Ready to Run?

I signed up for a 5K for the first Saturday in April. I really want to run, but I'm not quite ready. I went for a "test run" the other day and it was good mentally, but not great physically. I was surprised that it was my legs that felt the most uncomfortable. All that extra fat is heavy! I'm excited about getting back into running, but my body feels very fragile. At the same time, I feel stronger in some ways than I've ever felt in my life. I know I still have a ton of work to do physically, but the experience of giving birth has made me mentally strong. I'm now under the belief that I can do anything! (or maybe sleep deprivation has made me delusional! Ha!)

Luke and I also went for a bike ride together while my dad was in town. We had a blast. It was fun to be away from the baby (for a short time) and do something we enjoy.

First Post Baby Bike Ride

Gideon Loves Granddaddy

In case you didn't read my last post, or just forgot, I'm doing 52 weekly challenges for new moms from rookiemoms.com. Here is the list of all of the challenges. Challenge #2 is a reconnaissance mission to find places you can nurse and do diaper changes while out and about. Here are the details for this challenge.

To be fair, I don't go out shopping and running around town very often, so my mission wasn't very extensive. However, I was pretty disappointed in being able to find mom/baby friendly spots. Most often, I've nursed in the backseat of the car instead of out in public. The first place that I fed him in front of other people was at Starbucks. Coffee houses have comfy seats that make breastfeeding doable. The Starbucks we visited did not have a changing table in the bathroom, so I ended up changing his diaper in the car. It's not easy changing a diaper on the slanted seat of the car.

The best place to breastfeed and change a diaper is at church. Most churches have a private room for mothers with comfortable chairs, rockers, a changing table, and even toys, baby swings or bouncer seats. I wish churches would open their doors to moms who are out and about and need a clean, convenient place to stop in and feed their babies. Maybe I just need to ask?

Challenge #2 = Complete

Here are some pics of Gideon with his mommy on a beautiful day outside and with his daddy at Grandma Ruth's funeral in Kentucky.

Gideon enjoying the springtime weather

Looking sharp for Grandma Ruth's funeral

What are the best spots you have found for feeding the babies and diaper changes while out in the world?

Establish My Steps

One of the reasons I started this blog was to track and share my progress with training for a marathon. It is a goal I have that will hopefully be achieved someday. My progress towards a marathon has been up and down for several years now. This hasn't been something I could set as a goal, work towards, and achieve. Instead, it has been like many other things in my life, something I have planned for, but then the steps to achieve it have been full of twists and turns, often going in the opposite direction! 

My current mantra verse has been Proverbs 16:9. 

I don't know that this verse is teaching that plans are necessarily bad. Perhaps planning is helpful in many ways, preparing us for what is ahead and knowing what we need to get a job completed. However, as much as I make plans, it is the Lord who carries them out (or doesn't) in establishing the path I will take. I'm finding that path does not often lead in the direction I think it will go. More often, it is a winding path with unexpected stops along the way. The sooner I learn to give up control, the easier it will be to walk the path ahead of me. 

My current path involves a whole lot of walking! I've been trying to walk 1-2 miles everyday. Here are some pics: 

My goal for a 5K turned into participating in the Gator Gallop, a 2 mile run/walk in Gainesville, Florida. We drove down last week to South GA and Luke went with my dad, brother, and all of our nephews to hear Lou Holtz speak at a benefit dinner for my old high school. Dad and Luke also got to see the Gators play at The Swamp, while I spent time with sweet friends in Gainesville.

Last Road Trip of the Pregnancy

The snazzy boys before the benefit dinner

Getting ready to walk

Gator Gallop

Dad and Luke ready to enter The Swamp

Luke showing off the Gator Gallop t-shirt

The third trimester is off to a great start. I'm moving slow, but still moving! We have a few weeks to go before we have another ultrasound to check on the complication and see if it has cleared up. We greatly appreciate your prayers!! 

We are taking childbirth classes and preparing to meet our little one. I've found that nesting does not just mean getting ready for the baby by doing "baby prep" type things (setting up the nursery, etc.) but also means cleaning out the entire house of all the junk we don't need. It feels like I couldn't possibly bring home a baby before I have cleared out the coat closet of all the things we don't use in there. I have cleaned out every room and cabinet in our house and rearranged my office a couple of times. Now that those things are finished, I might actually set up the nursery. 👶

God has blessed us so abundantly and we are trusting in him to establish our steps. As we get closer to Baby Baine's arrival I am reminding myself daily to give up my control and simply walk the path that is placed in front of me. 

Parents: What kinds of things did you do to prepare for your baby's arrival?

 

Unexpected Bumps in the Road

We received some really great and exciting news at our mid-pregnancy ultrasound. We also received some not so good news that I hope you will pray through along with us.

First the good news...

It's a BOY!

The ultrasound revealed a healthy baby BOY! Everything was accounted for and developing normally. We are THRILLED!!

The bad news is that the ultrasound also indicated a complication. I'm upset and nervous, but we are also so excited and relieved that things are developing normally for our baby boy. Due to this complication, I've been restricted from running for the rest of the pregnancy. Boo!!

We would be so grateful if you would pray with us that this complication will resolve itself, which is a possibility. They will do another ultrasound around 32 weeks and we are praying and hopeful that things will change.

In the meantime, I'm still encouraged to exercise and I've been walking in the mornings or evenings around the neighborhood. I'm pleasantly surprised at how much I'm enjoying it. I love to run, but as I get bigger and slower, walking is much easier and still a great workout!

22 weeks and growing!

I'm still planning to sign up for a 5K, but I will be walking it instead of running. Maybe I can walk a 45 minute 5K? Just this week I came across an article discussing why walking is better for you than running. I still intend to pick up running again post-pregnancy, but it is encouraging to read all of the great benefits of walking since that is what I'm stuck with for now! For me, walking relieves pain I've been feeling in my back, relieves stress and makes me feel happier, and it provides all the benefits of cardio exercise that are important for everyone.

Cody celebrating his little brother!

We are so blessed to have so many people share in our excitement and anticipation during our pregnancy. I also hope you will join with us and pray through the complication we are experiencing as well. I am a firm believer in the power of prayer, but I often struggle with my prayer life. There are times when prayer feels like the most natural thing, and other times when I feel like my prayers are forced. Recently someone reminded me that one of the greatest gifts we can give others is to pray for them. We have this amazing offering that we can share and use anytime we want or need it.

Old Wives Tales

Pink and Blue for our Gender Reveal Party

Have you come across a great book or study on prayer? Please share in the comments below!

Running with a Bump

Running isn't very easy when you're pregnant. During the first trimester I felt too nauseous and tired to run, but since I've hit the second trimester my nausea has completely gone away for the first time in several years! I have finally hit the halfway mark in this pregnancy and that growing baby bump is heavy, especially when I run! I know I will only get bigger from here, but I feel huge already.

Babymoon at Dauphin Island

My goal is a 5K in the second trimester. I'd like to leave it at that, but I really want to finish it with a 10 minute/mile pace or faster. Fortunately there are lots of 5K races coming up to choose from.

There is one in Franklin, TN, also a 10K, on Labor Day:
 

Franklin Classic

The Go Commando Half Marathon is October 21st. There is also a 5K. I'll be in my 3rd trimester then so might not be doable:

Go Commando

Things I'm learning about running when you're pregnant:

 -It's safe to do. My midwife gave the green light on pretty much any exercise, as long as I feel comfortable doing it. Beginning in the second trimester you should avoid anything you're at risk for falling. That means no bike rides, but I actually didn't find that comfortable in my first trimester, maybe being hunched over? Plus I got tired way too quickly. Luke and I went for a ride and I was done after 4 miles!

-It's not the time to push yourself. A 10 minute/mile pace feels painfully slow to me, but it's better than nothing! If I start getting out of breath it just doesn't feel good, so I'm running at a slow and easy pace where I can easily talk and not feel winded.

-It's harder, but it feels so good! Each step feels like I'm lugging a set of weights around with me, and I get tired more quickly, but running gives me more energy during the day, helps me clear my head, relieves stress, and helps loosen up some aches and pains.

 -It's nice to have a goal. I like having something to focus on and know what my body is able to do. Gaining weight is actually kind of exciting for me because it's fun to think about the little one growing inside me! However, if I just sat around and ate all day I would feel like a fat cow. It's nice to get up and accomplish something.

Team RWB Monday Running Group

Luke has been running with the RWB group at Ft. Campbell. He also joins them on bike rides. I'm just learning about RWB, but they are an awesome group. According to their website their mission is to "enrich the lives of America's veterans by connecting them to their community through physical and social activity." They have several different running, biking, and other exercise meet ups throughout the week. They also participate in all kinds of volunteer activities in the community.

Yesterday we did 100s, which were done at the track to work on speed. You sprint 100 meters, then walk/slow jog 100 meters, then repeat. We did 16 reps which is about 1 mile sprinting and 1 mile walk/jogging. I couldn't sprint (not pushing myself that hard!) but I found this workout perfect for being pregnant. I would jog 100 meters and then walk 100 meters. Add the 1/2 mile warm up and cool down and we ended up doing 3 miles total. That felt great! I had a different goal in mind than speed work, but it was a routine that worked really well. It reminds me of Tabata Training, which I've always enjoyed. Here is a good website explaining Tabata, but basically it is pushing yourself hard for a certain amount of time and then resting, then repeating. You are able to workout longer because of the rest breaks in between, but your body still achieves the same benefits.

Anyone want to do a 10 minute pace 5K in September?? Let me know if there is a good one you know about and let's sign up!

A different kind of marathon

Looks like I won't be running the type of marathon I thought I would anytime soon. Instead, I have a different kind of 9 month marathon ahead of me (6 months at this point). 

Much to our surprise, we are having a baby and we couldn't be more excited! 

Our little family in Denver, CO

Here were my first thoughts on finding out I was pregnant:

"Is that right? Let me check the instructions on the box again. Does it really have two lines??"

"YAY!" Along with tears of JOY!

"Oh man, what have we gotten ourselves into? There's really no turning back now."

The above thoughts are pretty much exactly what I was thinking those first few moments we found out I was pregnant. The main overwhelming emotion was excitement, anxiety, thinking, "it's about time!", and some fear. The first night, I lay in bed for hours unable to fall asleep. I was excited, but really, really scared. My fear wasn't about labor or parenting or the enormity of having a child (I'm sure those fears will come at some point!). Instead, I was afraid it wasn't real or if it was, it wouldn't be for long. I was terrified to wake up and not be pregnant anymore. One of the risks with endometriosis is miscarriage and that first night I could not stop thinking about the possibility of it. Finally, I remembered to turn my thoughts to God and pray (why did it take me until 1:30am to do this?). I don't remember thinking about anything after that, but finally fell asleep.

Everybody loves a baby bump progression, so here we are with barely a bump to see:

4 weeks

One of the positive things about waiting for 3 years to become pregnant is you have a lot of time to do research. I have three books on pregnancy, one that I've already read the first part of, we've interviewed providers (that seems really ridiculous now, but hey, it's already done!), I have about 30 bookmarked pages of lists of things you should do while pregnant, what you should eat, things to register for, everything you wanted to know about breastfeeding and cloth diapers, and a million other topics no one cares about when you aren't pregnant. The first year or so that we tried to get pregnant I researched like a mad woman. This made me pretty depressed the second year and I had to put it all out of sight, but now I'm feeling pretty ahead of the game.
 

8 weeks

I think in the back of my mind (very far back) I held on to the possibility of becoming pregnant, but we had pretty much given up on it. We decided against trying fertility treatments and didn't think we would adopt (we are in no way against those things, it just wasn't for us). Even with my doctor telling me there would be a chance of conceiving since my surgery last August was so successful, I still didn't want to get my hopes up. Luke and I prayed for God to show us his plan for our lives. Maybe there were things we would do that others, who had kids, couldn't easily do. Maybe there were positive things about being childless (yes, there are many!). On one level I resigned myself to not having kids and I could even feel joyful in that, but I knew deep down what my true feelings were because they would creep up on me especially when I saw or read something about someone else's struggle with infertility. Amazingly I never felt sad when others announced their pregnancies and I'm glad I could feel genuinely happy for them. The hardest thing though was knowing how much Luke wanted to be a dad and seeing him with our friend's and family's kids and knowing what an awesome dad he would be! 

11 weeks with a tiny bump

We've made it 15 weeks and I'm breathing easier after hearing Baby Baine's heartbeat and seeing him/her on an ultrasound (5 more weeks until we find out the gender!). Everything is healthy so far! This pregnancy and baby are an absolute miracle! I can't believe how many doctors told me that I would never be able to get pregnant, how sure they were that I needed a hysterectomy, and how none of them knew there was a specialist in Atlanta who would look at my chart and confidently tell me that he could remove every bit of the endo and leave all of my organs intact. We are so thankful to have found Dr. Sinervo, at The Center for Endometriosis Care. My concern at that time was to get back my life, to not be in pain and nausea everyday. The icing on the cake is this miracle baby growing inside me. 




 My goal is to run a 5K in my second trimester. I stopped running in the first trimester because I was tired all the time and feeling nauseous (no change there!) but now I'm feeling less nauseous and a little more energy so I'm determined to get back to running. I went for a run yesterday with Luke and my dad, who is in town for the 4th of July. It felt great!

For all my mom friends out there, what kinds of exercises did you like to do when you were pregnant? I'm doing lots of walking, and a little bit of core and yoga. I'm thinking about finding a pool to do some swimming or pool walking.

Thanks for sharing in our excitement! I spent an entire day on Facebook reading congratulations messages from friends after we posted our announcement. Facebook gets a bad rap, but man it made me so happy to read all of those comments!! Here is our post if you missed it:

Ready to Roll January 2018!

Pennyrile State Forest

A couple weekends ago, Luke and I went to one of our favorite places for a few days of rest, relaxation, and lots of hiking. Pennyrile State Forest is about an hour away from our house, just north of Hopkinsville, Kentucky.

Our cabin for the weekend

There is a lodge where you can spend the night, or you can rent a cabin nestled in the woods along the lake. There are plenty of hiking trails right outside the door. There are also mountain bike trails, a swimming pool, beach area at the lake, tennis and basketball courts, a golf course...lots of things to do! 

 

 View of the lake from our cabin

I'll let these pics speak for themselves. Here are some of the hiking trails:

 

Pausing for a rest on Fisherman's Rock

It was a little wet and muddy on the trail

Taking our hike to the golf course when the weather was rainy

Met a friend and saw lots of wildlife, especially on the golf course!

Cody had a blast swimming in the lake

Beautiful Views

It was a fantastic weekend, even with a bit of rain. Not a whole lot of running, but lots of walking and hiking! Luke took his bike out on the road as well. I have been doing a lot more walking than running lately, but we did enjoy the Girls on the Run 5K last Saturday. This was the most encouraging 5K I have participated in, but if you are looking to hit a PR or be really serious, this isn't the 5K for you. We were surrounded by little girls and their running buddies who were attempting to convince them to run instead of walk. Girls would stop to tie their shoe right in front of you, no moving to the side of the road. There were girls sprinting, walking, crying, laughing, but overall just having a great time!

Here are some photo highlights:

Posing in front of the Titans stadium, it was cold!

 

 

 

Start line: lots of pink!

Girls and Running Buddies

Cheering at the finish line

This 5K convinced me that I want to find a local GOTR group and volunteer. It will motivate me to keep running as well. I'm moving pretty slowly these days, but I figure even if I'm walking, at least I'm moving!! I've also been doing lots of yoga and will leave you with a great, short video by FemFusion Fitness. This video would be great to do after a run or just after a stressful day. Enjoy!

Quiet

To my local running friends and my Atlanta running friends: It's time to sign up for the big races of the year! Go Commando in Clarksville, TN and The Peachtree Road Race in Atlanta.
If you aren't a runner, sign up to volunteer. There is nothing like cheering on runners and getting caught up in the excitement of race day!

Go Commando is a Half Marathon and 5K on October 21, 2017. There is also a shadow run where soldiers in Afghanistan will run a course at the same time as the one in Clarksville. Sign up now for the best prices!

The Peachtree Road Race is a 10K held on July 4, 2017 with 60,000 runners through downtown Atlanta. The lottery to enter is held March 15th-22nd. Don't forget to sign up!

My personal running journey is going very slowly right now. I have signed up for The Girls on the Run 5K, May 6, 2017 in Nashville. I'm confident I will get to the point where I can run 3.1 miles (hopefully by May), but right now it is a struggle to run. Since my body seems to want to take it slow, I'm allowing some space and time to walk, sit, and take in everything around me. I don't mind pushing myself, but right now I'm trying to listen to my body and let it tell me what it needs. On that note, let me tell you a little more about myself...

I have a quiet, reserved personality. I don't react quickly. I enjoy being alone.

Clarksville Greenway

I haven't always been this way. When I was a child I would make friends at the grocery store and convince them to come walk around with me. My mom would have to return children back to their parents. My mom always told me that I sang before I learned to talk. My first words were singing, "Jesus Loves Me." Once I started singing, I didn't stop. I wanted my life to be a musical where it could be perfectly natural to break into song at any given point. My brothers gave me the nickname "walkie, talkie" and we had a rule at our house of, "no singing at the dinner table." I was the only one who had trouble following this rule.

Dunbar Cave

Somewhere along my childhood I became an introvert. I didn't even realize this about myself until a friend in high school pointed out that I was a quiet person. I was completely offended and decided I would make an effort to be more outgoing. I viewed quiet as weakness. I encountered others who did as well. Usually these were complete strangers who took me off guard in actually commenting on how quiet I was. "Watch out for this one, she's quiet.", "You really don't say much, do you?", "Why are you so quiet?" Let me just stop here for a moment and point out how insulting it would be to walk up to a complete stranger and say the reverse, "I was sitting here watching you and noticed that you are an incredibly loud person that never shuts up! Why are you so loud?"

Or maybe someone would take that as a compliment???

Clarksville Marina

Our culture admires having something to say. We don't like silence. I've found myself in a conversation barely listening to the other person because I'm worried about my turn. Especially in a group: "Everyone has said something. You haven't said anything. Think of something to say!"

Why am I worried about talking when I don't have something to say?

Rotary Park

Fortunately, I've learned to embrace my quiet. I don't have a lot to say, but when I do say something I've usually given it some thought. I'm better at listening than talking and that helps me observe the world around me. This is helpful as a Behavior Analyst. It's also a blessing to be slow to react. It takes a lot to work me up or bother me. I have infinite amounts of patience for everyone...except my husband. Sorry Luke!

If you aren't sure if you are an introvert or extrovert you can take this quiz from the Quiet Revolution.

I came across the Quiet Revolution after reading a book by Susan Cain called Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking. This book is an excellent explanation of introversion and focuses on the strengths of this personality type. It was encouraging for me to read about the experiences many introverts face such as going out of our way to avoid social situations that terrify us (speaking in groups, making small talk, entering a room full of strangers).

Kirkwood

Running fits in nicely with being an introvert. I love being out on the road or trail, alone with my thoughts. I think things over, plan things out, reflect, listen, and sometimes try not to think about anything at all.

Clarksville Marina

It's not easy to carve out time to slow down and listen to what is going on around us. I've been convinced lately that God wants me to intentionally listen quietly to Him. I want to hear what he has to say to me, not just from his Word, because I do believe he speaks to us that way, but also in a still, small voice that comes from sitting and reflecting. Many times what I hear from God in these moments are things that he has been telling me for days, weeks, or even months and I've been pushing his words aside or trying to avoid them. When I take the time to truly stop and listen, I can't ignore what he has to say any longer.

Liberty Park

A quiet moment of reflection could happen anywhere, but the pictures I've included here are my favorite places in Clarksville to sit for a moment. Take a nice long walk or run and spend time speaking to God, then stop, be still, and listen.