Hanging In There

Where have I been? Nowhere. Just here -- being very pregnant. I have not gotten a bit of walking in since my 30 Day 5K. I've had something going on every day, or I have been too tired. So I rest.

Our semi-regular house guest has returned:

Maggie, the BAD GIRL who likes to get on the couch. I no longer have the energy to watch her like a hawk, so I just put a blanket on it.

My support hose are really not doing their job. Swelling is just something I have to deal with.

Here are my feet back in April 2008. My black toenail, by the way, took 10 1/2 months to go back to normal.

And here are my feet (propped up!) earlier this week. Ick! This is the worst they have been thus far.

Both of my work projects have been put on hold. At first that really ticked me off, but now I am "seizing" the opportunity to rest as much as possible. If I get the slightest bit uncomfortable or tired, I take a nap. What a life!

Also, I am taking this opportunity to prepare many meals to freeze for post-baby. I have been cooking up a storm! It makes me feel good (or, at least productive, amidst my napping).

24 days to go!

Mississippi Baby Shower

Today was my Olive Branch baby shower! I am thrilled to have had one here. You see, when we moved I thought to myself (in a pity party kind of tone) "I'll be forgotten in Arkansas, so no shower, and I won't know anyone in Mississippi, so no shower." Boy have I been wrong! Happy, happy, joy, joy!

My friend Lisa L (aka new mom Lisa) threw me an awesome baby shower at her home! And she even made the invitations by hand:

There are FIVE layers of paper here. How nice!

She made her home very easy for my guests to find.

This cake was absolutely delicious. And oh so cute!

Check out the diaper cake! She made this, also.

I'm going to remove the I,S,A,A and C and put them on the nursery door, as well as the cars, airplanes, stars, etc. She worked far too hard to toss those things!

We played the "guess the circumference of my belly game." Rhonda here had me pegged for triplets, I think. I forgive her. :)

Ten ladies came to "shower" Baby Isaac. How lucky am I??? We've only been here eight months.

Runner Lisa and I -- looking far spiffier than we normally do in sweaty running clothes.

It was simply an awesome afternoon! 29 days to go.

30 Day 5K

Today is merely 30 days until Baby Isaac's due date. Wow - time flies. I can say that we are now pretty ready, both in "equipment" and "schooling." Last week we finished the Prepared Childbirth series, which lets you know exactly what to expect form the first contraction until the time you're get to hold the baby. That was very, very informative. You think you know it all from other people's stories... but you don't! (if you're a first timer like me, that is)

Last night, after several nights of heavenly slumber, my insomnia returned. After a mere 4 hours of sleep, we got up and went to an additional class called Expectant Parents. It's basically Baby 101. We learned the proper way to diaper, feed, swaddle, bathe and CPR. It was well worth it (for the CPR alone!) Then I dropped in to a friend's baby shower. After that is was "light's out" for me for three hours! I needed that nap.

My main goal for today was to do a "30 Day 5K" in honor of the impending due date. I did it in the comfort of the warm garage on Teddy Tready. I am just so thankful that I continue to have the energy (and desire!) to do so. I may be as slow as molasses, but I know this is doing me some good.

Tomorrow is my Olive Branch shower!

Triple Threat

You definitely DON'T want to run into this trio in a dark alley:

Hold on to your hats; I have accomplished two mid-week treadmill sessions this week! 2 miles on Tuesday and 2.5 miles today. Gosh it makes me feel better!

I am now sporting support hose under regular clothing (not my fine running apparel). So much swelling! I have to say, though, they don't do much good. But Chasen says they make me look like a professional wrestler. HA! It's just my burden to bear for approximately 32 more days. Oh well. The treadmill does help (at least for a while).

Have a great day!

Best. Gift. Ever.

This post is tragically overdue. Ages ago I received the best e-mail from Petra. She offered to send me her "gently used" jogger. Of course I jumped at the offer! I planned to purchase one, and they're quite costly (considering it is not a "baby necessity"). In fact, I hoped to get one for Christmas.

So I suggested that she take it aboard the plane from London to Chicago (she was going to run the Chicago Marathon) to save on freight, i.e. mailing it from within the USA. She wouldn't even let me pay for shipping! Best. Gift. Ever. It arrived when we were on our trip to Philadelphia.

Here I am with Isaac's future wheels! 35 weeks pregnant and going strong (or at least going...)

I don't think I can properly express how much this generous gift means to me! It will help to ensure that I remain my runner self post-birth, and that means the world to me. Thank you, Petra!

Progress

No, not running progress -- nursery progress!

Isaac's nursery started as our spare room / Chasen's "man room."

Oatmeal colored spare room. Fresh paint when we moved in!

Due to the bedding we chose, we decided that TWO paint colors would be best, so together we installed a chair rail.

Same oatmeal paint, new chair rail. Future paint still in buckets!

If we'd had the ability to get the room cleaned out months ago, I would have painted the room myself. I actually like to paint! But at this point, it hurts to bend down, I don't trust myself up on a ladder, and oh the fumes! So we hired the same nice fellow who painted it the first time.

Green and yellow: of course the official names of the paint are much fancier.

Here is a collage of the room with the furniture and bedding added.

It's a "crib for life." The bedding is called "Antique Toys." It has sailboats, trucks, footballs, baseball bats, cars, etc. on it. Thus the truck nightlight!

And here is the room post-shower. I have a lot of washing and organizing to do. Fun!

We've found the perfect chair to go in the opposite corner. It should arrive in about 12 more days.

Arkansas Baby Shower

Lovely invitation!

Chasen and I (5 weeks until Baby Isaac!)

Gorgeous little cakes!

1 of 2 handmade blankets -- wowee!

Travel size soap, shampoo, lotion, etc.

Snazzy outfits for when Isaac is a bit bigger, perhaps cheering me on at a summertime 5K!

My silly friend got the gender wrong... no pink for Isaac!

Finally making it home - tired yet happy.

We couldn't have been happier with our day in Arkansas. The shower was put on by some dear friends. Almost twenty people came out to offer some happy, positive advice and gifts. It was just wonderful. Isaac has many, many willing babysitters!

Expectations

If pregnancy has taught me one thing, it's that people try to project their own experiences/views onto me. I do not appreciate that (because they are generally negative). But hold that thought...

So I am expecting a busy, busy weekend. I knew I'd better get in some mileage before it began or it would go by and I'd have no mileage to show for it -- and that would tick me off. So I did 2 miles on the treadmill this morning. It was below 20 degrees outside, yet it was a balmy 40 degrees in the garage. Thanks heavens (and Chasen!) for the treadmill.

Back to the expectations. I think I have just about "reached my limit." I have endured politely all sorts of labor/delivery/new mom horror stories. Gee, thanks, "friends." I say this: It's a good thing I know that everyone is different, otherwise I'd be all "gloom and doom" about the events to come. I am going to have to start dishing out a dose of frank positivity and shut the nay-sayers up! :) Why must people be so negative?

When you tell someone you're going to run a marathon, they are generally very supportive, whether they're a runner or not. The occasional person will tell you that you're crazy, but you know they're just envious. Point blank, I am very tired of the fatalistic view of parenthood that I have been hearing from many, many sources (non-runner sources, just for the record). Gosh, am I going to have to rid my life of all non-runners? Let's hope not.

Move Over, VP Candidate

Look at this smart woman! Wouldn't you want to hire her?

I finally got my cool new reading/computing glasses!

The eye doc said that my old ones would do... but they were from 1999 and I really wanted to update my look. And now my eyes are uniformly "slightly farsighted," vs. way back when; apparently one lens was practically just glass in 1999. As a bonus, they were VERY affordable. I love glasses.

As you can see, I still do not have a medal display system in effect (see door knob). Aah... that's on my "get it done before Isaac arrives" list. And see, Chasen, I am using my cool new green, metal water bottle.

"Y" Me?

Holy moly - it has been an entire week since I got in any mileage. How did that happen? Too busy, too tired, you name it. It was cold and semi-rainy on Saturday when Lisa and I would have met for her longrun. No sense risking illness for me at this point. So that day Chasen and I had a MAJOR housecleaning session. With him working diligently on finishing out our unfinished attic space, there has been sawdust, insulation, etc. everywhere. I was hosting a meeting at our house on Sunday, so the cleaning was necessary. To my surprise, all of the hours spent working on it made me just as sore as walking would have (except my abs were not sore). So that was a workout in itself.

On Monday evening we attended our final Prepared Childbirth class. This included a tour of the labor/delivery area. I must say that I'm just not all that worried about the labor and birth, not from a pain standpoint, anyway. I figure I'll show up at the proper contraction intervals, do exactly what they tell me, and just get through it. I'm sure it won't be a piece of cake, but there's no sense worrying about it.

Today I had another doctor's visit. I liked the stand-in obstetrician much better this time! I am 34 weeks along and Baby Isaac is "head down" and has an "excellent" heart rate. That is good. Afterwards I got my car seat installation inspected. Apparently I did a good job putting it in! Of course they tweaked it a bit, but that's OK. The nursery painting will be complete within 24 hours. Yay! Things are coming together.

After work I met Lisa at the Olive Branch YMCA (she is a member, I was her guest). We walked around the tiny track for a full hour. It was super! I am still in awe of my ability to keep moving. I am very grateful, both for that fact and for Lisa. It's all good!

41 days to go, peeps. Have a great week!

Proof Positive

Tonight I did another 5K on my new treadmill. I am loving the treadmill!

Huge! But happy. I look forward to the day when I can get back on the bicycle.

The elliptical is behind me. My genius husband hooked up cable out there!

I can't speak highly enough of my new camelback water bottle. It is superb!

There is the Exercisaac. Get it?

I am very, very thankful that I am able to (or have made the choice to) keep up with the working out thus far. 48 days to go!

Looking Back, Moving Forward

Aaah 2008, you were pretty good to me. I thought the torn peroneal tendon would be the death of me, but something about starting my own business, moving and getting pregnant turned my frown upside down!

I ran 152.2 miles in 2008 (as opposed to 900 in 2007). I ran 45 times.
I walked 135.7 miles (39 times).
I rode the elliptical machine twice.
I cycled 122.8 times (mostly on the stationary bike, but some in real time). It was 42 rides.
I had 45 "other" workouts, mostly personal training sessions, but one was my first ever attempt at snow skiing!
Thank you, Buckeye Outdoors, for making it extremely easy for me to keep up with my workouts.

As for the present, I bailed on Lisa this morning. I was having some "belly and bowel" issues and thought I'd better stay home. That turned into more napping than I have done in ages. I got a good night's sleep, and then I napped pretty much until 3 PM. Lazy bones Susan! But, I figure if one can nap that long, one probably needs to nap that long.

I have tried to keep myself super busy since then, so as to "wear down" so I am not up all night. I have done a lot of cooking, took down the Christmas decorations (at last!), cleaned and finally hit the treadmill. I listened to Fdip and slowly accomplished 3.5 miles. I am more proud of the fact that I kept going for 69 minutes than the actual mileage.

I have been thinking... I may not currently have the endurance of a long distance runner, but I definitely still have the mindset of a long distance runner. And for that, I am proud.

And on to the future! I haven't made any resolutions. We all know that they're usually related to losing weight or getting into better shape. Well, neither of those are an option to me right now. So scrap that! I told Chasen my New Year's Resolution was to give birth. HA! He said it should be to run a marathon. I said that is not a resolution, it is my goal. But seriously, my resolution/goal is to return to being my formerly super-active self ASAP after birth. Lisa and I have even entertained the idea of running an ULTRA one day. Oh my! I hear they're fun...

On the pregnancy front, all is well. I am getting less and less comfortable. Standing and lying down are my most comfortable positions. Sitting is not that great (although my desk chair is my best option - I guess Baby Isaac knows that mommy needs to work!) If I stay active, my leg aches are minimized. You know, if everyone out there knew that exercise was magical like that, I bet we'd have less sick and obese people in the world. And they'd be less stressed. OK, OK, down from the soapbox.

Happy New Year, everyone.