Pancakeiscute is moving...

I am moving over to a wordpress blog. I've read Wordpress looks more professional and you can do more with it. My goal is to one day make Pancakeiscute a little more like some of the really well done blogs out there. I have a ways to go on both appearance and content, but I plan to keep tweaking it and hopefully getting something a little better looking and more interesting. Of all my hobbies, blogging has proven to be one of the few I can keep up, mainly because I can do it without having to leave the house.

So anyhow, it will take me a few days to move over what I want to and clean it up, so be patient, and don't say "I thought she said this would end up looking better, not worse."

So from now on, please visit Pancakeiscute.wordpress.com

Just like an elite runner...

I am now a big fan of Kara Goucher. I discovered her blog and it is awesome!!! I feel like I could have written her last post. It seems like I just had the exact same run not so long ago...

Read it here.

I have no new Jasper photos. We went hiking Sunday, and lugging the camera along was just yet another thing, so here is an old photo of Jasper and I having a pint at the Flying Saucer. He was the only one in the bar who had a stuffed rat at the table...

Our news for this week: the Owl is starting a new daycare in another week or so. I was a little nervous about some changes at his current daycare, and it prompted me just to investigate what was out there. A friend told me about a brand new, non-chain place right by us that turned out to be great. There is a huge sandbox, outside time everyday, snacks from a natural food chef, an effort to minimize plastic toys, they recycle, and lots of other cool things. Of course it costs a lot more, but I think in the long run it will be worth it. I will miss seeing Jasper everyday at lunch, but that was coming to an end anyway, as he was starting to cry when I left. So we are excited for a change that I think will be positive.

It is taper time. Like most runners I love/ hate to taper. On one hand it is nice to not to have a big run every Saturday, but I'll miss that big run every Saturday. We still have some good workouts and this weekend is still a decent run, but I've peaked. I had a fantastic run today dipping way below marathon pace for my miles....I'm bummed tomorrow is an off day, but I have to be at work so early running isn't an option, so I guess it's good to force me into a day off. I am already wondering what is next. Hopefully I will get to be an Austin marathon pacer in February, if I am not I will still run it, but other than that, I have no plans. I am thinking about either the Waco or Prickly Pear 50K in the spring. I also want to do some of the local fall/ winter races. The Decker half marathon and the 3M half marathon are both possibilities. No Rocky Raccoon this year though. I just can't justify leaving Jasper for a weekend to go to Huntsville, and I can't justify putting Mike through the torture of being in a motel room in Huntsville all weekend with a baby.

Oh, and in other running news I looked into protein powders for post run smoothies. Meredith recommended the Vega brand. I went to Central Market to get it and was shocked that it was $65. A single serving envelope was over $3. I've never bought food supplements before, so I had no idea they were so expensive. The cheapest protein powder there was still $20, which is a lot for a food I may think is gross and throw away. But, $65?!? That is a race entry, a really cute running outfit, a few nights of eating out....you get the idea. So for now post run smoothies will be greek yogurt, skim milk, a banana and a handful of frozen blueberries.

Ok, I'd better get to bed. Jasper seems to have a good night, which for him is about 3-4 wakes ups, and then a bad night, which for him is 10-12 wake ups. Last night was 4 wake ups, but I was so tired I fell asleep in his room when I went to rock him. Steve recommend a super awesome rocking chair, but I swear, I am so sick of spending time in that thing, and sleeping half my night in it, I may have to donate it to charity when the Owl starts sleeping through the night.

Not friends...

As good as it gets...

Yesterday was the longest run for my first marathon as a mom. It was a little over 23 miles. I was worried about this one due to the Owl sleeping so bad all week. We had a full weekend too with Mike's sister and niece here, so I knew I just had to get up very early and get this run done. Mark was kind enough to meet me at 5am, and we were off.

Jasper slept as good as he is capable of the night before. 2 wake ups. That's it. That is huge for him, and I was so happy I wasn't trying to do the run on 2 hours sleep. I ate a little later the night before than I wanted, but tried to fret about it. Thai bean noodles with tofu. I had a banana and some blueberry coffee cake before I headed out...it was all we had. I left Mike instructions to make my post run smoothie at 830 to be ready for me the minute I walked through the door. Jasper stayed asleep while I got ready to go, always a good thing.

Ok, back to the run. We ran to meet the group at town lake. The 6.5 miles flew by, and a bonus for me, I had no bladder discomfort/ issues. Sorry for the TMI details, but for my new mom and mom to be friends, they'll understand. I still hit the bathroom, as I tossed by bottle to Mark to refill. I've developed a regular Indy pit stop now as I sprint to the bathroom and someone refills my water bottle for me. I had a GU, and we were off the the second part of the run.

Steve, Meghan and Frank joined us for the next 14 miles or so. The weather was good, and we chatted away. Frank had stashed water refills along the way, and I had the luxury of a Starbucks bathroom.

We left the group after a long pretty stretch down Shoal Creek Blvd. It seemed like we were really far from my house. For those from Austin, you understand that east Austin seems a world away. At this point we were almost done though. I really needed a third bathroom stop, so a slight accident occurred almost at the end. I just don't see how a post partum bladder can withstand over 3 hours of running and 3 bottles of watered down gatorade. I have been assured by Mark there are a lot of bathrooms on course at the Frankenthon though.

But, other than a little accident the run went as good as a long run could. I didn't worry about pace, as I just wanted to check the box that it was done. But we averaged 8:40s, and I did not stop my Garmin at traffic lights or water stops. I did stop it to run into Starbucks, but I think if we hadn't had lights, we easily would have averaged 8:30s. My nutrition was spot on. I know it's not as critical in a marathon as in an ultra, but it is still nice to run your final miles feeling good. We hit 8 minute pace at the end too, which was fantastic. My post run smoothie and cold bath worked well too. I still need to figure out a good protein powder, but for now I do a banana, a scoop of greek yogurt, skim milk and a handful of frozen blueberries. I drank it the minute I got home, so I think that helped too.

We later went to an Octoberfest about an hour away. I felt pretty good despite only having a beer and a potato pancake. I wouldn't have normally done that, but sometimes you have to go with the flow. I was pretty tired by 930 though, but I didn't feel that was unreasonable. I ran 23 miles, I was outside all day, I still was up a couple times during the night, and I had a 415 wake up. So, overall I was very happy with the final big effort for this race.

Today was an 8 mile danish run and I felt good. I was a little tight, but despite our big effort the day before, we ran well. I am happy to end the big runs on a confident note.

We are about to go for a little hike at McKinney Falls. So, I might get some cute new Owl photos. Until then, I give you another shot of the beautiful Rocky Mountains.

The Owl sleeps!

Mike took all these cool praying mantis photos and they are the only new ones I have, so you get to enjoy them.

Jasper is doing much better. I reread my last post, and I hate that I sound so doom and gloom...but a week of just a couple hours of sleep each night will do that...especially when the 2 hours is in a few 30 minute increments. He gave me a couple 4 hour stretches the last 2 nights, and I feel fine on that. I did nothing different, so I don't think I will ever know why some nights are fine, and some aren't. I still look forward to the day I put him down to bed and it doesn't begin a countdown of "when will he wake up?", but for now, I will take the 3-4 hour stretches. Last night I had to get up 3 times with him, but that is a huge improvement from about a dozen times earlier in the week. I hope tonight is a good one for my 23 miler tomorrow.

And as far as daycare goes, I got a lot of good suggestions from folks, so I don't feel as bad. I would love for his current situation to work out, since it is right at my work, but if it doesn't I feel like I have a couple options to look into.

So, despite how I might have sounded, I have some good stuff going on. I won't lie, that there have been some tough times when I wish desperately for more time, as it is just hard to manage everything in 24 hours....but when you don't sleep I guess you get a little more time (haha). But our weather is good, I think summer is finally over. I had awesome pace runs this week, despite so little sleep (it was the weather, not me), and I still cannot believe I am about to do my peak run for my marathon training. A year ago I didn't think I would ever get back to being able to run that long.

Ok, gotta get ready for work, while the Owl sleeps :)

What a week....and it's only Wednesday. Thank you to everyone for their suggestions to get the Owl to sleep. They were timely, as this has been our worst week yet. He's been up every half an hour to hour. Last night I swore if I didn't sleep I would lose it. I'll spare the gory details, but I ended up with 1.5 hours of sleep for me, at the end of a week of 2-4 hours. Work was painful today. This weekend I am going to really try and get to the root of what is causing this. There is a reason sleep deprivation is considered a form of torture, and I am convinced you could get someone to admit to anything once they are sleep deprived enough. It really messes with your head. On top of it we all have some version of the Owl's latest cold, so none of us are 100%, and when you add that to sleeping a couple hours a night, it makes for major grouchiness.

We also had some bad day care news that they want to move Jasper in with the toddlers on Monday. These kids have a rigid schedule and are 12-18 months old. They are moving him and one other baby to make room for more infants. I am pissed they gave me no notice, I have to pay for the next month on October 1, so leaving them for another daycare in such a short time span is unlikely, and I don't really have a choice. It could work, but an 8 month old is very different from an 18 month old, and I am worried his needs won't be met. I am looking into other daycares just in case. It was a big wrench thrown into our lives though. I thought I had reliable childcare, and now I don't feel like I don't. I've had a lot of suggestions from folks though, so I am optimistic that we will find something. I will miss how easy it is to have daycare basically at my work, but no convenience is worth it if they do not take good care of Jasper.

Anyhow, in better news I have a very good shot at being a pace group leader for the Austin marathon in February. Getting an email about it was the brightest spot in my week. I had so much fun in 2009, and it like reliving the feeling for finishing a marathon for the first time all over again.

In my own training news, when I am getting this little sleep, training is all about doing the best I can do. Pace and tempo runs are hard when 8 hours of sleep is my week total. I am out there every morning, but maybe not as quickly as I would like. This weekend Mark and I have a 23 mile route mapped out. I am ready to finish it and really know I am a distance runner once again.

So yeah, a bit of a down week. Once I can get the sleeping under a little control I hope to be a little more optimistic. On that note, it is 830, Jasper is asleep, so I am going to try and sneak in a little nap before we wakes up