On ice and athletes

Not long ago, John declared me an athlete.  I am not sure I agree with him, but I will take it as a compliment.  It didn't happen after a PR or a race or even a particularly awesome run.  Nope...it happened on a day when I didn't think twice about lacing up my shoes and heading out the door for a four mile run just like any normal morning.  It just happened to be that on that particular day it was pouring rain.  And then when I got back, I sat in a bath of freezing cold water.  So, I guess if running while nearly ruining my ipod and then torturing myself afterwards makes me an athlete, an athlete I am.

At least one of us is looking cute!  (For some reason, Everly really wanted a picture with me after I ran in the pouring rain.)

After taking some time off, I have slowly been making my comeback from being injured and I think it is going relatively well. What I initially thought was a hamstring pull may actually be sciatica or some other nagging ailment.  As awful as it may sound, I am convinced that soaking in an ice bath (or REALLY cold water bath, sans ice) has helped me remain pain free over the last month or so.  The time off also helped, though it definitely put a kink in my training plan. I am finally beyond my pre-injury mileage; yesterday I completed a nine mile long run for the second consecutive week. I have some good and bad runs recently, but for the most part my confidence is up.  Less than a month to go before the race.  This "athlete" might just be ready!!

 No ice in this bath, but trust me, it was cold! 

Updates

Running

I figured since I just got out of my first ice bath, this would be a good place to start with a few updates.  I am training for my second half marathon and race day is May 6th.  All was going swimmingly, until suddenly it wasn't.  As in: I had a killer run on a Thursday, an enjoyable eight mile run on a Saturday, and then by the end of that day, it felt like I had a huge muscle cramp in my butt.  I actually thought that is what it was.  If you have ever had a muscle cramp, you know how it feels even days later (I know this first hand from the many calf cramps in the middle of the night that I had while pregnant with Cortlan).  There is some weird residual effect that you feel for a while.  So, that is what I thought it was, but I figured it would be worth taking a couple of days off.  I did.  And then when I ran on the following Wednesday and it started screaming at mile 2.5, I entertained the notion that what I had thought was a muscle cramp may have been a pulled hamstring.  Over the course of the next two weeks, I fluctuated between thinking I had a high hamstring pull and sciatica.  I still am not entirely sure what it was, but I finally, after over two full weeks of not running, was able to run again on Sunday.  I ran a measly 1.5 miles at a pace a full two minutes slower than my typical pace.  Tonight I did the same thing again....and then came home and sat in an ice bath.  I am ready for the big comeback.

Potty Training

The potty training went pretty well last summer for Everly.  We had quite the issue with getting #2 to happen on the potty, but once it did, we were golden.  Everly started the school year in underwear and has not yet (knock on wood) had an accident at school.  (She has had two at home, but that is another story.)  Anyway, she has still been wearing Pull-Ups to bed.  Until recently.  Check this out:

See those stickers?  On February 5th, Everly woke up dry.  She got a sticker.  She repeated her performance for eight more days, had one wet morning on the 14th, and then three more dry days.  On Friday, February 17th, we decided to put her to bed in underwear.  I have changed the sheets three times since then, but I am feeling pretty good about that going by the wayside pretty quickly.  Could my girl be fully potty trained, day and night, by her third birthday?  I am thinking yes!

Kindergarten

It is hard to believe, but last Friday, John and I took Cortlan to his Kindergarten registration. I think he was overwhelmed. He started off well enough, but as he got further into the introductions and people giving him attention, he withdrew more and more until he was buried in my leg and unwilling to leave my side for the evaluation portion of the morning. I walked him to the first station and sat nearby as he quietly, and then more confidently, answered the questions, sorted the shapes, built towers of colored blocks, cut out a dinosaur picture, and drew shapes and letters. Eventually, I was able to walk away, and in the end, he was fine. And he will be fine next year.  I am sure of it.  Now I guess the real question is: Will I be fine?