What a fiasco!

We love saying that around our house, "What a fiasco!"  We said it once and noticed our dog's head turned to one side and her ears perked.  Every time we'd repeat it her head would turn a little more and we'd laugh hysterically so now it's a running joke!

Well this fiasco involved a second dog one that my husband took to calling JP (juan pedro) not sure why.  He was on his way out the door when he said there was a really nice dog outside with no tags.  We took him in to get wanded and no chip either.  So we put an ad on Craig's list and Animal Humane.  Finally the "owner" emailed hubs 3 times changing her story every time from saying she was fostering it to she just can't pick him up or take him back.  We were devastated that we were going to have to take him in to the shelter he was so sweet and cute and had sprained his paw getting away from his last place.  So as my husband tried to take him out to the car we just couldn't do it.  We said we'd keep him until we found him a home.  The two dogs got along all right and by the end of the third day our dog was sharing her picnic table (her favorite spot to sit and watch her domain) with JP.  This is a time I was
very thankful to social media because we were able to get the word out quickly.  Long story short with the help of friends we were able to find him an AWESOME home and he may even get to visit from time to time because it's not too far away from us.  Two of our awesome friends who also happen to be runners took him in!  Thank you so much to everyone that helped!!!  We couldn't be happier to have such a great ending to this story.  So yes, that was a fiasco! :-)  We made sure and called the city and had that person who had abandoned him put on the "no adopt" list so she can't do that again!

Exercise update:  I've been working out for three weeks now and each week I've added a mile to my running so I'm up to three miles.  Still slow compared to before but feeling great!  I still have 15 pounds left to lose but I'm concentrating more on building my endurance back up.  I'm lifting weights and getting some tone back which is exciting.  I've done a few spin session that left my legs feeling like J-E-L-L-O and haven't managed to make it back in the pool yet.  I'm happy for my progress!

On another exciting note a friend and I have decided to put on our first 5k fun run, Festivus 5k for the Rest of Us!  It's on December 14 and we are excited to try this out.  If this goes well we hope to try it again!  If you happen to be in the area check it out!  http://www.active.com/albuquerque-nm/running/distance-running/festivus-5k-for-the-rest-of-us-2013

HAPPY TRAINING!

Quick Dog Story or two...

So I get my workouts in when ever I can now a days.  Last Wed. I knew hubs had to head to campus for some extra work and I was already up to feed the little guy at 4:30 am and new he'd just keep me up grunting the last few hours before sunrise like he enjoys doing every morning so I decided to head to the gym.  After the gym I came home and took my dog for a 2 mile jog.  It was so early that she wasn't creating all her normal ruckus because all the usual suspects (aka "killer" "mr. mcgoo" and her other dog friends) were asleep in their homes.  I thought this will be an easy run for once!

Nope!  At the turn around I saw her limping so I thought I better get that goat head (sticker) out of her paw.  As I kneeled down to get it I noticed it was already gone but she decided it'd be a good idea to knock me to the ground and proceed to have a lick fest on my face in the middle of the road, way too early in the morning!  I quickly got up and recovered and started running.  Well she then decided to pull on the running leash that has about 8 feet of bungee give to it.  And I wear it kind of lose around my waste so she thought I was playing tug of war with her and ran circles around me tugging on the leash.  It took about 3 tries of stop and go and yelling at her to sit before she gave up on the tug of war!  Needless to say this run was  a little slower than the others.  Poor thing has been feeling neglected since A came along but I promise I run or walk her practically every single day.  She does need a bath and an ear cleaning though!  :-( 

On another doggy note I have managed to successfully go for a walk with both the dog and the baby in the stroller without my dog going absolutely nuts or knocking the stroller or myself over.  If I combine the waist part of my running leash with the regular leash so it doesn't have any give, she has to walk right next to us and my waist is a lot stronger than my arm so she can't pull us to one side try as much as she does when she goes by one of her doggy friends' houses!  I might even try jogging with both of them soon!!  That would be awesome instead of having to take multiple walks a day on top of trying to fit in a gym workout!

Ok that was not as quick of a story as I thought!

I'm not shy anymore and more truths...

So let me tell you it already took a lot to embarrass me because I grew up with a mom that speaks her mind at any moment and doesn't apologize for it, she taught me to be unique, individual, and proud of who I am.  This is the same person who also told me not to point out what I think are my faults because people only notice them when you point them out!  But after giving birth to a room full of 10 people and having people around telling you how to breast feed and what feels like the whole world seeing your privates you lose ALL inhibitions.  My first clue of this was when someone would asked me how it went and I noticed I might have made a few of them squirm and realized it was TMI either that or birth control for some of my friends. :-)

Truth #1 I gained 40 lbs during my pregnancy not the 25 - 35 that they recommend.  But to be honest I'm not as freaked out about it as I thought I'd be.  I lost 10 lbs of that the day I gave birth and another 10 lbs in the week after that.  Now 6 weeks after I have about 16 lbs left to lose to get to my pre pregnancy weight and I am up for the challenge now that I can exercise!

Truth #2 it's not the weight gain you have to be worried about it's the fact that you have no ab muscles and there's all that extra flab around your belly.  So that's the number one goal during my workouts... Yup you heard it right I'm not concentrating on getting a PR any time soon or on speed work at the track or placing at my next triathlon, just on getting those ab muscles back and tight.  That's what will prevent me from getting into my pre pregnancy clothes even when I lose those last 16 lbs. 

Truth #3 I cheated a little and the week before I got the ok to work out I ran 1.5 miles almost every day just to start testing myself.  Now this week I'm doing some running and weight lifting and plan to start incorporating some spinning and swimming ASAP.

Sat. I went straight from my Dr. apt to the gym did 30 minutes on the elliptical and 45 minutes of lifting and ab work.  Sunday got to busy and I had to skip my 1st workout!!!  Today I got a 2 mile run in before hubs had to head to campus so hopefully when he gets home at 7 tonight I can run to the gym to do some weights.  Yes, having a baby makes some of the simple things in life seem a lot more difficult to do, like sleep but it's true what they say it is so worth it.  Just watching him smile or stretch as he's waking up makes me forget about everything I just mentioned above!!  Yes, I've now become one of those moms.

Things I never thought I'd have to worry about when I worked out:

• Leaking, yes if you are breastfeeding you do have to worry about this when you work out
• Feeling like your insides might fall out at some point during your work out!
• Deciding to wear your maternity bathing suit when getting in the hot tub and realizing now that it's lose on you the jets will blow air into the most awkward places so you just hope the jets don't turn off until after you get out
• Having to wear 2-3 sports bras when you work out so it doesn't hurt
• Getting home in time to feed your baby

My dog is happy we are training for the 5k doggie dash and doesn't feel quite as neglected anymore.  Ok she is pretty jealous that she doesn't get to come jump on our bed in the mornings anymore or sit on the couch between us if the little guy has her spot, but she's doing ok considering.

Happy Training Everyone!!!

Countdown to comeback and training plan

Four more days and counting!  Now that my foot is feeling better and the midwife is about to give me the ok to start regular exercise I am excited and nervous!!!  But first a farewell to walking...

Dear Walking,

I hope these two become best friends and I'll have 2 running partners!

You have been there for me the past few months and I wanted to let you know how much I appreciate that.  You helped me get through the worst of it and keep my anxiety at bay.  As much as I wanted to pick up that foot just a little bit quicker I knew that you were there to keep me safe and healthy.  I might have lost any semblance of sanity and muscle if it wasn't for you.  But alas, it is time to part ways.  Don't worry I won't forget about you completely I still need to walk my dog and my son every day and when I go back to work you are there for me on my breaks and lunch to help me relieve stress and get some vitamin D.  Thank you!

Now the question is what will my first workout be?!??  I know it will include a 1 mile jog for sure so I plan on that being my warm up!  Then do I want to work on endurance and maybe do some spin or do I want to try and get some of my muscle tone back and do some weight lifting and or plyos?  Or do I take advantage of not being back at work yet and try out one of the aerobics classes at the gym that I never get to do?  I'm so excited to plan out my upcoming workouts that I don't even know where to start!  What is your favorite workout?  If you have to take a break how do you ease yourself back into exercise?

I'm also a little bit nervous thinking what if I never get back into the shape I was in?  What if I can't run the 5k I signed up for just 3 weeks after getting back to exercise?  Yes, I signed up for the Doggie Dash that benefits Animal Humane as my first race and hope that my dog will pull me most of the way because I want to try and not have to walk any of it!  But coming from only walking for the last 2 1/2 months and only having 3 weeks to train for it might be too much to ask of my body?  What if the extra flab around the belly never fully goes away no matter how many sit-ups I do?  Ok in reality I will put all these nervous thoughts at the back of my head and run them all away!  I'm super excited to get that first endorphin rush that I haven't had in a while.  I can't wait until little A can hold his own head up and I can take him with me in the jogging stroller!  It will be a new world of working out for me and I can't wait to see what my future holds!

P.S. I might have gotten a sneak peek, I mean I can't help it if my dog wants to run on our walks....

Race Recap

No I didn't go do a triathlon the day after giving birth!  Sorry to burst your bubble but it does take some pregnant woman a little time to recover.... I mean you saw the pics even the Princess had a post pregnancy pooch :-)  So why did I title this race recap?  Because pregnancy, labor, delivery, and bringing baby home has felt like a grueling quadruple Ironman race.  It took dedication,
perseverance, nutrition periodization, pain management, and in the end I got the ultimate reward.  It has been a hard and trying time I'm not going to sugar coat it, it's not always rainbows and unicorns pooping glitter but when he smiles or makes a cute face it reminds me why I did all this!

Pregnancy - This was like the months leading up to an IM.  It's lots and lots of training with some peak periods and some recovery weeks and you have to behave the whole time.  Watching what you eat, no drinking, keep up the exercises, and wait in anticipation for the big day.  For me this pregnancy pretty much followed the norm I experienced the normal aches and pains most people do and didn't love it or hate it (ok maybe parts of it).  I was nauseous for all of the first 3 months ok maybe 2 months because I didn't realize I was pregnant until about a month into it.  I only actually threw up once but the rest of the time both in the morning and evenings I felt like I was going to puke!  Then the 2nd trimester truly was bliss!  I felt awesome a new surge of energy and was still teaching my boot camp and 5k class!  I thought I can handle this!  Then the 3rd trimester I started to feel really HUGE and thought this will never end!  I couldn't workout as much the last month before the due date and I was crawling in my own skin waiting for the big day.  Luckily for hubs I never got any cravings and didn't send him out for food runs like pickles and ice cream.  He was the one that seemed to get cravings for ice cream a lot yet he was losing weight the whole time I was gaining it.  I gained a whopping 40 lbs but I came to terms with that because I knew I was eating healthy and my baby was a big boy! :-)   The biggest advice I could give is to not read everything under the sun about pregnancy unless you want to constantly be freaking out about what might or might not happen.  Save the what to expect when you're expecting specifically for when you have a question and just look up that one topic.  Also don't try to clean the tile in your kitchen on your hands and knees with a scrub brush in your 9th month of pregnancy or your husband will come home to find you crying covered in sweat, tears and cleaning products!  Ask for help when you need it and know it's ok to feel scared.  Lucky for me hubs gave me hugs even when I told him I didn't want them and no matter how much I didn't believe him he still kept telling me I was beautiful.  Pregnancy was pretty much what I had expected with it's ups and downs.

Labor and Delivery -  WOW!!!!  This part was not anywhere close to what I expected!!  I know they tell you to be ready for pain but I didn't expect to be so scared!  I was so worried about the well being of my child and I know I must have looked at my husband with my eyes bulging out of my head pleading that everything will be ok.  I was at 41 weeks when my midwife recommended I induce so we scheduled it for a Friday.  I went in and they gave me my first dose of medication at 9 am and then hubs and I went for a long walk outside and up and down the stairs.  I really didn't feel anything.  So around noon they gave me the second dose and around 4 pm hard labor started.  He was born at 1:51 am after 1 1/2 hours of pushing.  I was in lots of pain of course and I tried breathing but definitely could not stay calm and relaxed like they recommend.  My muscles tensed up every time a contraction came.  The music wasn't helping and I didn't want anyone touching me or talking to me.  Poor hubs!!  I also had told him not to let me change my mind about not having drugs.  But when he took a bathroom break and the nurse came in to see me she said something that changed it all for me.  "It only gets worse from here! and then you may not have time to change your mind about drugs."  I thought there is no way I can survive if the pain gets worse than this.  So when hubs came back in I demanded drugs.  He didn't know where it came from and he kept telling me no and telling me how I'd be disappointed if I did it.  I kept saying I'm so sorry to disappoint you and don't be angry with me!  All the nurses etc kept looking at him like he was evil but he was just doing what I had asked him to.  So I got drugs but by then the

First bath, not too happy...

worst was really already over and I had made it through most of it!  I am a little disappointed in myself but life moves on.  The scariest part was when A's heartbeat was too fast and at one point there were like 10 people in the room waiting for him to come.  The plan was that hubs would stay by my head and not witness any of it but when it all started there were only 2 other people in the room so they made him hold one of my legs!!!  So much for that plan he had to witness it all!!  Including the stitches.  So in the end at least I didn't have to have a C-section but I did have to be induced, cut and took drugs! :-(  The good news is that even though little A had to spend a week in the hospital because of some fluids in his lungs that caused an infection he is now as healthy as can be and thriving!!  They took him off oxygen a week after we got to come home.  After this experience you lose all inhibitions and don't worry about being embarrassed by anything ever again!

Postpartum - The first couple of weeks were the hardest because I was trying to recover and was spending day and night at the hospital with my son in the NICU.  It was nerve racking and my heart goes out to all the parents that had to spend months on end there luckily A just had a week to finish getting his antibiotics for 1 week.  I was sleep deprived and hurting and a nervous wreck.  But now it's only a month later and it's already starting to get better!!!  A is 10lbs already and such a big and healthy boy!  He is fussy at times and I may only get 2-3 hours of sleep but then other nights we get some awesome sleep in 4 hour stretches!  I'm so happy I'm able to spend the first 3 months with him before having to go back to work it makes such a huge difference!  I do go stir crazy and get major cabin fever day after day in the house with only A but the few days I get to go out and talk to adults it's pretty nice so make sure you keep your lines of communication open!  I still get nervous and wake up just to check that he's still breathing but those smiles he gives me now are awesome!  It also seems like you never get anything done during the day but you know what the house will just have to wait to be cleaned!  Being a parent is such hard work and I'm so lucky to have such a supportive family and that my mom will be coming here to help once I go back to work!  I know once I'm able to work out again it will help with any of the stress and anxiety I have left.  I am thankful to having a healthy boy and can't wait to see what life has in store for him!