Just take care of it

Move that body: Quick upper body set with 10-pound weights

This morning, Mark and I had to wake up super early. And, in case you forgot, this morning is Saturday.

This is my “Please, can we go to Dunkin’ Donuts for coffee later” face. It’s also my “Ohmygod, am I ever going to have a life face.”

We have an all-day parenting class where we’ll learn how to do things like change diapers and revive our child. It’s just another thing in a stream in never-ending tasks that must be accomplished before this baby comes.

And I’m not gonna lie, I’m a bit overwhelmed. Actually, I’m a lot overwhelmed by all that’s to come – just ask Mark, who had to soothe me in the bottle aisle at Target on Monday. I had a full on meltdown, tears and all, over our shopping list of extra sheets, bottles and other odds and ends.

(By the way, if you are overwhelmed by babyness, skip this post and I promise we’ll have lots and lots of running in about 12 weeks.)

So you can only imagine the excitement (and tears, possibly) when I got a box from Target yesterday.

Reader Cynthia sent me a cover for my Boppy, which was one of the items that contributed to my meltdown on Monday. I can’t thank you enough Cynthia! Much love from Healthy Strides.

And since I’m showing off some baby stuff, here’s the cute little snuggy from Wells L and her friend C:

Yeah, Mommy is awesome!

One of my favorite outfits thus far – a monkey themed body suit with matching bib and pants that feature bananas on the bum. 

And baby boy’s coming home outfit:

It’s a onesie that says, “Introducing Me,” with matching cap and socks. 

Now if you’ll excuse me, I have some clothes to put on. I think the dummy babies are the only ones allowed to be naked at class :/

What do you all have planned for the weekend?

Walk the dog

Move that body: 3.5-mile walk with Denali

I woke up this morning at 6 with the plan that I would eat a small bite and head down to the basement by 6:30 to do some incline walking. When I went upstairs to grab some shoes, though, Mark was already rolling over so I decided to skip the treadmill and take a walk with my boys.

Usually when I walk with one of the boys who will go unnamed (ahem, the one I’m married to), we tend to do no more than 2.5 miles. The one who is allowed to sleep in the bed gets bored walking more than that. However, I wanted to go a bit farther and I got the go ahead to pick the route. Ha! Then Mark’s curiosity about where a co-worker lived sent us down a dead end and added about a half-mile to the walk. In the end, it was 3.5 miles of meal planning and basking in the gorgeous morning.

And since walking – more specifically walking with the boys - is more than likely going to be popping up more and more on the blog, I thought I’d offer up some of my summer dog walking tips.

1. Dress appropriately.

You might need wicking gear but a pair of stylish glasses and a tank are nice. BTW, the photo is hiding my 3 million sizes too big basketball shorts that now have pain on them.

2. Take water. It’s a good time to get in a good 20 ounces of water without thinking about it. Take a bigger bottle if you don’t have a baby sitting on your bladder and can handle 30 ounces for a few miles.

3. Teach your dog to drink from the bottle.

Go ahead, call me gross. I don’t care. I share my water with Denali. We usually squirt it in his mouth, and he does pretty well about lapping it up. It’s really important that your pup gets water. After all, if you’re hot, he’s hot.

4. Free up your hands and tie the poop bag onto his collar.

It looks like a cute little bow and keeps your hands from sweating. By the way, I have no idea what that white spot is on his nose.

5. Teach your dog directional commands. Denali knows “right,” “left” and “stop.” If you say right, he will turn right. If you say left, he turns left. If you say stop, he stops and sits. This one might not be as important on a walk as it is on a run but we keep up the practice so he doesn’t forget.

6. Speaking of commands, “leave it” is a good one. Most unsuspecting pedestrians don’t enjoy Denali kisses.

7. And if a pedestrian wants to greet your dog, make sure that he knows that he has to sit. No sit = no lovin’.

8. Plan your route so that if you find yourself needing that little plastic accessory you have somewhere to drop it off. There’s nothing worse than being a half-mile into a 3-mile route and being stuck with that. Especially if you have preggo super powers.

9. Use a leather leash. If you don’t want to spend money on one, get a nylon leash. But never, ever, ever use a retractable leash. The retractable leash gives a dog too much leeway and you can’t gain extra control by wrapping the leash around your hand.

10. Watch out for “snacks.” And by snacks, I mean dead animals, half eaten tacos, lost articles of clothing. Trust me, you don’t want to know the things Denali has put in his mouth. (To clarify: Denali never gets water after eating something nasty. Teeth must be brushed first!)

Do you exercise with your dog?

Three Things Thursday:

Move that body: 2.5-mile run (two walk breaks)

1. I had such a good run Monday that I should have expected today's run to be bad. I didn't, of course - waking up with a good amount energy, eating a runner's breakfast of a half-banana with PB and a couple chocolate chips for good measure and getting Mark out of bed by 7. From the moment, we actually set out, though, I knew it wasn't my day. My Garmin (used to measure walk breaks) had a low battery and crapped out before a half-mile. My right hamstring feels a little wonky. I had some non-pregnancy related cramps (if you now what I mean). It was about 10 degrees warmer than Monday. Oh, and by the last quarter-mile, I felt like I had a 6-pound softball in my hips. If I had any doubts that this baby was head down, I have them no more.

Mark could see that I was a bit bummed, and he reminded me that moving - at all - at this point is good. We could walk the whole way and still be victorious.

2. I think Mark's rah-rah attitude was rooted in last night's birthing class. Everyone was talking about how crappy they felt, the video talked about not having energy to do things and the instructor preached rest. I know that I've been insanely blessed to have had the pregnancy I've had, and it was just a reminder that it could have been a lot different. BTW, I was not a fan of birthing class and I really don't want to go back. Except I need to learn the relaxation techniques if I go drug-free like I hope to.

::insert gasp here::

3. I am already looking so forward to not being pregnant that last night I had a dream that I PR'd in the half-marathon despite crawling to the finish and took home first place in my age group. I was set to take home a big cash prize except that I had marked "charity donation" on my registration because I hadn't expected to actually do well. I have no idea what my time was in my dream but it had to be better than 1:54.

All you runners out there ... let me dream a bit and tell me about your upcoming race goals. PRs to smash, new distances, triathlons ... I want to know. Maybe even need to.

Happy Friday Eve!

In the weeds

Move that body: 20 minutes upper body

I didn’t skip my strength sesh this morning. No siree. I got out the 5-pound weights, turned on “Good Morning America” and got going.

The exercises: Bicep curl, overhead press, tricep extension, upright row and bent-over row

The workout: Ladder. I completed each exercise for the target number of reps (2-4-6-8-10-12-10-8-6-4-2) to make up a set. I didn’t really rest between sets except to open the windows to let in the morning air.

The goal: Curling the SnugRide

***

While I was successful at getting in my weights, I totally skipped my cardio. I’d like to say that I did work up a sweat with my replacement activity. But I didn’t. I sat on my butt and worked in my neglected garden. tomatoes needed staked. Weeds needed to be pulled. Things needed to be watered though I’m saving that for today’s rain. By the way, I don’t recommend the whole sitting down thing as it’s probably why I have two nice bites on my bum.

I spent a half-hour, 45 minutes out there and it was well worth it. Things are looking good.

I have some very good-looking kale, flowering tomato plants and pepper plants that I thought were doomed but are now thriving. I can’t wait for summer salads!

Anyone working on a garden this summer? How’s it going?

Please pause for an important message

Move that body: 2.5-mile walk with Mark and Denali

To: Kim

From: Boss man

Subject: FW: Workout video - you need to watch!

Message: We now have no excuse for not working out.

I guess this means I don’t have a good reason to skip tomorrow morning’s sesh with the weights, which I've been considering all day. You know if a walrus can do a push up, so can I. Especially since I already sort of feel like a walrus. I just wish I had the trainer to guide me and the treats after each set.

Anyone want to come over and feed me Pretzel M&Ms after each rep?

What motivates you to work out?

I am Number 4

Move that body: 4.02-mile run (two walk breaks totaling 0.35-0.4)

I was at the post office this morning, mailing some very belated packages and thank you notes, when the gentleman in front of me offered his place in line. You know, so I could “get off my feet,” he said as he gestured toward my stomach.

I politely declined, thanked him graciously and laughed to myself. Little did the man know that I ran 4 miles this morning, pregnant belly and all.

By the way, I’m grinning just writing that.

I haven’t ran 4 miles in forever. Well, since March 16. I know with just one month (!!!) to my due date that this is not the time to increase my mileage but I couldn’t help it. Really, I couldn’t. We had some family portraits taken this weekend at the park near our house and, for the two hours we were there, all I could think about was how much I wanted to run there. That, and I hope I don’t get grass stains on my white capris.

I thought briefly this morning about driving Denali and myself to the park for our run but I decided to go for it and run to and through the park. If I needed to walk a mile at the end, I needed to walk a mile at the end. It would be fine as what I really needed was to be here.

I started slow and steady, and I took my first walk break right after mile 1 to prepare for the rest of the run. As I got going again, I was surprised by how good I felt. I didn’t feel overly tired or overly hot (thank you dip in temperatures) and my breathing was good. I didn’t walk again until 3.15 and that was mostly because I didn’t want to run up a hill. Just call me pregnant.

Upon coming home (after circling the block to actually hit 4 miles), I was filled with an insane amount of gratitude. I’m not sure that I’ll have another day like today in the next month, especially as summer break means I have a running cop partner around, and I feel so lucky that I got to have those 4 miles … those 48 minutes … that feeling.

What’s great about your Monday?