Manic Monday

In the life of a stay at home mom (which I currently am for a few more days), Mondays are pretty much the same as any other day with one excpetion: husbands go back to work. And with them go the extra set of hands.

For all you men out there (which I am sure there are none), an extra set of hands is not all you are. However, for moms, it is a large part of it.

Today, I have a plan to get a lot done. A large portion of which means I have to leave the house. If there is one thing I have learned now that Mr. R. is here, it's that leaving the house is a production. I have to make sure I have bottles, a change of clothes, diapers, pacifier, jacket, all the things I need to actually run my errands, etc. So, to leave the house, it takes me an extra 20 minutes or more. Inevitably, Mr. R. decides he's either hungry or needs to mess his diaper at the exact time it is to leave. For a person that is usually anal-retentively on time or early, I am now perpetually late.

On top of needing to leave the house, which requires me to shower, get dressed, and actually do my hair and make-up (until I lose this extra 20 lbs, the last 2 steps are a necessity to feel normal), I am applying to grad schools. One application is due tomorrow. Working on completing that is important too, especially since I just paid one of the 2 application fees.

The only thing getting me through: I might be able to watch Twilight tonight with the Coastie. Wow, this is what I now look forward to...

So far, I have successfully showered before Mr. R. woke up fully, I had 1 cup of coffee (more to come), ate breakfast, changed a dirty diaper, and actually let the dog out and fed her. I call today a success already!

Hope everyone has a Manic Monday just like me!

Mr. R turns 1 month old

Today is officially Mr. R's 1 month birthday. Yay, Mr.R, you made it this far! Wow, I rhyme. I hate people that rhyme.

Anyway, I am having mixed feelings about this. On one hand, he is growing up. On the other, I don't want him to. I had a wonderful day of cuddling with him. I know he won't stay this small for very long. I just want to enjoy it as long as I can. So far, this month he has lifted his head more and more, slept longer at night, and started making cute little noises. He is a finicky eater and a Mommy-cuddler. Overall, just pretty darn cute!

However, I'd much rather enjoy it while running the local streets. Unfortunately, since that is not possible at the moment, I am enjoying it from my local couch. And walking the local streets.

Also, today was my 2nd time out of the house without Mr. R. I got to go to a bar and have a drink, which is fantastic! Before anyone says anything, I am not breastfeeding, so drinks are allowed. And before I get flogged for this, yes I have a good reason for not breastfeeding.

Things went reasonably well. Mr. R is currently asleep and I am not, which I should be. So, good night all!

Return from a hiatus

I have been MIA, once again. So much for becoming the greatest blog on the web. However, I have an excuse, and a pretty good one at that (I think).

This is my son, Mr. R, on his birth day wearing his party hat. He was 7 lbs 10 oz & 20.5 in long on 1/3/12. He is the reason I have been MIA. Or so I tell myself.

Unfortunately, after a long day of labor & pushing, his journey ended in a c-section. Mr. R just did NOT want to come out. This is proven by him being 8 days late and never descending (hence the c-section). Apparently, my womb really is the greatest place in the world.

So far, however, he has been coping with being in the real world. He's sleeping at night now, which is a big feat. Not so much on sleeping through the night, but that's ok for right now.

So, due to the c-section, I have not yet been cleared for exercise. So, I have this awesome running stroller that I cannot run with yet. I have been walking with it and all I can say about performance so far is that it maneuvers well & has some pretty good shocks.

I plan to write more about my daily adventures with Mr. R, The Coastie, and of course running, when I'm allowed. Hopefully someone out there finds it interesting besides me.

Thursday is Question Day!

I want to start a trend here on Misadventures. Every Thursday I will ask a question to those of you that are my loyal followers. I expect answers...well, not really expect....hope...plead....you get the idea.

Why Thursday, you ask? Because today is Thursday and today is the day I actually had an idea...I would call it an original idea, but I am not sure that it is.

So the question of today is:

If you could be sponsored by 1 company (or whatever/whoever can sponsor people), who would you be sponsored by and why?

My answer would be Nike. If you asked why, I would first have to answer that it's by default. I was organizing my running clothes today and realized that 80% of what I own is Nike. The rest is a hodge-podge of other random companies including what I believe was a Walmart Special...or was it Target? My usual running outfit looks something like this:

Note: Nike hat, shirt & shorts. I am not always so matching...minus the pink hat...that is more like me. I distinctly remember the Disney 2010 half marathon where I actually threw on everything I owned to keep warm. The basis of the outfit was still Nike, coincidentally.

On the more serious side, Nike does support women running. They had the Nike Women's Marathon last year. I couldn't find info about one in 2011, though. So, I'm not sure that there is one...I would assume so, but that cannot be confirmed, nor denied. They have tons of women's running apparel, as I have illustrated and currently own.

But really, when it comes down to it, who can resist the swoosh...either wearing it or saying it. Just say it...go ahead...you know you want too...SWOOSH! HAHA. Makes me laugh every time!

P.S. If you are a Nike rep and would like to sponsor me, please respond...I would be happy to accept any and all free gear you may have. (I would also happily spread the word about women & Nike & running)

I'm Baaaaaacccccckkkkk!

I've been absent. I'm so sorry. Not that there are many of you out there to care. However, I care. I have had some health issues going on that unfortunately are too personal to share with total strangers or the internet world. At this time, I'd rather leave it as "health issues".

My first entrance back into the running world was the 26.2 for Donna Marathon Relay last Sunday. I can honestly say that I ran a total of about 2 miles to train for my 5 mile leg. Oops. Maybe should have done more than that.

It went surprisingly well. I finished my 5 mile leg on the beach in an hour. Which is right on par with past running experiences. So, I was excited about that. Especially with my walking breaks.

My one issue was with the Galloway-ers. I was hunted down and left in the dust by the 5 hour pacer group. Semi demoralizing considering I was tired I couldn't keep up with their running. They would pass me, then I would catch up when they were walking. Then I would get behind and pretty soon...I couldn't catch up anymore. However, they did finish before 5 hours....sneaky people.

But, I did actually see Jeff Galloway finish....pretty cool!

I got the bug again. So, I went out running today. It was overcast at the start, and then started raining. I always thought people that ran in the rain were either crazy or hardcore. I'm now officially leaning towards crazy because if I hadn't been a mile and a half from home when it started, I would have stopped and gone home immediately. Conveniently, it started about 3 steps from my turn-around. No miles lost. Just my common sense.

I plan to train for some up-coming races if I can work them into my work schedule as well as my doctor-y stuff. I will run until he actually states that I need to stop.

Screw Tempo Runs & Chafing

Today was attempt numero dos at an outside Tempo Run. No bueno! (For those that don't speak Spanish, that translates into I suck!)

I was supposed to do a Tempo Run with a 1 mile warm-up & cool-down and 4 miles at 11:30. (For those that are faster than me...don't hate...I'll beat you one day!) However, once again, Tempo = Fartlek for me. I ran my warm-up, which sucked...how can a warm-up suck? I should have just stopped there. But, I'm too dang stubborn to do that and if my calendar says 6 miles, 6 miles is what will be done, one way or another. Unfortunately for me, the latter was true. Mile 2 was great at 11:31, then it was 11:50, 12:30 & 12:17. With some walking at the beginning of miles 3, 4 & 5. The cool-down however was much enjoyed!

So, for me, I say SCREW THE TEMPO RUN! I can't seem to get it. My body is perfectly happy doing this on a treadmill. I guess when you're on a machine and your options are either keep up or fall off the back, you tend to keep up. Besides, the fact that the treadmill kind of pulls you along helps too. Maybe, I can hire someone to attach a rope around my waist and pull me the whole 13.1 miles of my next race! I might keep up then. Or have an attack dog with big fangs follow me...I'd probably keep up then too. Or...I may decide around mile 8 that rabies is more appealing than the chills that come after me getting really hot, along with my vision getting blurry around the edges and the dizziness that I experienced today. (If I remember correctly from nursing school, these were the signs of heat exhaustion, or stroke or something like that...Oops.)

One the run was over and I jumped in the shower to get rid of the running stink, the water burned me. Yay for chafing. It always occurs under my boobs, where the sports bra elastic is. I'm starting to wonder if the reasoning for this is the fact that my bra is about 8 - 10 years old. I recall reading something that says that you should replace sports bras every 6 months. Do you know how much money that would cost? More than I'm willing to pay. I'm also now putting together that my bra may be restricting my breathing...maybe that's the latest excuse for me not being able to complete a Tempo Run.

Either way...Screw Tempo Runs and Screw Chafing. Or, I could just suck it up an call myself a runner...these seem to go with the territory.

Hot Blooded vs Cold Blooded

You know those people that are just naturally cold all the time?

Well...that's me...just ask the Coastie. My feet have the ability to suck all the warmth from his whole body with the touch of one toe in the middle of the night.

My patients would tend to agree as well. Apparently hands like ice can be felt through latex gloves....who knew? However, I have on my side the fact that my hospital keeps the ER at about 60 overnight. (Do they not want our patients to stay too long? Or is it their conniving way to make us stay awake? The world may never know...)

So, with all my reinforcement towards such, I believed myself to be somewhat Cold Blooded. Not in the killer way so much, but in the I need sun and a hot rock to be comfortable way.

(Randomness: the Coastie just made a berry smoothie as thick as a sorbet and gave me a small cup with some whip cream on top! AMAZING!)

Much to my amazement, this self proclaiming Cold Blooded Non-Killer may not really be so Cold Blooded. How did I come to this conclusion, you ask? Tonight's run. It's about 70 degrees out. Not humid. What most would consider perfect running weather. So why on an easy 2 mile run can I get so freaking hot? And not sexy hot either. Red faced, look like I'm going to pass out, call the ambulance now, hot. Lovely...

I leave you with this question, then: Can I be both a Cold Blooded Non-Killer & Not Sexy Hot Blooded at the same time?