Team McClish Running Update

 Me and J after a Sat. AM run in October...

A few months ago I shared that I would be running the White Rock 1/2 Marathon on Sunday 12/4/2011. It was a goal of mine to run 13.1 miles as a Mommy and take up the hobby I missed during pregnancy and early infant raising. I trained by running many miles with baby and dog during the week, and spending all of my Saturday mornings on long runs while Andrew took care of Julianne. The training was fun, and challenging, and tiring, and annoying at times, and much harder than any of the other races I have trained for with just me, myself, and I to worry about. I was nervous about how it would all go down but eager to attempt it.....

That is....until it was clear I wouldn't be able to attempt it. As I would learn, despite my best efforts to prepare and plan for race day, my post Mommy 1/2 marathon was not meant to be. Let me explain. Saturday (the day before the race) we drove down the the race venue to pick up my bib number. This is something you have to do in order to run. On the way home, Julianne wouldn't stop crying and we had no idea why. I got in the back seat with her and realized she was warm and suspected a fever. No big deal we have had a fever before. A little Tylenol and we would be back in business....

Well it turned out not to be that easy. What was to follow was a high fever (103 was what it got up to) we couldn't get below 102.3, a miserable baby, and a long night of crying constantly and no sleep for anyone. Julianne could only be consoled by me holding her and nursing, otherwise she was crying. Somewhere around midnight we decided it would be impossible for me to run. The total exhaustion I would experience and our decision to take her to Urgent Care on Sunday morning was our ultimate reality.

It was immediately apparent to the doctor that our girl was suffering from her first ear infection. The news came as somewhat of a relief because we could treat it, and there was an explanation for all the pain she was in! She is doing much better now....and so are we! Lesson learned: baby cries all night long = EAR INFECTION...now we know.

I was sad to miss the race, but I suppose it just wasn't meant to be this time. It ended up being a terrible weather day so that made me feel a little better. Team McClish will have to run another day....

Team McClish

Well I put my money where my mouth is and actually did something about the fact that I miss running. A few weeks ago, with encouragement from Andrew, I signed up for the Dallas White Rock 1/2 Marathon. The race is on December 3rd and getting into 13.1 mile shape has not been easy. Part of that might be the fact that I am pushing a stroller and holding a very energetic dog during my weekday runs. Andrew stays home with Julianne on Saturday mornings for a longer run with just me and Wesson. So far we are up to 4 miles with a 5 mile run this Saturday.

Meet the team:



1. THE BOB: this is the greatest stroller on the planet. We bought it used before Julianne was born because they are also one of the most expensive strollers on the planet. Well worth it though since I don't think I could run with the baby without it.



2. THE CHEERLEADER: She is my companion and selflessly spends 30 minutes in the morning taking in the fresh air and "cheers" me on during the ride. Couldn't do it without her.....



3. THE ACCOUNTABILITY PARTNER:
He may me a tan and white canine, but this dog loves to run! If we miss a day I know it because he is asking to go as soon as we get up in the morning. I love and hate this about him, but that is how it should be with any good accountability partner. He pushes me to keep going threatening to take off without us if we can't keep up.


4. HOW WE ROLL:
With leash in my left, and stroller in my right, we are finally ready to set out. I think this somehow tones my arms...not a bad side effect of the pushing.

I have to admit I am slightly intimidated by the race. Even though I have run at least 10 1/2 marathons, I have never trained alone or attempted to prepare this quickly for a race. I think as long as I keep in mind that I just want to finish it and have fun all will go well. I am really enjoying the runs even if it is a pain to get us all out the door.

Nathalie

Stuff I have been meaning to blog about.....

Since becoming a Mommy, I have really dropped the ball on keeping up with my blog. I used to have time to write about the comings and goings of our everyday life in a smart witty way. Well.... I tried to make it clever at least to the extent of my writing abilities. There are always situations where I think, "I need to blog about this" and then never get to it. I should work some regular time into my schedule for blogging...it is something I enjoy and I love having to look back on.

So in an effort to catch up, I have compiled a list of stuff I have been meaning to share on this here blog.

1. We cloth diaper

Before Julianne was born we did a lot of research and found that cloth diapering may not be as gross, annoying, or inconvenient as we thought. Really the things have come a long way since the safety pin days, and we like it a lot for several reasons.
First, they are economical. Going down to one income and trying to account for the diaper expense was a bit overwhelming. I think we figured we'd be spending around $40 each month diapering our baby...yikes! The Flip Diapers by Cotton Babies cost us less than $200 for 24 diapers and 8 diaper covers and they can be worn up to 35 lbs. (Julianne will be potty trained before she ever reaches that weight Lord willing). There are costs to washing them with water etc...and we do buy disposable for babysitters and sometimes nighttime. We still feel like we are coming out way ahead though especially when you think about using them on subsequent children.
People always ask me, "isn't it gross to wash them?" I personally don't think so. There is no soaking or scraping. I basically get off what I can then send them through a rise, hot wash, and extra hot rinse. We keep them in a pail and wash every other day. Really it is not that hard to run this load amongst the other laundry.
Then there are other benefits such as avoiding chemicals in diapers on Julianne's bottom. There are some out there that think those chemicals could be harmful down the line. I am not sure about that but if that does turn out to be true I will be glad we used cloth! Also, I feel a little "green" that we are saving a small part of a landfill somewhere that doesn't have to decompose our diapers (each one takes 7 years I think to decompose).

2. I have really enjoyed making baby food



My new hobby is cooking for our baby girl. My hope is to expose her to as many different foods as possible and make them for her if I can. I have also found making your own is very thrifty as each jar costs about  $.75 in the store. I can buy organic fruits and vegetables, bake or steam them, puree in our food processor, and freeze in ice cube trays for much less. Plus I know there are no added preservatives just the veggie and sometimes breast milk to make it smooth. I even make my own cereal with oats and rice. The best resource I've found is wholesomebabyfood.momtastic.com they tell you how to prepare everything and include nutritional information as well as best times to introduce any given fruit, vegetable, or grain.

3. I miss running

I used to be a runner. Not that I was good at it but enjoyed it and completed 2 marathons and countless half marathons. Running has been at the bottom of the priority list but I would really like to change that. I miss it. I miss the feeling of air in my lungs as I try to push through one more mile. I miss the high I got afterwards, I miss the way my muscles looked. Now that Julianne is older I am making an attempt to get back into it. It isn't easy. With 100 degree weather every day the only time we can go out is first thing in the morning and sometimes that is not logistically possible. Also, I can't just grab my shoes and go. I have to pack up the baby in the jogging stroller, put the leash on the dog, make sure I have my mace, cell phone, and sunglasses. Then I have to leash up the dog, grab the garage door opener out of my car, and make sure J has her hat on. If I can accomplish all of this I then have to bring myself to run with the dog and stroller when I am out of shape to begin with. So it is slow going. I am able to jog a few blocks but walk mostly still. Hopefully I can work back up to it.

I think that is enough for now...sorry for the novel...

Ft. Worth Cowtown 10K

Running is a hobby I picked up after college. I really enjoy running. Scratch that...I enjoy the benefits of running: eat what you want, runners high, muscle tone, etc... Over the last few years I have ran 2 marathons, countless 1/2 marathons and pretty much every Saturday. Well that was until I got married anyway. Andrew and I actually share a passion for running. Our fist conversation was on the subject of running and during our engagement we completed the San Francisco Marathon together. I had high hopes of us making the 26.2 mile trek annually and being the "married runner couple". However, here we are 1 1/4 years into marriage and our marathon count? ZERO. The challenge lies in sharing a bed with a man who is great at convincing me on cold mornings (okay any morning at this point...I am weak and unmotivated) to stay there in the warm covers and "run later". Not a problem unless "later" never comes which often times is the case. Despite our digression from our former intensity of running, we still make the occasional venture out around the neighborhood on nice days and weekends. And you know what? I am OK with that! Entering local races is truly the only way we are now held accountable for running, and honestly we were a bit under prepared for this race. It was a tough 6.2 miles, but we finished, burned some calories, ate a huge breakfast and felt proud. Check out the pictures: We left the house at 5:40 AM....one downside of organized running...there is no sleeping in!

Here are my shinny shoes...as you can tell they haven't had as much wear as the should...

Someone wishes we were back under those warm covers....notice the bed head he didn't mind wearing out in public. I love that he is confident even with bed head.

This is our friend John Paul...without him we may not have left those warm covers. Thanks for the accountability John Paul!

The boys...a little happier now that they have had some time to wake up...

I really should put on some makeup before these things....oh well..trying to decide if I should wear my sweatshirt.

A local told us about this place...a greasy spoon that has not changed since the fifties...I had eggs, sausage, biscuits, hash browns, and coffee for less than $5! Check out the refrigerator. It is still functional....

Glad we got out of bed for this race. That is the thing about running....you never regret going once you have finished.

Nathalie