Well, it’s official. On Thursday, I registered for the Leaf Peeper’s Half Marathon that takes place less than five minutes from my house. Race Day is October 4th, which means after a long hiatus from running (pregnancy, childbirth, and those pesky post-baby months) I am primed to start back running. Although I have run several times since my son can now sit in the jogger, I haven’t really incorporated it back into my life on a full-time basis. So, I did what I always do — sign up for something that forces me to bring it back. Now, my friend and I have many other names for this race that aren’t appropriate to share in public, but truth be told it is a killer. First off, it is an out and back. Out and back races are just horrible. You never truly know how much farther you have to go and then you have to go back and do it all again. Next, if you aren’t fast then it is a lonely race. After a certain point, you don’t see any other racers except for those around you — well, if there are any around you. The rush of racers that pass you at one point disappear never to be seen again except lingering around the Gatorade and Ben and Jerry’s ice cream tables. Now, I am not a slouch when it comes to running — once I ran a mile in less than nine minutes (okay, 8 minutes and 54 seconds, but still it was less than nine), but consistently I run ten minute miles which aren’t bad I think except when watching races like the Boston Marathon or see my students’ scores for the cross country race they did in less than twenty minutes, but still I am holding my own. In order to guarantee that I don’t have a lonely race again I need to kick up my training to go just a little faster than usual. My husband has given me a Nike Sensor so I can measure my rate and mileage and all, but I am almost nervous to see it in action. I am a fan of the guesstimation of things (it took me about thirty minutes to run three miles) with actual data I might find that I am slower than I thought. Next, I am nervous about injury. You can’t go tweaking your back when you need to carry a 24 pound baby around. Plus, my joints are still a little loose because of breastfeeding so I have to be extra careful and actually stretch after tightening my muscles with running. In addition, I need to make sure I eat well and more than I think because I am burning calories both with nursing and running. So many things to remember. I remember when I could just walk out the door run around the block and come back to have a dinner of pizza. Those days are gone. My training starts a week from Sunday which as luck (or fate or something) would have it is my 33rd birthday. I wonder if it is like New Year’s — whatever you do on that day you do for the rest of the year. I hope so because I’d like to say that my 33rd year of life was spent fit and happy!
Tag Archives: Breastfeeding
My First Hickey
In my whole lifetime, I have never had a hickey until now. In my opinion, they are gross. They are a way of saying this person owns me. Not for me. So now, you are wondering how did I let that happen. Yesterday, my son and I were at babywearing group. I was feeding Duffer while talking with another mother about using my wrap. I looked away for what seemed like moments and when I looked back my son was smiling at me. This is the first time my son has showed any emotion while feeding. Usually, he is just focused on the food. However, this time around he was enjoying smiling and cooing at me. Then I saw it, my first hickey. He must have moved while I was talking and left a little love bite. I guess he was just letting folks know that he is mine.
The First Rule of Fight Club…
is not to talk about it. My husband and I believe this same sentiment applies to life with a baby. When you look over and the baby who moments earlier was screaming at the top of his lungs is now curled into the nook of your arm asleep with an expression that says I am the cutest — you don’t talk about it. Once you say things like “he slept in the co-sleeper for three hours straight” or “he took a bottle no problem from the lactation consultant” you know you are in trouble. You are in trouble because you broke the golden rule. Today, my son and I had a visit from the lactation consultant to help us learn how to use the pump in preparation for me returning to work at the end of the month. First off, my son, who is normally happy as a clam with visitors, started screaming because Sammy the dog whacked him with his tail. The lactation consultant did a great job finding this new position that my son loves because it help him work out gas — which he has a lot of! During the visit, we learned the fine art of pumping and at the end we were to practice giving a bottle. Of course, my son takes the bottle with minimal prompting from the lactation consultant (which is good considering that is her job), but now flash forward to the email I sent my husband raving about how our son is genius and I can’t wait until he gives the bottle that evening. I would tell you how the story ends, but as you know I broke the first rule so you can fill in the details.
