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| At the top of South Mountain (Sun crest Loop) |
Tomorrow, my baby (sniff), will be 1 year old! It's so very bittersweet.
On one hand I have my training, and the accomplishment of simply, doing SOMEthing. One the other, I have this beautiful little boy that delayed my initial training and interrupted my really BIG plans. While it all worked out rather well, I must say, this year has been the fastest paced year of my life. Where did it go? I guess a walk through this past emotional year is in order... for your reading pleasure, certainly NOT for the fun of it! :-)
January 2009
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| Yes that's me, 10 months along! |
Sometime after that in 2009
Being sick and pregnant isn't exactly a combination that promotes good health and good habits. I wasn't having a very good time with any of it, but I attempted to go on walks and stay hydrated. For the most part I laid on the couch and just waited for the end ;-). Not a very good way to pass the time away for 10 months!
That's when I started reading the posts on my husband's newest source of entertainment... FACEBOOK, and I was hooked! FB opened up a whole new world for me and my misery, which loves company so FB was a natural fit. FB allowed me to share the misery and receive support like never before, and what's more, it reconnected me with my family. My crazy Conger cousins to be exact! AND, making a long story short, we arranged a family reunion. As part, we ran (yes WE) in Provo's Freedom Run in honor of our dear Grandpa Dan.
Training for a 5k while pregnant was a bit challenging, but I managed. I finished with a time of 42:42 and it took me a good week to recover, but man was it a magical moment for me. I had my Grandpa in my thoughts the whole time, and knew what he'd be saying if he could see all of us crazy cousin's running for him. Crossing that first finish line was the key to opening the door on the next year of my life, and I was excited!
June 2009
Well, we had so much fun being together as cousin's we decided to look into more races. That's when my cousin Shannon suggested a Ragnar (www.ragnarrelay.com). An invitation was all I needed! I was on-board and ready to start training for this mysterious Ragnar that had us running over 200 miles in 24 hours. But there was one thing that I had to do first, hmmmm... oh THAT'S right! I'm having a baby in a few months. :-/
That was kind of a kill-joy, but at least now I had some motivation to get up and move.September 19, 2009
That morning I became a mother again, for the third time. Sweet little Jesse Taylor joined us, and for the third time I found myself with a sweet little bundle of joy that weighed in at only a faction of the weight he was suppose to... Where's the 60 lbs of baby I was pregnant with? Yep, while having a new baby is a joyous occasion, it's also a time or mourning. Mourning the loss of my physic, is a vanity I never overcame after childbirth. Not having enough abdominal strengthen to sit up right at the dinner table is not only painful, but embarrassing to boot! Needless to say, I jumped right back into running...perhaps a little too soon.
October 2009
I started to blog again... just in case you missed it, here it is.
http://kellystrain-a-thon.blogspot.com/2009/10/terrible-truth.html
---This is wear we will flash forward---
February 2010 Del Sol Ragnar
Running this race was both a disappointment, and fun at the same time. I was very disappointed in the race itself. My first leg of the race was just at night fall and it was DARK and my knee feel victim to the night! The darkness wasn't so bad, made for some pretty quick miles. The dirty road we were running on was the problem, it wasn't grated and full of holes that were invisible under foot as my head light bounced out the shadowy terrain ahead of me. One ill placed step and my knee, my one GOOD knee, screamed back at me as the impact sent pain in both directions. I knew if I stopped I was done, but being that it was dark, and my support van was no where to be seen, stopping wasn't an option.
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| Me, BGS Jenn, Meredith, Shannon & Windy |
After icing, I realized that my next leg of the run wasn't going to feel so good, but that was the least of my worries.
Sleeping on the hard floor in the elementary school didn't do much for any of us, or our moods, which were starting to get tense. We got everyone rolled out of bed and ready to go when we sensed something was amiss. Although we knew something was wrong, the race officials were not saying much, the rumor was a runner had been hit. A delay turned into the cancellation of our entire 2nd leg of the race and they sent everyone to the next major transition area. Like air out of a balloon, the excitement for the race sputtered out of Van 2.
They later informed us that a young runner had been hit by a car while supporting a team mate. He had been life-flighted to the hospital in critical condition.
The ciaos caused by the road closing rippled through the event as we tried to reset at a new location and run legs of the race we hadn't planned on. Van 2's Ragnar got shortened to a two legged race, which turned out to be just fine for my knee.
Our team crossed the finish line pushing me on a Best Buy cart. I was embarrassed, but glad to be with a team of such wonderful ladies who all rocked their runs! Smiles were all around, not bad for just 5 months postpartum.... I do however, have some unfinished Ragnar business.June 6, 2010 Salem Spring Triathlon
I didn't do any running for months after Del Sol, which was okay, my legs needed the rest. I threw myself into triathlon training with just 6 weeks to go before race day, that turned out to be a mistake!
But hey, I finished didn't I?! With two of my Ragnar sisters (Marisa & BGS Jenn) I completed my first triathlon in a time of 1:42:09. Well under the 2 hours I had allotted myself!I rocked my swim, coming out of the water in 5th... but that's were my trouble started. I should have spent much more time on my bike getting a costumed to it's glitch-y personality, but I didn't. I didn't really enjoy the bike at ALL, so I avoided it like a plague! While training, I failed to get my feet un-clipped before crashing to the ground. The resulting stress fracture in my wrist made swimming training difficult and riding a bike a nerve racking ordeal.
So I confess, I was a chicken and didn't ride my bike unless I HAD TO. So no surprises that when my bike wouldn't shift like it was suppose to, I had no clue what to do and ended up running my bike (in my bike shoes) up the only crazy steep hill of the event!
I exhausted so much energy fighting my bike that I had nothing left for the run, NOTHING! I'm no quitter though, and thanks to my slow ride, my BGS Jenn had caught up to me and we ran together (which was awesome)!
Crossing the finish line was just the feeling I needed to remember WHY? The 'WHY?' in training and racing is very often an upset in my schedule. Finish lines are the 'WHY?', the cherry on the top, the repayment to a body that paid the tab, the incentive to do it again, and again, and again.... you get the picture I'm sure. :-)
August 14, 2009 Herriman Blackridge Triathlon
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| My new ORCA Triathlon suit |
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| Feeling good post race! |
Jared, finished 5th in his division and found his very own 'WHY?' in the process.
The best part of the race was my sprint finish when I blasted past a runner who had passed me on the bike...I HATE WHEN THAT HAPPENS! :-)
I was amazed at how good my body felt post race, I thought I was going to DIE after Del Sol and Salem, I can't believe how far I've come!
September 11, 2010 Camp Yuba Triathlon
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| BIL Jeremy & Hubby Jared |
September 18, 2010
So on the eve of my little Jesse's 1st birthday, I look back and smile, amazed at what can be accomplished in a year! As and added bonus, I have these three funny little children of mine that deliver the comic relief amidst the stress and everyday challenges of being a wife, mother and a triathlete... in training, if not for a race, for life and all of the 'WHY?' it rewards me everyday. :-)
Until the next 'WHY?' -Kelly
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| Me & 2 of my 3 Little J's (Jet & Jesse) |
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