3 for 1 Race Report

Schneider's 5k Donut Run/Team Isaiah 5k/Run Like a Girl 5k

 

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The New Albany girls at RLAG.

   You didn't think I could go that long without registering for something, did you?! You are CRAZY if that crossed your mind. Whether for fun or for serious self competition, I need to do races to keep me motivated and excited about running. The fact that I had three in about a week was completely circumstantial. I'll give you guys a quick synopsis of each of them.

 

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Schneider's 5k Donut Run:

 

A fellow Westerville runner posted this run on Facebook. Schneider's is my favorite local donut shop so I had to jump on the opportunity! The course was on the trails at Hoff Park in Westerville so I was very familiar with the course...flat and just one small section of gravel-like trail through the trees.

 

To decrease the stress on the hubs, I decided I would stroller run with one of the kiddos. James and I share the same love of donuts (and racing) so I knew I had to take my boy to this one. He was so excited to watch the runners and eat donuts!!

At the start line (back of the pack) with my boy!

I went into this race having 5 runs under my belt ranging from 2-4 miles and pace 9:50-12+ minutes/mile...none of them stroller runs. Obviously, I had no expectation for my performance. As long as I got to eat a donut with James, I was going to be happy!

 

Because of the stroller, I had to start at the back of the pack. I spent the first quarter mile passing folks and trying to find my place in the pack. As I settled into what felt like a comfortable pace, we started having fun waving to people and saying hi to our fellow runners. Mile 1 clocked in at [9:34] which, in my head, seemed too fast with the stroller. I still felt ok but decided to chill out a bit. We made our first turn and started looping back around the park and into the trail section.

 

The course was definitely short because I took the wrong turn out of the trail  (OOPS) and added some extra to my final distance of 3.07 miles. Mile 2 was [10:03] and mile 3 [10:19]. The last half mile was tough and showed in my split. I intentionally slowed down the second mile but the third was pure fatigue!

Post race donut action!

 

I was pleasantly surprised at my overall average [9:59/mile] considering I was pushing James (approx. 50+ lbs. with him/stroller/crap in stroller). Best of all, James had a blast and we bonded over racing and eating donuts!

 

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Team Isaiah 5k-ish:

 

The background of this one is way more important than my actual race experience. Our church friends lost their precious son, Isaiah, 2 years ago. He would have been 5 this year. This was the first annual celebration of his life through a weekend of activities. We started Labor Day off with a 5k beginning at our church (Northwest Church of the Naz) and going to Antrim Park, around the lake, up the trail a bit, and back to the church. As many times as I've run the O-trail, I have never run around Antrim lake. 

Ruthie is ready to roll!

I was by myself after the first 0.75 miles because I was stroller running with Ruthie and my friends were much faster. It was very peaceful that morning...very cool out and the sun was in the process of rising. A very cool moment to share with Ruthie and thank the Lord for her health and well-being.

 

Because I lost the main crew, I wasn't completely sure where to turn from the lake to the trail. I missed the chalk on the ground and went all the way down to the dock. That added a good 0.4 miles to my race! I ended with 3.5 miles at 9:50 pace.

All tuckered out.

Again, I was super happy with the outcome. I went slightly further and faster than I did at the donut run two days earlier (sure, my load was slightly smaller this time...the course had some good inclines though...and I also ran my distance PR of 5 miles the day between my races!). I'm hoping to make this race a tradition in the following years!

Fun with friends at Isaiah's celebration.

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Run Like a Girl 5k:

 

This was a completely spontaneous thing. I did not register for this race or intend to run it. A fellow runner posted that she had 3 free entries to give away and I just happened to be one of the first three to respond! Although the 10k was tempting, I didn't want to die (especially since I knew I'd be stroller running with one of the kiddos). After putting this on my running schedule, I opted for 5 miles the day before rather than my goal of 6.

Ready for action.

At the start, they lined us up according to intended pace. I was so glad I wasn't forced to the back of the pack simply because I had a stroller. Of course, I had no clue what I'd be able to do. Honestly, I was a little tired from my long run the day before. I decided to line up near the 10 minute milers in hopes I could hold that pace.

 

The course ran through downtown Columbus and included the occasional incline. The only one that felt like a hill was in the last quarter mile or so as we turned the corner at COSI and headed up Rich Street to the finish. I started feeling tired the last half mile and wasn't thrilled about finishing uphill. (I know, I know...the hill lover is complaining about the incline...I'm just not used to them yet!). I thought I was going to die until a gentleman yelled out "There goes the top stroller runner!" It gave me just enough energy to get to the finish with a smile.

All smiles post race.

The only time I looked at my watch during the race was after mile one. When I saw that I ran [8:49] for that mile, I was shocked! How on Earth did I do that while pushing Ruthie...and I felt great! I didn't get tired until the later in the last mile. When I finished, I saw that my average was 9:15/mile! I couldn't believe it!!! I was on top of the world.

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I don't have any other races planned until the end of October. I'll actually get to run that one sans stroller and hopefully get an idea of my fitness level. I'm loving running right now because I can do whatever the heck I want with no pressure to perform a certain way. When you start all over, there is only room for improvement...not a whole lot of disappointment coming my way lately! I'll save that for next year. LOL. I'm looking forward to more runs with friends as I discover my place in the running world again. Next goal: Increasing my postpartum distance PR to 6 miles!

 

DTHT: My First Two Weeks of Running

Delivery to Half Training

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In my last post, I admitted to you guys that I tried running. Even though "they" tell you to wait 4 weeks, my doc (knowing I'm an avid runner) has always instructed me to listen to my body. I told you guys in my last post that I started with quarter mile intervals. Wanting to play it safe, I walked the next day and attempted half mile running intervals the day after that...still no pain or woman issues. I decided I would continue this pattern of running intervals one day and walking the next until I felt I was safe enough to run at least 3 miles in one session.

My first "run."

Well, that didn't last long! Two days after running the half mile intervals, I wanted to try to run a mile without walking. One mile turned into two (10:31 pace). It was a little tough, but I had no significant pain. There were no more walking days after this. I could tell my body, mostly my ankle, needed the rest day in between running attempts. Since that two mile run, I have progressed as follows:

 

• 8/27: 3.14 miles, 9:59 pace. I ran in New Albany with the Saturday crew. They definitely pushed me to go faster than I would have run if I were alone.
  

  

  NA gals and milk boobs.

• 8/28: REST.
• 8/29: 3.12 miles, 12:23 pace. I ran, again, with a group in New Albany. At this point, I was feeling confident about the 3 mile distance. I was trying to decide when to attempt to go four miles.
  

  

  These sweet gals let me tag along.

• 8/30: 4.10 miles, 9:50 pace. This run was beyond any expectation I had at this point. I met Amanda that evening at Highbanks. For those not familiar, it's a metro park in Columbus with running trails (some paved, some gravel). It's also one of the few places in Columbus with decent hills. I was really nervous about running here, especially with Amanda. I love hills but hadn't run them since before my accident in March. And, well, Amanda is blazing fast so I didn't want to slow her down too much. I decided to go ahead and attempt 4 miles. Why I decided to do this on my most difficult course yet, I have no idea. It ended up being an amazing run that I was very proud of! It was so hard, but refreshing at the same time.
  

  

  I might be smiling, but I was also dying inside!

• 8/31: REST. No matter how I felt, I was forcing myself to rest today.
• 9/1: 4.07 miles, 10:12 pace. I decided to attempt four miles again. I was trying to find a group that was running in the mid 9s but that didn't work in my favor. I knew I would push myself more with other people. You can see with my pace that I wasn't in the mood to run that pace. Honestly, I think my body was tired from my run two days ago. I couldn't get it to go any faster.
• 9/2: REST. Racing the next day meant I should take today off to rest my body.
• 9/3: Schneider's 5k Donut Run (pushed James in the stroller for this race). 1.03 mile warm up, 9:44 pace; 3.07 mile race, 10 minute pace.
  

  

  I was reminded of how heavy James is while pushing him!

  I wasn't sure what to expect, especially since I was pushing James. I knew I would try hard but wasn't planning to go all out. I mean, I did just have a baby three weeks ago! I was pleasantly surprised with the result because I felt like a slug. P.S. This was the first run I had in which my ankles did not bother me! I think it's because I didn't wear my old Saucony's. The new ones arrived later that day!
  

  

  Slam that donut, James!

• 9/4: 5 miles, 10:23 pace. Since I felt ok after yesterday's race, I decided I wanted to attempt 5 miles. I joined a group doing their long run with a goal of 10 minute pace.  I wasn't super nervous about being able to run 5 miles, but I was nervous about being able to do it at whatever pace they were going. I felt like I could have run longer, but I'm trying not to push the distance to quickly. I have plenty of time to build my endurance again.
  

  

  My sweet friend, Mary. She was kind enough to include me in the first 5 miles of her 21 miler...YES, she ran 21 miles! I cannot fathom that right now!

 

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As I look at my progression the past week and a half, it really is beyond any expectation I had for myself. I'd be lying if I wasn't slightly disappointed, but I know I have to start somewhere. I also realize my body unintentionally had to take three months off of running. So frustrating to lose all of that hard earned fitness, but that's my journey. I have three different non-stroller races planned for the fall that will give me an idea of my fitness and progression. My goal races really don't start until the spring, but, as a long time runner, it's difficult for me not to be hard on myself! All in all, I'm just happy to be on the road again.

Just because. It's hard to catch her smiling on camera because her smiles usually come right after she eats. We can't have any nip pics, people!

C.U.T.E.

Completely (C), utterly (U), and totally (T) exhausted (E)...that's me. I'm in some form of a major funk this week. I'm nauseous ALL THE TIME (please don't ask me if I'm pregnant...I might have to throat punch you) and I can't seem to sleep.

 

Sunday, I was so tired that I could have fallen asleep at 7pm and been happy. When 10pm rolled around and I could actually make the bed thing happen, I wasn't able to fall asleep. I seriously stared into the wild yonder for 3 HOURS!!! Yes, you read that right. I finally went to the couch at 1am and probably fell asleep by 1:30. It happened again last night but I wasn't up as late. I was supposed to get up and run at they gym but that didn't happen.

 

That's another part of my funk...running. I think I've finally hit my limit of early mornings. I'm now understanding why I always hibernate from running in the winter (or run on the treadmill). These 3:45 to 4 am wake up calls during the week are killing me. Then I turn around and get up anytime between 5 and 6 am on the weekends. WHY AM I DOING THIS TO MYSELF?! If it weren't for the friendships and the running goals, my butt would be SO HAPPY to "sleep in" until 7 or 730!

 

I don't know what I need right now. Encouragement, maybe? A race to prove that this is all worth it? I run early so it won't take time away from Mr. and Baby Boo.

 

Weeks are the hardest because, when I get home, it's go, go, go. Start dinner, put away crap from the day, prep crap for the next day, eat dinner with my family (the only time I get to sit and have quality interaction with James until he goes to bed), do chores (Boo helps, of course), and put baby to bed. If I'm lucky, I get to have extra play time with James.  On really fun nights, I have documentation to do for work after James goes to bed.

 

I feel like a lousy mother/wife/etc. Life can't be all about doing meaningless things that are necessary. I don't know what I'm asking for by typing all of this. I just know that I always feel better when I get it out.

 

I missed my run this morning because I was C.U.T.E. so I'll head to the gym after work and hope for the best. 

The Classic New Year Blog 2015

As usual, I don't make New Year's resolutions, but I do set goals. Last year, I picked a "word of the year." My word was "INSPIRE." I'm not 100% sure if I accomplished that goal! I will say that, if I inspired at least one person, my year was victorious :)

 

I also had five goals last year. As I look back at my list, I know I met #3 & #4....the rest are based on other people's opinions.

 

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My 2015 Goals:

 

1. Get pregnant :) I wanted to start the getting pregnant process 2 MONTHS AGO! So what's the deal?! Mr. Boo promised me an awesome 5 year anniversary vacation in April and he "strongly suggests" that I not be pregnant on this vacation. So, to distract me from wanting to get pregnant, he lets me sign up for races...which leads me to the next few goals for 2015.
2. Run a 1:40 half marathon. OMG. I can't believe I even typed that. Go big or go home, I guess! I PR'd (personal record) this year with a time of 1:50:13. After a 12 mile test run last weekend, I was on pace to break 1:45. My friends convinced me that I needed to set a challenging goal for the DC half in March so here I go!!!

   
3. Marathon PR. I've been saying all year that I probably won't run a full marathon until after I'm finished having kids. I just felt like it was too much of a commitment. Now that I'm waking up at the butt crack of dawn (and then some) to run, I feel like I can make that commitment. I've also never trained outside in the winter so that's been new to me too! My current PR is 4:35 (way back in 2005...Little Rock Marathon!!). So, based on my recent performance, I should have no problem meeting this goal. The problem? It's all mental. I had a horrible full marathon experience two years ago and I have zero confidence. I'm hoping as my long runs increase in mileage, it will make me feel better about running a PR. I'm not 100% sure what my goal time will end up being but, right now, it would be a dream to get a sub 4 hour time.

   
4. Run a half marathon while pregnant. If the good Lord allows me to get pregnant this year, I would LOVE to run a half marathon with my growing little munchkin. I'll probably plan a couple of races for the fall in hopes it will allow me to accomplish my goal.
5. Enjoy my anniversary vacation to the fullest! I have been so anxious about this vacation. I am going to have to leave James for 6 days!! I can't even imagine. Even though it will be incredibly hard at first, I know that Jimmy and I really need this. If we aren't a good husband/wife team, we can't be good parents to James. And if we're wanting baby #2, a vacation like this will not be in our near future!

 

Nothing mind blowing or earth shattering but they are my goals :) Now it's up to you guys to do your part to help me make these happen!

Big Changes for #jd3

So, it's official...as of Christmas day, I stopped breastfeeding. Since my supply began to decrease at the end of October/beginning of November, I started supplementing with formula. Then it got to the point that it wasn't worth pumping at work. When that happened, I started feeding James when he woke up in the morning and in the evenings at home. The last couple of weeks, it seemed as if James wasn't getting enough milk during his feedings so I would give him more milk (from a bottle) afterwards. It was at that point I realized I would have to stop breastfeeding sooner than later.

Part of me was a little bummed but the other part of me felt really good about what I was able to do for my son. Now that he's ONE YEAR OLD and can "officially" drink cow milk, it's become less stressful in the Davis household.

*side note: At some point in the near future, I will do James' "turning one" blog post.


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On a different, but related, note, we are actively transitioning James away from the bottle. In the words of my lovely hubby, Mr. Boo, "This is going to be hell." True words. James LOVES the bottle. He loved the boob, too, but hasn't noticed it's been missing from his diet.

There is so much crap out there about transitioning from the bottle. Feel free to share your experience (mostly because I love hearing other mommas' stories). Here's what we have currently decided to do. He usually goes to bed/nap with a bottle in hand (except when I breastfed him, of course). We have stopped doing that by having him drink before we even put him into the crib. We also decided to stop giving him milk in a bottle before his first nap of the day. We put it in a sippy cup. If he chooses to drink it, GREAT! If he doesn't, he goes without (This is mostly because he typically eats his breakfast before napping and it's about lunch time when he wakes up. We figure, if he misses that milk, it shouldn't affect him in a negative way).

Another thing we started, last night, is to put his last milk feeding in a sippy. It broke my heart! He cried like crazy for 10+ minutes about the cup. He knew milk was in there but absolutely refused to drink from the cup. When he finally calmed down, I had the cup close to his lips and he decided to grab it and drink! He only drank 1 1/2 oz. but we decided that was a victory. We did end up putting the rest of it in the bottle because he didn't eat well yesterday due to travelling.

So, here starts the sippy cup adventure. Please tell me your stories!

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?

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!



Surprise! A James Update...

The last 3 weeks or so have been full of surprises. Mr. Boo and I think we are watching James, we look up and...SURPRISE! He's done something new. I don't think I've typed a James update since he turned 9 months. I guess I'll give you his 9 month measurements:

Height- 28 in. (34%)

Weight-17 lbs. 3 oz. (11%)

Head- 46.5 cm (89%)

Basically, he's average height, skinny, and has a big ole head!

James' firsts since turning 9 months:

• Crawling- he mostly commando crawls but started what we think of as traditional crawling a week or so ago.
  

  
• Pulling himself up- he started by pulling himself up to his knees and eventually learned to go to his feet; his technique has improved from the "wide base of support/butt sticking out" pose to standing straight up; we had to put his crib mattress down a few levels because he's now standing up and trying to look over.
  

  
• Climbing steps- we live in a split level home and he has attempted to go up from the main level to the upper level; he made it up one step but hasn't been able to do more than that.
• Consistently sleeping 9-11 hours- he started skipping his evening nap most days and going to bed a little earlier than usual.
  

  

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James gave us the ultimate surprise the other day. He has been constipated a lot since eating more solids (side note: prunes seem to help...the doc also suggested mixing apple juice with water). His poop hasn't been as soft as it should be so I can imagine J isn't feeling that great regarding his bowels. Anyway, I was changing his diaper and there was a tiny rabbit turd is his diaper. I was doing my thang to clean him up when he started grunting REALLY  hard. As I started putting coconut oil on his booty, a turd started coming out!!! AHHH! It kept coming and coming and coming. I looked like one of my dogs' turds! My jaw seriously dropped. I couldn't believe the size of that thing.

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In our future:

J goes to the doctor this Friday for his second flu shot and, ten days from now, J will go on his first flight! I am a little nervous about flying alone with him. Not so much the flight part as much as the security part. I'm sure the TSA employees will be nice but I'm afraid the general public will be jerks because people tend to be in a hurry and there's no way I can be in a hurry when I'm by myself with James!

Davis Family Photos 2014...James Turns 9 Months

You've seen some already (if you're on Facebook) but I'll add some you haven't seen yet. 

Warning: This will be picture overload but James is insanely cute so it's o.k.

I can't tell if he's laughing or crying!

Where did he get that good posture?!

That tongue.

That tooth!

That lip.

Cute smile :)

You want me to do what?!

Why are those adults over there doing crazy things to make me smile...I just don't get it.

Chillaxin'

Buckeyes? Eww. Where's my Razorback gear?!

If I have to wear this, I'll at least look cute doing it.

Old school.

No words needed.

9 months old!

Colts family

His best Heisman pose

Big ole head along with his most serious face.