Nothing New.

I'll be brief. (HAHAHAHAHAHA)

Nothing exciting is happening here.  We spent Christmas with my family and then had 5 glorious days at home with just the three of us.  We relaxed, we played, it was magical.  I cannot wrap my brain around the fact that the holidays are a whole year away.  The pain.  It was a seriously fabulous time - we NEVER have relaxing time at home - and even though we were all sick as dogs ( I spend one full day at the doc-in-a-box and at an actual doctors office), it was still magical.  THAT'S how badly we all needed a vacation.

Nonetheless, a few updates:

We are considering moving.  It's been a long time in the making, but now we are actually thinking about moving.  We need a little more space (currently in 3 bedrooms, 2.5 baths and no yard)...and we really want a pool.  We are still trying to wrap our brains around moving to the 'burbs, but it's looking more and more likely every day.  We found a house that had the most AMAZING backyard - gorgeous pool, overlooking a little subdivision pond - but we didn't put in an offer fast enough.  Drat!!  And now, having seen THAT backyard, we are all snobby and are like, "well, THAT one isn't on a lake, so phooey".  Yeah.  Now we have this bizarre "it must be on a lake" requirement that we didn't even know could exist before. Nonetheless, we are on the hunt and are getting prepared to put out house on the market at any given moment.  Our biggest issue is that we work on opposite ends of town, so figuring out the commute is going to be a huge mess.  Alas, we will find something wonderful...someday.  And we are secretly hoping that other sale falls through so we can just have that one and have a pool for the summer.  Hahaha.  Fingers crossed!!

Anna has started to really babble.  In a scratchy animal voice.  It's like she permanently has a "smelly cat voice".  All the time.  I'm pretty sure that is going to be her permanent voice. 

3 Bath Days:

• The other day, she grabbed the pepper shaker off the coffee table (because yes, we eat at the coffee table)...and coated herself in it.  She was sneezing and coughing and it was fairly comical.  It ended up being a 3 bath day.
• On the drive home from my parents house for Christmas...we had the car loaded with us, Anna, the 2 80lb dogs, our luggage for a week and some Christmas presents...and Anna had a blowout.  We only had one wipe left from the trip and no clean clothes (well, there were clean clothes, but who knows where they were in the car).  She was naked and fairly well coated in terd for the next 3 hours of car drive.  That's good parenting right there.

And speaking of good parenting:

• We learned that if we play Rock Band, she will be mesmerized for at least an hour (probably longer, but we are kind of out of shape).  Between the lights and music on the TV, Tommy singing and dancing and my banging on the drums, it's like Baby Valium.  Not sure why we didn't think of this before. 
• So, I bought her some shoes...and I put them on her for our trip to the zoo on Saturday.  And I kept wondering why one seemed almost too big, but the other was WAY too tight.  I was starting to get concerned about her freakishly different sized feet.  Well, I was freaked out until Tommy pointed out that I hadn't taken the paper out of the toe of one shoe.  Ooops. 

Clapping because wearing Christmas jammies in January is awesome!

Horrified of this new toy.

Grammy and Anna

Great Grandma, her grandson, and his daughter!

From the wedding we went to in Mexico

I did not approve this photo.

The olympic trials for the marathon were in town this weekend, so we gathered up our running buddies, some champagne and a portable heater and settled in for the duration.  Luckily, at the olympic trials for the marathon, the duration is only about 2.5 hours.  They are pussies.  Real athletes can run at full speed for 5 hours.  Srsly.  I'd like to see them do that.  Ha.  But it was a wonderful morning spent with friends and then an even more enjoyable afternoon at the zoo...I love Houston in January.  We MEANT to wake up to see the marathon (which was the next day) but we slept in instead...wise choice.  I've lived in Houston for 8 years and this was the first time I didn't participate in the race...it felt wierd, yet oddly relaxing. 

My training has been total crap, but my New Years Resolution is to lose 10 pounds in 10 weeks (which happens to conveniently coincide with my 31st birthday), so my race training is being put on the backburner and I am focusing on eating right, lifting weights and getting toned and stronger.  I'm still biking and running, but only for like 30-45 minutes at a time to make room for weights.  We will see.  I'm still planning to race a 5k in February, a 10k in March and a sprint tri in April, but it will all depend on how my training goes.  Wish me luck!!

Happy Happy Christmas!

Okay, the 2 job, maintain a happy healthy marriage while raising a child thing was rough and is (thank goodness) basically over.  At this point, I'm really only doing about 1.25 jobs and it's fairly manageable for the moment.  Things slow down a little during the holidays, so that's made a huge difference and I am finally starting to get the hang of the new job, so yayyy...that said, I am still probably going to end up wasting 3-4 days of vacation this year and that just hurts my heart. 

First World Problems.  I has them.

We did the Turkey Trot here and I did about like I expected (not good, but about as good as I expected).  I finished in 26:26 for the 5K...which is about 3 minutes off my PR.  I figured I would do just under 27 minutes, so yeah, right on plan, but not good.  I keep saying I'll get faster and back to where I was, but to do that, I will actually have to train properly...and right now, I'm not.  Blah!  Tommy walked with Anna in the jogging stroller...he fell down the stairs (twice) earlier in the week and his ankle was all jacked up. 

Then we did Thanksgiving with our wonderful friends Tiffany and Harold at their camp on the coast...it was us, Anna, our two dogs, Tiffany and Harold, Harolds mom, their 4 kids and their 3 dogs.  To recap, thats 5 adults, 5 children and 5 dogs.  Hahahaha.  It was wonderful - we wish we could see them more often!

We went to Cancun for vacation, which was marvelous (although, a little cold for our tastes).  I got caught up on my reading (The Hunger Games, a couple of chick lit/romance crap, and some comedy...I ran the full gamut).  We did a lot of beach sitting, even though Anna HATED sand, eating delicious seafood, drinking margaritas, playing cards and watching movies.  The water was too rough and we couldn't swim in the ocean, but Anna loved swimming in the pool (I did not swim in the pool...it was freezing).

Here is a photo bomb of our last few months.  And yes, these are the just a small selection of pictures.  We took 320 pictures over the weekend alone.  Trust me.  I've toned it down for you.  It could be much worse.  Much, much worse.


I'm 7 months old!  Hooray!



A Preview of the Teenage Years

And you thought YOU had bad hair days.

My friend Jodie came in town and we had a girls lunch and then we went and "played" at Kristins.  Playing mostly consisted of the other babies taking whatever Anna was playing with (eating).  It was very amusing.

Mom.  Seriously.  Stop it with the camera.

Anna and her pals. 



The girls!  We survived lunch!



Cupcake! 

This is when we realized that we should have dressed her as Gene Simmons for Halloween. 



First trip to the zoo.  Petting a goat.  It looked and felt a lot like Donny the Dog.  She was not impressed.

My mom and sister came in town and Tommy and I went to a wedding and then spent the night in a hotel...there is nothing better than waking up on your own on a Sunday morning.

Thanksgiving at our friends new camp!

 And then we spent the week after Thanksgiving in Cancun - we spent the first 5 days alone, just the 3 of us, and then we packed up and moved to another resort for a friends wedding for 3 days.  My family was there and it was a blast. 

Mommy realizes she may be showing too much boob for a wedding.

Baby Anna will cut you if you take her banana.

Dancing with Daddy

This is the moment that she realizes that sand is going to kill her.

Yayy Mexico!

This is how we do vacation.  Napping baby, cards, beer and paella...on the beach.

What up?!?

Practicing for the swim.  Ironbaby!

The storm that rolled in from Cozumel the day of the Ironman...

Splashing is the best!

Yes.  She is almost 8 months old and we still swaddle her.  Dear lord.

I love swimming!  Even when it's freezing cold!

The view from our room.  We are spoiled!

My family!  Nothing better than a wedding where you are barefoot and can have a mimosa during the ceremony.

Excuses!

I am seriously just one giant excuse after another.

But here is my Top Ten List for Why I Haven't Blogged Since Before Kim Kardashian Got Married:

10.  I got a new job (yayyy!)
9.  But I still have my old job (boo!), so I get to do two jobs...and only get paid for one.
8.  I got a subscription to US Weekly (also known as the greatest publication of all time) and therefore for one night a week, I am busy.  Reading about the Kardashians.  And the Real Housewives of Whatever City.  And the Beiber.  GLORIOUS.
7.  I have this rugrat who requires inordinate amounts of attention and prefers to be outside with the mosquitoes.  And it's hard to play on the computer when you spend 100% of your time batting mosquitoes away from your child's face.  And then she STILL looks like an assault victim.  And then we both spend the next two days walking around swearing that we just ran into a door...our husbands did NOT beat us.
6.  I am running.  Or biking.  Or lifting weights.  Or TRYING to do some form of calorie expenditure. 
5.  I am lounging on the couch, watching the Beibers, Kardashians, and Housewives with my cute husband who moans and groans the whole time, which means that I have to rewind and re-watch, which means that we all get double the time with the Kardashian family.  Winning!
4.  I've been sick.  Which is sad.  And means that I walk around with kleenex stuck up my nose.  Lucky for me, Tommy finds women with kleenex hanging out of their noses irresistible.
3.  Anna is hysterical and wild and still isn't taking naps.  Which means I am not taking naps.  And when Mama don't take naps, ain't nobody happy.  And ain't nobody having no time to blog.  I just bought a book about how to get your baby to nap.  Basically, it's all puppies and rainbows and "just love your baby to sleep" and makes me want to hurl the book across the room.  If love put the kid to sleep, she'd be freaking Sleeping Beauty.
2.  I apparently have arthritis in my feet and am wearing old lady shoes.  From the ugly shoe aisle at DSW.  I don't respect myself.  At all.  But man, these puppies are comfy.

And the number one reason why I haven't blogged since Before Kim Kardashian Got Married:

1.  I just haven't felt like it.

Quick update:
Tommy and I celebrated our 4 year anniversary last week.  The traditional gift for 4 years is fruit or flowers, so I got him an Edible Arrangement and he planted flowers in our garden in the shape of a 4.  We are so cute.  My mom is coming in town this week to hang with me, since Tommy is going to Amsterdam for work and then when he gets back, we are going to a friends wedding and staying at a hotel for the night while Nana hangs with the nugget.  I plan on taking 14 naps before I head home in the morning.  Ha.

The Don is doing SO much better.  He has been diagnosed with Addison's disease and for the small price of $400 a month, he is healthy and happy.  Don needs to get a job.  But seriously, Addison's is a very dangerous disease, but it's similar to diabetes in that it is deadly, but VERY manageable ($$$)...so we are managing it.  And Anna will have to pay for her own college, but that's an entirely different issue.

Work is seriously kicking my butt.  I miss blogging.  But then again, I also miss having a waist, so it just goes to show that we can't have everything.

Okay.  Love.  And puppies.  And I'll get back to it eventually. 

No Apologies.

I SHOULD be apologetic, and I DO feel a little guilty, but alas, life has once again gotten in the way of me spreading the word.  And by "the word", I mean "verbal diarrhea" and by "spreading", I mean "like herpes".

Nonetheless, thanks for everyone's concern at my absence.  I've just been busy, pre-occupied, and just generally playing about.  We have implemented Margarita Fridays at our house (we make margaritas and sit in the driveway like the classy folks we were raised to be), and therefore I spend most of my week dreaming about 5PM on Friday...which leaves little time for blogging.  Tommy mixes up a batch of sugary goodness, we take the exersaucer to the field and everyone relaxes and enjoys life.

What's that you say?  You live in Texas and it's about 237 degrees outside right now?  Yeah, this does not stop us from field sitting.  Anna is only happy when she is about catch on fire, so out to the field we go...with margaritas.  For us.  Not her. 

To recap the exersizing in the last month-ish:

I re-injured myself running.  Shocking.  I was doing really well running 3-4 miles and then when my running club started up for the season running 6/8/10 miles, I was all, "Hey yeah, I can totally run 39 miles with you guys tomorrow.  No prob."  And lo and behold, I hurt myself.  I should know better, but I got caught up in all.  Oops.  Soooo, now I'm back to 3-4 miles with walk breaks....it's going eh.  I'm having fun though, so I am trying not to care too much.

Due to my injury, my race at Bridgeland Sprint Tri went sub-optimally.  That said, I would have won the Athena division had I remembered to sign up for it (idiot)...instead I got like 9 millionth place in my normal division.  Which, by the way, doesn't feel as good as first.  In case you were curious.

I swam okay (as expected...can't expect great things when you swim twice a year), biked okay (it took me 5 miles to warm up...and in a 13 mile ride, that's too long!), and ran pretty crappily (mostly because I walked most of it).  So, eh. 

I took about 2 weeks off (you know, kind of...) of working out and it was pretty glorious.  It was probably the first time off I've taken in a few years and I really enjoyed it.  I didn't feel guilty and it was good.  I don't have any races until the spring, so there's no real reason to push the envelope now.  I felt like I needed a break and I took it.  GLORIOUS.  And during that time, Tommy and I were able to run together for the first time in about a year - it was great to be able to do that again.  Now that the weather is cooling off (it's only 168 today instead of 237), I'm hoping we can take Anna out for runs together.  

Point of the story is that I:
A.) Am alive
B.) Am well
C.) Have about 37 blogs started but not finished from over the last month
D.)  Am wishing that each day had about 3 more hours in it
E. ) All of the above

No one likes all of the above.

And, of course, gratuitous photos of my adorable nugget, whom we have nicknamed NuNu (it's short for Nugget.  Duh.)

First Trip to the Beach.  Lovin' Life.

Best.  Party.  Ever.

A Daddy and His Girl!

Baptism Day!

Only Babies Can Get Away with That.

Me and my pal Roggs took our beasts to dinner on Monday night.  She had just gotten back from vacation and I had just eaten most of the food in the world, so we went to Ziggy's Healthy Grill.  It's a health conscious place (most everything is cooked healthy oils or no oils if possible...the fries are sweet potatoes and the salads are DIVINE)...but they don't really offer up nutrition information (which I find bizarre - and probably means the stuff isn't as healthy as they like to promote). 

Nonetheless, we took the beasts to dinner...but there was no one else at the restaurant...which was good because screaming babies didn't bother anyone but us, but bad because there was no one else to drown out my screaming baby.  Ha.  (Roggs' baby didn't scream so much as squeal...she is just a loud one!)

When the waittress came over to take our order she lurked for a minute too long before addressing our table.  It was just a little wierd.  But hey, we were in Montrose.  Weird lurking people are pretty par for the course 'round those parts.  But when she did finally decide to talk to us, she apparently told us about the specials...but I could barely hear her because the giant booger in her nose was talking louder than her.

I'm telling you, it was the biggest booger I have ever seen in my life.  Ever.  On anyone.  It was so big that I wasn't sure if it was a booger or if it was a nose ring.  It was THAT big.  Huge.

I didn't hear a single word that she said about the specials.

I asked Roggs if she knew what the specials were and she said, "No, I couldn't hear over the booger."

Yeah.  I'm telling you.  Biggest.  Booger.  Ever.  Only babies can get away with boogers like that.  The good news is that, unlike my adorable booger filled child, this chick is capable of picking her own.  When she came back, it was gone.  Apparently booger shaped nose rings aren't as fashionable as I had once thought.

I ordered the salad.

*********************************
In exercise related news, my race in 3 weeks away - ahhh!!  I have been picking up the running mileage - I am now at a respectable 4 miles and a pitiful 5 miles, but I'm getting there!  I'm gonna shoot for running 6 again this weekend at a normal pace (I went way slow last weekend just to make sure I got it done). 

I am feeling good, but my legs are pretty wasted.  I ran 6.5 on Saturday, took Sunday off (because my BFF was in town and we went Owling - ha), did 5 and weights on Monday, biked 20 and ran 1 on Tuesday, 5 and weights on Wednesday, and now, after 2 hours of sleep, I am trying to get motivated to bike at lunch today...but truthfully, I'm not sure if my legs will hold out. 

I will probably take it easy the week of my race - not because I really need to taper before a sprint tri, but because I've increased my volume so much in the last few weeks that my body will probably just need a break.  

For now, I'm hoping to swim in about 12 minutes (500 meters), bike in about 40 minutes (13.5 miles = 20-21mph), and run in about 32-33 minutes (3.65 miles = 9 min/miles). 

The swim will be a crapshoot.  You have to actually train on something to have a vague idea of how it will go...and I have been in the water once since before Anna was born (we are going on about 5 months now).  And that was at my last race.  Ha.  Oh well!  We are going to swim this weekend (swimming is the sport that is REALLY hard to do with a baby, FYI - it just takes too much time!) and then I will have a better grasp of what I can do on race day I think.

I'm relatively confident in my biking ability - I've been KILLING it on the trainer.  I haven't been biking outside, so I don't actually know how fast I've been going, but I've been feeling good and sweating a lot. That's got to be a good sign, eh?  Or I could just be really out of shape.  We will find out!  (It's definitely hard to find time to bike outside, but finding time on the trainer is pretty easy)

On the run, it will just be about willpower.  I know I CAN do it....it will just be a matter of MAKING myself do it.  I'm gonna wear The Green Silence (my racing flats), so that should motivate me to run faster.  You can't wear racing flats and dillydally.  It's just wrong.

I am so excited!  I love racing!  I wish I was gonna look better in my spandex, but alas, this is the squishy body that I was given.  Avert your eyes!

Owling About Town.

For those of you who don't stay home all day and watch tv, I've got news for you.  Owling is the new planking.  And for those of you who are saying, "what the hell is planking?". Well, I've got news for you too.  You are behind on the times my friend. Behind the times.

Planking is all the rage.  Mostly for teenagers.  Or adults hopped up on caffiene.  It's also apparently dangerous.  Whic is ridiculous because according to Wikipedia, it's alternate name is also called the Lying Down Game.  Lying down is probably the safest of all activities in the world.  But you know, if you lay down on your roof, you're an idiot.  Nonetheless. 

This picture has inspired me to take pictures of Anna planking.  I bet planking is a SIDS risk.  Tragic. 

Somebody give that baby a planking!

BUT.  Planking is out and Owling is in.  Thank goodness I have friends like LD and Tater who fill me in on these things now because my daytime TV watching is lacking and I miss it.  I know I said that Brooke Sheilds at The Addams Family was irritating, but I miss.  You don't know what you've got till it's gone.  They took paradise and put in a parking lot.

Since my pal Amac was here from Dallas (yayy for friends visiting!), we owled about town.  We went on a run with our friends on Saturday morning and finished it off with breakfast at Yale Street Grill (home of the crispy hash browns...yum!).  (Sidenote:  I ran 6.5 miles!!  HOORAY!)

Tater, owling it up on the newspaper stand.

After running and post-run calorie consumption, we took naps and went shopping on Westheimer (home of the clothes that are too trendy for me) and then took the Anna to dinner at our neighborhood bar and grill.  Tommy took Anna home early so Amac and I could party like it was 1999, so we ordered a 2 liter bottle of wine (because they apparently sell those there) and consumed it.  Then called Tater who joined us for some beers and some late night owling. 

Late Night Owling.  Burns more calories than Taco Cabana.



Then, because we are old and I just had a baby, we left at like 11PM because, let's be honest, I cannot party like it's 1999 anymore.  I tried though, I really did.  We came home, watched Ferris Bueller (SEE?  We were really trying for the 1999 thing...)    Then on Sunday, we met Janelle and Thomas for breakfast at Coco Crepes (home of the delicious bananas foster crepe) where Anna worked on her Jackie O impressions.

Anna and Aunt Amac.

Oh, and BTW, this morning on the radio, Rod Ryan was talking about how owling is the new planking.  We are so trendy.


Quick Updates...Only Because It's Been Forever Since I Last Blogged.

I'm really glad I bought semi-stylish maternity clothes.  I had no idea that I would STILL be wearing them.  My entire outfit today is maternity.  Stretchy pants rock, but I kind of miss belts.

Apparently, I can't remember to put on deodorant anymore.  This is the third day since I've been back at work that  I've forgotten to put it on.  Thank goodness for my gym bag.

What to do when people make TERRIBLE spelling mistakes on Facebook?  Not just a typo, but like, the wrong word all together?  Should you help them?  I hate seeing my friends get dummer*. "Conscience" and "conscious" are not the same word.  FYI.  Nor are "affect" and "effect".  And don't get me started on "irregardless". 

Since my belly button is so freakishly deep now (it was freakishly deep before...now it's even worse...if you can possibly fathom that), it is collecting all sorts of artifacts.  I wouldn't be surprised to find a dinosaur fossil in there.

It's Anna's 3 month birthday!  Happy birthday Miss Anna!  I'd buy you cupcakes (because any excuse for cupcakes is a good one), but I can't wear stretchy pants forever and I can't afford a new wardrobe, so Project Weight Loss is underway.  And in case you didn't follow, Project Weight Loss does not include the consumption of cupcakes.

Dear lord mom.  That outfit...[shudder]...

We started giving the beast bottles pretty early on (which was awesome, btw)...and we couldn't figure out why sometimes she would choke and sputter and drool and splatter milk everywhere.  Then one day, I was like, "Hey Tommy, some of these nipples have numbers on them".  And Tommy was all,  "Hey, let's google it".  And we determined that we had been feeding her with nipples fit for a 3 year old.  No wonder the kid couldn't keep it all down.

Lucky for me, newborns are not quite as fragile as they appear to be.  There are just too many damn instructions to read - no one could keep up.  No pregnant woman knows what to read and no new mom actually has that kind of time...soooo, my house is kind of one giant booby trap.

The best thing about being back at work is morning talk radio.  Oh, how I missed morning talk radio. 

Had my first hangover on Saturday morning.  Learned my lesson!  Hangovers and babies do not mix.  Nor do long runs in the heat of the day or massages.  All of which I did with a hangover.  Not optimal.  Game night was fun...Things in a Park that start with J??
****************************

Workouts are going GREAT!  My running group started up for the season and I quickly realized A. how much I missed working out with people and B. that running while talking is hard.  I will attempt to run 6 miles on Saturday with them (and my BFF who is coming in town to play!)...we will see how that goes.  It is a 50% increase over my longest run lately.  I think we can safely say that that is higher the recommended 10% increase. (not to be redundant for you math geniuses out there) Ooops.  Bridgeland Sprint Tri is in 3 weeks...and since I forgot to sign up for the Athena division (CRAP!), I will attempt to be more competitive so I don't embarrass myself.  Probably should have thought that through a little more.  Probably should go to the pool.  At least once.  Probably.

*Yes, I no that's not how you speel it.

My Motherly Advice

I've been getting a lot of questions from friends about new baby stuff, pregnancy and labor and delivery...and seeing as how I have sooo much experience, I thought I would offer up my motherly advice. 

1. Find a nice man.  Let him get you pregnant.  If you choose to sleep with a man who is less than amazing, wear your seatbelt. 

2.  Find a doctor who believes what you believe.  Seriously.  If you don't agree with what your doctor tells you (assuming what you are asking about is reasonable), find a new doctor.  This person will have the ability to make life and death decisions regarding the health of you and your baby - you want to be on the same page as them.

3.  Although cost prohibitive, an iPad has been my BFF throughout my staying at home days.  We got one for free, (otherwise I would never have purchased one), but seriously.  I am nothing without my iPad.  What did moms do before iPads?  I have no idea.  The internet is the stay-at-home moms BFF.

4.  Figure out what makes you happy and find a way to do that during pregnancy and after the baby is born (as much as possible).  For me, it's running and triathlon.  We got a really good jogging stroller and I take my beast out almost every day.  For some it's reading or shopping or paintball.  Keep doing that.  It doesn't have to be as much as you did pre-baby, but make the time sometimes.  And if anyone throws 140bpm in my face again, I'm gonna hurt them.  Most people can barely cook dinner without their heart rate getting that high.

5.  Be the kind of parent YOU want to be.  Listen to everyone's advice and filter out what you want...and then make it work for you.  And when the annoying people on the elevator say that their doctor told them not to take their baby out of the house until they are 2 months old, just smile and say, "How'd that work out for you when you had a second kid?" and walk away. 

6.  If you do not think that poop is amusing, I would highly recommend rethinking the whole baby thing. 

My favorite baby products are:

• BOB Ironman jogging stroller
• iPad
• Woombie (the perfect swaddling tool if you have a screamer/flailer and cannot get them swaddled in blankets)
• Aden + Anais swaddling blankets (but they only work now that she doesn't scream all day)
• Bouncer
• Movie channels on TV

I'm pretty sure I could survive with just the items above at this point.  We don't use bottle warmers or wipe warmers...the Anna drinks ice cold milk and gets her tush wiped with cold wipes.  Oh, the horror!  It's like a third world country over here. 

So far, my beast and I are having a blast.  My only terrible experience was driving to Dallas on Sunday, alone with 2 dogs and Anna (although, I was hardly alone).  I'm telling you, it was awful.  It was worse than when I evacuated for Hurricane Rita...and that took 2 days.  I may not be able to return home because the fear of that drive has me trembling in my britches.  Seriously.  It was so bad.  Do not attempt a 5 hour drive on your own with a 7 week old because if you do, it will take about 7 hours and all of the sanity you can possibly muster.

This is dumb.

My Ironman envy has led me to sign up for a triathlon. On Sunday. 7 weeks after hatching a nugget. 3 months since I last rode a bike. 10 months since I actually rode outside. 3 months since I last swam. And about a year since I actually looked decent in spandex. It's not gonna be pretty.

I will be heading to the Tejas Tri on Sunday morning for my first triathlon since Anna arrived. What was I thinking? In addition to the fact that I am WILDLY under prepared, me in spandex is something no one should ever see right now. I'm gonna bring blindfolds to pass out to the spectators, lest they be blinded by the sight of me. [shudder]

I got the wild hair to register on Monday (race is the coming Sunday).  Before I registered I wanted to get on my bike to make sure I was capable of actually biking 12 miles.  But since I have a baby, I wasn't able to get out on the roads, so I just made sure I could bike for 45 minutes on the trainer.  CHECK!  I used to be able to bike 12 miles in about 34 minutes...now I think I will be lucky to conquer the distance in 45.  If I can average 18mph, I will feel like a rockstar.  I wasn't able to get to the pool this week, so the first time I swim will be right before the race when I warm up.  I don't normally warm up, but I will probably make an exception this time.  It seems like the safe thing to do.  And the running will be questionable...I know I can run 3 miles with walk breaks, but I have no idea what that will look like after swimming and biking.  I've done 0 swim workouts, 0 bricks and 1 bike workout in preparation for this race.  To say that I am underprepared would be an understatement.

Nonetheless, I am super excited.  I love to race (although, I'm not sure you can say that I will do tomorrow will technically be racing).  I can't wait to get back in the swing of things.  Unfortunately, as I type this I am not feeling too hot, so tomorrow is even more questionable than it was a few hours ago.  Hahaha.  Either way, I know I will have fun.  AND because I am officially overweight now, I get to race in the Athena division - hooray!

If I can swim in 15 minutes, bike in 45 and run in about 35, I will be happy.  I have absolutely no idea if this is a reasonable goal.

***********

I wrote the above post on Saturday and raced on Sunday but never got around to posting.  Sooooo, here it is/was.

The race was AWESOME.  I had so much fun.  I was so excited to be in the midst of it all again - the race excitement is always a crazy boost!  It was a small local race, which means a small field, but lots of friends racing and spectating.  Because I haven't lost all (or any) of my baby weight, I qualified to race in the Athena division - 150+ pounders - which I figured would make me more competitive.  Last year I raced in the 25-29ers and got 4th place and I knew I wouldn't be able to duplicate that performance...especially since I aged up to the 30-34ers and that's a much harder age group.

Race morning we loaded up the beast in her Under Armor gear (OMG - so freaking cute) and drove 40 minutes to the suburbs.  I got my bike all set up, peed about 4 times and got into the nasty subdivision pond for a warm up swim.  Holy crap.  I am out of shape.  I swam about 200 yards to warm up and my arms were BURNING.  This didn't bode well, but I knew that regardless, I could survive swimming 600yards...I just may tread water and breast stroke to make it happen.

I was in the 4th wave - with the Athenas and the 40+ women - and the gun went off!  I started out near the back of the pack and kind of stayed there but battling with the people was a real challenge.  Not only am I not used to swimming, I'm not used to having to fight for my right to swim.  It was tough going.  I was very glad I was still able to breathe bi-laterally.  Once I got warm, I actually felt okay...the water was too gross to really enjoy it, but overall, it was nice.  I finished in 12:43...about 30 seconds slower than I swam it last year.  Moral of the story, swim training does me absolutely no good.  I was in amazing shape last year...and saved myself 30 seconds.  I doubt you will catch me doing much swim training this year!

Getting out of the water was tough - you forget how hard going from horizontal to vertical can be - and I was off running!  I got my bike and headed out for 12 miles of flat Texas roads!  The bike was pretty fun...I LOVE biking fast.  I had no idea what an appropriate speed was, so I just pedalled at a moderate pace and was having fun.  The some guy passed me and commented on my fancy bike and I realized I was not doing my full carbon beauty justice with my slow speed so I picked it up.  Haha.  Sometimes it just takes a little motivation. I missed the turnaround and ended up biking about an extra half mile but I think I averaged about 20mph for 12 miles.  I was happy with my time but I had no idea how that would affect my run!

I saw Tommy and Anna coming in off the bike and I threw on my running shoes and started running.  I knew I was going out WAY too fast - an 8 minute mile is just ridiculous - but I wasn't able to really slow down.  My plan was to run about 9 min mile-ish and then walk for a minute through the water stops.  When I got the first stop, I got my water and was planning to walk but then I saw Tommy and couldn't make myself do it.  Haha.  Stupid pride.  I kept running but slowed down finally. I walked quite a bit on the last mile but still averaged about 9 minute miles overall. 

I finished in 1:16:35...about 5 minutes slower than my time last year.  I cannot believe it.  I am so happy that not only did I do well, but that I had fun.  I was so worried I wouldn't have fun and my motivation would go away but I loved it and it was fabulous (minus the spandex part of the day) and I CANNOT wait until August when I get to race again.  And the best part is that I got 1st place in the Athena division!  Hahaha.  Who knew?

1st Place Athena!

I love racing.  I am so so SO happy to be back in the game.  I can't wait to see what the rest of the season holds.

Anna the Beast at 7 Weeks Old

Ironman Envy!

Ironman Texas was this past weekend and now that the initial exhaustion is over, I can blog.  I'm telling you now, spectating Ironman is almost as hard as racing it.  Spectating is a sport and I am sore from my participation.

Tommy raced like a champ and I know we are all glad the race is over and behind us!  He didn't really want to race (he did not enjoy his experience in Cozumel) but signed up because I wanted him to...and then I got pregnant.  Ooops.  But he put in the long hours of training before Anna arrived and did what he could once she was here.  It wasn't the optimal training season, but it is what it is!

I dropped Tommy off in the Woodlands on Friday night so he could stay at the hotel and get a decent nights sleep before the race.  I came home and spent the evening packing for a day in the sun with a newborn.  Ha.

#915 Ready to Rock!!

In traditional triathlon fashion, we ran into just about everyone we know at bike check in.  I heart the tri community.

#160 will be using a stroller for the bike portion of the race.  Anna was not amused.

I wasn't sure Anna and I would make it for the swim in the morning, but we did!  We got there in time to see the 1st pro get out of the water and to see Tommy get his bike!  I had to wake up at 2AM to get there, but I am so glad we did.  She had this adorable UnderArmour outfit that my mom's BFF sent to me...she wore it for all of 20 seconds before she shat all over it.

Baby running gear.  OMG.

Heat makes baby comatose.

Tommy headed out for 112 beautiful miles!  

He gave us a kiss before rolling out.  It was then that I realized I was covered in poop.  So romantic. I didn't see many of my other friends get on their bikes because I spent the next 30 minutes cleaning poop off my hands, my camera, the Anna, the diaper bag and the carseat.  I stuck her in the Bjorn so the carseat could dry out a little and we watched the end of the swim.  And then I had to go to the port-a-potty.  With Anna in the Bjorn.  Triathlon is a nasty nasty sport.

After most of the people had left for the bike, Anna and I went to the hotel for snacks and naptime.  And air conditioning.  I love air conditioning.

The hardest part of the day was not actually toting a 5 week old baby around outside all day (alone), but the logistics of it all.  How do you pack enough cold breastmilk to last all day without breaking your back or tipping over your stroller?  How do you pump without having to go back to the hotel every 3 hours?  How do you pack enough food and drink for yourself?  How do you plan on enough diapers and clothes for blowouts?  What if the stroller gets too hot?  Don't forget the Bjorn.  Or the clip-on fan.  Or the mosquito netting.  Or your camera.  Or phone.  Or wallet.  Oh dear lord.  The logistics of it all were enough to essplode the brains of a small village of geniuses.  Let's be honest though, I LOVE logistics and I was kind of in hog heaven planning for all the possible risks and doing it all as minimalistically as possible. I even remembered toilet paper for port-a-potty trips and a small jar of dish soap so I could wash bottles.  I mean, if you ever need a logistics planner, I'm your gal.  That said, if I had to do it all over again, I would have packed her powdered formula for the day so I wouldn't have to worry about keeping breastmilk cold...but I didn't think of that genius idea until 2am when I was getting ready to leave, and I decided 2am was not the appropriate time to learn how to make a bottle of formula.  The milk thing worked out just fine though.  It was messy, but the Anna had food!

Anna and I spent the day wandering between groups of friends, tracking down Tommy and just enjoying the great outdoors. It was balls hot, but we were expecting WAY worse, so all in all, it was a gorgeous day.  the breeze on the canal made things very bearable.  And the heat kind of made Anna comatose (bonus!)...she was a champ all day long!

After naptime, our first stop was to hang out at the end of the bike course so we could see Tommy coming into T2.  He finished looking strong!!  Then we went to join our friends to hang out on the run course at about mile 0.5.  The run course was 3 loops - each about 8 miles long - so I was able to see Tommy at mile 0.5 and then cross the canal and see him again at about mile 5.

Mile 0.5ish.  Looking strong but says he feels like death.

 Anna and I crossed the canal and caught up with him around mile 5!

Looking good at Mile 5!

That's one good lookin' piece of ace right there.

A daddy and his girl.  She says, "Dad, this triathlon sh1t is hot.  Can we go home now?"

We spent the day wandering between groups of friends...I walked at LEAST 10 miles (if not 13-15), pushing a jogging stroller in flip flops.  The flops were not my smartest decision.  I had a blast seeing friends, watching the race and tracking down Tommy at various points on the course.  I may or may not have cried several times throughout the day - sometimes due to jealousy and sometimes just because I get so overcome by Ironman.  I just love it soooo much!

He loves the horsey dance.

My husband is hot.

We saw Tommy for the last time around mile 22 and walked with him for a mile or so.  He was really hurting but was almost done!!  I had realized earlier in the day that there was no way I was going to be able to get close to the finish line with my giant stroller so I jumped ship when we got close to transition and headed down to get his bike and gear bags so I could take them back to the hotel and he wouldn't have to worry about them when he was done.  Unfortunately, at this point, I was kind of done - Anna was chillin' in the Bjorn and my shoulders were hurting, my feet were hurting because I was an idiot and wore flip flops, and I kept picking the wrong side of transition to try to get into.  Pushing that stroller through sh1ttons of people is like trying to fit my post-partum ass in my pre-pregnancy jeans.  Unpleasant for everyone involved.

I ran into an old friend of mine from college, the lovely and wonderful Cayla (who gets her meat for free) and her mom and sister.  They asked if there was anything if they could do for me and offered to get Tommy's bike and gear bags for me.  I didn't realize exactly how tired I was until that moment.  I started crying out of gratitude.  They saved me another quarter mile of walking through transition and then Cayla helped me steer Tommy's bike back to the hotel.  These women pretty much saved my sanity that night.  I seriously had no idea how exhausted I was until they offered to help.  Apparently spectating Ironman with an infant on 3 hours of sleep is less than optimal.  Ha.  I seriously owe them big time.  THANKYOUGUYSSOMUCH.

I got back to the hotel and was planning on taking a quick shower and then packing up the Anna in the bjorn to try to brave the finish line, but Tommy called and said he was done and was heading back so I just packed up the room.

He didn't quite have the race he had hoped for, but he still did amazingly well considering the heat and his training hadn't been optimal at the end.  I am so proud of him for sticking it out and finishing despite not really wanting to.  He is so strong!

The finishers chute of Ironman Texas.  There is really nothing like it.  A.Maze.Ing.

Tommy, you are an Ironman!  

We realized when we got back that his morning clothes bag was not in the gear bags we got from transition so I had to trek back down to the finish line to find that bag...whoever decided not to put all the gear bags in the same place is a dumbass and I hate them.  But whatever.  We got packed up and headed out and finally got home around 11:30PM.  I bathed Anna and put her to bed and finally, after being awake for 24 hours, I crawled into bed around 2...and slept like I had just finished an Ironman.

I am so proud of Tommy for putting in the hours of training required to finish this race.  And not only that, he did it while being an amazing husband becoming a new father.  He is amazing and goes above and beyond in loving and taking care of Anna and I.  We are so lucky to have him.

And now we are all so lucky that it's over.  Haha.  It was a huge stress on all of us the last few months and I think we are all glad that it is finally over.  Tommy can relax, focus on work, us, and some Honey-dos that have been stressing him out...and I get to take advantage of his lack of exercising to focus on my own fitness and my race in August.  :)

Congrats to the most wonderful husband, bestest friend, and loving father in the whole world - you are an Ironman!  Again!