Counting my Blessings

15 months

 

So much has happened but I don't have the time anymore to write in this blog regularly.

Roam and Ember started walking in December. Roam first then Ember about 10 days later. They were so proud of themselves and smiled big broad smiles and giggled after they each took 3-4 steps. They now get into everything possible and we allow them free reign of the house. I babyproofed all I could and put monitors up so I can hear them from room to room. They love exploring and do almost everything together.

I got sponsored by Brooks Shoes again. I feel so fortunate that Brooks believes in supporting Mamas. This sponsorship is not puny. I could buy at least 15 pairs of shoes or equivalent clothing.

My training is going well too! I am running 2-3 hard workouts a week and just saw a slight improvement in my fitness this past week. My comeback from pregnancy is much slower compared with my first pregnancy though. I attribute that to lower training volume, less time to train, sleep deprivation and maybe even my 4 finger abdominal separation. I likely will need surgery to repair that.

Roam and Ember are beginning to follow commands like - go put the diaper in the garbage. Roam or Ember will pick up the diaper and throw it in the garbage. It so amazing and cute too.

Another example of my boys cuteness to me is -when I hurt myself like stepping on a hard toy and yelp with pain, I have all 3 boys giving my hugs This makes all the sleep deprivation worth it to me :)

We stayed in a Yurt last weekend. We all hiked and/or sled 20 min to get to it. I never stayed in a yurt before so it was an experience. Thankfully Ray kept the fire going all night b/c it got very cold. Skiing in the sunshine pulling Eon was my highlight.

My next race is a 3 mile St Pattys Day Race. My goal is to run faster than last year.

I feel so blessed to have my family and health. Every day is special for us all. Every night in bed I count my blessings and I know I am a very lucky Mama.

Happy Valentines Day.

Running Happy

Nicole



13 months

Celebrating Winter Solstice with candles and songs

Roam taking his first steps



Ember taking his first steps

Inside the Yurt

15 month hats and Eon 4.5 yrs old loving his digger Valentine

Sledding around the yurt

The yurt had a sky light and lots of windows

Off we hike to the Yurt

Eon loves pushing his brother in this car

Eons fort

15 months

Roam exploring outside 14 months

Buzz Buzz

Ember

Roam

Happy 1 Year!

I am busy...too busy to write in this blog regularly. Now that Roam and Ember are both crawling and standing, they keep me busy as a bee-buzz buzzing around!
We have a 3 story 100+ year old house. The stairs are super steep and dangerous too. I have to carry them up and down the stairs all day or stand behind them as they crawl up or down.

Ember on left, Roam on right ready to celebrate

They like to work in tandem. For example, Ember loves to play with toilet water and Roam likes to unravel the toilet paper. Roam likes to slink down in his highchair pulling his diaper off then Ember will play with Roam's full diaper during the diaper change. Ember will watch Roam slink into the tub. Roam will turn on the faucet and get all wet. Ember likes to get into the garbage and Roam likes to eat it. Roam will bolt out of the door to outside, and when I grab Roam, Ember will sneak outside...
Thank goodness for Eon. He is my 3rd eyeball. He has saved me from disaster many a time. He will inform me when they find some small object or when trouble is a brewing.
My training has taken a back seat for a while. We do not hire childcare so my days of running hard are limited. Ray works 12 hr days and by the time he gets home I am tired. I try to have all 3 in bed by 8:30pm so if I don't fall asleep by then I have an hour or so to relax. In the mornings, after breakfast I run on the treadmill while all 3 play around. I really don't have time to do anything but a short run and a few exercises. This is not going to get me in the shape I was in a few years ago though. I am also severly sleep deprived since they wake up each ~3+ times a night. I know it will get much easier as soon as they are ~3 years old. Until then I am happy to be a little slower and I would not change a thing.
I did race Mt Sentinel Hill Climb http://www.runnersedgemt.com/events/hillclimb/ again. I was 2 min faster than 2010 but it was a different course. However I was very close to my same mark up to the M (~7 min 55 sec's compared to 7 min 40 sec's  in 2010) so I am happy that my hill racing is improving!
My 2013 goal is to run faster in every race. My next race will likely be in March. Until then cheers,
Nicole

Eon made a card out of Halloween Candy

Mt Sentinel Hill Climb



Roam and Ember love to swing

Utah at XTERRA 21k National Championships

Photo taken at the M mark

Ray pushing all 3 boys in at Vets Race

Bountiful Baskets

9 months- My life is very busy but full of fun. Roam and Ember now are eating quite a bit of solid foods like mangos, melons, avocado, refried beans, and cheese. They wave their arms in excitement and make happy noises when they see food. Below is a photo taken after we picked up our Bountiful Basket full of organic produce. We only have to walk 2 blocks away from our house to load the wagon. Roam and Ember and Eon love going there and exploring what is inside the box of yummy foods.

In other news, my husband Ray and I celebrated our 15 yr Anniversary. We were married on top of a 10,000 foot peak and below are some photos. Everyone had to hike 8 miles and back for the wedding. We were married in the clouds.

Roam and Ember have started to play alongside each other. They enjoy mimicking their baby noises and hand each other toys. It makes me so happy to see them be happy together. They truly seem to enjoy each others company.

Eon turned 4 and continues to be my best helper. For example he will help me soothe one baby while I change a diaper or nurse one to sleep. Eon loves pushing his brother in his red car below too.

We decided to start building a house. We hired someone to construct our 1km driveway 2 weeks ago. The house will be on the plot of land below. It is in the country on top of hill with just coyotes and deer as our neighbors. The driveway averages 10% grade so it will be an excellent workout to get the mail!

Eon is playing soccer and I am the coach of his team. Eon likes playing goalie best.
My husband was in another cycling accident. He broke his clavicle which has been difficult for us all but he is doing fine now.
And lastly, I raced a 10k from 6000 feet to 5500 feet drop but had some steep up hills the last 2 miles and ran 37:27 which I am very happy about. My goal race is in 6 weeks which is the Xterra HM National Championships.
Running Happy
Nicole

Happy Land

8 months My goal race this year was the Wulfman CDT 14k. Its my favorite trail race and I am also on the race committee. There was some excellent competition this year-2 other race champions one of which ran 2:43 marathon Dec 2011 and competed at the Olympic Trials, state 3200m hs champion, top national ranked track masters runner and many other local fast women.
Knowing this my goal was top 3. Magically I won the race by 42 sec's. What a wonderful feeling it was to win this race!

Wulfman CDT 14k

Eon at the awards ceremony. Keeping me cool.

However I did not feel fit enough to travel to Loon Mtn NH and race in the 2012 Mountain Running Championships. I am fit but just not quite fit enough to compete with the nation's best mountain runners. In addition, due to nursing 2 babies, the travel logistics would be expensive and challenging.
Missing the qualifying race is disappointing but I will try out again in 2014. My new race goal is the 21k Xterra National Trail Championships Sept 23. I should be a little more fit in 2 months.

Roam and Ember 7 months

Roam and Ember continue to develop unique personalities. Roam likes to bounce and makes all kinds of different babbling noises. He is the lighter sleeper. He just started to roll more frequently and can sit but is wobbly. Roam kicks his legs when he is excited.
Ember cries when he sees a scary to him person, rolls like a seal and sits and plays comfortably. He also flails his arms in excitement.
My 4 boys both give me loving looks all day so I am in mama happy land. I feel so lucky to have a family and to be running a little faster again.
Cheers
Nicole

My run in Paradise

6 months
Very excited to report that I ran sub 7 min pace on a hilly somewhat technical 11 miles to Paradise trail race. I placed 2nd overall 1:16:13. Nursing babies before races makes for little warm up time (and makes finding time to use the outhouse even more challenging) but other than that I felt good.

If you want to see this part of the country on film check out the link below

http://youtu.be/XPJcruOmalw (start watching about 4 min into video)
The race was competitive so I was very pleased to place 2^nd. My next race is a mile race on June 3 then a 5k a week later.
I feel like my fitness has improved quite a bit but I am still not at the level I was a few months post Eon (2008/09) and far behind my 2010/11 fitness. This is a bit perplexing, My best guess is that it was the 5 months of limited inactivity during pregnancy. Nursing has also caused me to hold onto 5 extra lbs. Roam and Ember are ~16lbs each and the only source of calories for each is breastmilk. You would think I would lose weight very quickly but my body responds by holding onto fat. I am okay with this but I know it is causing me to run a little slower.

Someone asked me how much I gained for my twin pregnancy. I gained 30 lbs with Roam and Ember and ~20 lbs with Eon. Immediate post- partum however I weighed the same for both pregnancies.

Roam and Ember continue to be full of smiles. Ember loves to roll around and look at the world on his tummy. Roam enjoys kicking and bouncing. Eon is my best helper too. Eon will comfort his brothers with hugs and kisses. Since neither twin sleeps thru the night, I am very sleep deprived but loving every minute of this phase in my life.

Happy Running

Nicole

Don't Fence Me In 12k

6 months
DFMI 12k is a hilly mostly single track trail race. I was excited to run this race for various reasons. It is competitive and super hilly with beautiful views. We arrived 50 min before race time which gave me just enough time to pick up my packet and run a short warm up and nurse both babies. I was so focused on that task that I completely neglected to put on my chip.  In my prior 2 races the chip was in my number and I never gave it a second thought. oops!
I am excited to blog that I won the race (58:18). My fitness is now closer to my 2009 fitness 1 year post Eon. (57:17)
Next race is another hilly trail race.
Running Happy
Nicole

6 months

6 months
Highlights
Roam and Ember weigh about 15.5 lbs each and are exclusively breast fed. Their hunger keeps me busy nursing all day and night. I do like the perk of eating lots of food though.
Roam likes to kick and Ember loves to turn over. Roam is a little more rambunctious. Ember is a little better sleeper. Eon is my biggest helper. He showers them with hugs and kisses.
The five of us have gone hiking and even traveled to 5 hrs to Spokane and stayed in a hotel so I could race Bloomsday. At Bloomsday I ran 45:46 which is 6:08 miles. I was 2 min away from beating my 2010 time. I am so grateful to be racing again but part of me is disappointed that its taking so long to regain my prior form. In Feb 2011 I was in the best shape since 2007 and to lose all that fitness due to pregnancy induced inactivity is a little mentally challenging. Part of me thinks my slow to return fitness is due to abdominal wall separation. I currently have at least 2 inch gap between my ab muscles. My new plan is to work on strengthening my abdominal wall with this book

"Exercise After Pregnancy: How to Look and Feel Your Best, 2nd edition" I did race a 3 mile race 2 weeks ago in 17:38. I also have no aches or pains which I feel so fortunate about. My big race is in about 6 weeks. I am definitely excited. Running Happy Nicole