Category Archives: My Life

Day 38/366- The Irony of Parenthood

668bc110c6fa8462fda88543f5e47eeaThere are basically 3 elements to my life nowadays. The first is Parenting. The second is work, and the third is attempting to get back into shape. I am taking the first day by day. I mean, how else to do you parenting. Very little planning can be done, and the messes are inevitable. I still have yet to sleep for more than 3 hours at a time in going on 8 months. However, my little boy is growing up to be a fierce, tough and determined young man, but then again what else should I have expected? He is half Ginn after all.

Work is as busy as ever with no end in sight. It is satisfying to help the company grow, be in charge of a lot of the daily going abouts, and watch kids blossom into wonderful journalists. As we continue to grow, I am hoping that my role will continue to expand, as I feel like I am a good advocate for the brand and have spend the last 4 years of my life dedicated to its well-being.

The final is really what this blog is all about, right? I mean, I started The Running Year to not only document my goals and achievements, but I also wanted to hold myself accountable by having those things written in a place that more than just I could read.

dailyburn-logo-colored_0As I have told you on my last post, I have started using a service call The Daily Burn. It basically gives you access to workout videos via an streaming device. I have found it very convenient because I don’t have to pack up Cub and got to a gym or class. As soon as he goes down for a nap, I can flip on the Roku and work up a sweat. I highly recommend it to moms looking to get their body back. It is only about $15 a month, and I definitely feel like I have gotten my moneys worth in just the 3 weeks I have been using it.

So anyway, I decided to try a little bit different of a workout the other day. Instead of the normal tabata workouts that I had been doing, I found a hip hop dance workout to do. I thought it would be fun to try, as well as amusing, as I am not a dancer. I am just not coordinated in that way. Well I definitely didn’t disappoint. Honestly, I don’t know how one person could possible be as impossible at dance moves as I am. The coach would show a move and with all the confidence in the world, I would swivel, shake or shimmy the way I felt was appropriate to make myself look just like her… NOT HAPPENING. I was TERRIBLE! Honestly, I finally just laughed at myself and made up something that was as close as I could to what they were doing. It was a comedy act. Needless to say I am not elegant or graceful on my feet in the dancing sense.

Now, back to the title of this post. The irony of parenthood and trying to get back into shape after baby… When you are trying to get into shape and lose weight, exercise, healthy eating and water consumption are so important. Yet, as a nursing mother, I am getting absolutely NO sleep (I was up at 3 am turning on Mickey Mouse Clubhouse for my 7 month old last night, and OMG that hot dog dance). A tiny human is sucking you dry every 3 hours, so if you sweat, you have to drink 2 times the normal amount of water to even break even. I am also hungry ALL THE TIME, partly because I get my furnace running when I exercise, so I burn calories more easily throughout the rest of the day, and while nursing, you need extra just to sustain your milk supply. It feels like a constant uphill battle. Let’s face it. It IS an uphill battle.

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Here’s the good news. I only have 2 pounds to go before I am back at pre-baby weight. I am feeling strong and confident about my body again. I am eating healthy, which is the best thing I can do for Cub, because what I eat, he eats. And finally, I am setting a good example for my son. Making time to exercise whether it be doing a Daily Burn class, running, taking a walk, whatever shows Cub how important it is to move, and hopefully that is a lesson that he will take with him for the rest of his life.

Day 33 of 366- The work is getting done

This year is already flying by, and my little baby is 7 months old. He’s crawling, talking, standing up on everything and is turning out to be this stubborn, tenacious little person. He is such a great combination of both Chas and me. We went to the doctor the other day, and he is in the 19% in height and only the 5% in weight. We are a little worried about that, but the kid is an eater. We just have to work a little harder I guess. Another light weight in the family.

I have spent the last 5 weeks working really hard to make good decisions and lose weight. After speaking with a nutrition coach, we decided that I was getting too few calories as a nursing mom, and that was one of the reasons why my weight had plateaued. After increasing my calorie intake, I started dropping again, and am getting closer and closer to my pre-Cubby weight.

I am super proud of my workouts lately. I actually have been doing some running and walking, but I have been taking at least one workout class a day, and I am always exhausted and starving the rest of the day. I have subscribed to the Daily Burn, and I really love it. It gives me so many workout options, and I think it is really worth it. I like pushing myself to do the workouts, and even when I feel tired, knowing that I can push through it gives me a lot of pride.

I need a direction right now, as I am feeling sort of lost besides work, dieting and raising Cub. I feel like I am drifting at the moment, and I need to find a project or something. Any suggestions? I’m open!

Week 1/52- Progress Begins

We are officially one week into the new year, and I am happy to report I am making good progress on my resolutions. I have run all but 1 day this week, and for I sat that day out for good reason. I played 3 volleyball matches on Sunday night, and my knees were so sore from diving that I could barely walk, let alone run.

My starting weight last week was 143.5 lbs. That is 8.5 lbs. above my pre-baby weight. My goal is to lose about 20 lbs. I would like to be close to 125 by Cub’s first birthday. I think this is doable in 6 months, and I am already making good progress. At the end of week 1, I am down 1.5 lbs. I honestly think I could have dropped more, as I know I could have worked harder than I did. The problem is that as soon as I start something, I quite often get interrupted. I try to walk while Chas is having practice, and Cub will start screaming, so we have to stop and move on to something else. The same happens with the blog actually. I have started 3 different posts this week, none of which I have finished. I lose my train of thought in the interruption and just can’t get back to what I was doing.

I am so missing Marathon Weekend this year. I need to be there. I miss the friends, the magic, the competition and the running. Next year I will be back, and I absolutely cannot wait.

 

Looking Back, Moving Forward

It’s been the best of years. It’s been the worst of years. My baby was born and has made our life full and sent us in a new direction. I haven’t slept in 6 months. Life is so vastly different when you become a parent. “I” have taken a back seat, which means running, health and fitness have all fallen to the bottom of the priority list and shear survival remains at the top of it.

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Yesterday was Cub’s half birthday. He is doing so well, with 2 teeth, eating (what seems like) gallons of baby food a day, and can play by himself with not much help from mom for a few minutes at a time. I finally feel like I am in a good place where I can move up the list just a few notches. And what a perfect time of year. January 1st always gives you hope for a new start and a refresh.

I am ready for a refresh. Being a new mom is so full of joy, but at the same time, it can make you feel completely deflated. I find myself trying to make it from nap to nap (Cub’s naps, not mine), and have to adjust my thinking as to cherish all my moments with him, not just when he is happy and cooing, but when he is crying and crabby too.

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With that being said, I have been pondering my New Year Challenges, which I post every year. I started this blog a few years back to hold myself accountable for my running challenges. It has since turned into a Jen’s life blog, which is fine, but has strayed from its original purpose, sort of like my life.

With just a few pounds of baby weight left to lose, I have upped my weight loss challenge. People only know what they are taught. I, fortunately, had parents that made sports and fitness a priority in their lives, as well as ours. Cub deserves the same. He deserves fresh, healthy meals, opportunities to run, jump and play, and a mom and dad that do everything in their power to stay healthy so that they can live a long, happy life with him.

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So… Here it goes! My 2016 New Year’s Challenges:

  1. Lose 20 lbs.
  2. Eat a cleaner, more simple diet
  3. Keep better track of the good things that occur in my life
  4. Judge less, listen more
  5. Attempt to run at least 1 mile everyday in 2016
  6. Document my strength and struggles here for you all to read

I know there are some lofty goals in there, but I am going to attempt to be a better person than I was this year. I think that all these challenges will make me a better mom as well. Cub deserves the best me, and I am going to do everything in my power to give that to him.

So here’s to being better, stronger, healthier and smarter in the new year.

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New day, new challenge

Parenthood is fairly simple when you think about it. It is basically just a never-ending, continuous string of problems that you must solve. How do I get this kid to stop crying? Where is your binky? Are you hungry? What is in your hair? You get the picture. Since my last post, oh so long ago, we have done pretty well. Cub is just over 4 month old now, and in general he is a happy, loving kid who LOVES his mama and poops every single time you set him in his Bumbo seat. We are currently fighting teething, as well as the “lets see how many times I can wake my mom up in the middle of the night” battle. He is really good at that one- Cub is definitely winning that war.

I am struggling with a couple things at the moment. First of all, the season has come, and I am now a “Wrestling Widow” until the middle of March. NOT FUN! Not only do I miss my husband, but I miss getting to hand Cub off for a few minutes.

Secondly, I still have a few more pounds to lose, although I am not calling it Baby Weight. I think that is effectively gone. This is just, “I’m pregnant and want one more cookie, so I am going to have it” weight. I’m sort of doing an Advocare 24 day challenge right now, but there are parts that I just can’t do because I am still nursing.

Finally, we are attempting to get on a schedule of some sort. Cub needs more structure, and so do we. I think it will help all of us, so we are working on writing down a definitive timeline of our day. It’s really hard to make sure that I am balancing what is best for Cub and what is best for me, working over 40 hrs per week and being a full-time mom.

I have been running a little bit, 2-3 miles at a time, for 30-40 minutes at a time. I am hoping to run a big race in May-ish, but it may be hard to keep on my schedule with Chas gone so much over the next few months… again, my schedule is going to be key!

The road is long and winding

Well motherhood has certainly had its ups and downs. Baby Cub will be 3 months old tomorrow, and he is more than I could have ever hoped for. He is so fun when he is happy, cooing, kicking and learning new things. When he is not happy, he lets you know quickly and LOUDLY. Cub had found his voice in the past month, and he is not afraid to use it. In fact, one of his favorite past times is howling on command with his dad… yeah I stay out of that one.

When I say he is growing quickly, I am not exaggerating. He is already teething people! 3 month and we have teeth cutting through and making our little guy miserable. We have been on a constant stream of Tylenol and Orajel to keep him happy, and I have spent many more hours nursing than sleeping over the past 2 weeks. I just feel terrible for him. It’s really trying when you have a baby in pain because you want nothing more than to sooth them, but it just isn’t that easy. We are making it through, but wow, it is exhausting.

Cub is already in 6 month sleepers now. He is getting long and is close to 13 lbs. already. My little narcissist loves watching himself in my phone and really enjoys going to watch Chas’ wrestlers workout. He loves the movement and noise. This kid is going to be an athlete!

As for dad, Chas is finding it harder to carry him for long periods of time as he is getting heavier, but loves playing with him and getting him to talk back. Cub spends a few hours a week up at Chas’ office while mom has conference calls or appointments to attend. He had made friends with many of the volleyball players, and it seems that he hasn’t met a human he doesn’t like.

Mom, well I am doing better. The post-delivery issues I was having seem to be dulling with time, and I have started walking more with Cub in the stroller. I even finally hit my 10,000 steps a day goal this past week. I haven’t done that in almost 6 months. Running again is the next thing on my list, and I am planning on that happening sometime in the coming week. I continue to drop the baby weight, which I am working hard to get off. I still have about 10-12 lbs to go, but we are getting there, and I feel like I look better with each passing day.

Motherhood is hard. Like my mom told me, it never really gets easier. It just gets different. When we have gotten one thing figured out (sleeping for more than 3 hours at a time), something else arises (teething). We are taking it all in stride, and learning a lot along the way.

The New Adventures of Old Jen

Well, I have some good news, if you didn’t know already. The day after my last post (Pregnancy is a marathon), I delivered a healthy baby boy. Cub William Thompson is my new normal. At 8 lbs. 3oz. and 19 inches long, he made his appearance just as his mother wanted, very quickly. After having what I thought were just Braxton-Hicks contractions for about 12 hours, we knew that it was close to time for him to arrive. Sunday morning, June 28th, we headed to the hospital about 9:15 am, as my contractions were about 3:30 mins apart. After being checked at 10:30 am and measuring in at 3 cm dilated, the doctor broke my water, boldly predicting that I would be holding a baby by supper time. Cub had other plans.

I have been very strong in my opinion not to have drugs while I was in labor. I did not want an epidural, and knew that I had the strength to skip it. At approximately 11:30 am I looked at my husband and finally said, “if this is a 3, I need an epidural.” After discussing it with him and the nurse, she went to order the epidural and then came back to check my progress again. To everyone’s surprise, the extremely pain I was in was not 3 cm pain, but 8 cm pain. Before the anesthesiologist could even make it to the room (approx. 10 mins.) I was dilated to 10, pushing, and praying the doctor would get there in time to catch the newest member of my family.

At 12:21 pm, four pushes later, Cub came into this world with a perfectly round little head, and the cutest little cry you have ever heard. He was (and is) perfect.

I don’t remember a lot about the delivery. I remember my legs shaking like crazy, getting really hot, and keeping my eyes closed almost the entire time. It was an unbelievable experience, and the parts I do remember will never be forgotten.

Then there is this guy. Cub is the best and most challenging thing I have ever had to deal with in my life. Motherhood is constant problem solving, and I am getting better at it. I could spend all my time just looking at him. He is such a special and loved little boy.

Now that we have reached the 6 week mark, and I am almost feeling back to my normal self, I am excited to get into some sort of a routine, particularly with regards to my fitness. The healing process after birth is no joke, and I am still working on it.

The new life I am living is definitely the complete opposite of where I was just a year ago. It is still the old me, but I know I will continue to evolve, so really, it is a new me. And I like the new me.

The Long Arduous Journey

IMG_357438 weeks… That is how far along I will be tomorrow morning. Baby has decided to grow by leaps and bounds since my last post, and I am now measuring over 40 weeks, even though we have not reached that milestone week yet. Life has gotten significantly harder since week 30… ah those were the good ole days!

I can’t walk anymore, because I have so much nerve pain in my pelvic area and legs. Oh, and not to mention a nasty limp when I do walk. My hands and face are swollen. Not even my maternity clothes fit me anymore, and waistbands are out of the question. What does that leave for daily attire? Basically just muumuus. I pee about 3 times an hour, and go through a least 1 roll of toilet paper every 2 days. The baby is constantly moving, and burrowing his head into places that make my life a living hell.

But I still love the little guy, and I really can’t wait to meet him. Everything is pretty much ready for him to arrive. The nursery is done. We have an installed car seat. Hospital bags are packed. All attending parties are on call in case of something happening at any hour of the day. I am pretty much just counting down the days now.

My days seem very long as a person who works from home. Like I have said before on here, I am so lucky to be able to do that, but when you feel miserable often, the days tend to drag on a bit. So what did I do? I started a calendar of what I am going to do everyday until he is born. Here are a few great example:

June 14th- Clean out kitchen cabinets
June 18th- Vacuum and dust the baby’s room, Wash all the curtains in the house
June 23rd- Appointment with Dr. Fort, Clean the bathroom

Exciting, I know. Now, if I can actually get any of these accomplished, that is a totally different story, but I am sure as hell going to try!

The hardest part of all of this is that I have been having urges to run. Like CRAZY urges. Part of this running year, or most of this running year has been spent not running. That’s ok. I have to grow a little baby, and that is much more important right now. But wow, I can’t wait to get back out there. And best of all, I have a really great jogging stroller to try out too!

 

Three Fourths of the Way

The kitty already loving on his baby.

When you are running a marathon, you have a lot of time to compute things in your head, assuming you are still conscious enough to do it. I love math, so attempting to calculate what percentage of a race I have left is sort of a regular in my repetriore of things to think about while running.

Naturally, as my pregnancy has progressed, I tend to do the same thing. We hit the 3rd trimester about a week and a half ago, which was huge. The chance of baby surviving outside of the womb is about 90% now, which is so encouraging, especially since it takes 6 full months for him to even be viable in there.

As of Saturday, I will be able to say that we are 3/4th of the way done! And if you have seen any of my other posts throughout my pregnancy, you know that I am certainly looking forward to the end, not because I get to meet my little guy (although I am excited about that), but because I have been fairly miserable my entire pregnancy. Every day it is something else, and I tend to have more bad days that good. I literally couldn’t walk almost the entire weekend because I was having such bad muscle (stretching) pain in my groin. It feels like someone is stabbing me with a knife, NO JOKE!

It’s funny that my little guy is now on sort of a schedule, even pre-birth. He always kicks me a few times between 7-7:30 in the morning, before Chas’ alarm goes. He is the first to let me know that I am hungry. In the evening when Chas gets home, he always let’s me know that he is aware of it, and best of all, he likes music now. I have been playing a variety of things for him, but so far is favorite song is Crimson and Clover. It is pretty cool to go through, but all the while painful.

As we continue to get closer to delivery day, and I get larger and larger, the excitement and fear grows. He will be here soon, and there is still so many things to do, trips to take, and moments to remember. It’s going to be a fun ride.

Why the events of 2014 are making my 2015 even better

I am usually a very sentimental person around this time of year. I like to reflect on the past year, but I love looking forward to what the next year will hold for me. This year has been a little bit different than normal. I haven’t really felt that way this year, for multiple reasons of which I thought I would share with you.

dsc_8518 (1)Reason #1: I got married!
That was of course a major life changing event, and something that I had been hoping for for a very long time. There is a level of satisfaction that comes with marking that milestone off you list of things to accomplish in the future. The fear of being alone is long gone, and I think that is the void that was filled more than the need to have a diamond ring and a fancy wedding dress. I couldn’t be happier about the path my love life has taken. Having a witness to all the good and bad that we have to wade through year after year is totally worth the heartbreak and pain you go through in your dating life.

Reason #2: I have a home!
This is hard to explain, but every place that I have lived (Cleveland, Parsons, San Jose) has never felt like where I was going to stay. Something inside of me always said that it was just a temporary stop on my way to my final location. Because I always had that in the back of my head, I also was extremely reluctant to completely unpack. I put stuff away, but I never made it my own. When I moved into Chas’ house back in May, there was a sense of relaxation in placing everything where it needed to go. I finally felt like the space was mine, and not just a stepping stone. I am sure this isn’t where we will live for the rest of our lives together, but for now, it is perfect for a newly married couple, 2 English bulldogs and a tuxedo cat.

Reason #3: I’m having a baby!
First comes love, then comes marriage. Well we have almost completed the final step of this school yard rhyme. So many people have said something to the affect of, “Man, you guys didn’t wait long!” We have been together for 7 years and were smart enough and responsible enough to wait until we were married to get pregnant, and now they are hassling us because we got pregnant three months after we got married! Suck it people! At least this baby will have two unbelievably committed parents in a loving relationship… I tell you. You just can’t win.

Reason #4: I don’t have to worry about my weight for the first 8 months of the year!
This has actually been a tough thing for me to comprehend. I am a fairly fit person, as can be deduced from the name of this blog, and telling yourself that it is ok to see extra pounds show up on the scale is not a easy mind switch. Of course I want to stay healthy and fit for my baby, but knowing that most of this year will be spent at a higher weight than I am used to is sort of a relief! My fitness goals are complete different from every other year of my life, and that is comforting, relaxing, and almost a bit satisfying.

Reason #5: I have new family members!
Friends that started the year as just my friends have quickly become family to both Chas and me. In January, I ran one of the toughest series races of my life, the Dopey Challenge (see previous posts for more information). My friends Darren, Bruce and Julie ran with me. Not only was that another life changing experience that happened in 2014, but it brought us extremely close together. They are now my family, and I have been lucky enough to get to spend quite a bit of time with Julie and her daughters in San Diego this year. I am so excited to be part of Darren and Bruce’s wedding in February, along with running the Glass Slipper Challenge with them and Julie at Walt Disney World that same weekend. As always, it will be epic!

My new extended family! Love them all!

Combine all 5 of these things into a person’s new year, and you have almost a perfect year on the horizon. I am sure there will be bumps in the road, but remembering all the good things about 2014 and the special things that are coming are sure to keep me focused on making 2015 the best year of my life… and my husband’s life… and my little lemon sized fetus’ life!

On to the next one! Cheers!