3 month check up



This post is a little late, but better late than never right?

With B before going for a quick 2 mile run.

I'm 3+ months out from having a baby and things are going well! There are still several pounds left of baby weight but it takes time and honestly I haven't really been trying to lose it or worrying much about it. I'm just taking my time and am mainly concerned with just being happy. I think that's a good way to be a few months after having a baby.

I did join a gym again and I have been enjoying it but not using it as much as I thought/hoped I would. My mom has been helpful with Brody but it is hard to schedule time to go to a morning class when you don't know if you will be getting enough sleep the night before. We also move pretty slow in the morning. I'm lucky to get out of the house by 11AM.

That will change next month though. B starts daycare and even though I am still on maternity leave until mid October, we have to pay for it so I might as well use it. My plan to get our butts up and moving early so I can drop him off at daycare and make it to the gym classes on time, then run a few errands and go pick him up. I get a little break, use of the gym and use of daycare. This will also get me back into a routine for work...which is a subject I really don't want to talk about.

My little man at 3 months! It has gone by SO FAST. I want to spend every minute with him and that adorable smile.

Crabby butt :-)

The other thing I have been up to is photography. In 2010 I purchased my Nikon SLR but never really knew how to use it. I hate reading directions and although I love the camera, I've been frustrated with it. A Groupon popped up in my email one day for online photo classes so I started taking them. They have been great and so helpful! Especially the one I am taking now which is teaching me about the basics of the camera. Things I knew when I was in high school but forgot over the years and never knew how to do on the digital camera. Here's an example of what I did this weekend:

We were in PA and I went out on the four wheeler alone with my camera. There is a trail through the woods, so I took the picture above with the regular settings on the camera. It was taken at dusk.

Then I changed the settings, using what I have learned, and took the picture below. Whoa! Same shot, Big difference!

This is another one I took overlooking the property with the farmhouse and the barn. I'm enjoying taking better pictures.

Things are going good. Life is getting back to "normal" for us after surviving the first months with a newborn. They get SO much easier as they get older, and a lot more enjoyable.

My body is definitely better than it was just a few weeks ago although my lower abdomen is still sensitive when it comes to working it. We'll get there. Earlier today I was looking at some pictures from my bachelorette party 2 years ago and that was some good motivation. I was in the best shape of my life. I'm ready to get back to that, and back to running.

Glow Run RVA 5K at Maymont

This past Saturday was the first ever Glow Run RVA at Maymont. It was a 5K. It kind of kicked my butt.

I haven't run anything since last October and I thought this would be a good way to break back into races. It was a good way to start after being out of the game for so long, but I had forgotten exactly what makes a "fun run". Fun run means lots of walkers...and kids. Now I have no problem with kids, but they kind of get in the way when you are trying to actually run. The first mistake I made was to start near the back of the pack. There were no corrals since this race was so small, so everyone just clumped together and I actually had to walk to the start line and then past it before I could start running. The "glow" part of it was kind of fun too. We got glow sticks to wear and they had colored lights on the trees and along some of the paths.  Here's what I figured out during this race:

The good stuff:
-running through Maymont
-running in the evening
-it was short

The bad stuff:
-lots of kids
-lots of walkers
-kids stopping in front of you to pick up dropped glow sticks
-HILLS.


Walking through the start!

Overall it was a fun race but not one that you would try to set a new PR during. The hills in Maymont are killer and the paths are pretty narrow so you cannot pass people very easily. On the upside, if you are from RVA you know how this city loves Maymont and what it means to us and it was cool to see it in a different way. Also, one good thing is that you did not have to run down to the Japanese gardens and back up. That might have killed me.

My favorite thing about this race was my new fan! B came to his first race to see his mommy run! It was awesome to see B & C on the sidelines and it will be even more fun when he can see and understand what is going on around him.

My littlest fan!

I already signed up for the HCA 8K in the fall that goes with the marathon. After this past weekend I know I won't be ready to start training for a half in the fall so that will have to wait for the spring. I'm excited to take it easy though and to be running again!