The Three Amigas

So apparently, we have very modest children (at least in utero anyway - hopefully, that is always the case!). At our 20-week ultrasound, Dr. Love said he wasn’t 100% sure about the gender of the baby, but he was leaning toward a girl based on what he “did not see.” He suggested we take another peak after a few more visits to be sure. So last Friday we snuck into the ultrasound room for a few minutes to see if our little cherub was any more revealing. After an initial shock of hearing him say “well, you may have broken the mold this time” (and then later his realizing that was the umbilical cord he saw), Dr. Love finally felt confident saying that we are indeed expecting another pink blessing, another baby girl. I have to admit, I was relieved. I have been expecting a girl and dreaming about a girl and a girl just “fits.” One of the gals in our bilingual playgroup coined the phrase “Las Tres Amigas” and it kind of stuck with me. I think they will have a lot of fun being all girls so close in age. I’m sure there will be phases that are challenging, but I hope they can be friends and enjoy going through things together. We have not gotten very far with names yet, but you’ll have to wait until the big day to find out what we’ve chosen anyway. Less than 10 weeks to go (we’ll find out if Labor Day really is Labor Day)!!

An Extreme Birthday Present

What do you get a guy who’s turning 30 and has pretty much everything? That was the dilemma Jenny was faced with recently. The first thing she gave me for my birthday was an Alton Brown cook book, baking specifically. I do like baking and I like Alton’s scientific style so that was a good choice. Now some might think that is a little on the “sissy” side since one of the things I looked at last year was a motorcycle. But that is where gift #2 comes in. After running a lot this past winter and spring, Jenny knew I was looking to take a little break from running. So my second gift was a certificate for three months to a new gym, the XFC Training Center which is a Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) gym. You may not be familiar with the term MMA and are more likely to know it as ultimate fighting or cage fighting. Before you get too worried though, let me explain a little bit about what it really is. MMA is just what the names says, a mix of several disciplines. I would describe it as a mix of boxing and wrestling and yes, there are rules.

Jenny’s present was to let me try it at least until the new baby comes. The gym actually lets you sign up for a free 30 day trial so for the past month I’ve been going to Muay Thai and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu classes. My only prior experience is wrestling in high school and a semester of Shotokan Karate in college. (I’m not counting my Kung Fu stint in Little Kid wrestling when I was five which my family still makes fun of me for.) I’m not planning on fighting competitively, but I’m more interested in the conditioning. The first class I went to was Muay Thai, which is like kick boxing except you can throw elbows and knees. I really like the class format which is warming up doing some technique drills for the first 15 minutes then doing drills with a partner such as taking turns throwing kicks while the other guy blocks it with his shin. We do where gloves and shin pads but it still hurts. Then the last 15-20 minutes is sparring at 20% (or whatever you and your partner are comfortable at, the coach says no broken noses). I thought I was picking it up pretty quick when we were doing the kicking drills, but it was a whole different ball game when it was live and you could throw kicks and punches. Needless to say, I ate a few punches, and a few kicks, but I survived the first class without major injury. My shins were a little bruised from kicking and blocking kicks, but by far the worst pain was from my feet. Bare feet on the rubber mats with all the kicking and twisting left me with blisters ripped open. Next was the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu class, which is like wresting where you use joint locks and choke holds to submit your opponent. It was a similar format of class and I felt more at home there with my wrestling background. I felt pretty good until it was time to go home and I was so exhausted I could have used a designated driver. This week I rolled with one of the coaches during sparring and I learned I’ve got a lot to learn about Jiu-Jitsu, but I left with all my limbs attached.

I’ve really enjoyed it and it is an excellent workout. It is cool to learn new stuff and then actually get to use it in live sparring instead of just doing technique drills. The gym is also a good atmosphere of guys looking for a good workout and helping each other learn; not just a fight club. So Mom, don’t worry and remember, it was Jenny’s idea.

Catching Up

I haven’t posted for a while but I did want to write a post to catch up on the Lincoln Half Marathon that I ran while we were up in Nebraska back in May. For us, the event started the night before because we got a room at the Embassy Suites right by campus. The night before the race there was a Pasta-Thon, a free pasta dinner, for racers and family at the Champions Club by the stadium. So we walked a couple blocks from the hotel to the dinner and met up with Russ, Carleen (also running the half), and Nikolas Barger for some grub. It was a good family event and they even had a clown making balloons for the kids. Livy didn’t understand that dragging her balloon on the sidewalk was a bad idea, but luckily Nikolas was in tight with the clown and had a pocket full of spare balloons. Before bedtime we headed down to the hotel swimming pool where both Livy and Molly had a great time. Livy put on her best Sea World performance swimming and jumping out of the water like a dolphin. The race is the National Guard Marathon Trials so there were lots of runners from different units across the country which made it a cool atmosphere. But before long it was time to try to get a good night’s rest. I had planned on getting up early and I didn’t have any trouble because when both girls woke up crying, Jenny handed me Molly. It was all good, though, and after the girls calmed down I got dressed and jogged over to the start/finish line in front of the stadium. I ran into Jenny Andel, a high school classmate, in the crowd before the race which was cool. Before I knew it, it was time to go. Maybe it’s just me, but after the gun fires and you’re shuffling your way to the line the thought goes through your head of, “Am I really going to do this?”

The start of the race was the old stomping grounds. We ran down to the engineering buildings and then took a turn past good old Neihardt (the dorm where Jenny and I met and lived for four years). Then past the State Capitol and down Sheridan Blvd. I figured if I was gonna go, I was gonna go big. So using my GPS watch I set a personal best pace. I knew that would be tough since the 3M course in Austin was really downhill, and I just came off an achilles tendon injury. But the first half of the race felt great and I was on pace with a guy who was running effortlessly and talking to everyone along the course like he wasn’t even breaking a sweat. After he pumped them up they would all cheer so I positioned myself about 10 yards behind him. It made for a great course and kept me pumped up. About mile 5 or so I ran past my fan club of Jo & Brett, Patti & Joel, Uncle Nathan, and Jenny and the girls (except for Red). A couple of miles later, things weren’t going so well anymore. I decided to pull back on the pace for a bit and then hit the end hard. Before I knew it, I was going by the fan club again and I was pumped up to push it hard those last three miles. That lasted until I turned the corner to head up 10th street and it was all uphill from there. The drive up from Texas two days before was taking its toll and my lower back and core seemed like it was falling apart.  I revised my strategy to just not walk as I watched the mother/daughter teams truck past me. I held on though, even if my “kick” was just around the loop in front of the stadium. It felt rough, but I ended up running a 1:45:46, which is about 8 minutes per mile. It was about 2:30 slower than my 3M race time so it was actually pretty good for me. The 3M race here in Austin was fun and I was energetic at the end; this race I describe as hard work. After the race Nathan walked with me back to the hotel for a cool down and we met up with Jenny in time to cheer on Carleen as she went by. Then it was into the hotel for a cooked to order breakfast before showering and checking out. The race was fun and I recommend it for anyone considering a half, especially if you stay at the Embassy Suites. I was happy with my time, but I don’t think my nephew Alex is going to let me forget that his kindergarden teacher beat me. She, yes she, beat me by a couple of minutes. So if you are considering your first half, don’t forget that it takes a bit of humility along with a lot of miles.

How is it?

How is it that when Molly finally manages to sleep the whole night through, I end up waking up every 2 hrs to go to the bathroom . . . and yet somehow still feel more rested . . . ?

Please, God, let this be the first of many sleepful nights for her – for all of us!

 

Friendly Reminder

Here’s a friendly reminder in case you wanted to get your sponsorship of the girls in on time – the Walk for Life is THIS Saturday.  We are still a ways off from our goal of $365 so please be as generous as you can afford to be. Thanks to all who have already shown your support!