She's not spoiled...honest

This post will be all things Avery.  Fair warning.  :)


Last weekend, after our workouts, we took Avery to visit some friends and their children.  While there, Avery discovered the joy of their water table.

It's like the dog fountain....but better.

She liked it so much, but I did not go home and order one the next day.

I have no idea where this came from.

And I definitely did not put it together during nap time so that it would be ready when she woke up.

Then where did these come from mom?

Avery 1, Mommy 0.


I did win when it came to the baby stuff community sale the other week.

The deal you got on this kitchen makes it even more fun. 

And $5 for this???  You're the best mommy.

Really.  She's not spoiled.  Honest.


A couple of weeks ago, I promised stories of Avery drama.  They are really more stories of how not awesome of a mom I can be.


First story.  We have a gas fireplace in the living room.  Avery has used the glass to stand up numerous times.  I have repeatedly checked it for heat since the pilot light was on.  Cool to the touch.  

Sure you did mommy.
The offending fireplace is in the background.
She now has this awesome Little Tikes Activity Garden to stand on instead.

Then, while my friend Cynthia was here, Avery demonstrated her standing skills in the same spot, and sat down crying.  She stopped and then stood up on it again.  Then she started crying and stood there.  I'm looking at her feet trying to figure out what she stepped on.  Nothing there - but her cries are pain cries.  I lean on the fireplace glass with my hand - SCALDING.  I yank her off the glass.  Her little hands are red.  Off to the sink we go to run cold water on them.  Of course - water always make her happy.  She giggled at this point, so as mommy fails go, it wasn't too bad.  I then added some first aid ointment.  She was happy crawling on her hands and there were no blisters, so we decided against a trip to the hospital.  (And yes, we have now disabled the pilot light).


Also when Cynthia was here, Avery was on the couch with me.  She rather enjoys burrowing in the cushions.  Something happened to distract me for mere seconds, and she rolled right off the couch.  Face first.  Great job Mommy.  This even resulted in a little red spot - for a few seconds.

Ow - it hurts so bad.  Ok, even I can't say that without laughing.

To add to these bits of mommy gold?  The day I posted my "I take it back" post?  Avery and I went for a walk using the kelty pack - something we've done a hundred times.  

So much so, that I even pulled out an OLD photo here.

She leaned out the side to see better and was fussing non-stop.  Long story short, after multiple attempted adjustments, I returned home.  She continued to cry and refused to put weight on her arms to crawl.  She was holding her head funny like her neck/shoulders hurt.  This was the day my car was in the shop.  (of course!) I made Mark come home early to take her to the pediatrician.  (I'd also given her advil).   An accident made that drive there take 45 minutes.  When we got there and got Avery our of her carrier - Happiest. Baby. Ever.  I found myself saying "I swear I'm not making it up, she was holding her head funny, etc."  I guess it was my turn to be the crazy "my baby is hurt" mommy.  Apparently, Advil works.  Doctor reassured us that the carrier was safe.  But, interestingly, I haven't used it since.

That was my plan all along.  I have all these toys to test.  No time for hikes.

So, now, weeks late, I have finally posted about the "drama" and shared how spoiled well-loved my daughter is.


And she sees her grandparents next week.  I'm sure they won't spoil and love on her at all.

What??  Not even a little bit????

Oh.  Ok.  Maybe a little. 

Sucker!

What do you think is cuter smiling baby pictures or crying baby pictures?


It's hard to believe that starting tomorrow at 1:30 - I'll have approximately 24 hours of no Avery....Overnight relay here I come!


Hopefully this satisfies the demand for more Avery content.  I know I'll be all about the mountain for the next week (after my relay recap, of course)!


Mandy

Overdue Training Update

I know, I know, I post these on Mondays.  But, see, there was this cool Fashion Show...

That's funny mommy, that sounds like a lame excuse!

I decided to go with my weight at the doctor's office Tuesday morning from my physical instead of my normal Monday weigh-in.  I'm also mixing up the format this week - I know, crazy!

Week of June 4-10, 2012:

Current Weight: 166.6 (Down 1.0 lbs from previous week!)

Total Lost to date: 54.2 lbs

Chest: 39" (No change)

Hips: 44"  (No change)

My workouts last week were pretty awesome.  My only regret is that I waited so long to add in the Dam Steps!


Monday
Rest Day.  
Walked 4 miles.  2.2 miles were with the weighted vest (26lbs).


Tuesday
4 mile run.
1 hour arms and abs Strength Training.
1 hour on treadmill.  12% incline.  Pack (37 lbs), Boots (5lbs).
For some reason, this treadmill workout feels a million times harder than the steps. 

Suck it up Mommy!

Wednesday
Dam Steps.  116 steps, 11 platforms.  15x up and down.  Mountain pack (37lbs), boots (5 lbs).  Gnat cloud.  Truly, truly icky.  That's not how I want to get extra protein.


I went to the dam that night because I'd skipped my planned stairclimber/spin workout to play hookie at the zoo with Sarah and her adorable baby Charlotte.  Avery enjoyed Charlotte and her book as much as the animals.

This book is more interesting than your training log mom.

Thursday
Walked 2 miles.  Walking to Fleet Feet a couple of times.  Yes, I live walking distance from my local running store - this can be a major problem.  
Walked 5.13 miles.  With my friend Deb.   We'd intended to go for a real hike about 1.5 hours from town, but my team's RAC shirts came in, and I was in charge of pick-up.

Avery was thrilled to model one of them.

They turned out pretty awesome!  Fleet Feet did a fantastic job screening them, and Emily did an awesome job creating our design!


Stroller run 4 miles.  That evening, at the last minute, I decided to also do the Fleet Feet pub run.  I won a nifty pair of New Balance socks!  These socks have specified left and right socks.  I wore them for my run yesterday, pretty spiffy!

Claiming my winnings - Avery had just thrown the free sunglasses we got on the floor.

Dam Steps.  (7x up and down).


Friday
A much deserved rest day!

Saturday
7.1 mile run with the MiT gang.  It was glorious to have just this one run for the day instead of the doubles of the past few weeks!

Leading the group for the last half of the run!

After the run, I went to the Dam Steps for another Dam workout.  Pack (37 lbs), Boots (5 lbs). 85 degrees. Too stinking hot!  


After the steps - I went to the Captain's meeting for Relay Around Columbus, that race is this coming weekend!


Sunday
We hired a babysitter.  For a workout.  We sure know how to live it up!  Mark and I went to the Dam for about 2.5 hours.  Pack (40 lbs), Boots (5 lbs).  One hour on the steps, 2 mile hike with a 15 minute break in the middle, finished the 2nd hour on the steps.  Totals: 19x up and down the steps with a 2 mile hike in the middle.  The hike was really good because it reminded us that a hike hurts the legs and feet differently than the steps. It was 90 degrees when we started.


We had to quit then so that we had time to get Chipotle burritos before the babysitter expected us home.  Priorities!


We went in the evening because we spent the morning (well, mostly Mark, since I skipped out for a MOPS meeting), watching Avery and her new bestie Charlotte.

Only girls under 1 are allowed in this conversation woman!

Mark held up very well with two kiddos under the age of one, but we both agree that any future children can wait until Avery's a bit older!


This current week is also off to a great start!  Relay Around Columbus is this Saturday-Sunday.  (I know, wife of the year, I'm finishing a 105 mile running relay for Mark's first father's day.)

Luckily, they both love me....a lot.

I'm starting to get a bit nervous about the relay this weekend.  I'm not so nervous about whether or not I can run the miles (my legs total 17.9 miles).  I'm more nervous about the organization of the race.  Especially after we were told at the Captain's meeting that they wouldn't have any water on the entire 105 mile course.  There were all kinds of other crazy rules and warnings.  I think he mentioned that someone will get lost at least 50x.  That person will be me, I'm sure.  My last leg has about 2 pages of turn directions!


Luckily, I have awesome friends.  We've worked out a way that every nighttime leg of the relay will be accompanied.  As in, my friends NOT running the race are coming out anyway to help keep my all-female team company on the trails.  (The course is all on trails, so the van will be driving from exchange point to exchange point, and NOT accompanying the runners.  The only way to be accompanied is to have a companion runner). 


Truly awesome!  Wish us luck this weekend!  Next week, I'll be more timely since it was weird posting about the workouts almost a week late.




Any ideas for Father's day gifts to make up for finishing a relay that day?


Anyone else racing this weekend?

Mountaineering Fashion Show

Yesterday, I got a box from Whittaker Mountaineering with all my clothes for the climb.  It's funny how one little package can change my attitude from nervous about the climb to super excited about it.

Is it as exciting as Alfalfa hair?

Of course, I had to make sure everything fit.  But, not just fit....it also had to fit in the appropriate layers....so let's commence the Mountaineering Fashion Show.


First I have for you, this attractive base layer by Patagonia.  It's typically light to medium weight, and the perfect first layer for your next mountain climb.  The top includes a zipper to allow for even more body temperature control.

Looking sexy in the base layer...

To make sure it all fit in the proper order, I added layers from this point.  The next layer is the scintillating "light insulating layer".  Both pieces are by First Ascent.  The top layer is the beautiful First Ascent hangfire hoodie in Smoke Gray.  The bottom layer is the Climbing Pants, First Ascent Guide Pants.

Look how sexy it all looks - base layer peeking out.

I admit, it seemed kind of warm to keep adding layers in June, in Ohio...even with air conditioning.  


The next layer is the bread and butter of mountain climbing wear - the soft shell layer.  The soft shell layer is a windproof, water-resistant (but not water proof) breathable layer.  The soft shell layer is a jacket only, no pants.

I stylishly put the zippers in a way to show all the layers on top...

I bet this jacket will see lots of use this next winter in Ohio as well, it's pretty awesome.


No fashion show is complete without some vogue-type poses with the fancy hood on the soft shell layer.

Strike a pose!

Now, I'm sure all of you are thinking - "what if it's storming on the mountain?"  Or, "You're on a glacier - water resistant??  WTH - what about water proof???"


That's where the hard shell layer comes in.  Hopefully, this layer will just be added weight in my pack and the weather will NEVER require me to pull it out.  The hard shell is a water proof, wind proof layer that goes over ALL the previous layers.  The jacket has a hood and the pants have zippers down the legs to allow for adjustments over boots and crampons.

My expression shows how nice and cool it is wearing 4 layers on top and 3 on bottom in Ohio, in June, in a heat wave.

Practicing hunkering down in my hood.

I stripped off all the extra layers so fast, that I had to showcase the balaclava with just the base layer.

Embracing my inner ninja

Of course, Mark was also trying on all his layers in between acting as my photographer for my fashion show.  I made him have at least one photo when he had all his layers on...

See what I put up with?

And here ends our Mountaineering Fashion show.  I know, I know, you all wish you were climbing a mountain now and could have such cool layers.


I am definitely getting excited about the climb now!  Crazy to think that I still have a 107 mile running relay before the climb (The relay is this weekend!).


I'm late on my training report from last week because a Fashion Show seemed like more fun....On a side note though, just after Avery was born and I started training for the mountain...I wouldn't have been able to fit into ANY of the clothes sold for climbing the mountain.  Last night, not only did they all fit, but I could add all the layers with ease.  So. Awesome.


Have you ever done anything that required so many clothing layers?


Do you own a balaclava?  (I know some runners use them in the winter)


Have you ever been to a real fashion show?  Would you go to one?

Food Test

One of the things about the mountain climb different from previous physical events I've done, is the need to carry meals.  Not just GU, meals.  There are certain restrictions, however.  First, it must be high calorie.  Second, I have to carry it in my pack (both pre and post eating it, so any trash leftover must come with me).  Third, I have to be able to "fix" it using only boiling water.


Enter the freeze dried meals....

On my Dad's first attempt at Rainier, one of the things that went wrong was food.  He had a freeze dried meal that just didn't agree with him.  We all know how bad that can be when asking your body to preform at a higher physical level.  I decided to apply my "nothing new on race day" rule with respect to running, to this part of mountain climbing.  (Certain things with mountain climbing, I can't really use until the day, such as the ice ax.  They sort of frown on using the ice ax around town, can't imagine why!)

My package from REI, 3 meals to try, and much needed sock liners

I'd ordered all the highest rated meals that I thought I could stomach from REI.  We realized the trip is getting pretty stinking close at this point, so we decided it was time to try one of these crazy things.  So, last night we had re-hydrated beef stroganof for dinner.  (I know, you're jealous).

The instructions and calorie count

I open the package, looked at all the yummy freeze dried goodness, and removed the oxygen pack.

We're all drooling right now, aren't we?

Then, I boiled water in my nifty water-boiler.

It has a lid, but it's not photogenic.

Then I combined the two, stirred the package with a nifty camping spoon (the same one I'll have on the mountain), closed the package and waited.  My Dad tells me that at altitude on the mountain, I'll have to wait triple the time frame for it to re-hydrate.  (They say it takes an extra time frame for every 5,000 feet gained in elevation.)  Interesting.

Everyone wants some, right?

Then we ate it.  It wasn't terrible.  But, it's off the list to bring with us.  Why?  When I go somewhere and order beef stroganoff (or make it myself), I can request no mushrooms.  (I'm anti-eating fungus).  Even though I know it usually has mushrooms, I wasn't expecting re-hydrated mushrooms.  Even Mark, who will eat mushrooms, found this not so appealing.


Working around the mushrooms, for a re-hydrated meal, it was actually edible and somewhat tasty.  But, I don't want to work around mushrooms on the mountain.  Luckily, we have two more of these fabulous meals to try.  I know, you all want invitations to dinner, right?

Mommy, I would rather eat your shoe.

The climb seems like it's just around the corner, oh wait, it is.  Definitely getting both nervous and excited!


Last night, in addition to all this tastiness, I tested out a brand new (and CHEAP) umbrella stroller for Grandma to use with Avery while we're climbing.  (Carrying our full size stroller, all our mountain gear, AND all our cruise stuff on the flight across the country just seemed a bit much).

Really Mommy?  Really?

It worked fine for the intended purposes, but I don't see it replacing the heavier one for normal stuff.


Some of you are saying - wait, cruise?  What cruise?  Did I fail to mention that we are doing an Alaskan cruise the week before the climb?  Tapering in style for a climb is essential.  :)


I booked our second excursion last night, a wilderness hike to a glacier.  It'll be a nice climb-taper activity to keep the blood flowing.  Wait - now you're saying SECOND - what was the first?  A glacier hike/climb where we actually get to use crampons. 

My crampons are on their way to Seattle, so you get a stock photo.

See, no new stuff on race day!  HA!




Have you ever tried a re-hydrated meal?  Any recommendations?


Of the remaining two flavors - spaghetti and chicken with potatoes - which would you try next?

National Running Day = Zoo day?

Yesterday was National Running Day, and tons of my friends and other runners were running to celebrate.  Wednesday is normally my cross-training day, so I had a dilemma.  Stick with the normal plan or deviate.  Turns out, I kind of did both.


When I woke up that morning, the LAST thing I wanted to do was to go to the gym for a stair climber workout followed by Spin Class (which is what my color coded schedule said).  It was a gorgeous day, so after some ingenious deliberation....I decided that we needed a zoo day.  No evil plot is complete without collaborators though.  So, I texted one of my favorite people to see if she was in.

Wait a minute.  I didn't get a text.

She was in!  So, I met Sarah and her baby at the zoo at 10am and we enjoyed Mommy chat time while pushing the kiddos in their strollers.  


After a couple hours, we stopped by the Eagles for a quick diaper change for both kiddos.  I swear the Eagles were eyeing the kiddos as potential treats....

I'm protecting Charlotte from the Eagles, honest.

We have decided that Avery and Charlotte will be besties, and have already developed a plan of action for when each one tells their parents that they are at each other's house...when they're really meeting boys or something.

Seriously lady, I'm way too cute to do something so nefarious.

We enjoyed the lunches I packed for us, a cat show complete with cheetah and dog act, petted some flamingos and ate some dippin' dots.

Charlotte. They got ice cream while we were sleeping.  I say we pay them back by screaming in the middle of the night.

It really was an awesome day at the zoo.  The weather was perfect and so was the company.


It wasn't all fun and games yesterday though.  Instead of just napping all evening, I sucked it up and did my mountain training workout.  I went back to the damn dam steps with a 37 lb pack.  Unfortunately, a giant cloud of gnats also was working out on the steps.  EW!  If trying to avoid swallowing gnats is good training for Rainier - check that one off!

I swear there were millions of them - even if they don't show in this picture looking down the steps.

I persevered though, and made it up and down the steps 15x before it got too dark.  I focused on the mountain rest step and on getting more times completed in the one hour time frame then we did in Saturday's workout.  I  also got a nice sunset view over Alum Creek lake at the top of the dam as well.

A view worth the gnat cloud?

Despite no running on National Running Day, I still had a pretty nice day....until Avery fulfilled her late night screaming promise.  The upside of the late night screaming???  She actually slept in until 7:15am today!  (And, I cancelled my 5:30am run around midnight when I realized how things were going, so I also got to sleep in!)


Did you run for National Running Day?


What's your favorite animal at the zoo?


Do you ever feel like the animals at the zoo are less than pleased with you and want to get you?  Both the bald eagles and a gorilla gave us this impression yesterday!

Rainier Training: One Month Remains

Quick Look Weeks of May 28-June 3:

# of Workouts:  11

# of miles ran/walked/climbed:  35

Starting Weight: 220.8

Current Weight: 167.6 (Down 1.8 lbs from previous week!)

Total Lost to date: 53.2 lbs

Chest: 39" (No change)

Hips: 44"  (No change)

Monday: Ran 3 miles; Dam Steps (32 lb pack) 46 minutes (8x up and down)
Tuesday: Ran 4 miles; Legs ST; 1.8 mile walk (19.5 lbs)
Wednesday: Unintended Rest Day
Thursday: Ran 5 miles; 1.5 mile walk (30 lbs); Dam Steps (32 lbs) 38 minutes (10x)
Friday: Rest Day
Saturday: Ran 6.06 miles; Ran 8.06 miles - total ran 14.12 miles
Sunday: Dam Steps (36 lbs) 2 hours (24x)

This week, car troubles interfered with my workout plans a few too many times.  (My car is fully repaired and my credit card bill is higher now).

After this past week, I am officially in pre-relay taper.  Although, I will be "tapering" my long runs, I will not be backing off on my workouts as I normally do before a race.  I am one month away from my climb and since I am not "racing" this relay for time, the mountain training has to remain in the schedule.  Our start time for the race (3 pm) was announced today.

I definitely did a minimum of 3 Rainier focused workouts this week.  I am upping that number in the following weeks in a final push to not fail on this climb.  :)

I had a running personal distance record on Saturday of over 14 miles, even if I did split it into two runs.

I also did a personal best as to time spent walking up and down stairs: 2 hours.  LOL.  I did take a 12 minute break after the first hour before starting the second hour.  I know, I'm a pansy.  If it helps, I was carrying 36 lbs in my pack, and will add 5 lbs to the pack this week.

On Sunday, we also sucked it up and ordered all the clothing part of the equipment we will need for the climb.  I was hoping to be closer to my weight goals before I had to do this, but time has run out.  (I had to allow time for shipping, etc.)

In random Avery news, Avery actually sat in the front part of a grocery cart successfully in TWO different stores today - that's a first.

Why is her cart so much cooler?

How did your training week go??

Anyone in Columbus that wants to run one of our relay legs with us as a companion runner, please let me know.  We are especially looking for companions on the trails for each leg that will be in the dark.

Am I the only one that gets nervous trail running in the dark?

Those Dam Steps

This week saw a new addition to my mountain training arsenal...

So innocent looking from afar

Three times this week I could be found at the Alum Creek Dam Lower Recreation area.  Why?  So that I can have the pleasure of walking up 116 consecutive steps (and 11 landing platforms) for the sole purpose of turning around walking back down them...and starting all over again.


Wait!!!  That doesn't sound fun to you?  Oh - I forgot to mention the best part of the whole experience...

Mountain packs just aren't sexy.

Doesn't it sound better when I tell you that I got to do it while wearing mountain climbing boots (that weight 5 lbs) and a mountain pack (now weighing 36 lbs)?  After the workout today, someone saw Mark and I as we were reloading the packs into our car.  They stopped us to ask what we were carrying.  My response? "weight."  The guy looked at me like I was a little crazy.  Mark was nice enough to explain that we were training for something and just had weight and clothes in the pack to simulate weight and volume for the climb.

Um.  Mom. That still sounds crazy.

On our first trip to the Dam, Monday night, the heat index was in the mid-90s.  I can pretty much guarantee that it will NOT be that hot on Rainier.  (unless the world is ending, then all bets are off).  We use the alphabet method of counting (come up with a letter for each letter in alphabetical order for each trip UP the steps).   We only made it to H that day.


On the second trip, Thursday, I went to the Dam after Avery went to bed and BEFORE the storms rolled in.  My cell phone picture is awful because of the storms.  I made it to J (or 10 times up and down).  It was much cooler and much easier...but it got dark.  LOL


Today, my awesome friend Deb offered to watch Avery (yes, again), so we could go for two hours and not worry about how Avery would handle it.  We tried to treat it sort of like the climb, the goal was to do the steps for an hour, rest for 10-15 minutes, and go for another hour.  I wasn't sure how I would do since I ran 14 miles yesterday (a personal distance record - if it counts despite the fact that I split it into 2 runs).


We both successfully completed BOTH hours.  We made it through the letter X this time.  (Anyone have a good mountain or workout related word for X? I wound up going with I'm climbing a xylophone.  Not cool!)  


When we got to R, we thought we'd make it to Z.  Nonetheless, at the top of X, I pointed out that the smart thing to do may be to stop at the planned 2 hours and try to get the full alphabet another day.  Still, 24x up and down 116 steps with 36 lbs on my back really isn't too shabby!


On a side note, all those up and downs is my excuse for forgetting to take pictures at the top of the steps.  Next time, promise!  We had lots of people asking us what we were doing and how freaking long we were going to keep going up and down...up and down.  We actually had someone who had met us at letter P stop us in the parking lot to see if we completed the alphabet!  HA!


We come home and I promptly ordered pizza, twisting Deb's arm to stay and eat it with us.


Good day!  I'm tired, but not sore.  And, already planning to hire a sitter to do it again next Sunday.


I saw several runners using the steps for hill repeats.  Pretty freaking awesome.  I told Mark that I intended to do that after the climb as one of my run workouts.  Anyone want to go with me?

I think I'm out Mom.

Any one else do a new workout this week??


Have you ever done a workout carrying weight or utilizing stairs?




Editors note:  I have not forgotten about the promised Avery's drama post.  I promise I'll post it this week!