Wednesday, February 24, 2016

Where the heck does all the time go? Also, running in the cold rain makes you go faster.

Random update: 

Good news: Rob got a new role at work.
Bad news: Rob's paternity leave ended.  

Okay, although I am sad that his paternity leave ended, just wanted to note that I am a) super thrilled that he even received paternity leave and b) impressed that he managed to get a new position within his company while taking care of a newborn.  Talk about being an excellent multi-tasker!  In any case, to make sure Rob hits the ground running by getting enough sleep at night, I decided that Soren, Yossi and I should stay at my parents' house for the next week or so.  My mom, even though she works during the day, graciously volunteered to help with the nighttime feeds.  She is also doing her best to overfeed me, just like Rob did the past seven weeks, by stocking the pantry and fridge with all sorts of goodies.  Speaking of which, I already miss my husband's cooking.  His plate work was just so cheery:

Man, I am going to miss my Breakfasts Made By Rob.

Where the heck does all the time go?  

We're in a different house, but I have pretty much the same routine.  It's not too bad, but finding time to shower, let alone exercise is tough.  At the end of each day, I find myself asking, "Where the heck does all the time go?"

Well, I decided to look.  Here is yesterday morning's schedule:

2:05 a.m. After going to bed at around midnight the night before, I managed to get a couple of hours of sleep before Soren woke up and I had to bottle feed him my expressed breast milk.
2:30 a.m. Changed Soren's diaper and then got him back to sleep. 
3:00 a.m. Napped for 45 minutes.
3:57 a.m. Pumped milk with my breast pump for 45 minutes.
4:45 a.m. Soren woke up and demanded to be fed and have his diaper changed.  I also had to gently rock him to just enough drowsiness so that he would fall asleep on his own. 
5:30 a.m. Started a fresh load of laundry.  Napped for 1.5 hours.  
7:00 a.m. Pumped for 40 minutes until, you guessed it, Soren woke up and I had to feed him and change his diaper.  
8:30 a.m. Played with Soren while grabbing a bite of breakfast here and there and tossing my laundry into the dryer.  
9:45 a.m. Soren finally passes out from all the fun.  I celebrate by folding my now dry laundry, doing the dishes and breast pumping for Soren's next feed.  
10:48 a.m. And then of course, before I could finish pumping, Soren decided to wake up and I feed him with the milk I had just pumped.
11:30 a.m. Changed his diaper and played with Soren.  By this point, Rob was at work and asked me to send photos of myself as well as Soren.  After some grumbling (I still hadn't showered yet!), this is what I sent:  

Soren and I hanging out on his play mat.  Besides his Mamaroo, this has been the second-best thing for entertaining and/or distracting the little dude.

12:36 p.m. Soren falls asleep and I pump.
1:30 p.m. Soren wakes up and I have him practice breastfeeding.  I still haven't given up on trying.  
2:00 p.m. My mother comes by to give me a break - hallelujah!  I weigh my options.  Should I: 
     
(a) Take a nap.
(b) Run for 30 minutes and then shower.
(c) Run for 45 minutes and then hope I have time to take a shower. 
(d) Run for an hour and hope that I have time to take a shower at some point later today, but know that I'll probably take at least one nap in my stinky clothes.

I chose Option B.  Based on how my day was already going, I didn't want to take my chances with Options C and D.  Option A was super tempting, but I figured that, all things considered, I got a decent amount of sleep the night before.  Also, I was reallllly itching to go outside even though by the afternoon, the already dreary weather turned into colder, wet, drearier weather.  Before I could change my mind, I threw on a pair of stretchy leggings, a tshirt, and the first fleece I found and went outside while my mom watched Soren.  Thanks mom!

Running in the cold rain makes me go faster  

I would be lying if I said my run was awesome.  First off, as soon as I got outside, I knew I made the wrong outfit choice, because I was freeeeeezing.  There are some runners who can run in shorts and tshirts all-year-round; I am not one of those runners.  In fact, I am the opposite of those runners.  Last year, I did try to become more hardcore about the weather, but that all flew out the window when I became pregnant and stopped being hardcore about anything.  Anyway, I probably should have changed into at least a waterproof jacket, but since I wasn't going to be outside that long and more importantly, my free time was ticking away, I just went with it.  

My original plan was to go relatively slow since my pelvic region felt a little off during my last run, but because I was cold and running faster would keep me warm, I tackled my neighborhood hills with a bit more gusto than anticipated.  What struck me as I ran the uphills, was not how much harder I had to work in this new body of mine, but how much I enjoyed the feeling of physical exhaustion unrelated to being a new mom.  

It's funny, the first time I ran the hills by my house was over a decade ago and I still remember the day so very clearly.  (And when I say "ran," it was really a "little train that could" shuffle.)  I recall feeling so inordinately proud of the fact that I didn't walk a single step.  If someone had told me that one day I was going to zipadeedodah up and down those hills, I would have laughed.  If someone had told me that I was going to be doing repeats less than eight weeks postpartum on those same hills in the freezing rain in preparation for some 100 mile race in Vermont, I would have said that they were crazy and that Future Jackie was crazy.  

Eh, I probably would have been right.

Things I learned from yesterday's run:

(1) Need to really look at the weather report before I go outside.
(2) Must have an outfit prepared.  Since it *is* technically winter, make sure the outfit is super warm.  I must remember that it's always easier to remove a layer than to go back inside the warm, comfy house to find another article of clothing.
(3) Drink more water.
(4) Definitely need to incorporate more hill training.
(5) And most definitely need to work on strength training again.  

Two and a half weeks before my first half marathon.  This is going to be interesting.  




1 comment:

  1. hey Jacqueline, congratulations on many counts, it sounds! I'm the photographer who took the shot(s) of you leaping near mile 47 of the VT100. I'm thinking of doing a brief photo essay for a publication and wanted to ask you a question or two. If you get a moment (asking a lot right now, I see!) please drop me a message at alpinefin [at] comcast.net, or via the blog. Thanks, and good luck this year!

    http://benkimballphotography.blogspot.com/2013/11/leaps.html

    http://benkimballphotography.blogspot.com/2016/02/leap-day.html

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