Green socks!

There is nothing cooler than being eco-friendly. My brother-in-law makes fun of Mr KT and I for being "yuppies" and trying to save the planet single-handedly but I guess if you are going to have a super power it may as well be that?

Anyway, I was catching up on some blogs that I had fallen behind reading and I was at Swim Bike Run Live where Jamie had posted a contest for socks! Not just any socks but sweet eco friendly socks made out of 97% recycled plastic bottles! How awesome is that? The contest is a super great idea but either way I am ordering a pair of these. They even have one with dragonflies on them. Heart. Hopefully just by spreading the word, other companies will catch on and realize that many of us are passionate that the products we use and companies we buy from are taking care of the planet. :) Maybe I do sound a little over the top.

Shhh. Don't tell my brother-in-law.

December

Well, E will be 3 months in a week or so. He is growing and healthy and that is a huge blessing. I head back to work Monday which is both good and bad. I will miss E on the days I work but it will be really nice to get back part time.

I have been running and have even managed to work in a trail run or two. :) Sigh. How I missed getting dirty with my Kona-baby on the trails. I have a couple friends who are patiently (not really) trying to talk me into a trail marathon the first weekend in April. As much as I would LOVE to, I am not sure that I can commit the time to the training off road as much as I would like to. I wish, wish, wish but maybe in a few years when E is a little older.

Tree is up, homemade Runza's are made, and baby is napping (sort of). Time to rest for just a few minutes.

A few pics of E just chillin in his giant Timbuk2 "diaper" bag.

Cleared to Run

Happy November (now that it is almost half way over). I am officially 8 weeks status post C-section and birth of my little guy. I was cleared to run 2 weeks ago at my doctor's appointment. The doctor took one look at me and the circles under my eyes and said, "hopefully this will give you a little energy because there is nothing else I can do about the sleep deprivation." Um, thanks?

I have been attempting to ramp up the obligatory 10% but haven't been very good about it.

The last week of October I ran 1 hour and 35 minutes.
Last week I ran 2 hours and 20 minutes.
This week I will have done about 3 hours and 20 minutes.

I haven't had any major issues. (Thank goodness, because after months of not running I think I would have freaked out.) After my first 4 miler, my IT bands were pretty sore so I foam rolled and stretched for a couple days. My incision occasionally tweaks as apparently the dissolvable staples hadn't yet dissolved as of the end of October. My hips and pelvis that were the problem when I was pregnant have been just fine (YAY!). And I'll spare you all the details of the nursing/running issues.

The main thing has been my lack of endurance. It is so nice to be out running and not walking but man, oh man does it "hurt". Good thing that little baby is so cute because I am all sorts of slow right now. The good news is, I am well below my pre-pregnancy weight so at least I'm not fighting that, the bad news is that a lot of that weight was muscle and so I am in the process of building it all back up.

I spend a lot of my running time thinking about what races I'd like to do next year and down the road. (It keeps my mind off of the pain and about how tired I am.) I think this year I am going to consider Trek Up the Tower in February again. That is the 40+ story stair climb. I didn't do it last year as I was about 7 weeks pregnant at the time and the massive increase in heart rate seemed like a bad idea. That one will take some training. I am also going to do a couple of 5Ks to see if I can improve some times. I am going to run the St Patrick's Day 5K with a friend. She wanted to do a 5K in the spring and this one is pretty early so should be a nice motivator for her. The other race I'd like to plan on is the Lincoln Half Marathon on May 1st. That would be 7 1/2 months after E was born and I think that is do-able. I'd like to PR but that might be pushing it. :)

The update on Mr E is that he is making neural connections left and right, up and down, in and out. He is learning new skills every day and is so fun to watch.

He has been "flying" with his dad and granddad, strengthening his neck.


He has found his thumb and loves to have his thumb, fingers or fist in his mouth.


And he is kicking and batting at toys with utter determination.


So, while E is learning all these fun new things, I am getting back out on the road and hoping to hit the trails next week for some hills. Feels so good to be back, in a hurty kind of way.

Baby Steps

Well, apparently after a C-section, you are supposed to wait 6 weeks minimum before working out. As my friend Eric, pointed out, "they practically cut you in half" as I was whining about how long it takes to heal from this. At two weeks post op I was cleared for "brisk walking". Period. That was all. I hope my doctor doesn't blog. Or read triathlon blogs. Or know anyone who might tell on me.

CONFESSION:

I ran 2 minutes on Saturday.

I ran 3 minutes on Sunday.

I am not 6 weeks post op until 10/27/10.

I mean, it's not even really running compared to what I was doing before, right? In the scheme of a 45 minute "brisk walk" it just increased my overall pace minutely, right? I just wondered how it would feel.

I needed it. My brain starts to fall apart if I can't work out. I thought I did pretty well waiting four and a half weeks. The last two of those have not been great what with the hormones, the sleep deprivation and the lack of exercise. I might add that Mr KT has been a saint. He has single-handedly managed the entire household since the middle of September. He is running the dogs, helping with the babe at all hours, trying to keep his nut-job wife from falling apart, and he is going to work.

I haven't run since week 20 of my pregnancy. That was in May, people. MAY! While pregnant, I managed to find other ways to work out, mainly because I hurt so bad that I would end up having to crawl to the bathroom the nights after I ran. For sanity sake, I needed to know that was now over.

During my 5 minutes of running this weekend my incision felt great, just a tad sore on the internal incision and my pelvis felt pretty darn good. The biggest problem, um, let's just say I am going to need the best sports bra I can find. I mean, the mother of all sports bras. Otherwise, I am going to end up with two black eyes and a soaking wet t-shirt less than a mile into each run. (My husband did mention that he would pay to see that.) Lucky for him, around here it will be free unless I can find a solution. OUCH!

I go back to the doctor a week from tomorrow to be cleared to workout. I'm ready to run, lift, ride, swim, anything would be good. I love this little boy but sometimes a mommy just needs to get away for a bit.

Here is E at 4 1/2 weeks after his first few minutes of "running". Check out his sweet ride!

Introducing

Emmett Alexander
6 lbs 15 oz
20 1/2 in long
Born Sept 15th, 2010



Well, our new addition is here. In subsequent posts, I will get back to the training and the triathlon info and probably how it goes with a little one but for today...

I have to admit that I counted my labor as a workout. Is that just wrong or what? But I was exhausted, sore and craving Gatorade afterward so I'd say that counts. The overview is as follows...

My water broke at home at 3:30 in the morning on Wednesday the 15th. We called the doctor and he sent us right in to the E.R. as the baby had been so high at the appointment 12 hours before. I was dilated to 2 and 50% effaced. We were in labor and delivery for the next 14 hours with contractions at least every two minutes for the entire time. I was given 7 doses of pitocin to help increase their strength. (That stuff is awful.) Mr KT and I had in mind that we would try things with no pain meds and see how it went and if it got too bad we would get the epidural. 13 1/2 hours later I was dilated to 3 and 70% effaced. Not enough. The doctor told me I was getting an epidural to see if that would allow things to relax. They tried it. It didn't relax me but the pain was gone and he said I could have a c-section now or wait two hours and have a c-section then. I opted to just do it since it sounded inevitable. They put Mr KT in scrubs and whisked us off to the operating room. 30 minutes later or something like that there was a baby in his arms. He was pink and healthy. The doctor said that he had the cord wrapped around his neck twice and around a shoulder. He also said that he would have had to be 1/2 lb to 3/4 lb smaller for me to have been able to deliver him naturally. Narrow pelvis apparently. So, it seems to have worked out that a c-section was the way to go. If I would have pushed, we would have had serious complications with that cord and it would have been much more emergent. Unfortunately, the anesthesiologist put morphine in my epidural towards the end and it made me sick. I threw up for a couple of hours after the surgery. (Big problem since I had a 6 inch abdominal incision.) Oh my gosh, did that hurt. Do not throw up after abdominal surgery, I repeat, do not throw up after abdominal surgery. And so, I stuck with Motrin every 8 hours for pain because I was a little gun shy about anything stronger. We went home 3 days later and so it begins.



E is a wonderful baby. He is easy to console, content, and laid back (as long as you don't ask him to be naked). Mr KT has been 100% amazing. He has taken over way more than his fair share of duties and we are so lucky to have him. I am on no driving/no lifting restrictions for two weeks but am starting to feel better already. My momma was here to help for 4 days which was a lifesaver. She did all the cooking and laundry and held E as much as she could so that I could start to recover.

Shhhh, don't tell but I already walked around the block. It has been gorgeous here and I had some major cabin fever. Soon enough E will be in the jogger cruising the neighborhoods and the parks and trails. I am excited to get back out. Apparently, I am so excited that in my morphine induced haze, as I was still laying on the operating table being sewn up, I asked the doctors when I could start running again. LOL! I don't remember asking and I don't remember the answer but Mr KT told me they said I shouldn't worry about that yet. Apparently, they don't know me very well.

Hmmm

What a weird change, going from checking splits on my run and planning out routes to cover hours to hoping and praying that my shoe laces don't come untied because breathing and tying them at the same time is just not an option at this point.

Still pregnant... and counting

It is a gorgeous August morning. Not even 75 degrees and the sun is just coming up through the clouds. The humidity is down just a bit and the wind is just a breeze at 3 mph. It has been HOT here for the last couple of weeks. We are talking 100 degrees with a heat index of 115. Not a drop of rain. Painful. I've still been out walking and things but it is hot, hot, hot.

My point about the weather description is that it is a perfect morning for a run. A run that I can't do. UGH. I still have 6 more weeks of pregnancy and then 6ish more weeks of letting things heal up. I am hoping to be out for my first gentle run/walk early or mid November. There are no guarantees and I am trying not to get my hopes up. It is going to be interesting to see how my pelvis and hips feel. All those ligaments have got to tighten up before I can run any distance again.

I can't wait to lace up the running shoes to actually run in. I can't wait to put an infant seat in the jogging stroller. I can't wait to hit a trail and get really dirty! Oh yeah, and having a little one at our house and getting my body back will be pretty great too even if I never get to sleep again.

Swimming and swimming some more

32 weeks. 8 more weeks to go. The baby in there is growing, growing and I am somehow managing to get bigger each week as well. For those of you who have been there, you know the drill... the feeling of a 3-4 lb hand weight sitting in your pelvis, more difficulty tying your shoes than when you were 5, dreaming of the day you can lay on your back or take a deep, full breath in.

The saving grace for cardiovascular fitness has been mainly three-fold; stair-stepper, walking, and swimming. I suppose I have been on my bike a bit but those days are quickly coming to a close.

I was thinking about this as I was coming home from a Master's swim practice this morning. I have had quite a few people tell me about how good it felt to get in the pool when they were pregnant. I am guessing these people weren't trying to get in 3000 yds in an hour but none-the-less I think about what they've said. I get in the pool in the morning and it really doesn't feel that great initially. It's 5:30 am, dark, the water is cold, and I have a hard set waiting for me and then a full day at work. I can't jump in anymore without pain and discomfort so I slide in slowly and then I start swimming. It takes less than 10 yards for the cold to change to cool and refreshing and then about 300 yards for my stomach muscles to start to complain about attempting contraction at not quite maximal stretch. At about 1000 yards I have a permanent side stitch that goes away when I stand up and comes back as soon as I push off the wall on the next flip turn. Yet, I swim 3-4 times per week with as much speed and gusto as I have got. The part that is the most amazing to me though is when I get out. During that hour of submersion and lessened gravity all the blood and fluid that is normally affected by gravity has dispersed. The moment I haul myself up on the side and climb out (I'm holding out on using the ladder. I feel like that is like giving up my athleticism.) I can feel the pressure and the weight and the blood rush down again. It is amazing how I didn't notice while I was swimming how unweighted I was but when I get out the reminder is immediate. I think at the next practice I will have to try and pay more attention to that cause being unweighted is bliss, even if the getting out part sucks.

Lifestyle change, the first of many

Hmmmmm, where to begin. It has been awhile. I am on a current hiatus from racing as my run has been significantly limited by the ligamentous laxity in my joints. Baby was fine with running. Momma was hurting. I did a pretty hard run at about 20 weeks. I did 4 7:45 miles, which was faster than my pre-pregnancy running pace. I felt ok but then ended up having a really sore S.I. joint. I managed to correct it myself several days later lifting a 140 lb kiddo at work (on accident) and felt so much better. I felt so good, in fact, that I went for a run with Mr KT and the dogs the next afternoon. That did not go so well. Sorry if this is T.M.I. but I had what I can only describe as grinding or shearing in the front of my pelvis where the two halves of the pelvis meet. Oh my gosh. No thanks. Ow. I walked home, in pain. By that night I was almost crawling to the bathroom because it hurt to walk. The next day was unbearable at work and I called a physical therapy clinic that sees pregnant women and begging therapist to therapist to be seen over lunch. She was so awesome and got me right in. She realigned everything and gave me some suggestions to keep the alignment. There was some discussion and some exercises that only pregnant women should ever talk about and I left with an ionto patch and feeling somewhat better. The symptoms improved over the next few days and I actually followed her advice. (I know, shock really.) She also told me that it really would be best if I didn't run until after the baby came. It took me a few weeks of crabby to wrap my head around the fact that if I wanted to continue to run now, I wouldn't hurt the baby but I may do enough damage to my own joints that I wouldn't be able to run later. It is essentially run now or run later but probably not both. I choose run later. I can't wait to start again but it will be a while still.

So, I am walking my running routes, doing stairs, riding my bike as tolerated, swimming like a fishy, and waiting for this baby. 11 weeks and counting.

Bike to Work Week

Happy bike to work week everyone.

I have a comment to make today after my bike commute home.

There is only one way bib shorts should ever be worn.

That would be with a jersey OVER them. Yikes.

I don't care if you look like this...


or this...


You still need a shirt or jersey.

This is also not appropriate.


Ugh. Please people. I'm not interested in hurting anyone's feelings, just trying to help some fellow cyclists out.

New Gear

It has been awhile but there is some exciting new gear floating around here at the pttriathlete household.

The first arose because my swimsuits were all beginning to be see-through. Including when I doubled them up! So, I got on-line and ordered a grab bag suit from Kiefer. I like the Axcel style back and so I picked my size from the Flipturns grab bag, female one pieces. It came last Thursday. My husband opened it and was mildly horrified at the color scheme. I have to admit that I was looking forward to seeing just how awful it was. I knew going into it that the grab bag suits are left overs. Come on, though, I mean, you wear them 3-5x/week for 6 months (or less) and they are shot anyway. May as well get one that is expressive. Anywho, it looks like this...



It just so happens that on that same afternoon I had another rotten bike commute home from work. I had been on my bike for all of 3 minutes when I heard a little rattle. I checked my handlebars and stem because that was where the sound seemed to be coming from. Nope, nothing. So I rode on, carefully paying attention to all the feelings and noises. All of a sudden my seat shifted and I immediately thought, "oh crap, my seat post just cracked". I jumped off but nope again. One of the bolts was loose under there though and of course I had switched out my bike bag for my tri bike and had forgotten to put it back on. Suck. No tools. I tried to use my keys but to no avail. The only real option was to ride home standing up. Problem there was two-fold. #1.) I was still wearing shoes with cleats that didn't exactly match my pedals and #2.) I was getting headwind gusts of 40 mph. I am not kidding you. So, I sat back down, on a saddle that was not only sliding further back but tilting up at the nose. Not awesome, in case you were wondering. Oh, and I did manage to drop my chain shifting into a larger chain ring. Don't ask how that happened but I was not a happy commuter as I climbed the last big hill up to my house. I dropped my bike on the ground (derailleur side up), threw my helmet on the ground, marched inside and announced to Mr KT that my bike was a piece of s*#@ and I wasn't riding it anymore. He calmly went outside, picked up the pieces, fixed the malfunctions and packed me up in the car. He took me to the LBS where he helped me pick out new pedals and new sweet mtb shoes that I will also be commuting in. See below...





Yeah. Pretty nice of him. Especially since I was in the middle of a two year old tantrum that lost its momentum after about 5 minutes and that several of the problems were of my own making. Sheesh. And yes, I will commute again on that particular bike.

The last piece of new gear has not actually been purchased yet but it will probably look something like this...



This piece of gear isn't quite as pressing but yep, we are expecting a little one at our house this fall. A big change in my routine and my race schedule for the summer but I suppose it might count as some form of an ultra in it's own way. If Mr KT is interested in racing this season, I will be cheering him on from the sidelines. I have a couple of small, non-competitive "races" lined up but nothing too crazy. I am swimming, biking, running, and weight training, just not at the duration or intensity of before. It really is hard for me to sit the season out but next year I will be back. Mr KT has already promised that I can do some training next spring (probably with the running stroller) and I will be looking forward to it. In the meantime, I plan on trying to enjoy this strange new experience and can't wait to meet the new little babe and get to know him/her.

Back in the Saddle - Ow

Got my first real ride of the summer in yesterday, 31 miles with a friend. I missed my powder blue tri bike. The wind was out of control and it seemed to take us all afternoon but it was good to be pedaling. I have been riding to and from work but somehow that just isn't the same. The road bike I have has really never been comfortable but it is a decent bike to commute on and I don't mind leaving it outside all day. It is also easier to ride up the gigantic hill that I live on than on my mountain bike so I suppose you must pick your poison.

Anywho, felt good to be riding, albeit, slowly.

I have to say though, my sit bones are mighty tender today. Gonna have to get used to that saddle again.

Where is my brain?

Thursday I ran in shorts and sunglasses and 60+ degrees. I bike commuted to work and was fairly comfortable. Well, except that I forgot I had changed out my Look cleats for some Shimano cleats for spinning this winter. Oops, realized when I got on and was headed down the hill and couldn't clip in that my Look pedals were still on my bike. I was already late for work so I just rode with mismatched pedals and cleats and tried to be careful. No standing up! I only had one little incident where I slipped and banged my shin on the pedal. Will make sure to have those cleats changed out before I ride next week.

Look Pedals look something like this...


My cleats look something like this...


Not really compatible.

Friday it snowed and it is still on the ground.

Hee hee. Can't wait to see what tomorrow brings.

Hope it is spring. (And more bike commuting.)

You know you are a triathlete when...

...you show up at the pool for Master's practice at 5:15 am and realize you may have forgotten your swimsuit. You dig around in your swim bag and find an old suit that you usually double up on. There is no time to go home for another suit because the door will be locked when you get back. You decided that instead of missing a practice/workout you will just wear the see-through suit at the expense of your teammates. (Sorry everyone.)

Oops. Here's hoping no one was traumatized this morning.

February

It is still February. I still am in Nebraska. This means that it is still cold, windy, snowy, and icy. I ran with both dogs on Sunday and fell on my face. Well, more correctly, I ended up in sort of the splits. I wasn't hurt, just annoyed. I think I could tolerate the cold, wind and snow if I could lose the ice.

I've been swimming 3 or so mornings a week. It is worth the 5 am wake up and the initial icy shock of the water to swim for an hour and be nice and warm at the end. I have been going to bed before 9:00p and here's a little secret, I like it.

Two more secrets for Nebraska winters:
1. Lots and lots of blankets on the bed at night.

2. Lots and lots of time in front of the space heater.


I guess since it is still snowy and cold and not looking to change anytime soon, I will be getting in a little more xc skiing. Yay.