Willow's 45 minute adventure

A new record of 2.5 miles in 45 minutes! What? That’s not impressive? Well it is for Willow. I’ve been warned by vets, trainers and breeders not to run my little lab until she’s 18 months. If she has hip displaysia, then it will only exacerbate the condition. So I’ve been very cautious about the length and intensity of activity.
This week we’ve been on several walks, but yesterday was by far the best. After 20 minutes I decided to try out some intervals. I haven’t worked on running with her much, so I usually try to do it at the end of our walks, when she’s good and tired and doesn’t feel like mouthing her leash and darting off after squirrels. The first interval was slow and calm. I found that I was giving her little correction and plenty of praise for following directions. By the third interval she had the hang of it, even though she needed a little encouragement to pick up the speed.
We faced the real test at the end of our walk. My neighbor’s children visit every so often and they bring Mikey, their beautiful golden lab. He’s never on leash but responds to all their commands. My concern wasn’t focused on Mikey dashing up to us for a visit, it was Willow’s inability to greet another dog calmly. I didn’t want to ruin the first 44 minutes of our work. I just kept talking to her to keep her attention. I even had a conversation with the neighbors while Willow calmly (or perhaps because she expended all her energy) stayed by my side. Mikey stayed in their yard, and there was no barking. SUCCESS.
I learned so much from Willow in those 45 minutes. I learned what she could handle, and that I need to show I trust her more. And the biggest discovery was that having a running buddy made me work harder. I’ve been afraid to run since I found out I was pregnant, but having my buddy with me to push and work with actually motivated me to do better. I think I’ll give her the night off, but we’re heading out tomorrow morning for more fun running.

Healthy Momma, Healthy Baby

Just got back from a routine prenatal Dr. visit and I'm thrilled to report that I'm healthy and all factors indicate the baby is healthy too. When you can't see what's going on inside your, or verify every little twinge of pain or movement, it's comforting that the doctor can give you an all clear. We met our fourth doctor of the group, there are six total, and he seemed to be the comedian of the bunch. He commented that I had the blood pressure of a 10 year old (a good thing). He also gave Joe a laugh when he pointed out that I left the M (medium) tag on my shirt. "Yup, she's pregnant," he retorted.
But back to the blood pressure and other good healthy stuff. Another healthy point? I've gained 11.5 lbs. in 22 weeks. I'm within the averages and not worried about gaining too much. I attribute that to a healthy diet and plenty of exercise pre-pregnancy. I have been worried about not exercising enough during the pregnancy, but never realized how important a healthy body before hosting this little miracle could be.
After such a positive visit, I'm determined to focus on fitness again. It's not just the goal of having less weight to drop post-baby. It's the thought that every positive choice I make for my diet and fitness directly impacts my little one. And if her frequent activity is any indication of her energy level, I'll have a running budy before I know it.

Is it the weather?

It's day three of cloudy, rainy weather here. I'm starting to wonder if my heightened sensitivity and general miserable disposition has something to do with the weather, rather than being pregnant.
In the previous weeks we've been really fortunate to have sunny days and cool breezes. On those days I feel like I can conquer my ever-growing task list, and my ever-growing belly won't weigh me down. Today, after three dreary days, I'm feeling overwhelmed and sad. I felt this way during the winter, but not during my pregnancy. My usual dose of medicine would be a nice run in the rain to wash away the frustration. Lately I haven't been able to muscle up the desire to do that. I thought maybe if I start small, with 1 mile dog walks, I'd eventually want to push harder and run. I'm still hoping the desire to run will come back, but it's been a few weeks and I'm still just walking.
The sun is forecasted to return tomorrow, so I'm hoping my generally cheery disposition will also return.

More about me, less about running

The purpose of this blog is to focus on my toils to balance my life while keeping running in the picture. Today I'm going to diverge a bit because something has been bothering me. Without going into too much detail, I'm having trouble staying close to a few of my family members. By no means is this an admission of guilt. In fact, this is my record stating I'm trying to stay close and not lose important people. But I have recognized something interesting.
Since my relationship with these relatives is out of whack, I find that I've been trying to become closer to other friends and colleagues. Perhaps it's an attention thing, but I'm reaching out to friends I haven't spoken to in a while. I'm calling relatives that I normally wouldn't have a phone conversation with. I'm trying to be more social at work and not distance myself as much from the "chatty Kathy's". Perhaps it's because I'm a hormonal wreck from the pregnancy and I have this constant desire to be needed. Or maybe I'm just trying to fill the hole that others are leaving behind.
Whatever the reason, I don't dislike this behavior. I find that I'm being nicer to everyone around me. And for the first time I'm trying to be more inclusive. I'm not keeping secrets from everyone, and I'm letting the world in. I can only hope that this is just a transition time and people who are being distant will come around. But if they don't I will have made stronger connections to others in the meantime.

One of the most exciting days . . .

It was anatomy scan day for baby G. I was a little nervous, ok maybe a lot nervous, on the way to the doctor's office. It had been 10 weeks since the last ultrasound and now that the baby has grown so much, the tech would be taking all sorts of measurements to see how the baby was doing. I had faith that the baby would be healthy and normal, but I was still a little concerned that there would be some surprise along the way.
All measurements were in the average range; we saw the four ventricals of the baby's heart, the two hemispheres of the baby's brain, the lengths of the arms and legs. It was so exciting to see all the wonderful features of our baby. I was in tears the entire time. I had to keep my joyous laughter to a minimum because my stomach would shake from the giggles causing the image on the monitor to shake.
At the end of the appointment, the tech was ready to finish up and we hadn't found out what the sex was yet. Clearly dismayed that we asked to find out, the tech turned the monitor back on and started searching for the right position. Once we could see the two thighs on the screen the tech. explained that there was a void between the two little legs and that she was fairly certain that it was a girl. Baby G is a girl. True it's not 100% but I'm making paint choices for the baby's room based on her level of certainty.
Seeing the baby wiggle around and toss her arms about was such an exciting experience. I've been feeling a lot of the movement lately, but seeing it on the screen just added a new level to the excitement of having a little one. 20 more weeks until we are due to welcome our little girl home.