imks3.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div></div><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div>- I did 3 marathons</div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhy5WAFiAIgHRzLT0I0kyUZfTzLyCsUgtam9SVNgJOdzk40XZz30xnEuPa3oBWAwgKhLQ_OKlYS1wC7f4eIutMsUHgIFHOmOrHMLdu0y4tjol9TyYSctB7_c6Uxz3FoqOwrAufUc7kq915b/s1600-h/chicago+001.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5399902681938493458" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhy5WAFiAIgHRzLT0I0kyUZfTzLyCsUgtam9SVNgJOdzk40XZz30xnEuPa3oBWAwgKhLQ_OKlYS1wC7f4eIutMsUHgIFHOmOrHMLdu0y4tjol9TyYSctB7_c6Uxz3FoqOwrAufUc7kq915b/s320/chicago+001.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><div></div><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div></div><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div>- I did a grand total of 2 tris, including HyVee</div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGt-tMP2yYhokOWb6r8qVARJ0lJ-Ac2fvsAHfzZMGBZrBG7U46qYa_5qqQP9HktEByKLxRjPbP6Cf4JyNZjt0zZaSGp5qq43pT6IbGP4WftcpgA6GYCUQbpkget3j6IQdRTwcfsUYiryi2/s1600-h/hyvee1.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5399902868378313890" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 213px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGt-tMP2yYhokOWb6r8qVARJ0lJ-Ac2fvsAHfzZMGBZrBG7U46qYa_5qqQP9HktEByKLxRjPbP6Cf4JyNZjt0zZaSGp5qq43pT6IbGP4WftcpgA6GYCUQbpkget3j6IQdRTwcfsUYiryi2/s320/hyvee1.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div> </div><div> </div><div> </div><div> </div><div> </div><div> </div><div> </div><div> </div><div> </div><div> </div><div>So, I guess I've kept busy enough.</div></div></div></div></div></div></div>Juliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02949615504950021142noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4797104357405894279.post-55386904821799439212009-10-23T16:33:00.002-05:002009-10-23T16:51:40.760-05:00Lets ban slow people from running!Earlier today, a friend of mine from RE forwarded me the link to this article in the NY Times discussing "plodders" doing marathons:<br /><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/23/sports/23marathon.html?_r=1&scp=2&sq=marathon&st=cse">http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/23/sports/23marathon.html?_r=1&scp=2&sq=marathon&st=cse</a><br /><br />Ironically, she sent it to me about an hour after Dan sent me this article about the woman who was proud to be DFL at last week's KC Marathon:<br /><a href="http://www.kansascity.com/637/story/1524835.html">http://www.kansascity.com/637/story/1524835.html</a><br /><br />Both ends of the spectrum there! First off, I am a slow runner. I think we have established that by now. When I first started running, I was sort of embarassed about it. And it was for exactly the elitist attitude that is displayed in the first article. But I quickly got over it. Because I enjoy doing it, and it makes me feel good, and I'm proud of myself for getting out there and doing it instead of sitting at home on my ass watching 90210 reruns every Saturday morning. Not that I havent thought many a time that I would rather do that!<br /><br />Yes, I would like to get faster. But "faster" for me is not the same as "faster" for you, or for anybody else. For me, it means being able to run a sub-30 5K and a sub-5 hour marathon. Those are MY goals. There are always going to be people, like those quoted in the NYT article, who will think that those time goals are totally lame and that I'm not a REAL runner. Well, pardon my French, but they can fuck off. The thing is, no matter how good you are at something, somebody will always be better. And VERY few people are born with such natural talent that they just start off being an amazing athlete. Everybody has to work at it. And just because some of us have to work really hard to get under 5 hours in a marathon doesne make our efforts any less valid than people who have to work really hard to get under 3 hours in a marathon. So, whatever.<br /><br />Thankfull, I have encountered very few people who are so enamored with themselves that they look down on anybody else's pace or ability. And really, if you have to look down your nose at what other people are doing, doesnt that sort of take the joy out of what YOU are doing? I think it must. So tomorrow morning I'll go out and run 6 or 8 miles at a nice 11:40 pace and go home feeling good about what I just did, and then sit on my ass and watch football. Sounds like a perfect Saturday to me!<br /><br />Speaking of which, I have to be pace group leader tomorrow morning because Kristi is out of town....and we're going to Ponaks tonight. I learned early on that mexican food on Friday night + Saturday morning run = bad idea, but here I go. We were invited out, and I cant turn down Ponaks! That's sacrelig. Or maybe I just like to punish myself.<br /><br />I'm actually looking forward to running, I havent run since Chicago and I'm ready to get back out. Well, I did go to the gym a couple of times this week (which felt great) and one of those times I got on the treadmill after I lifted with the intention of jogging for 20 minutes. That turned into a 10 minute jog because my legs were toast. Woooo boy, were my legs tired. I dont know if it was still from the marathon, or from lifting again for the first time in a couple of months. Probably a combo of both. But, it was a good week, and I'm excited to get back to running and get back in the gym.Juliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02949615504950021142noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4797104357405894279.post-38877746732573846132009-10-21T14:49:00.004-05:002009-10-21T15:11:24.520-05:00Go fasterI was just catching up on some blogs, and a paragraph in <a href="http://elizabethfedofsky.blogspot.com/">Liz Fefofsky's</a> blog stuck out at me:<br /><div></div><br /><div><em>The best long course athletes come from short course backgrounds. Speed & technique before endurance. Why? It is much easier to make the neuromuscular changes required for good biomechanics/form when you are working on shorter distances. The more you can hold form over longer distances, the more efficient you will be, the faster you can go. Want to stay at the same slow speed? Shuffle a marathon year after year.</em> </div><br /><div></div><br /><div>Hmm. Uh, yeah, that would be me, shuffling a marathon year after year. And I wonder why I'm not really getting faster. I don't mind putting in long runs. In fact, I kind of enjoy it. But I hate, HATE doing speed work. I also have convinced myself that it is a waste of money to do any races shorter than a half marathon. Sigh. For a reasonably intelligent person I can be pretty dense sometimes.</div><br /><div></div><br /><div>So. What am I gonna do about it? Well for one thing, I really do need to be doing some shorter races. 10Ks would be good. Also, and I know I have been saying it for-ev-er, but I need to get back to some strength training. In looking at pictures of myself at races several years ago back when I WAS doing strength training, I had much better form. Here I am at my first ever tri back in 2004. </div><br /><div></div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5395147805485451026" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 214px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxwsGzB6tvL3cUR7er7gzWUrFpQ5ZBahqjKoKsWRxCt0kXCwRLRKoFVuEDPyT09K0C45BmPPjp4utJuTm5234b3ja3hZ4ufraFCvA3fZE_86Q-jwRW_swwRbpSBCfng8CjwkCTbiNiC7Xg/s320/ry%253D320.jpg" border="0" /><br /><div>Look, I'm actually striding out! Suffice it to say, I do not look like that in any pictures from more recent races, and I know it's because I'm weaker. Weak body = poor form = slow times.</div><br /><div></div><br /><div>And I know I've been saying this one for a while now too, but I really need to drop 10 lbs or so. It's not even an question any more, if I am going to get a faster marathon time, I NEED to do it. It was all so much easier when I was single and spent 2 hours a day at the gym and basically ate nothing but chicken and rice and green beans! Because here's the thing, cooking for just yourself is boring. So it was just easier to have a pretty basic, clean diet. But I do love to cook, and in the last 3 years that I've been married, I've been doing a lot of it. I try to make pretty healthy foods, but it ain't chicken and rice and green beans. I think my biggest problem is portion control, I don't exactly need to eat as much as Dan eats.</div><br /><div></div><br /><div>So! Here is my plan. </div><br /><ul><br /><li>I am not going to do a spring or summer marathon next year. I wont have the time to work on speed if I have to start ramping up my mileage right away after the first of the year. </li><br /><li>I will do a fall marathon, and really, I'd love to do Chicago again. </li><br /><li>I will do a spring half marathon, maybe Olathe again, and PR there. </li><br /><li>I will also do at least 2 5ks and 2 10ks by the end of the spring session of RE. Right now I couldnt even tell you what my PRs for those distances are, as I cant remember the last time I've run one. </li><br /><li>I will sign up for the spring RE speed sessions.</li><br /><li>And by God, I will lose 10 lbs!</li></ul><br /><p>It's fun to just have to worry about going far. But, I think it will be even more fun to go far, faster!</p>Juliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02949615504950021142noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4797104357405894279.post-68582684015512500652009-10-13T13:15:00.006-05:002009-10-13T13:24:50.654-05:00Chuck Norris never ran the Chicago MarathonI did not make 5 hours. It wasn’t for lack of trying, it just wasn’t in the cards. Which is kind of a bummer. But then I realize that I DID PR by 8 minutes, which is certainly nothing to be bummed about. Actually, it’s really kind of hard to be bummed about much of anything when you think “hey, I just finished a marathon!” I really hate people that get so competitive with themselves or other people that if they don’t meet a goal, they act like the whole experience was a waste of time. Because it’s never a waste of time.<br /><div><div><div><div><div><br /><div>So anyway, we rolled in to Chi-town Friday evening. We were staying with some friends up in Glencoe, which was really convenient and nice not having to pay for a hotel downtown. Friday night was pretty low key for me, Dan and his friend Heath on the other hand were up until 3 playing Golden Tee and doing shots of Patron. I was woken up around 5:30 by Dan sleepwalking, throwing a pillow at me and trying to find the bathroom, and he was still drunk when I got up at 8:30. I’ll cut him some slack though since Friday WAS his birthday. I’d need to drown my sorrows in Patron too if I were turning 39. Haha! Almost 40 :) </div><br /><div>Saturday we watched the KU game and then drove downtown to packet pickup. I have never seen such a huge setup for a race expo before, it was crazy! We caught the tail end of it though, so I didn’t have to <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg972vam3hpJ6a9vNfQP9zFUrrmhyCcCo-VGBWRZ2enS6od3huyfDrFZ7tb5iS4uBaMnVGu3nk04-mgDOcazky67coHY-SU9Juq3pZww-mwctRHLO6v93rIa5ksfGWVgnrcy7dJ1If2Xer2/s1600-h/chicago+001.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5392150523983129634" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg972vam3hpJ6a9vNfQP9zFUrrmhyCcCo-VGBWRZ2enS6od3huyfDrFZ7tb5iS4uBaMnVGu3nk04-mgDOcazky67coHY-SU9Juq3pZww-mwctRHLO6v93rIa5ksfGWVgnrcy7dJ1If2Xer2/s320/chicago+001.jpg" border="0" /></a>stand in line or fight any crowds, which was nice. Saturday night was another low key night, just dinner in and then early bed time for me.</div><br /><div>The thing I had the most trouble with in getting ready for this race was deciding what to wear. It was COLD. Not chilly, as in its 50 degrees out, cold as in its 30 degrees and people are wearing winter coats. Luckily I brought a pretty wide assortment of clothing options. What I ended up going with was a short sleeve shirt, and 3 long sleeved layers on top of it. Then I wore some old pants over my running shorts, along with a head band and gloves. I had planned to wear my pants right up until I crossed the start line, but ended up taking them off before I even got into the starting corral because my top layers were keeping me warm enough.</div><br /><div>Once I made my way into the starting corral, I positioned myself behind the 11:00 min/mile sign. I talked to a guy from Lawrence who was wearing a Turkey Trot shirt from a few years ago, as well as a whole bunch of other people standing around. We were so far back, we couldn’t even see the starting line. When the gun went off, it was like a clothes hamper had exploded. People started throwing shirts and jackets and pants everywhere! D<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXEKvSzrZbhPdXEgdw2ZUabQapr7fPy7PNBxwWZ2xD5tA2ED4RfeowVf9om1zkPayaOjxoQlFwM5eXv7afFXn8uM6YcZE1bYj4MapvgtgIwTC6SE29UIfhO1RNUM0KLfuKZ7RxINkRHrUt/s1600-h/chicago+024.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5392150871631810146" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXEKvSzrZbhPdXEgdw2ZUabQapr7fPy7PNBxwWZ2xD5tA2ED4RfeowVf9om1zkPayaOjxoQlFwM5eXv7afFXn8uM6YcZE1bYj4MapvgtgIwTC6SE29UIfhO1RNUM0KLfuKZ7RxINkRHrUt/s320/chicago+024.jpg" border="0" /></a>an was standing along the side somewhere, and a pair of pants in my size actually landed on him, so he stuffed them in his backpack for me. Ha! It took a while for us to start moving, and once we did it was lots of “walk a few steps, stop, walk a few steps, stop”. I had expected that with a race this big, so it was fine. There was so much clothing on the ground though, and NICE stuff. Adidas and Nike technical jackets, pants, etc. Looking at my results, it took me about 17 minutes to reach the start line, which really isn’t bad at all. </div><div><br />After I got going, it was just one huge mass of humanity. I normally really hate crowds, and it was definitely crowded, but not so bad that you had no room to move or people were constantly bumping into you. So it was actually really enjoyable. Almost right away we went through an underpass that was over a block long, so my Garmin lost reception for a couple minutes and threw off my readings for the rest of the race. Oh well.</div><br /><div>The first several miles were all through the streets of downtown, and they were just PACKED with spectators. It was so cool, I’ve never experienced anything like it. This whole way, people were still shedding clothes left and right. After about the first mile or two, I started getting warm and decided to take off my top 2 layers. Let me tell you, the homeless people in Chicago cleaned up on Sunday. There were so many clothes being tossed aside, I guarantee they all are being put to good use.<br /></div><div>The first few miles ticked by so fast, but I was making sure to stay on my target pace and not speed up with all of the adrenaline. It was hard to do, because it was all so exciting! Another funny thing while we were in the middle of downtown, I have never seen so many guys pulling off and taking a piss on the side of the course! Every alley we passed was lined with guys peeing on the side of buildings. Oh, to have it so easy. </div><br /><div>I hit the 5K point in 36 minutes, which was just about right for my target pace. I was feeling great, the weather was perfect for running, there were tons of spectators, and I was trying to just soak it all in. I hit the 10K point at 1:12, which again was just about right for me. We headed north through Lincoln Park, then turned west for a couple of blocks before heading back south. Now, I love Chicago, but I don’t know too much about the specific neighborhoods though. But this was most definitely the gay neighborhood because there were tons of tranny and cross-dressing cheering sections. Ha! I loved it! You don’t get that everywhere!</div><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrO5qYDCTVJ4SFwTTFKb-je69JV73jSHyV8xjHyADly0NpzOoleTVnKFLOqiCIrHVbuotzkfPiaJ_1bpgaO_fYRZcuqcoAPquCHIByCsSRjRuuyzFfrym3Lc75PeZO1qaPfjGtkn9G9uHc/s1600-h/chicago+026.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5392151927800001794" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrO5qYDCTVJ4SFwTTFKb-je69JV73jSHyV8xjHyADly0NpzOoleTVnKFLOqiCIrHVbuotzkfPiaJ_1bpgaO_fYRZcuqcoAPquCHIByCsSRjRuuyzFfrym3Lc75PeZO1qaPfjGtkn9G9uHc/s320/chicago+026.jpg" border="0" /></a>I was still chugging along, feeling great. Hit 15K at 1:47 and 20K at 2:22. Right around that 20K mark Dan spotted me and yelled my name, and I managed to see him for a second as I ran by. I think I was in the middle of eating a pouch of sport beans at the moment. We turned west right before we hit the halfway point, and I about died when I heard what song was playing as I came up on it. They had some huge speakers set up right by the 13.1 mile clock, and they were playing….the Nebraska tunnel walk song! I know Nebraska isn’t the only team that uses it, but talk about motivational!<br /><br /><div>The part of the course where we headed west was probably the most boring and had the fewest spectators, but the streets were still lined with people. They just weren’t necessarily 10 deep like they were when we were downtown. Whenever we made a turn and headed back towards downtown, I kept my eye on the Sears Tower (I know it’s not technically called that anymore) to try and judge how far out we were. Right about here is when it started feeling like I had a LONG way left to go. Up until this point I had been doing really well with only walking through the aid stations long enough to drink, but I was starting to take longer walk breaks. I was still feeling OK, but my knees and hips were getting really tight.</div><br /><div>I hit 30K at 3:40, and according to the text update that Courtney got, I was still on pace to finish in 5:10. That’s when things went downhill. And looking at the course map now, I can almost pinpoint exactly where things started getting really painful.</div><br /><div>A few weeks ago, I had been talking with some people during a Saturday run about how marathons are so hard because they a<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgY_hyFZmHKJSQ1rU0toocQjEjHiyWvtRCgs0CMSkmhgQVrHylyUFejmcjhkZFl3pAKImlkKd1fXsn4uMjMh8T3Cnzh5pZGwyRjqqzXDKKj5zyNET8lYGcvUoAYO-3YIvpk_Fno7uYnNji9/s1600-h/chicago+010.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5392151432910017618" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgY_hyFZmHKJSQ1rU0toocQjEjHiyWvtRCgs0CMSkmhgQVrHylyUFejmcjhkZFl3pAKImlkKd1fXsn4uMjMh8T3Cnzh5pZGwyRjqqzXDKKj5zyNET8lYGcvUoAYO-3YIvpk_Fno7uYnNji9/s320/chicago+010.jpg" border="0" /></a>re mentally tough, and they don’t really HURT, they are just uncomfortable, but that you start thinking that it WILL hurt and that’s when things get bad. I had been telling myself the whole race that that was the case, it wasn’t going to hurt, it might be uncomfortable, but it was nothing that was going to kill me. Well let me tell you right now, that is just a lie that runners tell themselves in order to get to the starting line of another marathon. Because that shit HURTS! I have a pretty high pain tolerance, and I was hurting. Bad.</div><br /><div>My knee was getting really painful, but almost the worst part was my groin muscles were getting really tight, which was making my whole torso hurt. My abs still hurt today. I was trying to stay positive, but I was definitely at that “IhaterunningandIamneverdoingthisfuckingshiteveragain!” point. So, the last 8 miles or so I spent a lot of time walking and being pissed at myself for thinking a marathon was a good idea. But everyone else around me was obviously in the same boat, so that did help some. I wanted to stop and lay down more than I’ve ever wanted anything, but every aid station had a “runner drop out” tent and I’ll be damned if I was going to use one of them. So, slowly and painfully I just kept going. I obviously wasn’t going to make 5 hours, but I really didn’t care.<br /></div><div>FINALLY we turned back north and we had less than 3 miles left at that point. 3 miles really isn’t a lot, but it sure feels like it when you are at mile 23. Around mile 25 I saw something that actually did make me laugh out loud. A guy was standing on the side of the road, cigarette in one hand, the other hand holding out 2 cans of Miller High Life. Ha! I doubt that anybody took him up on it, but it was pretty funny at the time. If I hadn’t been hating life so much right about then, I might have grabbed one just for the comic factor of crossing the finish line with a can of High Life.</div><br /><div>When I finally made it to the “1 mile left” sign, I was determined to run the rest of the way in. It was more of a limp/shuffle, but I like to tell myself that it looked better than walking. Finish lines are always sort of anti-climactic for me, but it sure did feel good to cross it! The finish chute was so long, I didn’t think I’d ever make it out of there. First they had people there to give you a foil blanket, which was good because as soon as I stopped moving I was cold. It was still about 40 degrees, afterall. Then they had people handing out medals. Then were the people to cut your chip off. Then were the tables with Gatorade, then water, then bananas. All they had were bananas! Not that I felt like eating anyway, but come on, give me something besides a freaking banana. Then they had free beer, which I DID take. Yum! Too bad that holding my beer meant I couldn’t keep my blanket around me, and it was too cold for that, so I just had to drink as much as I could and then ditch it. I wanted to sit down so bad, but they made everyone keep moving through the finish area. I swear, finally about a mile later I was out of it and was able to get to the runner reunite area to find Dan.</div><br /><div>After I found him, one of the first things I said was “I don’t know what the fuck I was thinking, but I am not doing KC!” Ha! Um, yeah, so about that. I would still like to run KC this weekend. But my body is laughing at me saying “you dumbass, that is the stupidest idea you have ever had, there is no way you are running 2 marathons in 7 days”. I know enough to listen to my body or else I’ll just tear myself up, so I will be sitting it out. I know a lot of people running it though, so I’ll just go cheer.</div><br /><div>So once I got some warm clothes on and sat down for a bit, we went and met up with our friends Tyler and Amy who had moved up to Chicago last year. Tyler ran it too, and finished in 4:10. We walked around a bit looking for a place to eat, and we were GOING to go to Chipotle, but for some reason that my brain cannot comprehend, the Chipotles in downtown Chicago are closed on Sundays! WTF?! Come on now, it’s not like downtown KC that it completely deserted on the weekends. But I guess they lose enough business to not make it worth it. But they could have cleaned up this weekend with all of the marathoners! What goes better after a marathon than an 1100 calorie burrito!? NOTHING! So anyway, we found some food, and then Dan and I headed up back to our friends’ house in Glencoe.</div><br /><div>My finish time ended up being 5:36, which yes, is a little disappointing, especially considering I was pretty close to my goal pace up through the 30K point. But like I said, it’s hard to be disappointed at all when you finished the damn thing, regardless of the time. I absolutely LOVED this race, and will most definitely be running it again. I could even make this a yearly thing. So maybe I’ll be back for 2010!</div></div></div></div></div></div>Juliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02949615504950021142noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4797104357405894279.post-58635555300197062582009-10-08T15:41:00.002-05:002009-10-08T15:47:54.313-05:00Really??I would never wish for the heat they've had for Chicago the last 2 years, but come on now. Below freezing?!?!?! People! I know it has been a mild summer, but I am not ready to run in 30 degree temps yet. Oh well, I have run in much worse. The trick will just be staying warm before the race starts. I typically warm up pretty fast, so I guess I'll just have to wear lots of layers that I dont mind tossing. Thanks to our own personal Runners Edge meterologist (aka Brett Anthony), we've got a pretty good forecast for the race:<br /><br /><strong>Time </strong> <strong>Temperature</strong> <strong>Wind</strong> <strong> Precipitation</strong><br />7:30am 30 degrees, mostly clear West 10-15 mph None<br />10:00am 36 degrees, sunny West 10-15 mph None<br />Noon 41 degress, sunny West 13-18 mph None<br />1:30pm 43 degrees, sunny West 13-18 mph None<br /><br />I'm shooting for 5 hours, so factor in a good 30 minutes for me to actually make it to the starting line once the gun goes off, I should finish around 1. Lets split the difference and say it will be 42 degrees. Awesome. Dan had better bundle up. Or find a bar that's open early. I have a feeling he'll be doing the latter.Juliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02949615504950021142noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4797104357405894279.post-57535572267962486592009-09-16T14:50:00.003-05:002009-09-16T15:29:32.005-05:00If hard work pays off, the easy work is worthlessI know I havent posted in a while, but things have been pretty uneventful. And, I'm almost afraid I'll jinx it if I talk about it, but damn, things have really been clicking! All of my runs have felt awesome. <br /><br />A couple of weekends ago I had a 20-miler that turned into a 19-miler and left me with some sore hips and blistered feet. But, that was because I had accidentally worn my old, worn out shoes. The right shoes truly make that big of a difference! As luck would have it, we were running from the Garry Gribbles store in Lawrence, and there was a NewBalance rep there that day letting people "test drive" their shoes. We started off with an 8 mile loop through the KU campus, then stopped back at the store before heading out for the rest of the run, so I was able to switch into a new pair of NB at that time. They were better than my old shoes, but definitely not for me. I'm an Adidas girl, and even when my shoes are new, they feel good to me. These did not. Of course, my feet were already blistered, so that probably had something to do with it. But really, that's my only "bad" run of late.<br /><br />I've got my pace band for Chicago and am feeling good about being able to hit my time goal. Last weekend I did 14, and ended up with a negative split for the last half. I hooked up with some people in a little faster pace group, and pushed myself to stay with them. I ended up doing that last 7 at what will be my race pace, and I still felt great at the end. So, that really boosted my confidence. And all of my weeknight runs I've been doing faster than race pace, so that is feeling good too. Just under a month to go, I'm starting to get excited! And I'm still hoping to do KC that following weekend assuming that I feel good. October should be a fun month!<br /><br />Now, I know that a lot of "pure" runners do not run with headphones. They say you should be listening to your body and concentrating on your stride and breathing and all of that, not zoning out listening to music. Well, I like to listen to music while I run, and I think it helps me. I dont wear headphones on my long Saturday runs since I'm with the group, but I do during the week. Nothing makes me pick up the pace like a little Nelly or Luda coming on! <br /><br />I always like hearing what other people have on their running playlists, and people sometimes ask me what's on mine. Some of my favorites are:<br /><br />Best of Both Worlds- Van Halen<br />Cold Hard Bitch- JET<br />Fuel- Metallica<br />Get Back- Ludacris<br />Heart of a Champion- Nelly<br />I Don't Care- Fall Out Boy<br />Ladies and Gentlemen- Saliva<br />Let it Rock- Kevin Rudolf & Lil Wayne<br />Lose Yourself- Eminem<br />Move Along- The All-American Rejects<br />Rollin- Limp Bizkit<br />Runnin' Down a Dream- Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers<br />Stronger- Kanye West<br />Whiskey in the Jar- MetallicaJuliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02949615504950021142noreply@blogger.com2