Shamrock Smiles

We had a beautiful race weekend out at Virginia Beach. J ran his best half ever and I ran an 8k much faster than I expected, in 41:59. I felt great save for the top-of-the-rib pain I now get at the beginning of runs that can last anywhere up to 2 miles. I have no idea what it is or if it is pregnancy related, but I do know it is extremely annoying. The only way to alleviate it is to hunch slightly and compress my ribs. Not the best running posture. I'm guessing it's referred pain from somewhere else and probably should mention it to my doctor except doctors are always very quick to say "well, stop running then." Not an option.

There were 6900+ finishers in my race and even though I curse crowds and big races before the race starts, it wasn't too bad after I got through the starting crowd. I finished 33rd out of six hundred plus females in my age group, which is in the top 5th percentile. Not too shabby for a tired pregnant lady!

I countered all of this fitness with eating an obscene amount of food this weekend and have, not surprisingly, gained my first pregnancy 0.5 pound. And so it begins.....

P.S.- We finally got our mortgage approval and had the house inspection so the process is moving forward!

Race Plans

I figure a nice way to get in some miles this week is to attempt a couple of races. Tomorrow, a military 5k (which I plan to do with the stroller, so, not exactly in-it-to-win-it), and, if there's still space, the Shamrock 8k on Saturday. (Joe is doing the half on Sunday.) I think both races are very doable- that is, if I can get a freaking good night's sleep. We have all been plagued by a seal-barking cough this week and have spent hours, when we should have been sleeping, awake. This morning, for example, Nadia woke up hacking at 3, a sound that didn't exactly lull me back to sleep after my 3 a.m. pee, so at 4:30 we took pity on her (even though she was happily blabbering to her animals between coughs) and brought her to bed with us. Fast forward two hours later and she and I were finally able to get a bit more sleep. Poor J was already off to work by this time.

Oh, and between the Y classes and the running, my strength training has really suffered. I need to get on the stick yo before the pregnancy hormones really kick in and start fluffing up my limbs.

In non-atheletic news, I signed the paperwork officially making me an employee of a university yesterday; we'll see if I get any students. And tomorrow is our house inspection, now if we could just get our loan processor to EMAIL US OUR PRE-APPROVAL LETTER THAT IS DUE TOMORROW!!!!! AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Ok, must go running now.

Life

This and That

As I'm sure you can imagine, we've had a lot going on, hence my lack of posts. So here's an update to our status.

1. J has a job. Hooray. For approximately the next 3 years, at which point he will be at the magic military number, and that is/was our biggest concern.

2. We still haven't found a place to live, but we're in the process of playing offer-tennis on a cute house we found on the weekend.

3. I am still pregnant (nearly 10 weeks)and feeling less nauseous, though I. Am. So. Tired. and Nadia hasn't napped in like, 2 weeks, so we have very long, crabby, days. She's also getting her two year molars so I guess all things considered, she's doing pretty well. Oh, and I have the face of a 13 year old this time around, ie. I am getting zits. I am so hot right now. In good preg. news, I haven't gained any weight yet and I hope not to for the rest of the first trimester which should save me about 5 lbs. from last time.

On Monday they will go in search for life and I hope to be very relieved.

4. Training: My weekly mileage has been reduced because I am taking the second level of the course at the Y I did in the fall. It's three times a week and though I usually get in a mile here or there during class, we mostly do other, though just as effective, kinds of workouts. When I do get time to run, I am significantly slower (mostly on stroller runs), but my 10k weekend run is still respectable. In a few weeks the class will end and I hope to be back on my 20 mile/week program. As for the 1000 miles in 2010, well, I am thinking I may not reach that because of the pregnancy, but I will leave the ticker up and do as many as I can. Since my LMP was January 1, 95% of the miles run this year will be run pregnant, so regardless of the final number, I'll just be happy I stayed in better shape this time.

5, Work: Like, my work, I know, can you believe it? I've been playing pro bono with the university orchestra in order to keep up my mad skills, and the conductor recommended me to the director of a division of the university that offers lessons to community members. She's really keen to hire me and though, even if she does find me students, I may only teach enough to say, pay the cable bill, having "adjunct faculty" status at a university can't hurt the resume.

So, things are finally coming up B. And J. And N. And.....?

A Birthday in Pictures

A birthday song from Auntie S.

Present Time!

Debating her next move. She did manage to successfully blow them out. (She had been practicing the day before.)

Goofing with Mama.

Smiling with one of her favorite gifts, "Uncle Bill" bear (seriously, that's what she named him) and the purse he came in. Tres chic.