Weekend fun.

At this point in the pregnancy, there's a lot of counting down. I'm now 35 weeks into this thing, meaning I have 5 weeks to go. 35 days (give or take). Conal came 10 days early and I would not mind if this little one did the same. Of course, that would give me 10 fewer days to figure out the name, which we aren't even close to figuring out yet. Yikes!

Well, aside from stressing about the name I had a great weekend. My parents popped over for pizza on Friday and on Saturday Owen, Conal and I got up early(ish) and went for a little hike. There's a pretty cool waterfall about 15 minutes from our house so we decided to check it out. Walking from the parking spot to the trail-head, we ran into Amanda who was heading home after a 14 mile marathon training run. She looked great! Hard to believe she had just finished her longest run ever -- go, Amanda!

Anyway, we hiked to the bottom of the falls and they did not disappoint:


Conal had a great time tossing rocks and sticks into the water and Owen had fun pointing out the snakeskin that he found among the rocks.

After enjoying the view, we headed back up the trail and it proved quite steep for this mama. It's a short hike but -- hoo-ha! -- it was tiring for me. So tiring, in fact, that after we got home I was only able to sneak off to the farm stand and do about a half-hour of weeding before needing to break it down with a nap. Sheesh!

Sunday was spent with a trip to a nursery to investigate trees that we want to add around our house, a short workout and then a cookout/party at a neighbor's house. It was tons of fun and we met a bunch of neighbors we'd previously only waved to. It was great hanging out with a fun bunch of people who live so close to us! We'd thought our neighborhood was slightly anti-social but it turns out we just didn't know where the social was happening. Now we do so . . . watch out! Ha!

And today it is back to normal. Happy Monday, everyone. Hope you all had a good weekend!

~ Felice

Five Things Friday, ep. 27.

1. As quickly as the flies descended, they disappeared. I have no idea what happened to them, where they went, why there were so many and now there are none. And, I don't care. I'm just glad they are gone. Yuck-o!

2. I had another really good run yesterday evening. Pretty much the same as Tuesday's run: 3.1 miles, about .5 of that walking, the rest running. Thankfully, my calves did not hurt. Unthankfully (?), my shins did. I am clearly altering my stride because of this baby belly and the effect is sore lower legs.

They aren't painful, painful and I don't believe I'll cause myself any injuries. They're just sore and feel heavy. Which, when I think about it, makes sense considering all the extra weight I'm carrying!

3. After a mostly rainy week, yesterday was clear and today is beautiful! Conal and I headed to a local playground this morning, where we ran into a neighbor and her 3-year old daughter. So, she and Conal had some fun together and I got to feel more of a part of my community.

4. I can't not write about how cool I think it is that Deena Kastor is preggo. Paula Radcliffe, Kara Goucher, now Deena. Go elite mamas! I love reading and hearing about their pregnancy running and I know that once I am on the road back after giving birth I'll be very, very interested in their routines. Not that I think mine will in any way be on the same level but I'm sure they'll help inspire me and maybe I can pick up a tip or two.

5. Something sinister has gotten into me and all I can think of are cupcakes and doughnuts and the like. So, today, post playground, Conal and I made a batch of doughnuts. Full-on, deep-fried, rolled in cinnamon and sugar doughnuts.

And, boy howdy, are they good!

Pile o' doughnuts!

Sure, I splattered some hot oil on my thumb and now have a big ol' burn on it but, what the heck? Those goodies are worth the burn! It will heal . . .

And on that fatty, carbo note I wish you all an awesome weekend!

~ Felice

Weird and good.

Yesterday evening's run was just a weird one. I had decided to set out as soon as Owen got home but, as is my luck, it started to drizzle at the same time. OK, no big deal, I thought. It's only a drizzle and I can handle a drizzle.

But then Owen mentioned the flies.

Apparently, yesterday was the day that hundreds of thousands of pesky, gross flies decided to hatch and swarm around wherever their pesky little wings decided to take them. They were everywhere! But, I was dressed for the run and I felt up for it so I had to go.

As soon as I started running, of course, I felt like I had to pee but I tried to push it out of my mind. Instead, I focused on keeping my mouth closed so that I wouldn't breathe in any of the flies. The flies weren't all that bad, actually, because I think the drizzle kept them mostly away. But they were around and I had to swat several of them off my arms and face.

About 1.5 miles into the run, my calves felt tired. Suck it up, I told myself. It is only your calves. And I did. I sucked it up and pushed on. Had it been baby-related pain, I would have stopped. But, calves? Nah, I had to keep going. So I did and I finished 3.1 drizzly, fly-infested miles on tired calves. Boy, those miles felt good!

Then I whipped up a dinner of slow-roasted tomatoes (from our garden) and chicken sausage (made by my dad) over pasta. My guys loved it.

Yup, a good evening at Chez Happy Runner! Even with the flies :-)

Happy Wednesday, everyone!

~ Felice

Yes, a run!

I wasn't sure how it would work out but my Friday walk/run did indeed turn into a run! All in all, I walked for almost .5 miles and ran for 2.6 miles, for a total distance of 3.1 miles. Again, I felt really, really good with my running pace hovering right around 9:50/mile.

On Saturday, my walk/run was primarily a walk with a very little bit of running tossed in and, yesterday I worked out with my exercise tv on demand pals because I felt like it. Plus it was raining and I wasn't into that.

Anyway, a solid weekend of workouts overall so I'm pleased!

I'm even more pleased to share that Bridget, Janis and Jen, who were all in my new runners group, threw down some solid times at the 5K on Saturday. They each ran PRs -- so awesome! It's just really cool to see them all sticking with running. They're addicts!

Hope you all had a great weekend. Mine was very productive and yet relaxing. I even managed to read The Help, which I highly recommend. It's a quick read so if you haven't read it and you have a little bit of time, check it out.

Happy Monday, everyone. Have a great week!

~ Felice

PS: My Jakfish giveaway ends tonight (pair of capris and a top). Don't miss it!

Five Things Friday, ep. 26.

1. I am taking a quick break from my current project -- writing sample analogies for a test prep book -- to write this post. Big whoop, right? Yeah, I know. But, I'm sitting at my computer in full-on running gear. As soon as Owen walks through the door this evening I plan to head out. Will I walk? Will I run? Will I walk/run? Shuffle? Who knows! But I'll do something. And then I will enjoy my cooked-by-someone-else pizza. Woo hoo!

2. I need to give a big shout of "good luck, go get 'em, run hard!" to my runners Bridget, Janis and Jen. They are all running a 5K together tomorrow. For Jen, this will be her second race; it will be Bridget's and Janis' third. Oh, how I wish I could be out there with them . . .

Have fun, mamas!

3. I have TWO giveaways going on over here. One is for some awesome maternity active wear and the other is for free dinner. Check them out!

4. At 33.5 weeks preggo, I've now gained about 25 lbs. The scale is creeping up there!

5. I finally re-installed a sound card in my computer after I had to rebuild it after my virus fiasco. It's like I've rejoined the world. Music! While working! It's the best.

Have a great weekend, everyone! And thanks for stopping by.

~ Felice

That morning runner.

Don't worry, I'm not talking about me. I've tried and tried to be a morning runner but it has never worked. And now, having (mostly) stopped running, I'm certainly no morning runner.

Nope, I'm talking about the husband. He's taken to running almost every morning, through our 'hood while Conal and I are sleeping. And he does it just for fun. Good for him. I think it is awesome that he's running all the time, I really do. But can I tell you? I'm a little jealous!

Before, he ran during his lunch hour so although I knew he was running I didn't see it. Now that my mileage has decreased, I envy that he has these great morning runs. I'm totally happy for him but there is major part of me that can't wait until I'm back out there everyday, too. Of course, it won't be in the morning but, still.

Soon enough, soon enough . . .

Do you get jealous when your loved ones run when you can't? It's normal, right? It's gotta be!

Enjoy the rest of the week, everyone -- it's almost Friday! Woo hoo!

~ Felice

Pants on fire.

That would be me. The one with the pants on fire. You know, as in: Liar, liar...

Yup, I'm a liar. I said I had hung up the running shoes. I said I was OK with it. Feeling good about it, in fact. And, at the time, it was true. So true.

Then I went for a walk on Saturday and, I don't know what happened but, before I knew it, I was running. And feeling fine. I had a nice and easy 3 miler and felt good the whole time. No pain. Just comfy miles.

Now, I am still more-or-less done with running but I figure that if I am out for a walk and my body wants to pick up the pace and run, I'm not going to say no. Provided I feel good, of course. We'll see what happens. Maybe Saturday was a fluke, maybe not. I just don't know. This is all new to me.

So, that's that. I feel better now that I've come clean!

Hope everyone had a good weekend. I've been a busy mama and have gotten waaaaay behind on blogs. I hope to catch up this week and get back to regular posting and commenting.

Thanks for stopping by!

~ Felice

PS: I have a cool giveaway up over here. Awesome maternity active wear -- be sure to check it out if you are preggo, thinking about getting preggo sometime in the future, or know any preggos!

Decisions made.

Thanks for all of your supportive comments on my last post! I really appreciate them.

I'm feeling remarkably at peace after writing that post. Making a decision can be liberating and that's just how it's been for me. Now that I've decided to fully listen to my body and hang up the running shoes until after I give birth, I feel free. No longer will I wonder if I can run today. No longer will I have extended internal debates about whether or not that twinge was just a twinge or something more. No longer will I be disappointed when my body tells me to stop when my mind wants to go.

Instead, I can feel confident going for walks, working out in my living room with Jillian and those other exercise tv ladies, or just doing my own thing. I think this will be good for me. (She says, just one week into this no running thing . . . )

My last walk was awesome. Felt great. Chatted with a neighbor. Woo hoo! My last weights workout was equally good. Felt strong. Chatted with . . . well, no one but that's just because I didn't feel like it was appropriate to start up a conversation with Kipper, Elmo or any of the other stuffed animals Conal had lying around the living room. I mean, I have some standards!

So, anyway, walking is my new running. Squats are my new speedwork. Cheers to that!

But, you: You, my friend, should go enjoy your run. And your weekend. Hope it's a good one!

~ Felice

What's done is done.

I had high hopes of being "that mom" who runs right up until the day she delivers her baby. High, high hopes.

My running had been going well. I ran four races while pregnant and put up some decent times. I logged up to 20 miles a week until well past the halfway mark of the pregnancy. I ran with friends, I ran alone. I enjoyed it. Thoroughly enjoyed running while pregnant. And that is why I had such high hopes.

And then those hopes were dashed.

Almost two weeks ago, I had gone for a super 4 miler with two friends and felt great. Two days later, I set out for another run and my body told me I was done. "You're done," it said. I swear! It spoke to me!

"I'm really not. Not done. Not me. I'm still in week 30. So. Not. Done," I said.

"No, I'm serious. You're done. I'm walking," my body replied. And that's what it did. About a half mile into the run it decided to walk. We walked on for another two miles and that was that. I figured I would accept the failed run, move on, and try again another day.

Which is what I did. Two days after Failed Run #1 I set out again.

"Um, did you not hear me the first time?" my body asked. "I told you we were done."

"But, well, yeah. I'm not ready to be done," I said, probably in a bit of a whine, while trying to push on.

Body laughed. We walked. Failed Run #2 was in the books.

The next time I set out, a few days later, I didn't even make it out the door. Nope, I just knew that it wasn't to be. I felt the twinge below my belly and the other things that are just more than you need to know and so I bagged it. Failed Run #3 didn't even have a chance.

"Thank you," my body told me.

So it is that at 32 weeks into my pregnancy, I have officially hung up my running shoes.

Consider me bummed. And I mean bummed.

But not despondent. Nope! I'm proud that I ran as much as I did and now I'll turn my focus to walking and getting back to those plies, squats and lunges that helped me power through labor and delivery for my first son. I'm going to miss running but I'm somewhat looking forward to the two months of cross training. Bring it on!

There you have it, folks. I hope you'll bear with me over the next 8 weeks or so. I'll do my best not to complain!

Hope everyone had a great weekend and is having a good week!

~ Felice

PS: I just posted the Somnio winner over at my other site and have a new giveaway posted, too!

Thankful Thursday.

There are weeks when everything falls into place and then there are weeks when everything falls to pot.

Fortunately, this week has been neither extreme. Things are fine. And yet, I'm bummed. My running is coming to an end and for whatever reason, I'm having a tough time with that. I didn't think that having to stop running would feel so much like failure. What's with that?

I'll deal. To distract myself from my running fails, I'm taking a page from some other bloggers and doing a Thankful Thursday post. So, here's the numero uno thing that I am thankful for today: My happy-pants son.

People said that toddlers turn into difficult wild-men by 18-months and yet, I never saw that in Conal. Active? Sure. Difficult? Nah.

People warned me about the "terrible twos" and yet, with the exception of a tantrum here or there, they sailed by.

People have told me that "the threes are worse!" and yet, he's fun. He's happy. He makes me laugh and we have a great time together.

I'll knock on wood with that last one, considering he's only been three for two months. But, let me tell you: I am honestly thankful for such an overall happy little guy. Yesterday, for example, his nose started to run. I don't know if it is a cold or allergies or what -- doesn't matter. The way he dealt with it does. He rarely, if ever, has a runny nose. So, feeling some grossy-gross goop pouring out of his nose freaked him a little.

"My nose!" he said, pointing to it in all its grossness.

"Looks like you have a runny nose," I told him.

"Oh my GOSH! I have a runny nose!" he replied, smiling and letting me wipe it (thanks . . . ).

He runs around happy. Genuinely happy, laughing and making me laugh. He makes up games. He turns little things into big happy moments. He says, "yes" more often than, "no." I am super thankful for that! Super thankful to have a little boy who loves life and makes my main job easy.


I'm focusing on that right now. Focusing on how thankful I am for the great little boy that Conal is. And I am most definitely not going to focus on the running fail. At least not today!

What about you? What are you thankful for on this fine Thursday?

Thanks for stopping by!

~ Felice

July recap.

We flipped the calendar yesterday and welcomed August. For me, since I am due right at the beginning of October, flipping the calendar reinforced that I have only two months to go in this pregnancy. It's a real combination of yikes! and woo hoo!

On the yikes! side is the trepidation and the wondering if I am really ready to be a mom of two boys. On the woo hoo! side is the fact that I'm already sick of my restless legs syndrome and I haven't even had it for a full month. Sheesh. Have you ever had RLS? Um, it sucks. I only get it in my left leg and, so far, I'm only having it when I lie down for bed. But, it keeps me from falling asleep and it is one of the most annoying, yet not painful, sensations ever.

Anyway, overall I'm excited to only have two months to go! C'mon October 4th!

* * *

So the other thing that happened when I flipped the calendar is that I looked back on my month of July. It was . . . hmm . . . it was OK. I ran fewer miles than I did in June and, certainly, fewer miles than I had planned and would have liked. But, I knew that the slow down would happen and I'm happy to still be out there. Although, if my last two runs are any indication of how August will be, I may be done. We'll see!

Anyway, here's what July looked like:

July stats:

Running (miles): 41.2
Cross-training (sessions): 3

That's it. About 10 miles a week. I'll take it.

Hope August is starting well for you. Have a great week, everyone!

~ Felice

PS: Don't forget to check out my running shoes giveaway here!