We’re going to have a…

So the general consensus from my blog readers, as well as from my friends and family in general, is that I’m having a boy. Whether it’s because of the way I’m carrying, or how different this pregnancy has been, or even just because I already have two girls, most people have guessed that we’ll finally be adding some blue to all the pink & purple around here. In fact, out of my family I do believe the Little Miss was THE only one to guess girl.

And I won’t drag this out, because I know the suspense is just killing you all. Well, almost all of you. There is that one blog reader who got online and tracked down my registry because she couldn’t take the wait any longer. Yep, I know you did it you big peeker you! It was the Facebook tease post that drove you over the edge today wasn’t it? (And if any of you are wondering why I have a registry for baby #3, that’d have to do with the fact that almost all of my baby stuff was in the basement. You know, the same basement that flooded about a month ago. I’ve got A LOT of stuff to replace and so I’m all about getting some of those “Congratulations on your new baby! Anything left on your registry we’ll give you a discount on” discounts.)

But for the rest of you who waited so patiently, I’m thrilled to tell you all that we are being blessed with a

 

GIRL!!!

 

And let me just go ahead and answer the top three questions I’ve been getting whenever somebody finds out.

1. Oh are you disappointed? Did you want a boy? Heck no! I love my girls. I’m used to girls. And quite frankly, I’m a little intimidated by the thought of a boy considering both my girls are high energy and super rambunctious. If it is as I’ve been told (over and over) that little boys are far more of a handful than little girls, I have no idea how I would be able to handle that. Besides, my husband says we’re still working on balancing out the testosterone around here so we needed another girl(HA HA).

2. Are you going to try again for a boy after this one? I have no idea. One baby at a time please. And if all we ever have are three girls, we have been TREMENDOUSLY blessed. BIG TIME.

3. What’s her name going to be? Um…A little help on this one please? We have no clue and can’t seem to agree on anything and we’re running out of time to come up with something. So by all means, leave us a suggestion with your favorite girl names and we’ll be eternally grateful.

And so there you have it, another little running princess will be welcomed into the family soon. We’re all very excited around here to meet her and I can’t wait to share her stories with you all too!

 

P.S. Don’t forget I’ve got a Road ID giveaway running right now! It doesn’t take much to enter and you can win a Road ID model of your choice. Details here.

The baby belly

I’ve been asked….repeatedly (you know who you are ;-) but don’t worry you’re not the only one) for a picture of the baby belly.

And I’ll be perfectly honest, I’m not entirely excited to post one. It’s not that I don’t just adore how I look pregnant or anything (although adore may be stretching it.) It just happens to be the hottest summer in my area in 134 years. With two little girlies to chase around while in my last trimester of pregnancy, that doesn’t exactly have me putting my best face forward in photos if you know what I mean. I’m hot, tired, sweaty and I’ve given up on much more than a ponytail or a hat.

All that being said, here’s me in all my pregnant glory…

  A few weeks ago, blueberry picking with the Tiger. Well, I’m picking. She’s eating.

 I’m behind Ole Miss.  That’s Tiger and I heading off at the beginning of her big fun run. I’m wearing the only race tech shirt that still fits.

This was part of a little field day my mom, sister & I had for our kids. At this particular moment, The Little Miss is taking a swing break. 

Also field day, here my nephew (whom I’m not allowed to show you) just nailed me with a water balloon. I realize you can’t totally see my belly, but this picture makes me laugh every time I see it because as I’m getting soaked Tiger is entirely oblivious to the real purpose of water balloons. She just kept squeezing them ‘til they’d pop.

This was today. I’m 8 months.

And now that you’ve officially seen the baby belly. I have one question, boy or girl? Any guesses?

Need a few more details to make an accurate educated (old wives’ tale) sort of guess? Here’s 10 random factoids about my pregnancy for you to consider:

1) I have two girls already.

2) I thought both times my girls were boys. They weren’t.

3) My gut told me right away this was a boy.

4) No morning sickness whatsoever with the first two. This one I spent the first 4 months with either morning sickness, a virus, or some combination of the two.

5) Far more tired and uncomfortable this time than I remember with either of my other pregnancies (although, this time I have two kiddos to chase around, one of whom is in fact, a Tiger).

6) This baby is constantly moving. ALWAYS. (although, my placenta was in the front for both girls & my OBGYN said you feel less movement when that’s the case. This time it’s in the back.)

7) Although I’m wickedly tired, it takes FOREVER to fall asleep and I can’t sleep more than an hour or two at a time.

8) My belly button is still in with no signs of making an outward appearance.

9) The Little Miss says we’re having a girl.

10) Tiger thinks we’re having a pony.

Ok…so there’s way more than you ever wanted to know about me being pregnant, but I know there’s all kinds of theories out there as to how you can tell if someone’s having a boy or a girl so I thought I’d give you a few details.

So what do you think? Boy or Girl? (Or pony?)

 

P.S. I probably should mention I already know and have been keeping it a secret. A few of you know already too, so don’t spill it! I’ll do that on Friday :-)

P.P.S. Did you see I posted a Road ID Giveaway just before the weekend? Here’s your chance to win a Road ID of your choice! Don’t miss it!

Road ID Review take 2 PLUS Giveaway

In honor of our recent life altering accomplishment of reaching the big 5 0 0 “likes” on Facebook (I still can’t believe it. I’d like to thank the academy…) and Road ID’s awesome new product launch, I do believe a celebration of sorts is in order. And of course, any good blog celebration really means only one thing: GIVEAWAY!!! So read on my friend, there’s one coming!!!

Now, many of you are already aware I’m a HUGE fan of Road ID. For those of you who missed my original review (complete with thug duckery and toddler trauma) it’s right here for the reading should you have a little spare time on your hands. But since most of you are running moms and at the mention of “spare time” probably just laughed out loud so hard you snorted, I’ll give you the abbreviated version and save you a click.

Basically, Road ID is a form of personal identification you wear when you go out for a run because (and I know we don’t like to think about this but) you just never know when something could happen.  Your Road ID will speak for you when you can’t.

Now last year, the product I was sent to try out was the Wrist ID Elite. That’d be my pretty little Road ID right there. It’s got my name, a few important people to call, and the fact that I’ve got a medication allergy on it. It’s sleek, adjustable, customizable, waterproof and not in the least bit irritating in any way. Swear. I LOVE it and pretty much would feel naked at this point running without it. And while I realize running in the buff is becoming more and more in fashion these days, SO not for me, particularly not while 8 months pregnant. (Can you just imagine? No wait…don’t. Please. I beg you.)

So when Scott from Outside PR contacted me again to see if I’d be game for trying out a couple of new Road ID products, I TOTALLY was.

This time he wanted me to give the new Slim ID a shot, but not JUST me. He thought it’d be great for my daughters too. I jumped at the chance for the Little Miss to get one. Now that she’s in school and away from me a lot more, I like the idea of someone being able to contact me immediately if she gets into trouble. They’ll be no looking for her file or trying to pull up her information on a computer, wherever she is her teacher/sub/principle/playground supervisor or whoever can just take a look right at her wrist and call me. I especially like the idea of it for field trips when the everyday routine at school is anything BUT routine.

I also like it because since I first found out about Road ID a year ago, we’ve learned that the medication allergy I have didn’t fall far from the tree. The Little Miss has got it too and it’s a fairly commonly used medication so I like the fact that she’s wearing that warning information right on her wrist. In the case of an emergency, medical personnel would know about her allergy even if they hadn’t gotten a hold of me yet or say perhaps I was involved in the same accident and unable to tell them (**shudder** gosh I REALLY don’t like thinking about this stuff, but it’s SO very important we do, even if just for a moment to take care of business).

So I let the Little Miss design her own Road ID, which mostly just means she chose the color of hers and yep, I certainly let her choose mine too. Pink of course. Here’s her receiving her fancy schmancy “new bracelet”:

I really have no idea what she’s eyeballing over there in the corner, but I promise you the excitement is for her package. She loves getting mail!

And  here’s the two of us looking tough with our matching id’s:

(Yes, I know. I’m way tired looking. Baby on the way never seems to want to sleep which thus means neither do I.)

Now, these Slim ID’s are very similar to the Wrist ID Elite. Pretty much the same sleek materials, only…slimmer (that totally went without saying didn’t it?) They’re about the size of those Live Strong bracelets that you now see everywhere with all sorts of different things on them.

They’ve got a line less of text than the Wrist ID Elite (but still PLENTY of room to get all the vital info on them). Also unlike the Elite, they’re not adjustable. The Wrist ID Elite you cut to make fit your wrist once you receive it. These you just slide on. No cutting required, but don’t worry about fit because Road ID’s got you covered with a handy dandy little measuring chart so you can be sure to order just the right size (and you don’t even need a tape measure to do so, only a dollar bill. Do they think of everything or what?)

So The Little Miss, much as expected, loves this bracelet with her name on it and our little extra added message of: “We love you!!!.” In fact, I’m currently listening to her snore away in my bed as I type, sleeping oh so peacefully and yes, still wearing her bracelet. And you know, considering this is how she wears a bike helmet:

I’m thinking it’s wise to have a Road ID on her wrist (but then again, she is wearing it for an art project and not actually ON a bike. Still, I’m thinking better safe than sorry right?)

As for the Tiger. I. AM. KICKING. MYSELF. You all know my Tiger right? Leave her alone in a room for a nap and she’ll find the one unplastic protected stray wooden corner to chew apart or the tiniest hole in a pillow and do this: (I thought she took a two hour nap. She was soooooo quiet as she literally destroyed that pillow. Seriously, you are only looking at one corner of the room and it was EVERYWHERE. She was so fully proud of herself too. I on the other hand, had no idea there could be so much fluff in just one pillow!)

So I declined the offer to make a Slim ID for the Tiger thinking realistically, she’d probably just eat it or choke on the little metal information bar (although now that I see it live and in person, I’m not sure that bar is choking size. Swallowing size? Yes. Choking size? I don’t think so, plus it’d be really REALLY tough to get off anyway.)

Now, she hasn’t noticed her sister’s yet, but she did mine as I gave her a bath and after a lot of pleading, I finally took mine off and let her wear it. She totally digs it and just thinks she’s something else wearing her “bracelet.” I never saw her put it anywhere near her mouth even once. Apparently, her pretty pretty jewelry does not fall into the devour it quickly category like most other things around the house. (I mean really, who eats their jewelry? I should know better.) I totally should have gotten one for her and just taken it off during naps and at bedtime when she’s out of my watch that one like a hawk view. Ah well…hindsight….you know.

But anyway, I do believe Road ID nailed it with another sweet product here. They’re the perfect size, totally durable and best of all, they want to GIVE one of you lucky readers one! And not just a Slim ID, but ANY ONE YOU WANT!!! The Sport ID, The Wrist ID Elite, The Slim ID, The Shoe ID, The Ankle ID, The Fixx ID (which kind of looks like dog tags), they’ve got an ID for pretty much anywhere you want to put it. They’ve even got a brand new SCOUT ID for your fine furry friends. That’s right! You read that correctly, that’s the other new product the brains behind Road ID have come up with. It fits any 1 inch wide collar and even works great with horse bridles too! So pet lovers, take note because a Scout ID is an available choice for the winner of this giveaway too!

And there’s just one more thing I want to mention before I get to this giveaway (I know, I know, I’m going on and on here, but I’m almost done and you’ve got scrolling powers. If I’m making you crazy already, just scroll on down.)

Not long after I had received my first Road ID, I started purchasing them for the runners I love in my life: my husband, my mom, my dad. But one person that never crossed my mind to purchase one for was my Grandma (Busia to my girls for any of you Polish peeps out there). Afterall, she isn’t a runner. That all changed though when she was out shopping one day and fell down getting off the escalator. Disoriented when the store staff came to help her, she couldn’t remember anyone’s phone number to call. She was ok, but it scared her and it scared us. What if she hadn’t been ok? My Dad got online right away and ordered her up a Road ID. Now when she goes anywhere, she’s got a list of her kids & grandkids phone numbers right on her wrist. Road ID is NOT just for runners. It’s for anyone.

So let’s not waste any more time and get another Road ID out on somebody’s wrist (or ankle, or shoe, or beloved pet):

REQUIRED TO ENTER:

1) Be a follower of this blog. It’s the only way I can find you if you win! If you are already, GREAT. If not, peek over to the right sidebar. It’ll take you all of two seconds to become one. 

2) Leave me a comment. Tell me and the fine folks at Road ID who in your life you’d like to see wearing a Road ID and why? (And yes, it’s completely fine if that person is you.)

Once you’ve done both of those things, you’re in. But if you’d like to better your odds, here’s a few ways to increase your chances of winning:

• Like Road ID on Facebook
• Like Secrets of A Running Mom on Facebook
• Update your Facebook Status about this contest
• Follow Road ID on Twitter
• Follow Me on Twitter
• Tweet about this contest
• Mention this contest in your favorite online running community (Mom on the Run Community perhaps?)
• Tell some people you know who you think might be interested in Road ID about this contest
• Send a massive spam email to all your friends on your email list about this contest (KIDDDING!!! Just maybe pick the ones you think might be interested and let them know. Don’t spam. Nobody likes spam. If you are a spammer. Stop it.)
• Blog about this contest
• Add me to your blog roll
• Add a link to this contest somewhere on your blog or website
• Do something else totally creative that I haven’t thought of yet, that would spread the word about this contest and Road ID

Do as many or as few as you like, each method will be worth one additional entry into the giveaway. You’ll just need to let me know which methods you’ve done and you can do so in just one comment. Deadline for entering the contest is Tuesday, September 6th, 2011. I’ll have one of my kiddos randomly select the winner from a big bowl of entries and announce it the next day. The winner will have one week to contact me, otherwise I’ll let the kiddo who didn’t get to draw a winner take a turn and we’ll try again.

Good luck!!!

 

P.S. I would HIGHLY suggest following Road ID on Facebook or Twitter. They have the SWEETEST giveaways. Massive giveaways. I’m talking Trek Bikes, running shoes, all sorts of goodies that you don’t want to miss out on.  Or, you know, DON’T follow them. That’s cool by me. In fact, pretend I didn’t even mention this (I will win a Road ID Giveaway one day, I will win a Road ID giveaway one day. I will win…)

P.P.S. For those of you who don’t want to wait for this giveaway to end, you just want to order a Road ID RIGHT NOW, I’ve got about 15 more days left on my tell a friend coupon. It’s good for a dollar off any ID and can be used up to 20 times. So feel free to use it. First come first served. Enter this code at checkout: ThanksKelly8174064

Kids race report & the #1 reason you should enter your little one in a fun run

So apparently, my dad has been expecting a race report on this past weekend’s kids’ fun run that I entered my girls in and my silence has entirely let him down (sorry about that pops!). I suppose it’s getting to be old hat for me, these kids races, since we’ve been entering my oldest daughter in them since she was about  2 1/2 (she’s 5 1/2 now). But he’s entirely right. Shame on me for short changing my little kiddos’ running accomplishments. So race report it shall be!

We’ll start with The Little Miss, who ran in step with RunDad and had another great race (at least as far as I know, I didn’t see a second of it, you’ll see why in just a minute).  For those of you who are keeping score, she’s still a big fan of the Galloway run/walk style of running. She runs a little then walks a little. But RunDad said she’s starting to keep a nice even pace while she runs, rather than starting at a full out sprint which inevitably gradually slows to a walk and that she’s got this great long bounding stride when she runs. (Way to go darling!)

Now as for the Tiger, this was only her 2nd race and it was quite a jump in mileage for her. She went from running a kids race about 100 meters or so long on 4th of July weekend (which I’d love to post the video of btw, but I’m having some trouble with that file. Cross your fingers, I’m still working on it.) to a great big 1/2 mile this past weekend. I honestly wasn’t going put her in this one at first because I figured it was a little too long and since Daddy would be running with the Little Miss that meant I’d be accompanying her and the thought of having to carry her for nearly a 1/2 a mile in the heat while very pregnant because she wasn’t interested in running that far did not sound in any way appealing.

Besides, even if she did make it the whole way on her own, we’ve run this kids’ course before and I was well aware that it’d all be run on pavement. And, well…the thing about my Tiger is she’s very VERY tall and not entirely in control of those long limbs of hers just yet. Remember Phoebe on Friends running?

 

 

Multiply that times oh, about 100 when she’s running at top speed. Don’t get me wrong, it’s fully entertaining to watch, but frequent falling is pretty much a staple in the daily routine around here(fortunately the child has been blessed with a very solid head & a seriously high pain tolerance so most of the time she just gets back up and keeps right on running. No harm done…yet).

But with two of her cousins AND her sister running, I figured it was going to be pretty tough to keep her confined to a stroller.  Then, when we were at that same park the race was going to be held at earlier in the week for a picnic and my 5 year old pointed out a sign for the race, it was all over.

“I race too Mommy? I race too? Mommy, I wan a race!” I knew sitting her on the sidelines was not going to be an option, at least not if I wanted to avoid alligator tears and a squirmy screaming stroller tantrum (probably accompanied with a few shouts of, “HALP! HALP! Somebody halp me PEAS!l” and just in case no one around responds to her cries for help she’ll resort to Spanish when necessary “Ayudeme! Ayudeme!” Thanks a lot Dora.) on race morning. So I just figured we’d take our time, I’d put her in long pants to try to save her knees from complete and utter decimation, and I went ahead and  entered her.

To my surprise, she did GREAT!!! I of course made her get to the back of the pack at the starting line so she wouldn’t wind up a race casualty plowed down by some serious running kids the moment the horn went off, but those little uncoordinated limbs were working as hard as they could to catch up once I did let her go. There was really no way that was going to happen, but no matter, she was grinning from ear to ear anyway. Kids that young don’t care whether they’re first or last, they just want to RUN.

By the time we got to the first turn, we were pretty much all alone other than one very small boy behind us and her tiny 2 1/2 year old cousin not too awful far ahead. But a course volunteer saw my little Tiger giving it all she had, got down on her knees to be eye to eye, clapped and told her she was doing great. “Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!” (melt my heart) my little out of breath running princess gasped.

Not too long after that first turn though, she slowed to a walk and I started to fear I’d lose her. We were after all, at that moment, running by a playground and to run by one and NOT stop to play I fully realized was waaaaaaaay too much to ask of a 2 year old. She stood and talked about it for a little bit. I tried to get her to run again, but she wasn’t nearly as interested in that as the swings and slide, so I just scooped her up and carried her for a little while until she started to focus again on the race (which actually means she got distracted from the playground when she spotted her cousin ahead of us running and set off to “go get her.”) I put the Tiger down and she picked up the pace back to flailing until…

“MOMMY! Da big mountain!” We rounded the corner and there it was. The massive sledding hill that I sometimes take the girls to for running hill repeats (don’t judge me. They LOVE running that big hill and it sets them both in the napping mood, thus I too love that hill ) As soon as she spotted it, she made a hard left right off the race course towards it (she may not have won the race, but I guarantee she was the only kid trying to add hills!). I chased her down and brought her back to the course to finish up. We were almost done and I pointed out the big finish line balloon she was going to get to run under to divert her attention away from the hill and back to the task at hand. “BAWOON!!! I wan see a bawoon!” She was thrilled.

At this point, RunDad had already crossed the finish with the Little Miss so he ran back to see how we were doing and cheer The Tiger along. Unfortunately, we were running straight into the sun, so as he cheered her on she kept yelling back, “Daddy, I can’t see you! Where are you?” pretty much all the way to the finish.

And can I just say, God bless those people who will wait near the finish and cheer on the 2nd to last little one to cross the finish line (she somehow managed to stay ahead of that one little boy) because the smile on her face when she realized that little bit of applause was for her was completely priceless!

She did get a little nervous about running under the finish line balloon though, but eventually we coaxed her through where she received her bling bling.

And then, the best part. Much like her sister, my Tiger is a HUGE fan of snacks. Granola bars, apples, bananas, cups of water and all just sitting out at her level for the taking. It was snack heaven!

But besides, the fun, the snacks, the roaring adoring crowds, and the thrill of a running under a finish line balloon, the number one reason to enter your little tyke in a fun run is…..

A 3 HOUR NAP!!!

Seriously. Out like a light. Not a single wah, whine, or word of displeasure when I laid her down. PLUS she went to bed at her normal bedtime without a fuss. Need I say more? You’re already looking up kids races aren’t you?

And here Is where I’d love to put a picture of my girls with their medals on, but since those pictures are trapped on my mom’s camera because the cord she uses to upload them is broken, you’ll just have to imagine it. It'd be pretty similar to that first picture except they’re both beaming with pride wearing their hard earned medals around their neck. It’s really cute.

 

P.S. Giveaway coming! Tomorrow or Friday and it’s a good one, so don’t miss it!

P.P.S. For those of you who are wondering, the answer is no. This kids race was DB free

GUEST POST: An Unspoken Running Rule

FINALLY!! After a year and a half of blogging and a WHOLE lot of prodding, FINALLY, the one, the only, RUNSIS is going to make her blog debut in the form of a guest post!!! (Can you just hear my excitement?) Time after time, I have BEGGED this woman to share with you all the wit & humor of her running insights. Most of the time, I get nothing more than a grin and a “maybe” or a “we’ll see.” But this time, this time one runner has taken his cluelessness to extremes and she just couldn’t resist putting pen to paper any longer. My comments are in pink, but here’s her story:

Oh wow. A guest post. First, I’d like to say I’m honored just to be nominated (I mean asked)! Second, please be aware I’m writing this post mostly from a mother’s point of view, not so much a runner’s. My husband thinks I’m now a running snob, so if I offend you, let me apologize in advance and assure you that I am in fact, a nice person. Please, hold harmless Runfastmommy as all accounts are purely from my perspective.

And now, on with the events of this past weekend…

My 6 year old son and I signed up for a local 1 mile fun run/walk. Even though it was pricey ($18), it was not to be missed since the finish line was at a super cool location & the money went to charity.

We arrived early for our 10am start and the 5K/10K participants were still finishing from their 8:30 start. When our start time approached, we headed out to the starting line and that’s when I noticed a super fit (shirtless) middle-aged man with a medal draped victoriously around his neck. I didn’t know they were giving out medals and hoped they were handing them out in the kids run too since it would be a really nice souvenir for my son.

As we waited for the horn to signal the start, superfit running guy lined up at the start of the fun run too (medal and all). “Aww, how cute,”  I thought. He won his age group and now he’s running with his kid(s). But that was not the case.

Just before the horn, he slipped his medal off and prepared to crush the field of juniors. I only saw him once more, as we passed by each other on the out and back portion of the run. He was running ALONE out in front of two 12 year old boys who were desperately trying to keep ahead of the girl behind them (seriously, they kept asking each other if she was still there and if she was catching up.)

Then I forgot about superfit running man, who I now have affectionately renamed DB (a.k.a. douche bag) and enjoyed the race with my son. My little superstar took off the last 300 meters of the race at a pace I’ve never seen out of him before. And I let him have his moment of glory, as I dropped back so he could beat not only me, but the little girl who had to stopped to tie her shoe. I couldn’t have been prouder.

My thoughts came back to DB though as my parents informed me that (after jumping the starting horn so as not to let another little boy who did the same get ahead of him) he had in fact demolished the field of children and handicapped youth that participated in the race.

Now, my husband believes I have become a running snob. He presented a couple of theories as to why an age group winner of a 5k (yeah, that’s right I looked him up because that’s how I roll) would take part in the 1 miler.

First theory: He needed to run more mileage. Ok I’ll bite. So he must have needed to run 4 miles on this particular day. First, he ran 3.1 miles at a sub 7 minute per mile pace and then waited around for an hour and ten minutes to complete his run? That doesn’t make sense to me.

Second theory: He’s practicing for a future 1 mile race or speed work. Um ok. Nothing would boost my confidence more than beating a bunch of kids and adult beginners. Furthermore, the race wasn’t even timed and no one was directing you at the slightly confusing turnaround and the many different cones you could have chosen to turn around at. Sign up for an ACTUAL ADULT 1 Mile race, like at the CRIM in a couple of weeks. Do your speed work somewhere else, like a local track. We get it, DB. You’re fast.

Third theory: He mistakenly thought it was going to be an adult 1 mile timed race. OK then, when you line up at the start, note that as a man of average height you are in fact towering over ALL of your competition and by God man, STAND DOWN OR SLOW DOWN!

That was pretty much my hubby’s only “reasons.” My biggest problem is that this race was for the KIDS and if my kid had finished 2nd to DB, I would be furious!! The 5K/10K were for adults and any kids that wanted to try. Let the kids have their moment to shine. I hope at DB’s next 5K he gets smoked by a couple of superfast kiddos at the finish line (I know they’re out there).

Not cool DB. Not cool.

And mega props to my mom (that’d be Runnana) who gave HER age group medal to her grandson for for coming in 1st place in the fun run. He claimed first place since he finished ahead of all the kids around him and paid no attention to all those who had already crossed the finish line (and not a one of us is going to tell him otherwise! Way to go Little Man!)

And one more thing DB. Come on. Could you at least put your shirt on for the kiddie races? Thanks.

So yes, for those of you who saw the Facebook poll question on my page earlier in the week, THIS is the very reason for it. I too was branded a running snob by my brother-in-law (which I am not sure he can technically do anyway, since I do believe I am the official creator of that term and if not, I’m at least the first one to use that term in our family and so therefore I have the exclusive authority to define it and as such do heretofore find myself exempt at all times from having it applied to me).

So in the midst of our debate about the shirtless wonder I thought I’d pose that question to you all for some real insight, but since I know not all of you have FB and couldn’t really figure out how to post the back story in just a few sentences, I’m going to pose that question again here. Was DB actually well within his running rights thus leaving both my sister and I teetering dangerously on the edge of snobbdom? Or did he break an unspoken running rule, one that he’d do well to abide by lest he be faced a bevy of angry running mammas to deal with? (Would. Not. Be. Pretty.)

You decide. Cast your vote either in my FB poll by clicking here or right here on blogger by scrolling down to the poll at the very bottom of this page. Or like always, feel free to leave us your two cents in the comments and we’ll put this matter for rest once and for all.

Thanks for your post RunSis. Did not disappoint, that’s for sure!

 

P.S. For those of you who were paying attention, yes! We are going to have a giveaway to celebrate my 500th FB '”like” (WOOHOO!!) I just need to figure out what exactly to give away. Stay tuned.

P.P.S. Don’t forget to tell my sister what a terrific post she wrote. That way the next time she wants me to pose a post/question, something the likes of “your kid explodes through their diaper while sitting in their bouncy seat during the last 5 minutes of your treadmill run, do you stop or pretend you don’t see it and push on to the finish?” she’ll perhaps be a little more compelled to do so. (Yes, she actually did want me to write a post about that because yes, it actually did happen to her. See the kind of gems we’re missing here!)

Note to self: Whatever you do, do NOT stretch

It’s part of my morning routine. I actually don’t even think about it anymore. As a matter of fact, it’s quite possible that I’m still asleep when I do it. I have no idea. But like a cat, before I get out of bed in the morning, I stretch.

I sleep all curled up, pretty much in a little ball. So when The Little Miss wanders into my bedroom first thing in the morning to let me know it’s day time or when my Tiger shouts from her gated room down the hall, “MA MAAAAAAAY, Wake up!” it’s only natural that I stretch out those super long legs of mine to try them out to see if they’re functioning in a somewhat coordinated manner before I put some weight on them. Otherwise, should I not, who knows what sort of early morning, I’m still out of it catastrophe might befall me?

BUT (get ready, here’s where I tell you another bizzaro random fact about moi) there’s this weird thing that happens to me when I get into the last trimester of pregnancy. I’ve never seen this listed in any of those “What to expect” books as far as what TO expect, nor have I found it on any of the informational sheets I get at the many visits to my OBGYN as something to be aware of. And not one of my my friends or family members with children has ever mentioned this as one of the delightful joys of pregnancy (detect sarcasm here).  Morning sickness, yes. Headaches, yes. Stretch marks, yes. Massive bouts of exhaustion, yes. This, nada.

I get calf cramps. Wicked, stupid, very painful calf cramps. Worse even than when I ran the Air force Marathon and the temperature unexpectedly rose to 90 degrees AND I ran out of my sports drink at around mile 20ish. By the last 2 miles, I was reduced to walking duck footed. Why? Because my calves cramped up so severely that it caused my feet to turn out…like a duck. I was ridiculous to look at but oh so powerless to stop it (which, as a complete sheer & utter side note, was the exact same time some dude decided to cozy up next to me for a chat to the finish. While he was doing so, all I could think is “HELLO?! DO YOU NOT SEE MY FEET? How can I talk to you at a time like this?” But I really, really digress...)

Back to the calf cramps. I got the first twinge of one early this past week. But Thursday, the first really BIG one hit. It happened just as I stretched out my legs & pointed my toes, early in the morning. I gasped, held my breath, and smacked the pillow a few times. Not on purpose to wake my husband up to save me or anything (which he did, poor guy thought I was going into labor), but because it HURT.

And you know of course that in the middle of a bad cramp, it is complete impossible for the victim to remember the correct way to move their foot to release the cramp. Yep, I pointed my toe some more. Sweet Baby Jesus! (“lyin' there in your ghost manger, just lookin' at your Baby Einstein developmental videos, learnin' 'bout shapes and colors”). That was a mistake. Big mistake. HUGE.

Fortunately, my husband did wake up and rescue me from my temporary cramp induced amnesia. He flexed my foot and tried to massage it out some. After a minute or so more the cramp released it’s death grip on me, but man if that didn’t sucker hurt for a couple more days. I can still feel the remnants of it now.

So I took a couple of days off run/walking to hobble around on it, but I think I’ll be good to go again tomorrow (fingers crossed).

Now some, might take the calf cramps coupled with the drowning of their treadmill all within a few days as a sign that it’s time to call it quits on the running for the remainder of the pregnancy. Me? Nope. Only a sign that I need a new treadmill and a little sports drink pre-bed time that’s all. Mamma needs to run! (Oh! Oh! And a massage, I need a massage too :-)

 

P.S. For the record, there’s two movie quotes and three languages used in this blog post. I’m pretty sure I should get something for that :-p

P.P.S. But since I’m probably not going to get anything, how ‘bout I give something to one of you? The first person who can successfully name those three languages and two movies will get one of my sweet Running Mamma stickers, the ones that BuildASign.com sent me. 13.1 or 26.2 winner’s choice. First correct commenter has it. Good luck!