It's almost been a year. . .

Since our little one came into the world, that is. Lena is such a joy! Her dad was trying to snap a picture of her sitting on our bed, but, she was facinated by the camera & crawled toward him to investigate.

I don't want to be one of those parents whose children consume their lives, but, it's hard not to be when they're so small. My training has taken a backseat. As a result, I'm not as fast as I could be. But, my usual ITB injury hasn't happened since my DNF at the Blues this year. It's nice to be able to run, pain free! \o/

I had been promising to post pictures of our little girl for a while. Sorry I've been delinquent. I only sent pics twice to out town friends & family *blush*.

I'll miss this Saturday's run. Y'all be safe & pain free! :)

Ouch, ouch

I had a great 5 mile run last Monday. Was looking for another great 5 mile run Thursday until that pesky left knee started giving me fits at about 2.5 miles. I always do a minimum of 3.1 miles, so that's what I did, since the pain was getting more intense. When I got home, I placed a bag of mixed vegetables on it to ease the pain for about 20 mins. The pain has dulled, but I can still feel it. Thought I would do the 5 mile Turkey Trot on Thursday, but am feeling unsure if my knee will hold up. I am staying off it & stretching. At least my right ITB issues are virtually over! :)

I missed last Saturday's run because I was taking the Praxis II. It went better than I expected, but I never studied or read anything about Confuscius, Erik Erickson, or Karl Marx which was what 3 of the questions were about (do elementary age students learn this stuff??). Also, they had some classroom management questions & I was never an education major or minor. Was thankful there were no essay questions & grammar. It was mostly reading comprehension (my strength) and mathematics.

Will was out of town on a youth camping trip, so Lena got to stay with my parents while I took the exam. I took it at MC & my folks don't live too far from there. She spends more time with Will's parents because we live less than a mile from each other. My dad wanted her to stay over night, but with the recent arrival of my nephew Nathan James, aka Peanut, there would be 2 babies in the house wanting a late night/early morning feeding. My dad has a fondness for babies; it's cute to watch him with Lena. He adores her.

Happy Thanksgiving & Happy Training Everyone! :)

Getting Back Into The Groove

For the first time in weeks, I managed to get 2 training runs in this week. Monday, I ran 5 miles & was pretty slow because it was rather warm & I wasn't properly hydrated. Thursday was better; I only did 3.1 miles, but I was faster. Will has something to do nearly every night each week, so yoga is going to be out until I can figure out evening childcare. *sigh*

Lena is growing like a weed. She's starting to get chubby. I'm sure she weighs 10 lbs now, if not she's pretty close to it. She wakes up about every 2.5 to 4 hours for a feeding & diaper change. It's not difficult getting her to go to sleep. What's difficult is getting her to burp. She hates taking a break from feeding to burp. But, once she does, she burps like a grown man. Once she burped so loud I wondered if she'd displaced her spleen. Even with her small size she manages to make me laugh. I taught her a little "peek a boo" game where we both pretend to go to sleep. She's pretty good at it and she smiles really big & coos when she manages to outsmart me. That's when I laugh. As you can tell from the picture, she's a daddy's girl. Will loves taking her just about every where he goes. And, she likes cuddling with him during nap time.

Hope to see y'all tomorrow at Fleet Feet. :)

Juggling Parenthood & Marathoning

How do y'all do it?? When Lena-boo wakes up at 2-3 am for a feeding, I am DRAINED! I haven't run in weeks. I thought I would try the half marathon this weekend, but I've been skipping meals (also not hydrating) because I've been so busy tending to her & I went back to work in the afternoons. So hard trying to establish a routine right now!

Maybe I'll see you all next weekend. Happy training everyone!

Meet Lena Claire

Well, here she is. All 7 lbs of her. She's in the arms of my mom, Grandma Clara, which is where part of her name comes from (the first part comes from her grand & great grandmothers). She's a very sweet, charming, attentive baby. She's got Dad wrapped around her little finger. And, Mom calls everyday (when she's not over here) to see what she's up to. I've already started telling her about the finer points of running; about stretching, hydration, etc. Of course, she's not quite getting it all; but she did look very attentive for a 2 week old. :) I know that having a baby changes everything; I had NO idea how much. Right now, our lives revolve around her. Soon, I'll have to head back to work & start training again. Already, I'm hating the thought of leaving her. Our moms & my sister have graciously offered their sitting services. I'm thinking about dropping to part time or working from home so I won't be away from her so much since she's so young. Looks like teaching may have to be on the backburner for a bit since my current job may offer a little more flexibility. But, we'll see.

I checked some of y'all's progress on the site. It was a scorcher, but, it wasn't as hot as it gets here. I was shocked & saddened to learn a runner from Midland, MI died because of the heat. Guess we should never, ever underestimate the heat. I hope you all made it OK. Maybe I'll be at yoga on Wednesday. :)

A Change in Plans

Some time ago, Matt had blogged about having a game plan for life (or something to that effect). Some of us reminded that it's OK to plan, but sometimes, God has other plans and HE is in control.

As it turns out, I will not be going to Chicago. Instead, I will be caring for our infant daughter! :) It's so amazing that she's coming into our lives, only days away from the Chicago Marathon. We are so very happy to be given the opportunity to become parents. We've prayed for years and it's FINALLY coming to pass! Still, a part of me is sad that I'm not going to be with you guys.

I've been nesting like crazy; Will has been laughing at me. This is our last night as a family of two! Thanks so much for your prayers and well wishes. It means a lot to us. :)

Delinquent Blogger

Been a little busy lately. Still trying to get ready for Chicago. Will's been looking at the marathon website and picking restaurants & using Mapquest. We are driving to Chicago & then after the marathon, we're headed to Michigan to visit family. So, I'll be gone a little over a week. I've been trying to get things together at work so the continuity of workflow will continue in my absence--keep the calls to a minimum.

When I first decided to do MM, I was a little hesitant because Will & I have been next up on an adoption waiting list for a while. I jokingly told him we'll probably be taking a kid along with us to Chicago. It turns out our SW called us and wants us to come into the office. My mother in law graciously offered to care for our child while we're away, but I want our child to come with us. However, this is jumping the gun a little. She just wants to see us; she didn't mention bringing the carseat. Still, I can dream, can't I?? :) Speaking of babies, my brother will be bringing the family down 2 weeks after the marathon; so I will finally get to meet Alexa J. And, my sister is waddling. She's due in late November and looks bigger than she did when she was pregnant with my first nephew.

I've been pretty healthy as of late. Nothing hurts, no headaches. Today's run was pretty good except I didn't stretch as well as I should have and the ITB started a mini rebellion at about 7.5 miles. When will I ever learn???

Our next run is in Chicago!!!!! :) See you then!!