The Decision is Made

I finally decided after months of what was an obsession... finding the perfect stroller for us and a workable yet fashionable diaper bag to go along. I can't tell you how many times I changed my mind. Hopefully we'll be happy with the choices in the months to come.

STROLLER
Name: Bob Revolution Stroller
Colors: Chocolate/Mesa Orange
Why: It is first and foremost a running stroller, which is a must for us. But it also can be used for daily outings because the front wheel can swivel. And we plan on purchasing the attachment so we can use it with a baby car seat.



DIAPER BAG
Name: OiOi Girafee Print Hobo Sack
Colors: Cocoa/ Burnt Orange
Why: Because it's fun, practical and girlie. Plus it's large enough to carry everything I could ever dream of while also scrunch down small when needed.

Week 34 & 35

Hanging out at Kiawah Island with the pool in front
of me and the ocean beach behind.

Pregnancy stats:

• Due Date: Around July 25th, 2008
• Current Time line: 34 weeks 6 days
• Belly size: BIG!
  
• Energy level: High in the morning, but I fade fast in the evening.
  
• Nap: A 15 minute nap makes all the difference on high activity days.
  
• Nauseousness: Medium. Not as bad as middle trimester, but definitely still around.
• Back Soreness: Low. Luckily not much back pain.
• Exercise Level: Medium. Still at it swimming, hiking, and biking just all slow. Walking is getting more uncomfortable. I am still trying to fend off the pregnancy waddle.

My June MN Trip Pictures

Here are some pictures from my trip to Minnesota. I had a great time and was able to pack quite a bit in given the pregnancy. Although I do have to say I was exhausted each night and more then ready to head to bed. :)

The parents and I headed out on a bike trip with their bike club the first day I got there. It ended up being a leisurely 4 hour ride. Perfect for a 7 month pregnant girl like me.



The whole family lined up, ready to head into the Children's Museum.






My nephew, Nathanial. It was so great, the two older boys were practicing on their bikes so they could show Aunt Laura their biking skills. They did great! Nathaniel even biked all the way to the park one day.







My nephew, Andrew. The boys and I played with bubble making machines outside one afternoon. Nothing like soapy bubbles everyone including on my glasses.








My nephew, Joshua. Wearing my favorite bib - 'Cute a sarous'. He's got the cutest smile.










My sister and I the day before I left.

Week 33

This picture is a bit shocking, even to me. Boy has baby Beaty grown. This picture was taken while I was in Minnesota on my trip home last week.

I actually got a scolding from my doctor for traveling so late in my pregnancy, which I found surprising given I still have a a month and a 1/2 left. Guess I won't be mentioning my trip down to Kiawah Island this coming week...

More MN pictures to come.

2 Miles Open Water swim Accomplished

Race Day Morning
Water Temp: 66 degrees
Attire: Geoff's two-piece wetsuit
Pregnancy Timeline: 31 weeks, 5 days
Goal: Here we go baby! Let's have some fun!
Results: 66 minutes

Last year I decided to sign-up for only two events this spring given the pregnancy. The national 1/2 marathon, which I did at the end of march and then the Reston 2 mile open water swim, which was this past weekend.

We'll I can now say I successfully accomplished both! I did the swim this past Sunday and had a blast. I ended up wearing Geoff's wetsuit given the cold water temperature. Hi wetsuit is bigger and a two-piece so it fit over my belly. I tried it out for about 2 minutes in the pool before heading to the lake and gave it the thumbs up. I hadn't yet realized the annoyance it was about to give me over the next hour in the lake. Let's just say it's not made for a big belly. It really wanted to be up around my chest instead.

I'm not sure how many of you I shocked by doing this swim (including my Doc) but why not? Swimming is great for baby and me! We took our time heading out after the gun went off knowing it was going to be a long swim. Two loops, a mile each. If I was feeling good I could pick it up the second loop. Ha, that's a funny thought I realized. A pregnant gal doesn't exactly have a second gear (all exercise is suppose to be zone 2 type easy). By the second lap I was feeling great although I notice my arms were quit tired. After starting I realized the sleeves in the wetsuit were too big so they filled with water. So with each arm stroke I was lifting my arm and a bucket full of water. Talk about some extra work put in!

I found some good legs to draft, although the person swam horribly. A huge splash like a water fountain and lots of twisting around like a dying seal. I just hoped I didn't look quite so bad. As I felt like a big black rolly polly seal flapping in the water. Better drop that thought and the swimmer and move on to some fresh legs to draft.

I rounded the last corner and found the finish line. Geoff was right there waiting for me. I immediately got out of that wetsuit and gave the baby belly some breathing room. Then of course found the snack table. I was starving!

If only that was the end of my workouts for the day. Geoff later on convinced me to bike down to the Viva Vienna festival. Nothing like some good time with Geoff and a festival to end the evening right.

Bradley Childbirth Class

My Bradley Childbirth class has finished. What a great course. I truly feel educated and ready for anything labor throws at me. Hopefully everything will go well and I will be able to have a natural birth. The body is so absolutely amazing in all that it goes through and can handle. I have been fascinated to watch as my body changes and learn about everything that is going on beneath the cover.

Everyone in our class. Lined up by due date. Earliest due (end of June)
on the right, latest due date (beginning of August) on the left.

The girls & Rebbecca, our teacher, all of us pregnant!

Thanks everyone, especially Rebbecca for a great class. Good luck with all your births!

GOTR Daisy Dash 5k

My Girls on the Run group did great at our Daisy Dash 5k. Everyone had a wonderful time. It was a perfect morning for a 5k. Over 4,000 girls and buddy runs participate in the event. We had our party the night before getting excited for the run.

Thanks girls for being so great and thank you parents for the gift card. I truly love this program and all the positive benefits it has for me and the girls.

My GOTR Spring 08' Group

Geoff running as a buddy runner for the 4th season w/Kristen

MN Trip Next Week

Ya!! I am heading to MN next week. I can't wait to see family and friends. I have been so backed up with class exams, finishing GOTR and TNT coaching I haven't made many plans but have talked with many of you about coming into town. So hopefully it will still workout to get together with everyone!

Travel Dates: May 27th - June 6

Week 30

Somehow I seem to take these pictures just after I get up. My hair is everywhere and I have no make-up on. Me in the natural state.

I signed up for a 2 mile open water swim that happens to be this coming Sunday. Given my lack of swimming in the past few months I thought I'd go test out my swimming skills. So yesterday I headed to the pool and swam 2 miles (3200yrds). It took me around 70 min with lots of breaks for stretching out the ab muscles. I found that swimming was really painful at first around my abs because they are so tight and being stretched so much. After the first 1000yrds or so I got into a groove and stretched out nicely.

So I think I'm ready for Sunday's open water swim! I did the 2 miles last time in just under an hour. So 70min seems like a realistic time this year. Now the question is will I still fit into my wetsuit?? I had it on three weeks ago but baby has really grown...

Gulf Coast 1/2 Ironman Great Success

Geoff & I just came back from Panama City, Florida. We headed down there to coach our TNT 1/2 Ironman team. They all did the Gulf Coast 1/2 Ironman and crossed the finish line successfully! It was so great to see all of them do so well. We couldn't have asked for a better team.

Luckily the only coaching we needed to do on race day was answer the call from one of our athletes asking if we had a spare wheel! One of his spokes broke at mile 20 on the bike. Luckily Geoff talked to him and told him to pull the spoke out, unhook the breaks and attempt to keep riding. (I would have never thought of that as a solution!) It worked! He was able to get through the bike and finish the race.

They definitely had a challenging day too. There was white caps in the gulf coast for the swim and the temperature reached up to the 90 degrees with humidity around 87 %. Talk about a tough race. Preparation, hydration/nutrition and a game plan became vital. The waves and undercurrent were so strong on Sunday they changed the warning to double red flags - not open to public swimming. Good thing the race was on Saturday! Here are some pictures:

Part of the team before the swim start. There was plenty of nervous energy in the air.







Geoff & I (& baby Beaty) at the victory party looking a little sunny since we stood outside all day.















Here is Jen with her 3rd place award at the victory party. Everyone did so great we think they all deserved awards!













Me and baby (at week 29 of the pregnancy) building a sand castle on the beach the day after the race.

New Doggie Collars

Don't they look great. Geoff and I took the dogs to a Doggie Fiesta on Saturday. They got to meet (sniff) tons of other dogs and we bought them new collars.

We also heading to a huge yard sale Saturday morning. Over 150 families. We founds some great baby stuff. The best being a Halloween costume I just couldn't pass up.

Baby Room Rug

I haven't finished painting the baby room, so I'm holding off on posting pictures, but here's the baby room rug. When we saw this, in the exact color of the decor, we knew it was meant to be.

Week 27

Getting bigger! Baby is growing like a weed and moving around all the time now. I'm finding some of my first pregnancy clothes aren't quite long enough now. We had one of our first really hot days on Saturday. Boy am I affected by the heat. I'm going to be spending much of June and July at the pool :)

In about a month I'm flying out to Minnesota to visit family and friends. Ya! Before that... actually in a week in a half (wow that is soon) I am flying down to Florida with my participants to coach the Gulf Coast 1/2 Ironman. I'm so excited for everyone, they are all going to do great!

Week 26/27 Photo

Bike Racing in the Rain

I decided to head up to Columbia, MD with Geoff for one of his bike races. Geoff was going to race the 30+ /40+ race with the fast boys. There was one thing different about this race. It poured. I mean all out downpour.

Go back two hours. We stood in the garage looking out at the car for what seemed like ages. It was pouring cats and dogs. Could we even see our neighbors house? We looked at each other. Who in their right mind would want to race in this? Geoff finally decided, it might just be different up in Maryland, an hour away. He was right it was. It wasn't raining when we arrived luckily for the race going on. As the guys toed the line for their race it started sprinkling. What bad timing. By one lap it was a full on rain assault. They had 11 more to go and I had 11 more laps to sit in the rain through...

Photos from the race

You can see Geoff, in the middle of the picture in the back. He's the tall one in black/red colors. Notice the nice spring conditions! You can also see him in picture #10.

One of Geoff's teammates crashed hard. Hitting with his head first. They took him to the hospital in an ambulance. We went and visited him. God was looking out for him, nothing damaged, just going to be sore for some time. Bike racing is a tough sport, but somehow Geoff can't get enough of it! I'm glad to see him enjoy it so much.

National 1/2 Marathon Accomplished

I did it! I completed the National 1/2 Marathon six months pregnant! What a fun time. Race morning I was feeling really bad, to the point of not sure about going. I actually had some bad stomach cramps the day before and didn't get any sleep due to allergies. But Geoff was my big support and encouraged me to at least go downtown and we could play it by ear. So we headed off at 5:30am to get to D.C. by car then metro. My biggest supporters were in tow: my Mom, Dad & Geoff.

Race Day Morning
Weather: Cold but perfect for running once it warmed up a few degrees.
Setting: National monuments & neighborhoods in Washington DC
Pregnancy Timeline: 23 weeks, 4 days
Arrived: 6:45am
Goal: FUN!

Dad & I on the Metro heading down to DC









We meet up with my running buddy, Libby. Thanks so so much Libby for running with me during the whole race. Here is Libby, Geoff & me before the start.









To add some more fun, I put a sign on my back saying "Baby on Board". Other runners commented on it throughout the race.












Me at the finish with my finishers medal.












The race didn't go as expected due to my IT band. It started acting up around Mile 4, so I had to do more walking then expected. All those loose joints due to pregnancy! Luckily I had Libby so we chatted the whole time enjoying the morning. I enjoyed the whole experience and couldn't have done it without all my supporters.