What I Did Not Eat Wednesday

Frozen turnips.  Mmmmmmmm....

I guess we're going to have to call someone to look at the fridge.

Variations on a theme

I remember way back in high school English class learning about the difference between "excited" and "anxious".  Even though the words are often used interchangeably, they have different meanings.  You are excited if you are anticipating something good and anxious if you are anticipating something bad.  Children are excited about Christmas; adults are anxious.  However, even though they seem almost opposite, it's possible (common, even?) to feel both emotions about the same future event.  

Last week I wrote about how I was worried about getting back into shape after I have the baby and wondering if I'd ever run competitively (with myself and the under 8 and over 80 set) again.  This week I'm going to embrace all the fall running/racing excitement and write about my dream running/racing plans for next year.  Even if it's (too) ambitious, there's nothing quite like mapping out a training plan or racing season.  It's like a blank canvas or empty notebook - so much possibility unmarred by reality.

Anyway... we'll assume for the sake of argument that the baby is born at the very end of December and that I get cleared to start exercising again a month later at the end of January and that I'm probably not going to do any more running (and I use the term loosely at this point) before the baby is born.  

Even though it would mean I'd only have 6 weeks to "train", I'm inclined to sign up for the Shamrock Shuffle 5k next March.  

[source]

Of course I have plenty of time to change my mind if it became obvious that was a terrible plan, but I'm slightly paranoid that I'm going to stop running now and just never start again after the baby is born unless I have some external motivation.  I certainly plan to keep walking at least a 5k several times a week up until the baby is born, so if nothing else I could walk the thing and have a very easy "baseline" to use to mark improvement.

The other option would be to wait and do Crazy Legs at the end of April.  That would give me about 3 months to train, which is certainly more realistic as far as actually getting back into some semblance of shape, but there are two reasons I'm not crazy about this race.  1. I've missed two Crazy Legs runs in the past because of travel for work, and I might go to that same conference again this year and 2. The weather is notoriously horrible on the day of Crazy Legs.  Like cold and/or monsoon-level rains.  Other than last year, when it was super hot, the weather for the Shamrock Shuffle is usually very nice.  

That takes care of the spring.  While there are races here throughout the summer, fall is where it's really at.  It's a little (maybe more than a little) ambitious, but I'd like to plan to do the Madison Mini Marathon again next August (which is still technically summer) as my first "real" race post baby.  It's a great race and course, but it is a half marathon at 8 months post-partum...  And I haven't run more than 5 miles since I became pregnant.  But on the other hand, I think holding out a tough but attainable goal is more motivating than frustrating.  I'm sure I won't PR, but at least it'll give me a reason to get my mileage back up.

The other two races I'd like to do are the Haunted Hustle half marathon in October and the Berbee Derby 10k in November.  So that's 4 races in a year - one to get me motivated to run again and three spread through the fall to work on my actual fitness.  Seems reasonable (says the woman who doesn't actually have a baby yet).  And I think they are genuinely the highlights of racing in the area.  I've run 3 Shamrock Shuffles and 4 Berbee Derbys and am truly sad that I had to miss both this year.  I've only done the Mini once and the Haunted Hustle once, but I thought they were both great events.  

Sooooo... there you go.  That's the excitement side of my feelings about running again next year.  

Congrats to everyone who ran Chicago/Twin Cities last week and good luck to those who are gearing up for the Haunted Hustle, New York, etc. later this fall!          

Running tab

As much as I want to show you lots of pictures from our Extreme Makeover: Home Edition weekend, there are still a few things that need to be finished up before the big reveal.  Plus my parents gave us a glider for the nursery which should arrive on Wednesday.  Once everything is assembled and displayed, I'll show pictures!

No official post today, but I finally finished and published the "Running" page for the blog.  Check it out!

29 weeks

This is going to be a short update because we are about to leave on our Ikea-venture.

Perfect for fall, the fruit/vegetable of the week is acorn squash:

[source]

The baby has been very active this week - tons of kicks and punches but also big movements that feel like someone turning over in bed.  Part of this is because the baby is starting to get cramped in there and part is because I think he *might* have turned head down this week.  I've started to feel a lot more movement on both the side and top of my stomach rather than just at the bottom.  But who knows.  There's a lot of twitching going on down there, too.  Every week he becomes less tolerant of bad posture when I sit.

The best thing about this week is that- for whatever reason (maybe because turned upside down???) - I've had MUCH less trouble with indigestion.  Rather than munching antacids morning noon and all night, I haven't had to take any in several days.  I guess I can't expect that to stay for long since he's only going to get bigger (but not too much longer...) and everything will continue to get smushed up until he's born.

Well... it's time to head out.  Stay tuned for the future of the nursery.  Thanks for all the furniture advice/ suggestions.

Running Pop Quiz

From the Hungry Runner Girl:

1. FUEL: Shot Bloks, GU, Energy Chews, Candy or Other?

PowerBar Gel Vanilla or Raspberry Cream flavors.  I like that these have thinner consistency than other gels (which are more like eating toothpaste) and that you don't actually have to chew the contents.  I'm always paranoid I'm going to choke on energy chews or candy.  

  

2. Race Length: 5k, 10k, 1/2 Marathon, Marathon, Ultra or Other?

10ks - 1/2 marathons are my favorite.  As much as I like the idea of running marathons, I've never actually enjoyed training for or racing them that much.  I haven't done that many 5ks, but maybe next year.

3. Workout Bottoms: Skirts, Running Shorts, Capris, Pants or Other?

All of the above (at different times).  Most of the (non-pregnant) time I wear Nike Tempo Track shorts, but I have a skirt for when it's really humid or raining, capris for when its a little cold, and tights and pants (which I have been known to wear at the same time) for when it's really cold.

Wear all the clothes!

4. Sports Drink: Gatorade, Powerade, Cytomax, you stick to water when you run or Other?

When it's super hot, I like Gatorade after I run.  I only carry water with me when I go because I don't want my Camelbak to taste like grape.

5. Running Temperatures: HEAT or COLD?

Neither, but cold I suppose.

To a point.

Not running weather.

6. Running Shoe Brands: Suacony, Mizuno, Nike, Brooks, Asics or Other?

Brooks all the way.

7. Pre-race meal: Oatmeal, Bagel, Banana, Eggs, Cereal or Other?

Oatmeal + berries + almond butter is always a winner.

8. Rest Days: 1x per week, 2x per week, never ever ever or Other?

Usually 1x per week.

9. Music: Have to have it or go without it?

I usually listen to music on long runs but never in races.  I always feel paranoid that I'm going to miss something.

10. #1 reason for running: stress-relief, endorphins, you love to race, so you can eat all the cupcakes you want, weight-loss, love running for social reasons or Other?

All of the above.  Just replace "cupcakes" with "ice cream".

If you're a runner, reply with your own answers or take the quiz on your blog.

Ikea Excitement

Thanks to everyone for the encouraging words about getting back into shape and finding balance after the baby is born.  I agree that factoring in an hour to work out every morning is probably not realistic, and I need to remind myself that a 1/2 hour or so most days a week is a great amount of exercise for good health and, while I won't be running any marathons, is certainly enough to train for some 5ks if I want to race.

On to a much more fun topic... we're two days away from our long-awaited trip to Ikea to buy baby furniture.


View Larger Map

In some ways it feels wrong to drive so far you need an extra large Google map to show your trip just to go to a furniture store, but hey, it's Ikea!  And the truth is, we have shopped around in town, and we haven't found any baby furniture we like as much as what we've seen online at Ikea for the same price.  Yeah,  you have to assemble it yourself, but everybody knows (or should know) that I am terrible at things that involve spatial reasoning (ie putting things together) and am planning to hide keep myself busy during that process.

Right now we're for sure planning on buying this Sundvik crib that can convert into a toddler bed:

And the Hemnes dresser (not the Sniglar, sorry) to use as a changing table:

I'm not sure if/what textiles we'll buy, but they do have some super cute stuff:

Car playmat/ rug

And look at the toys!  Only $8!  Anyone else want to meet us at Ikea?  I think we might need a third car!

If we make it out of the baby section before closing time (debatable), we're also considering are a futon or sofa bed to go in the nursery.  The problem is that futons tend to be ugly (Ikea futons being more attractive than others we've seen locally) but in our price range and sofa beds are more attractive but also much more expensive.  We could potentially get a twin bed just to have something for me to sleep on in the early days, but that's not very useful for guests (don't worry, guests, we would move the baby to our room).  I can see us going either way on this one (and if we don't buy one, that means more room for toys!)

The other thing we need is a computer desk since our kitchen table has finally been repatriated to the kitchen (along with... unfortunately... the computer).  Like the futon, the problem with cheap desks is that they look really cheap and crappy and decent desks are expensive.  Buying a small table to use as a desk is an option, but with the way we have the living room/"office" arranged, we need some kind of storage for computer stuff.

I'll update on Saturday with what we actually buy.  There will definitely be baby furniture, but we'll see how it goes with the desk and bed.  Or if we return to Madison with a car full of toys.

The Subconscious Mind

What I've lacked in the ability to sleep - or at least stay asleep - while I've been pregnant, I've more than made up for in crazy (usually scary) dreams.  Although there's no scientific consensus on why we dream - some theories are that dreams allow us to act on unconscious desires, they are the result of different areas of our brains activating while we are asleep, they help us process events from our day or sensations we experience while we are asleep -  mine tend to fall into two categories: 1. totally crazy and kind of fun and 2. fairly realistic and scary.  Lately realistic and scary has won out over "Well, I could fly... and then there was this unicorn, and but it didn't really look like unicorn, I just knew it was" kind.

They've ranged from the mundane but still stress-inducing:

• I went to a meeting on the wrong night
• My parents were in crisis but I couldn't do anything about it because I was too far away

To the weird:

• I was in the UW marching band and my boss was the band director and I had NO IDEA what I was supposed to be doing

To the truly frightening:

• Going to downstairs to the garage to find out that someone had broken in the apartment and set our car on fire during the middle of the night (somehow we didn't notice this while it was actually going on)  and being unable to lock the door from the garage to the apartment, knowing that whoever torched the car was planning to come back the next night to murder us.

Although my dream last night was short, it was disturbing enough that it has all previous zany/scary dreams in the last 6 months beat:

• The baby was moving around a lot, and I looked down at my stomach to watch all the little twitches and kicks.  At one point, he pushed up against me hard enough that I could see a clear outline of his foot and instead of a cute baby foot, it looked like a duck's foot.  Suddenly, the skin on my abdomen because translucent (like a fish bowl), and I could see the baby swimming around inside me, and HE HAD WEBBED FEET AND HANDS  like a tiny Gollum.  Dream over.  

As scary as it was in the moment, fortunately it wasn't one of those dreams you spend 5 minutes after waking trying to figure out if it was real or not.  We have concrete proof that the baby is in fact human with normal human hands and feet:

Whew.

I don't put any stock in dream interpretation, but I wouldn't even know where to start if I were going to try to look up the meaning of that one...

Had any funny/strange/scary dreams lately?