Fitness Geek

Out and about

I had a nice 5-miler last, averaging about a 9:40 mile. The IT issue is coming back up, but I plan on rehabbing it aggressively and working on a better running posture.

Tonight I tore through the Men’s Health Spartacus workout. And yeah, at the end I did want to yell, “This is SPARTA!”

I’m slowly seeing changes; gradual and steady, but they are there. This weekend I’m planning an 80 minute run and a 30 minute run. I’m logging my runs based on time, not miles. This is because of one of the races I’m planning on doing this year. More on that Sunday.

I do have goals for this year. Lofty ones. But I’m working on staying consistent in my training, and Mrs. Fitness Geek and I are working hard to eat better too. All of this should lead to success. Should.

Lil’ Geek is feeling better and has become more beautiful with each passing minute.

Tomorrow will be an easy day of no exercise before the big weekend.

I’m really looking forward to Saturday’s run. It’ll be a rain or shine run, something another run suggested. Personally, I’m hoping for shine.

The sky is falling and Lil Geek the dinosaur

What a week. On Monday our living room ceiling became our living room floor. Literally.
A quarter of the ceiling had water damage which was going to be fixed on Wednesday. But the ceiling didn’t wait and instead fell into the living room.

Luckily, our contractor came by and fixed it up Tuesday. The roof repairs are scheduled for Monday. One crisis averted.

On Thursday Lil Geek was diagnosed with RSV. Not serious for a one-year-old. But for a two-month old, it can be very serious.

So Lil’ Geek celebrated her two month birthday with a trip to the doctor and then a visit to immediate care. To say she was thrilled would be a bit of an overstatement. We went home with a brand new nebulizer (a breathing machine to the layperson) and hooked it up.

Here’s Lil’ Geek as a dinosaur…

She was a real trooper. She slept through several of the treatments, but it broke my heart to see her like that. Knowing she wasn’t feeling good made my soul ache. But I also know the medicine was helping her, so I was glad to see her as a dinosaur. Even if she was the angriest dinosaur.

It seems she’s starting to feel better, and we’re hoping she is going to be back to her normal self soon: a little girl that has a smile that lights up the world and who can’t get enough of her parents.

Feel better soon Lil’ Geek. We love you.

Happy 2 Months

Lil’ Geek turns the big 02 (months) today. She’s changed so much in the last 30 days.

She sleeps through the night.
She smiles when she’s happy…not just when she’s ummm, conducting business.
She snores. There is no cuter sound.
She recognizes me and Mrs. Fitness Geek and laughs when we tickle her.
She is more beautiful.

Happy two months, lil’ one. Keep growing. You’re about nine pounds now and packin’ on the ounces with every bottle.

As for me, I’m finally back into a routine of some sort that includes work, running, lifting weights, spending time with Mrs. Fitness Geek and hanging out with Lil’ Geek. What more could a guy ask for? I’m going to start blogging more regularly. Up until now, it was just a matter of finding time to do it…

One Month…

Happy one month Lil’ Geek.

You have grown cuter by the day. Your personality is starting to show. You are easygoing. You are unlike most babies we know. You wake up once a night, but only for a change and a quick bottle.

Afterward, you are back asleep, your brow furrowed and your tiny hands opening and closing as if trying to reach for more Zzzzzzzs.

You are tiny. And soft. And you smell like innocence. You probably thought innocence didn’t have a smell. But it does. It has hints of cotton and milk and fresh air.

You smell of fresh air.

When you get upset, you try and throw tantrums, but you are too sweet, too kind to get really angry. Your mother and I laugh because your cries of anger sound as if you’re saying, “Mad! Mad! Mad! Mad!”

People always ask how it is getting up in the middle of the night to feed and change you. I tell them that it’s not too bad. That’s not true.

I look forward to those late night activities. They are blessings. If I’m up with you it means you are here. That was wish for two years. To have you.

And now we do and this first month was a thousand times better than all of our prayers combined.

We love you Lil’ Geek. We love your fat cheeks, your tiny fingers, your bright eyes and your daily battle with hiccups. We love everything about you.

New plans, again

I was planning to post my upcoming schedule for 2010, but I wanted to wait until it was a little more set in stone. I’ve run one in last 30 days. I’ve lifted a weight zero times in the last 30 days.

I’m out of shape.

No, there aren’t excuses. Not good ones. Lil’ Geek doesn’t count. She sleeps plenty. Work doesn’t count. I could get up a bit earlier or stay up later. And sleep doesn’t count. I get plenty, even with the lil’ one.

Throw in a few more problems, issues, etc. and you’ve got a recipe for bad.

That being said, I’ve decided that right now I probably won’t run any race until June or July.

I don’t know when I’ll even lace up my shoes again. There just isn’t time anywhere. I’ve looked. I’ve tried. There’s an hour here and there, but nothing consistent, nothing more than twice a week at best.

That’s the bad news.

Tomorrow I’ll document how I’m going to fix the mess I’ve made of my body the past 90 days. Mostly it’ll be weights and the stationary bike for now. I’m hoping to get back into running in a few weeks. We’ll just have to see.

That’s all for now. I can hear dinner calling!

Lil Geek in photos

You’re a week old, lil’ one. We already know so much about you. You have nice plump cheeks perfect for pinching, your smile lights up the room (even if it means you’re conducting, um, business), and you hate going to sleep. Unless it’s on your dad’s arm in the glider chair.

So here’s to you, sweetie. Happy first week.

Your first bath

In your crib, but not sleeping. A constant occurrence

Snuggling with mom. A constant occcurrence too

Look at them cheeks!

Pefect

The best day. Ever.

Lil Geek arrived on Saturday, Nov. 21 at 1:01 pm. I could write about the labor (15 hours), the delivery (just a handful of minutes) or even the stay at the hospital after she was born.

Those are just small moments. Pebbles in a great big river.

Lil Geek. She’s beautiful. Gorgeous. Sweet. Tiny - 6 lbs, 14 oz.

And she’s ours. Our little girl. Our daughter.

We were husband and wife. Now we’re so much more. We’re family.

Write a thousand words a day for a thousand years. No combination of those words would be enough to describe our love for her.

We’ll be celebrating Thanksgiving tomorrow at home by ourselves. As a family.

At last.

Here’s to you, Lil Geek and all the joy you’ve already brought us.

We love you.

Lil Geek ETA: Who knows?

No news is, well, no news. Lil’ Geek has yet to make up her mind about when she plans to make her grand appearance.

I’m hopeful it will be this weekend, mostly because I told my parents she was coming tonight. Nothing like a little motivation, right?

The running seems to be back on track. I did three Thursday after five on Wednesday. This morning I woke up late but still managed to get in a good long run. I finished 14 miles in just a hair over 2 hours 12 minutes for an average pace of 9:23. That’s pretty awesome since I was hoping for a 9:45-10:00 minute pace.

Right now the plan is still for the New Year’s Day marathon, but that will depend on when Lil’ Geek arrives. I’m doing my best to get those miles in now so when she gets here I can take a break without losing too much of my fitness level.

If the marathon doesn’t work out, well I’ve got other plans for 2010. I’ll announce those on New Year’s Day, regardless of whether I run the marathon that day. If all goes well, I’m planning 3-4 races next year. Two of them are going to be pretty tough.

Mrs. Fitness Geek continues to be strong and deal with her pain. She’s a trooper. Tomorrow will be a recovery run of just a couple of miles. Next week, I’ll be near 30 miles, the most I’ve had in months.

Lil’ Geek #22

Oh Lil one, you will be here any day. Well, technically, you are here, but not HERE. I hope that’s clear.

We’ve waited so long to meet you. When I think about what you’ll look like and how you’ll smell (post diaper change) and how you’ll be our little girl.

People have asked (a lot) about if I’m overwhelmed about your impending arrival.

The answer, little one, is no. I learned a few years ago something I hope you’ll discover: all problems, big and small, can be solved. All tough situations, can be overcome.

The key is this: How do you eat an elephant?

The answer is something even your vegetarian mother can appreciate. One bite at a time. No matter the size of your problem or the enormity of the task at hand, you can get past it. All you have to do is take a deep breath, relax and break your big problem into small, manageable parts and you’ll get through it.

Big elephants are really just little pieces stacked up. Take ‘em one at a time and you’ll tame that elephant.

We’ll see you soon, little one.

Our hearts are yours and you are our everything.

A busy (good) week

Friday at last. It’s been a good, but hectic week. Starting with last weekend:

I got in a great 12-miler Saturday morning and then headed to the in-laws’ house. Sunday was a baby shower for Lil’ Geek.

That’s Mrs. Fitness Geek opening some of her stash. We had a great time and it was really touching to see how many people are happy for us and cannot wait to spoil her.

We’ve spent this week running all over the place. An inpromptu visit to the hospital Wednesday night kept us out until after 2 am. Everything checked out, but we were exhausted when we arrived home.

I ran on Wednesday and Thursday, four and six miles. Wednesday was great with sub 9 minute miles the whole way and one sub 8 mile. I took it easy Thursday and coasted along.

Lil’ Geek continues to grow and squirm and kick and generally just be adorable.

We’re five weeks away now, of course she could come at any time. Woo!

Tomorrow I’m scheduled for 14 miles and 3 on Sunday. Sunday is also our local baby shower for friends and family. The guys are all off to a local place for wings, football and beer. Perfect.