Potty Training Success!!

Well it was certainly a fulfilling weekend. Lots of running and fitness mixed in with lots of motherhood—the two things my whole blog is geared toward! We made strides in the whole potty training arena. Several weeks ago, we called it quits with diapers. Justin will be 4 in July and was still sleeping and pooping in diapers until Joe put his foot down and said NO MORE! Several weeks ago, we used our last diaper and said hello to a long week of getting Justin to agree to poo on the potty. He became constipated and the task became painful. Finally we got over the hurdle and poo on the potty became second nature. After that, we introduced sleeping at night with no diaper.  I read up on how to avoid accidents in the bed. I followed this plan:

• Limit beverages 2 hours before bed.
• Sit on toilet just before getting into bed.
• Wake him up to pee just before I go to bed.
• Wake him up one additional time during the night to pee.

I followed this plan for a few weeks until one night he woke up on his own and went into the bathroom by himself to pee like a big boy. I still limit beverages and have him pee before bed. I’ll wake him up before I go to bed too, but no longer will I wake him in the night. It’s been several days since a night time accident. The strides we made specifically this past weekend were doing away with the little potty. He was out with Joe yesterday and I got in a cleaning frenzy. I cleaned his Elmo potty so well that it was clean enough to put away—so I did. I told Justin I gave it to another little boy and since he is a big boy now, he could use the big potty. He took no issue and within the next hour was doing poo on the big potty. WOW! I’m feeling way accomplished. I don’t know if it was just good timing or what, but PHEW! What a feeling! He is getting so independent.  Now, when he can wipe his own ass, I’ll be doing cartwheels!!

Other wonderful things that happened this weekend were a very hilly half marathon on Saturday, and some serious gym time on Sunday. While I was doing these things, Justin and Joe were either at a birthday party or at the indoor golf place. We also met up with friends for dinner on Saturday evening and had Justin’s friend over Sunday afternoon. I guess you could say we got the most out of our weekend. 

My half marathon on Saturday was my first race since recovering from my hip injury. I had initially thought with proper training, I could do a sub-two hour race. Then I saw the topography of the race route. Talk about hills!! I later decided, at the risk of re-injury I would do this race “just to do it” and put no pressure on myself regarding a time. A great surprise was (literally) running into my step brother at the starting line. We chatted about pace and agreed to run together. I won’t bore you with details of every mile, but I will say it was a cold, misty, hilly run. No bells and whistles. No street closures even. Just runners running on country roads. Another treat was a little cheer section around mile 6. Fellow runner friends (and sisters) Jen and Kristin were there with water, signs and moral support. I stopped to say hi then quickly ran off. 

 race route topography, lol

Our cheer section!

Marky approaching the finish

Here I am just seconds after Marky!

We finished in just over 2:08. Not bad. 

I think my next half, which is in June (Iron Horse Half), I’ll do for time. I may shoot for 1:45. I did it last year in 1:58. It’s a beautiful, flat course in my favorite area to run in CT. Until then I have a few 5K and 10K races that I’ll be building up speed for. 

It’s not often I write on my blog. But I do like to keep it up to date. Who knows when my next entry will be. Hopefully not several months from now. 

Keep running!!

Hyannis Marathon Recap

I ran a good race on Sunday. I missed my goal by about 6 minutes but I felt real good and strong the whole time. The fact that I felt I could have kept going at the end, gives me the desire to kick it up a notch. Not only have I begun researching additional marathons to complete this year, but also options for an ultra marathon. There is one in April—a 50K. It’s a 31 mile race in Carmel NY (gasp).

We knew ahead of time we were in for a windy race weekend. Missy and I arrived to Hyannis the afternoon prior to race day and spent an uneventful evening at a series of places: the race expo, Olive Garden, Home Goods and Christmas Tree Shops—Woo! I know, such crazy ladies we are! We retired to our room and got to bed early in preparation for the big event. Missy had not participated in any races since a little one a few months back. Maybe you’ve heard of it… the NYC Marathon? Though completing the marathon with flying colors, her heart wasn’t in the Hyannis Half 100%. She registered for it then had some doubts. She even convinced herself that upon arrival to the race, she would do the Hyannis 10K instead of the half marathon. A little bit of coaxing from yours truly and she changed her mind back to the half. And it’s a good thing! She had her 2nd best half marathon time ever! Kudos to Miss!!

I, on the other hand had trained for this race whole heartedly. At my stage of athleticism, I’m not willing to attempt a full marathon without proper training. Though I spent weeks running and cross training in doors and out, in the elements and also on the monotonous treadmill, nothing prepared me for the 40-50 mph wind gusts that would not let up during miles 17-23. Oh My Gosh!

Enter play by play…

Pre-race, 9:00am - We arrive well rested and fed to the Hyannis Conference Center, aka, the start and finish line. Having parked about ¼ mile away, we were quickly aware of the wind we would face out on the route. Dressed in my wind proof gear, I wasn’t cold per se, but the force of the wind was tremendous! I begin to worry I won’t finish in my goal time. It doesn’t help that I’ve lost a token that has been passed between my sister and step-siblings for each marathon. It was my turn to wear the little golden eagle pin and apparently it’s fallen off my jacket since I affixed it in the hotel room. I had pinned it to my jacket’s pocket which was zipped, so even though the eagle fell off somewhere, I still had the backing in my pocket. Sigh, this half token would have to suffice.

We ran with these on our backs. It was my dad's 65th birthday and since he is the reason I ever laced up running shoes, I gifted him my medal.

9:15-9:35- We wait in a line to pee. Why do girls take so long to pee???

9:45- Line up at the start. I look around for Kate, my friend with whom I’ve been running for years. She is there with her hubby for his first (and her third) half. There are too many people!! 4,300 half marathoners, 400 full marathoners and lots of relay-ers too. No luck. We’ll catch up later.

10:00- the Gun!! Bye Miss! See you later! Have fun!

10:01-11:00- miles 1-7… Feelin’ good here. Looking at my pace bracelet, I realize I am 4 minutes ahead of my goal time. Okay, time to slow it down. I do NOT want to expend too much energy now and have the need to crawl across the finish line later. Pacing in the 8’s is not what was agreed.

11:01-12:00- Wow, what a beautiful day it is! The sky is blue, the sun is bright. The ocean is gorgeous! Look at the size of that house! Hmmm, I’m getting hungry. When’s the next water stop? Where is a port-o-potty? Does a Kennedy live there?

Noon time- I approach the finish of the half marathon. The full is a double loop course which is kind of a mind fuck. As half marathoners are approaching the finish and getting cheered on to veer off into the chute because they’re “almost there”, I have to push forth and do it all over again! LOL, it’s what I signed up for after all!

1:00- Where is mile 20? If I can just get to mile 20, it’s all down hill from there. As soon as I hit the 20’s it’s all good. Just a little 10k to go! WOAH! How about that WIND!!??

1:01-1:30- Hmmmm… can I get a tail wind!?? Why, if I am doing a loop, is this head wind constant? If I’m traveling east then shift west, shouldn’t the wind be at my back at some point?? And it’s 40 friggin mph nonetheless??

1:31-1:45- WTF Wind!!??

1:46-2:00- Ok, almost done…Not making my goal of 4:10, but it’s going to be close. Kick it up a notch! I’m strong! I feel great! Woo! Mile marker 24!

2:01-2:16- Woo! Mile 25!!! Getting there!! Keep running. One foot in front of the other… Ooohhh, I see the home stretch! And there’s mile marker 26! I hear the crowds!! Hey, there’s Missy! Smile, she has her camera out!

2:16:12- DONE! Hmmm… my legs feel good! Even great! Let’s keep going…LOL! Nah, where’s my medal? Let’s get outta here. Check out at the hotel is at 3:00. We still need showers. Oohh, is that a smoothie shop?







Overall this race was great! This was the review I posted on Marathonguide.com—

This was my second time in Hyannis for this event. In 2011, I did the half and this year, the full. I'll agree with most comments about this race that the main event is the half, with the marathon being secondary. Over 4300 ppl did the 1/2, and 402 was the final count for the full.

Reading reviews of previous year's fulls, I was weary. Some comments reported insufficient water stops and not enough water for marathoners on their second lap around the double loop. Being a 'middle of the pack' runner, I surely hoped this wouldn't be an issue for me. I train with a water belt, but don't like to race with it. I jokingly told race volunteers at the water stops on my first loop to 'be sure they're there on my second lap!!' They were! and with a full water table. I didn't get the impression they'd be running out any time soon, even for the 'back of the packers'.

People were friendly for sure! The route is beautiful. I enjoyed it more on my second loop, only because the pack thins out tremendously and I was able to view beautiful houses and the ocean/beaches unobstructed.

Roads to traffic barely close for this race and if I had to complain about one thing, that would be it. I don't doubt residents were made aware of this race far in advance, however we'd run past lines of cars with angry drivers behind the wheel waiting to be let through the crowd and it made me uneasy. There's one portion of the race where they cone off one lane for runners and keep the other open for drivers. Drivers were speeding past in anger and was annoying. I mean, geeze, we're stimulating their economy by being there!!!

This is a great race to PR, as the course is flat with a few rolling hills. I tried to finish in 4:10 but wind was a huge factor. From miles 17-23 or so, I had a head wind which was reported later as being as gusty as 40 mph. I ran with my wind gear so I wasn't necessarily cold, but the force of the wind cut my speed tremendously. I finished in 4:16:12. I felt real strong the whole race and at the end I could have kept going which certainly adds to the fact that I had a wonderful experience with this marathon!

So, I raced on Sunday, hit the gym on Monday with the hubby. Massage was Tuesday. It’s Wednesday and time to hit the pavement again…

Contemplating the Sybil Ludington 50k in April.

Vulgarity vs. Miles on the Pavement

Selfishly I’d been running for myself all these years… maintaining health, keeping sane and spending less than every waking hour with my family. Oh the nerve! LOL. Though it sounds selfish, I think running keeps balance and ultimately is far from selfish.

A few nights ago, my son was being less than cooperative. This is not rare by the way, but on this specific night, he was being particularly devilish. It was time to brush his teeth. He HATES this part of the day. Not sure why. He has a really cool, battery operated toothbrush which does all the work for him. He even decorated it himself with stickers of dogs, cats, stars and cars. I don’t mind brushing my teeth, in fact I look forward to it, and so I can’t imagine why he would despise it so much. He runs away then when I catch him he kicks, screams and does everything he can to fight the inevitable. I give him the option to do it himself but every time he takes the toothbrush from me, he throws it on the floor or just holds it as if he doesn’t know what to do. I’ve tried creative ways to persuade him… “Let’s brush Mickey’s teeth too!” or “You can brush mommy’s teeth after you brush your own!” I’m not going to create a sticker chart for teeth brushing because the one for potty training barely works. OY!

So anyway, I digress… My kid was on my last nerve!! Just brush your F****ng TEETH! I screamed. He wouldn’t still. Adults won’t usually respond to vulgarity, why should a 2 year old? Finally, and this happens nightly, I pin him to the floor (sometimes with the help of Joe), strategically hold his hands down with one hand and with the toothbrush in the other, I get the job done. He will usually try to escape my hold and while doing do, move his head from side to side in frustration and scream at the top of his lungs. This actually helps my cause. His open mouth and moving head let me get in all the places a perfectly still boy wouldn’t.

Why am I telling you about this particular incident? Because I am ashamed that I told my two year old to brush his F****ng teeth. I hadn’t run that day and my energy was all pent up. At the end of a day that I haven’t run, I feel different than if I did.

Last night we went through the same rigmarole. Justin ran when I told him it was time to brush teeth and get ready for bed. Willfully, I caught him and carried him kicking and screaming into the bathroom. I offered him the chance to brush his own teeth. I told him that Special Agent Oso wouldn’t want to sleep in his bed if he had stinky teeth. He refused. I politely took him by the hand, and then strategically grabbed his other hand, situated his little body against mine and shoved that super cool toothbrush in his mouth. He hated it. I hated it.

When I was done, I set him free. 30 seconds later it was as if the ordeal never happened. We were snuggling on the couch. I apologized for having held him down to brush his teeth but explained that he is a big boy and if were to brush his own teeth, our nights would be so much more pleasant.

The fact that I dealt with last night with a touch of patience, a hint of class and a lot more maturity is because I ran yesterday, a fast 5.5. My mind was clear, my energy expended. Smoking moms would have had a cigarette after going through Justin’s fight for independence. I on the other hand already had my “fix” and was ready to conquer.

My point? Running brings a sense of calmness to my family. Not just to me, but to the whole house. Isn’t there a saying about if you keep mama happy, the house is happy? It’s true, I promise.

I encourage moms to run! If you’re not a runner, then walk, bike, yoga, kick box… Do something! It’s not selfish to want to be a happy mom. We all need an outlet!