Revelations.

My weekend recap.

The Houston Half Marathon was on Sunday. I've been signed up since before I was pregnant and since I HAD been keeping up with my running, I was still planning on running. Then, when the running ended, I stuggled with what to do on race day. Do I walk it? I walk part of it? If I just do part of it, do I do the beginning or the end? Can I run some of it?

I decided to start at the start and take my cell phone and cab fare with me and see what happens. I am sooo not above calling for a ride mid-race. Unfortunately, I got caught up in the prerace festivities and couldn't resist the urge to run. I forced myself into running 3 minutes and walking 2...I think I averaged a 12 min/mile for the first 7ish miles. I ended up doing about 10 miles in 2 hours and 13 minutes and I felt great for most of it. I walked the last 2.5 miles...and just patted my belly when people yelled at me to run at the end. Haha. Such is life!

************

I have decided to root for the Steelers during the Superbowl this weekend based entirely on an interview of Ben Roethlisberger I saw on Sports Center today while I ate lunch at Arby's. Yes, my Arby's has TV's. In this interview Ben sounded like an intelligent human being and I actually think he might not be a complete idiot. If my assumptions (based on a 7 minute interview that I listened to via closed captions) are incorrect, please let me know. I did not watch an interview of the other team's quarterback for comparison, so until I hear otherwise, Go Steelers.

************

We have two dogs - Donny (8 years-ish), a Newfoundland mix and Dixie (9 months-ish), a Great Pyrenees mix. They both have dew claws on their back paws, but Donny's never really grew very fast so I never had to trim them - they always cut them when we take him to get groomed every few months and that has always been enough. But Dixie's, oh man, those suckers grow like she puts Sally Hanson Maximum Growth polish on them every night.

We bought clippers when she was about 4 months old (we got her when she was 3 months) and tried to clip them. She wasn't a huge fan, but she tolerated it. We were quite proud of our nail clipping prowess.

Then when it came time to clip them again (like 2 days later), she wasn't having it. For a little puppy (okay, she weighs 60lbs...but she SEEMS little) she is a strong little sucker. We gave up the act of actually cutting the nails and just tried to get her used to us messing with her paws. We did that every night for a few weeks and tried cutting them again...no cigar. Ultimately we decided that the $11 it costs for Petco to do it was money well spent.

This brings us to yesterday. Our friend Ashley came over for our post-marathon keg party. Ashley is a dog groomer (she is a little out of our price range otherwise we would use her all the time) and somehow Tommy and her started talking about Dixie's nails. Ashley was all, "Dude, lemme see her. I'll show you how to just trim them a little at a time and she won't even notice." And Tommy was all, "Okay!". So they got out the clippers and attempted the impossible. It took 3 grown adults to wrestle this innocent puppy to the ground and even then, her nails did not get clipped.

Ashley ultimately conceded that we should sell the clippers on Ebay and start saving our money for Petco.

At least we know it's not us. Even the pros can't do it. Not sure how Petco got it done, but I'm relatively certain it involved a heavy sedative. But for $11 it's worth it.

****************

Texas booze rules do not allow you to buy alcohol on Sundays. This means you cannot buy kegs on Sundays because kegs are sold in liquor stores (you can still get beer and wine...but not from the liquor store).

So, in preparation for the 6th Annual Post-Marathon Keg Party, we bought our keg of beer on Saturday afternoon. Do you have ANY IDEA how hard it is to keep a keg cold in Texas in January? Apparently, very hard when it's 70 degrees and gorgeous outside. I think we bought all the ice in the neighborhood. That keg was ice cold on Sunday, despite Mother Nature's best efforts!

****************

It was an excellent weekend.

I'm Sure There is a Scientific Explanation...

...but why does my baby kick me so much 24 hours a day now, but will sleep so much when she is out? I've got to think the outside world is a much more interesting place than my inards. She doesn't seem to be very good at time management.

Awkward Turtle.

I had my first uncomfortable belly rub today.

I, surprisingly, have not been as irritated by strangers touching me and asking me questions as I thought I would be. I've found that, in general, as long as they aren't creepy about it, it really just doesn't bother me. This is very out of character for me, as I am generally a nasty sort, but it seriously doesn't bother me. Much.

The strange female bartender rubbed my belly. That was okay. The strange female cashier at the grocery store asked questions. That was okay. The strange female lifeguard asked questions. That was okay. The strange lady in the locker room rubbed my belly (after I was fully clothed). That was okay. The strange male co-worker rubbed my belly in the elevator. Totally NOT okay.

I mean, he wasn't being creepy and wasn't intending to be wierd, but dude. It was wierd. And it was in an elevator. And I had no where to go. I just turned around to end the conversation and started pressing all of the buttons. And then I got off on the next floor to escape.

But really, all in all, I've found that I am a lot more tolerant of people than I (and all my friends/family) thought I would be. People's rude and irritating questions don't really bother me like I thought they would. In general people are interested and just don't know what to say...and that's okay. The intent is there and I get that...and I appreciate your interest in me and my baby. Even if you sound like an ignorant buffoon. I know I have asked some ignorant buffoon questions and said some dumb sh1t at some point in my life. We can just cut each other some slack. Okay?

When people ask me wierd/inappropriate questions, I tend to answer them totally truthfully which I think freaks people out (only partially my intent). But hey, if you ask about my sex life, I'm gonna tell you about my sex life! Graphically. With pictures. If you ask how I'm feeling and I haven't pooped in 3 weeks, well, I'm gonna tell you about it. Graphically. Possibly with pictures. And if you want to feel my belly, I'll probably let you. Unless we are stuck on an elevator and/or you are creepy.

It's the Little Things.

It's the little things that you don't really think about...

...Like how the towels at the gym aren't really big enough to go all the way around me anymore. I now require twice as many towels as I did before.

...It's hard to eat my dinner at the coffee table because I can't really lean forward for that long.

...Tying my shoes is really tough...especially if I don't succeed the first time. (luckily, being the hardcore triathlete that I am, I only have one pair of shoes that actually require tying.)

...Packing clothes for the gym in the morning is hard...I never know what is going to fit. And I obviously can't wear the gym towel to work.

Girlfriends Guide to Pregnancy didn't tell me these little tidbits!

In other news, our baby's room is pretty much done! Now, we just need the junk to fill the drawers and the baby! I will post pics in a few weeks when the final touches get placed. It's VERY bright and bold and very NOT me...but it turned out better than I could have hoped and I love it! I sat in the glider most of the weekend...partly because I just like it in there and also because it is seriously overstuffed and needs to be broken in. It's also very gender neutral, so, in the event that she is actually a he, we are ready to go. (This is seriously a HUGE fear of mine...best to take precautions when possible.)

Costuming.

I found a costume for Halloween. It's a shame Halloween is so far away.

I made it to the pool this morning and had a decent swim...it was the longest I have swum since May-ish and I felt pretty good, surprisingly. Slower than molasses, but not slow enough to drown.

HOWEVER, when I was done, I attempted to hoist myself out of the pool (like normal) and was reminded that, "HEY! You're 6 months pregnant and quite large!" I was unable to pull myself out of the pool and had to cross over 4 high school swim team lanes to get to the handicapped stairs.

Awesome.

But I could totally pass for a beached whale for Halloween.

Lessons Learned.

I learned a lot today.

I learned why so many women fail their 1 hour gestational diabetes test. Now, I'm not a doctor, nor do I specialize in endocrinology, but I've got to think that a test that measures blood sugar levels would be much more effective if they took a baseline reading. I dunno. But yayy for the yummy orange drink in my belly!!

I learned that I should have married a fat man. My doctor informed me that in all likelyhood I will weigh more than my husband at the end of this pregnancy. This will only be exaggerrated by his desire to reach race weight by the time IM rolls around and my new found love of Golden Oreos. Once Tommy heard this news, he began to gloat...until he realized that gloating could end in his castration. Gloating quickly turned to fear.

I learned that Golden Oreos are easily the most delicious cookie in all of the land. I am petitioning to Oreo that they be removed from the shelf once I deliver. They can be sold again should I ever become impregnated again. These cookies cannot exist in my post-partem world if I ever want to weigh less than my husband again.

In Pictures...

If you are looking to assault your senses, you've come to the right place.

Here is my pregnancy, in pictures, taken by me, with my cell phone, in various bathrooms that I frequent. Stay classy.


18 Weeks. Super proud to finally have a gut. Even if it still looks more like a food baby than an actual baby.

19 Weeks. Finally sporting a semi-baby looking baby.

21 Weeks. At 20 weeks, we were on vacation in Cancun, where I spent the entire trip, covering up my gut, eating gummi bears and avoiding mexican food. Stupid pregnancy cravings. This is probably not an actually Baby Belly. This belly is full of gummi bears. Srsly.

23 Weeks. This happened overnight. I went to work party on Friday night and wore normal clothes...woke up on Saturday and had this. I had to take off work on Monday to go maternity clothes shopping because I had nothing. But I finally have something to show for months of nausea and sloth-liness!!

24 weeks. This shirt is super flattering. NOT.

25 Weeks. Check out that hideous art work that my mom INSISTS on displaying in the bathroom, despite me telling her that I drew it as a joke and is one of the uglier things I have ever drawn (excluding the painting that I attempted last night which is, in fact, the ugliest thing I have ever painted).

26 Weeks. It's looking a little bit pointy. She is a little wild and wooly.

27 Weeks. In the locker room at work. Hoping no one comes in. Day 1 of the home stretch!

Today marks 28 weeks. 7th inning stretch!! Let the games continue!

The Horror.

Blogger has been blocked at my office all week.

It has been a very dramatic week, to say the least. A week without Blogger is like a week without, well, happiness. I mean, I can still read everyone's blogs, but A.)I can't see the pictures, B.)I can't comment C.) I can't update my own blog and D.) I just don't like reading them on the RSS feed. It hurts my eyes.

And normally I would play catch up in the evenings, but this week was crazy busy after work. We normally limit our weekly after work activities to one night out (you know, dinner or drinks with friends, whathave you), but this week, we had plans every.single.night. I am pooped. It was all fun, but dude, I wasn't made to be a party animal. And I especially wasn't made to be a sober party animal. This much I know.

Alas. Blogger is open again for my enjoyment and tonight I plan on putting on PJ's and catching up on all the quality TV that I missed during the week. Don't worry Brad Womack, I won't make you wait this long next week.

Updates. I know you are dying to know what is going on with me. Don't hurt yourself, I'll just tell you.

I am officially on the downhill slope of this pregnancy gig. Today is January 14 and I am due on April 14 which gives me 3 months left. Hooray!! I also FINALLY started feeling good, for the first time the whole pregnancy...I'm hoping this means I paid my dues and I will feel awesome during the third trimester because I felt like general death during the 1st and 2nd, but I doubt this is how it will go down. I will revel in my 2 weeks of Feel Good and hope for a 3rd! Keep your fingers crossed!

I quit one of my gyms. I joined there to swim, but the indoor pool is always crowded and the outdoor pool isn't really heated and there are no lifeguards. This ultimately means that last week, I was swimming in 50 degree air temps, 65 degree water, in the dark, all by myself...at 6 months pregnant. If this doesn't sound like a recipe for disaster, I don't know what does. So I quit. Oh well. Looks like I will just have to schlep to the YMCA in the mornings again. Ugh.

I am done running. It's official. I'm not saying I won't be running 2 miles here and there, but my days of 6-10 milers are over for the time being. I am going to attempt to walk 10 miles this weekend in training for the half in weeks, but I don't have high hopes of completion. Walking is just about the most boring time consuming activity I can think of and I just hate it. I've got my iPod ready to go though and I'm hoping I can stick it out. All that said, there is no way I can walk the race fast enough to finish within the alloted time (13:45 pace)...so I'm not sure of my plan of attack on that yet.

We have decided on a name for our little one! I won't tell you it here because, well, you are a bunch of stalkers, but for those curious, it's very traditional, it's a family name, and it's very Catholic...and we aren't Catholic. But should we decide to become Catholic, she is ready to go!

A woman got kicked out of a bar because she was pregnant. Discrimination or good/safe call?

Da Baby's crib bedding arrived this week and it looks SOOO good! I will eventually take pictures and post them for you to critique. Her colors are lime green and aqua...I bought a lime green rug and I think it might be too much...I may be on the hunt for an aqua rug. Keep your eyes peeled. Oh, and if you see any cute owl wall paraphenalia (ie birdcages (yes, I know owls don't live in cages, but WHATEVER), cool art or crafty ideas), please send them!

I haven't been hating on the elliptical as much as I used to...maybe because it's so freaking hard when you are 20 pounds heavier than you are used to being. I've also been walking on the treadmill at lunch while reading How Not To Kill Your Newborn books. Such entertaining reading.

I am still baffled by the number of people who voluntarily choose not to vaccinate their children.

Maternity tights are the greatest invention of all time. I will only purchase maternity tights from now on.

I am kind of over my fantasies about sleeping on my belly. Now I daydream about appletinis and salmon sushi. When this girl hatches, my recovery meal besta be a giant slab of raw salmon and a giant vat of appletini (preferably from Mafreless, but I doubt they deliver).

Tommy's IM training is fully underway and I am fully jealous. His goal is to get most of the big training days in before the baby comes and then anything that happens after she gets here will be a bonus. It's kind of nice though - because Ironman is kind of like pregnancy, we are both exhausted and sore all the time, always hungry, have too much laundry and too many dishes, and no one wants to walk the dog. The bad news is that I have 12 blueberry muffins to eat all by myself on Saturdays because he is gone riding his bike all day. Danger danger.

Okay, that's about it. Here's hoping Blogger works next week. I don't think I can survive another week without it.

OPRAH!

I never really cared that Oprah was ending (or moving, or whatever...) because hey, I have a job and I haven't been able to watch Oprah in about a decade. But I realized yesterday that if I get to work at 6:30 or 7, I can leave at 4 and jump on the elliptical and watch a solid gold hour of Oprah. Yesterday I learned all about how the prosecutor screwed up the OJ case. I was in hog heaven. And on commercials I watched the season finale summary of 16 and Pregnant on MTV. LOVE IT.

Maybe this gym rat thing isn't as bad as I orginally thought.

Don't leave me Oprah!! I need you to stay until at least April. K? Thanks.

Unrelated: Did you see The Bachelor last night? OMG. Trainwreck. Love it. I watched through my hands because I was too terrified. Where in the world do they find these people??!? And the new dance show that starts tonight?!? I heart TV.

What I Miss Most.

Being pregnant has its perks.

Everyone is always willing to share their dessert with the pregnant lady (it's a shame I'm not a huge dessert fan).
Even the rudest of people will hold the door open for a pregnant lady.
You can always convince your husband to drop you off at the door while he goes to find a parking space during Christmas shopping...regardless of weather.
You get to wear your Thanksgiving pants all the time!
Napping is encouraged.
Oh, and you get a baby at the end. Hooray!

But the perks don't quite overshadow the joys of pregnancy (once the baby arrives, all the bad stuff is forgotten...which is the only way people would actually go through this again. The first time, it's ignorance, the second time, you are too busy with the first one and their cute little smiles have made you forget.)

I found this list last night of the 12 Things Women Miss Most During Pregnancy.

Their list looks like this:
Sense of Smell
Booze
Off-Limits Foods
Peaceful Sleep
Cute Shoes
Feeling Sexy
A Rockin' Sex Life
Feeling Strong and Independent
Being Included
Pre-pregnancy Body
Emotional Control
Caffinating Like You Used To

My list looks like this:
Sleeping on my Stomach
Running Comfortably
Booze
A Rockin' Sex Life
Being Included
Pre-pregnancy Body
Caffinating Like You Used To
Emotional Control
Racing Triathlon
Feeling Sexy
Sense of Smell


What I determined over the Christmas holiday is that I would rather be able to sleep on my stomach rather than drink. Yes, everyone, you heard it here first. I would give up booze if it meant that I could sleep on my stomach. I have sex dreams about sleeping on my stomach...except that there is no sex, just sleeping. On my stomach. And it's amazing. And then I wake up. On my side. And I lay there fantasizing about how amazing it would be if I were on my stomach. And then, of course, I can't go back to sleep. This equates to about 3 hours of sleep per night.

I would even rather sleep on my stomach than be able to run.

Yeah, that's how much I miss laying on my stomach. I'm tearing up just thinking about it.

That said, I think I realized this weekend that my running days are over...or at least close to it. On Christmas I went for a 6 mile run. It was a gorgeous day - cold and sunny, no wind and I was feeling GREAT! I only had to pee twice (WHOA!)...I ended up going a third time because I was passing City Hall and it was open and heated and why would you pass up an opportunity like that?!?, but I could have skipped it. Regardless, my run was great. I hit the 6 mile mark about 2 blocks from my parents house, so I stopped to walk the rest of the way to cool down. And the minute I stopped, I had the most excruciating pain in my groin-ish area. It hadn't been hurting while I was running but now I could barely walk. I finally made it home where I put on a happy face so as not to alarm anyone and promptly got in the shower and took a long hot bath. I felt marginally better after that and some Tylenol, but the pain was still probably around a 7 on the Pain Scale of Terror. I laid around for the next two days and finally felt a little better on the third day...so instead of running I broke into the local YMCA and hit up the elliptical machine (riveting). I felt okay after that.

When we got back to Houston, I hit up the gym for the elliptical two days in a row because I was afraid of running. But on New Years Day, the Y didn't open till noon and I had plans during the day, so I decided that would be the day I would try running again. I headed to the park with plans of running 2 loops (3 miles each) but knowing that I would have to make adjustments as needed.

Once again, I felt amazing while I was running. The day was gorgeous! Shorts and a thin long-sleeve shirt and gloves and I was a happy fat runner. I was slow, but my legs felt great and I felt great and the day felt great and I just loved being out there. And it may or may not give me a sick sense of satisfaction to pass people and then them realize I am pregnant and then try to pass me back but they can't. Muuuuhahaha. Alas, after 3 miles, I stopped to use the indoor restrooms and while I was waiting in line the groin pain started again. Not quite as bad as the last time, but still very painful. I peed and headed back out, my dreams of running 2 loops dashed. But I thought maybe I could at least walk another mile or so...it was too gorgeous to go inside! I made it about 50 ft when I realized that walking more wasn't going to do anyone any good. I called it quits and went home. :(

The pain was pretty bad, but I wasn't laid up like the first time. We went to BabiesRUs and I got a maternity support band, which surprisinly, took my pain from about a 6 or 7 to a 3 or 4 just by putting it on. I couldn't really sit in it though, so wearing around the house is kind of tough. I'll try it though! I also ordered Gabrialla from FitMaternity...we will see what that one is about. I will stick with spinning/swimming/elliticalling for the next week or so and then try out running with the band to see if that solves it. Otherwise, I think we can safely say that I am done running. 26 weeks of glory, but the pain is too much.

What they don't tell you is that, yes, you CAN keep running through your pregnancy, but you might not WANT to. I know not everyone experiences this pain, but I think it is a lot more common than anyone lets you believe. Runner don't quit running because they feel like it...they quit because they just can't do it anymore. I'm gonna give it one last Hail Mary effort, but I think I'm done.

I've got a half marathon on the schedule for end of January, which I was planning on run/walking anyway, but I think it's safe to say that I will be doing one of 4 options at this point:
1: Walking it, very quickly, and hoping to finish within the alloted 3 hours (13:45 pace)
2: Run/walking it, with the emPHAsis on the walking and hoping the pain doesn't get to be so much that I have to call for a ride home.
3: Walking it, at whatever pace I feel like and cuting the course short (making it about 10 miles)
4: Sleeping in. (Although, really, I would still go spectate, so at best, not racing buys me like 20 more minutes of sleep)

We will see what the next month brings. My original plans were to run the first 3 miles to let the crowd thin out and then run/walk as needed and wanted...but that's a pipe dream at this point I think.

I know I'll get it back...that's not really my fear anymore. I just miss it. Running keeps me sane. It helps me sleep. It helps me eat better. It let's me play outside. It lets me people watch. It's my outlet. I just miss it.

But I'd give it all up if I could just sleep on my stomach.