Hoka 10k 2018

Hoka 10k 2018

Sunday, November 30, 2014

Hot Chocolate 15k


It occurred to me yesterday, TWO WEEKS AFTER THE RACE, that I haven't done my race recap! We'll just blame it on mommy brain.
In all my years of running and racing, this was my FIRST 15k! I've been battling this Hamstring/Piriformis injury all season so I had no real expectation for my time. Based on how my legs had been feeling, I thought running in the 8s was reasonable. With that being said, I wanted to average better than my previous half marathon splits so I wanted to be in the low 8s.
Well, low 8s didn't happen BUT mid 8s did :) I really can't complain about that considering my legs felt AWFUL!


Jackie and I learned from our mistakes during the Columbus Half and decided to ride to the race together. We got there super early and it was so cold!!! BUT, the plus side is that the port-o-potties were unused, very clean, and we got to be the first to stink them up :)

Waiting to start!




It blew me away how many corrals they had at this race. I think it was something like A though M (most races I've done are A through D). We were in C so the wait wasn't too bad. I remember the start being so congested that you couldn't pass people. Once the course widened and people were passed, I realized I was having an awful time trying to breathe in the cold air. I also realized that I ran WAY TO FAST trying to pass people that my leg was already starting to bother me. Ugh. I think I ran with Jackie about 2 miles when I told her to go ahead and leave me. I knew I couldn't hold that pace with my leg giving me fits.


I was initially bummed about my pain but, when I slowed down a bit, I realized I would take advantage of the scenery and just enjoy it. I was hurting pretty bad by 4 miles but I knew I had to keep my spirits up. I really enjoyed running up High Street through Short North and OSU campus. I even stopped to take some pics!




Although the scenery was enjoyable and the crowd was awesome and supportive, I wanted to punch one guy. He was at the corner of some street as we were rounding campus yelling "It's all down hill from here!" I thought, "SWEET! I won't have to deal with any more hills!" I'm not sure what he was smoking but, just after he said that and we rounded the corner, there was a big ole hill! There were about 5 others around me cursing the guy under their breath!


The last part of the race seemed like it took forever! I'm pretty sure my leg would have fallen off if I had to do any more. I was so happy to be finished so that I could enjoy my hot chocolate :) My fast friend, Jackie, and I stuck around to enjoy the festivities for a few but it was so stinkin' cold that we wanted to leave. BONUS: her car has heated seats and it felt SO AMAZING!


Overall, the course was awesome minus the congestion at the beginning and the hills (which I don't mind so much when my legs are healthy). If it wasn't so cold I would have enjoyed the after party a little more. The thing I didn't like is that there was an expo to pick up packets and I had to pay $10 to park in order to get into the Convention Center.


Next race: The Santa Race 5k in Gahanna, Ohio on December 6th!


P.S. This review/recap would be so much better if I had written it 2 weeks ago! Lesson learned.

Wednesday, November 12, 2014

I Know I Shouldn't Feel This Way BUT...

By far, above all other challenges of becoming a mother, BREASTFEEDING/PUMPING has been MY biggest challenge.
 
When James turned 10 months (he will be 11 months on Friday!),  I noticed that my milk supply had significantly decreased. I had a small stash in the freezer and was still able to pump each day what he needed for the next day at the sitter (approx. 16-18 ounces). I was pumping three times during the work day and waking up early (between 2 and 4 a.m.) to pump. People think I'm crazy for waking up in the early morning but it has always been my best pump session so I felt I needed to do it for my baby.
 
When my supply decreased, I noticed that it didn't matter if I pumped all three times during my work day so I started taking out my morning pump session and just pumping at lunch and before picking up James. Nowadays, rather than pumping 18 oz. of milk per day, I'm only able to get 6-12 oz. per day. Because of this, my extra stash is almost no more. I only have two extra bags in the freezer. I'm basically being forced to start mixing what I have with formula.
 
For some reason, this makes me feel like a FAILURE. I know I shouldn't feel this way. I've done absolutely everything I can to exclusively breastfeed my child. I ultimately have no control over my supply. I'm not asking for advice on how to increase it because I've tried a lot of things over my almost 11 months as a mother. I'm seriously not looking forward to walking into the store today and buying my first container of formula. I know it's so weird but I just feel awful.
 
James' doctor gave me a sample and he seems to like it but every time I shake that stuff up, I feel guilty...like I'm robbing my child of the greatness of breast milk. I know formula is fine, I just feel like I worked so hard for almost 11 months for nothing.
 
Are there any other moms out there who have felt this way?

Monday, November 3, 2014

The Latest on Baby Boo: One Year is Approaching!!!


I've had a lot of people say to me lately, "James is almost a year old!" Honestly, I haven't really thought about it that much. Yes, I've been planning his birthday party for a month or so BUT I haven't had the fact that he's almost one on my mind.


Now that the reality of him turning one in December has hit me, I have a few goals I'm working on with him. James has always been slower to develop skills compared to his friends but he always seems to get things done a day or two before his appointment with the pediatrician! Future procrastinator like his dad?! Hehehe.
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He's doing well developing his movement/transportation. He's doing great with crawling and pulling himself to standing. (Warning: James' firsts ahead!!) He has even started side stepping while holding onto objects...and climbing stairs! In fact, he was halfway up our stairs the other day before Jimmy noticed! Based on his balance, I don't foresee him being able to stand without holding on or walk in the immediate future.


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He is improving with his eating! As you all know, this has been the biggest challenge he has presented to Jimmy and me. He will typically eat a full container of puree at each meal in addition to the breast milk he drinks throughout the day. We have been working REALLY hard on getting him to eat finger foods. We offer him everything we eat. He will now let us put it in his mouth (and he's finally starting to do it on his own sometimes!) but, unless it's a puff, he spits it out! He has kept two other things in his mouth for more than 1 second: apples and taco meat. He's slowly but surely coming around. I'm just praising Jesus that he is finally getting puffs into his mouth by himself. It's not efficient or pretty, but it eventually makes it there!


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A couple weeks ago, James went on his first plane ride to Nebraska to see his cousins, aunts and uncles. He was awesome on the plane and was very popular with the ladies. The experience wasn't bad at all and everyone was helpful. He was very constipated on the way home and got a little grunty/fussy. He had a surprise waiting in his pants when we got to Chicago. Good thing we had a short layover cuz it took some time to get that one changed! Here are some highlights (via pictures) of the trip:
He was SO excited to look at the planes!

Plane selfie with Grandma.

First time meeting Aunt Ashley.

Cousins.

More cousins!

Aunt Ash and Aunt Shawna

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Finally, our adventure continues with transitioning away from the bottle. I've tried a few different cups. The most recent being made by Avent. He seems to like it better than the others so far because its spout has the feel of a bottle nipple so he seems to understand how to use it.


In other related news, it seems that my milk supply is decreasing despite how much I'm pumping each day. I'm not sure why it decreased all of a sudden. I have been congested the last week so I'm not sure if that has any effect. I've had to do a little bit of supplementing with formula. I asked the pediatrician about starting cow milk early. She said it wouldn't hurt but also said that the formula provides things like iron  and cow milk wouldn't give as much of it.
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In our future: Surviving the holiday season and managing to pull off a kick butt 1st birthday party in the meantime!