Kristy Maute

40 Day Goal Challenge #3

Today is Day 1 of my 3rd set of 40 Day Goal Challenges. For those of you who didn’t read yesterday’s post, I’m pregnant!!! Until 2012, life is about getting our family and our house ready for Maute Moo! I’m recycling a few of the goals from the last challenge since I was too tired to do most of the things on that list. Cole will also be visiting with his dad for a good chunk of this goal session. This will allow Christian and I to do some heavy organizing, and enjoy some quality time together.

40 Day Goal Challenge #3

(June 2 – July 13)

#1 Make a Rain Barrell

#2 Start Composting

#3 Create Vision Board

#5 Take Cole to Kid’s Yoga (Monday Nights at Bamboo)

#6 Paint our Living Room (and maybe our kitchen!)

#7 Take down bathroom mirror to “discover” what is behind it – ants are currently invading our upstairs bathroom and they appear to be coming from behind the mirror. YIKES! Repair Wall and Replace Mirror.

#8 Organize Garage, Laundry Room, and Hall Closets

#9 Clean out future baby room (hence the reasoning behind #8 – got to make room for baby)

#10 Sleep in our tent – spend one weekend hiking/camping

#11 Keep up with Training Plan

#12 RELAX – don’t let myself get stuck in “go” mode

Reward: A must have, but completely NOT needed baby item!

Sorry – this list isn’t too exciting or action packed. I’m avoiding being overly ambitious right now. I’m also trying to set myself up for success! My pregnant hormones don’t need disappointment or self-doubt right now! I think this list is the perfect way to start off the summer and to start of preparing for Maute Moo.

How are you kicking off your summer? Vacation Plans? House plans? Baby Plans? We are all about organizing and making the best use of what we have, AND I’m hoping we can get in one last family vacation this summer before the Maute Moo arrives. All 3 of us could use some fun family time before we add another baby to the mix!

Connecting the Dots

Today is the last day of my 40 day goal challenge. So how did I do:

Set #2 (April 23 – June 2)

1. ~~Trader Joe’s Sundays – grocery shop for the week and plan ahead~~ – DONE!

2. Create Vision Board – magazine and images are collected, i just haven’t got creative with it yet

3. ~~Post life goals – 1 year, 5 year, 10 year~~ DONE!

4. ~~Follow training plan & listen to my body~~ – DONE!

5. Eat dinner Solo – no laptop, no magazines, no books (Thanks Sara!) – Didn’t happen! (sorry Sara!)

6. Take Cole on his 1st backcountry backpacking trip – Not yet 😦

7. ~~SWIM! Take a lesson to learn real technique, take a aquatics class, jump in and swim a lap! I don’t care what it is, but I’m making myself get in the pool!~~ Giving myself a pass until an adult swim clinic opens up! Classes start in July!!!!

8. Learn to change a flat tire on my road bike – Nope 😦

9. Start composting in our backyard – Got the spot for it!

10. Make/Buy a rain barrel – Christian’s attending a class next week!

~~11. Find a yoga studio I want to join.~~ on hold for a little bit – I’ll explain more in a future blog. (explanation coming!)

12. Paint 1 room in our house. – Nope 😦

13. Get Cole to a kid’s yoga class – Nope 😦

14. ~~Visit Sara~~ and Shawn ~~in Richmond~~ – visited with Sara twice! Not Shawn, he’s got crazy deadlines at work. We are planning a weekend getaway in July though.

15. ~~Per Kerrie’s request – start brainstorming bigger ideas~~ – thoughts in progress!

So I’m 5 for 15. Yikes! 33% success rate this time. And you know what. It’s OKAY!

In fact, it’s GREAT…………………….because I”M PREGNANT!!!!!!!!!!!!! (oh my gosh, I’ve been dying to write that in this blog for the past 11 weeks!). I might be only 33% on track with these goals, but we are 100% having a baby!!!

So I didn’t paint! Hot Yoga is off-limits until after the baby! We didn’t backpack! I didn’t go out to eat because food doesn’t sound good right now. I didn’t learn to change my tire, because I will not be riding solo for the rest of the year! I haven’t created my vision board yet, because I want to be full of life and energy when I create it! Cole didn’t get to kid’s yoga because swim was all I could mentally handle. And we haven’t started composting yet (again, the whole throw up thing!).

The past 40 days have been filled with complete and utter exhaustion, a lot of nausea, and just one day of throwing up. The good news is that this week my energy levels are getting back to normal. I’m not nauseous anymore (as long as I eat all day long!). I know a lot of you who read this blog routinely had your suspicions based on all my rambling about being tired and not myself. Yes! You guessed right! I’m pregnant! I also knew I was pregnant when I posted my life vision!

Tomorrow I will post my new list of goals. These will be focused a lot on the baby. They will be focused on taking care of me. And I will be carrying over a few from this list that I just didn’t get to!

Today was our first ultrasound! Meet Baby Maute who has affectionately been named Maute Moo by my dear friend Kerrie. Maute Moo is due December 27th (oh baby – more on my feeling about a Christmas baby over the next few months). We are all beaming with excitement in our house. Cole was happier than I could have hoped. The grandparents are thrilled.

: Doesn’t he/she look like a cow!!!

Now that we’ve had the ultrasound and we’ve seen the baby and heard the heartbeat, I feel much more comfortable sharing our baby news. While there will be lots of baby talk between now and the new year, I promise this isn’t going to become just a baby blog. The whole process is fun and crazy and exciting and nerve-racking. I plan on maintaining my running unless I have complications. I will also be doing a lot of yoga. Routine meals are balancing themselves back out, but I’m not responsible for the cravings!

Thank you for sharing in our celebration. It is going to be a fun year!!!!

National Running Day

Today is National Running Day….so I ran!

I run…because it is the one part of the day belongs to me. It is my little piece of sanity. At the end of a good run, a hard run, a long run, a short run, any run, I feel proud of myself. It makes me challenge myself. It makes me try harder and push more. I run because it keeps me healthy. It keeps me sane. It makes me a better wife and a better mom. It makes me a better me. I run because I can accomplish all of that in 30 minutes (or 3 hours if I’m in the middle of training).

Why do you run?

To avoid another super hot day (95 when I left work today), I waited to run until I put Cole to bed. The weather channel told me it was 82 when I left the house. I tucked Cole into bed with his new Pokémon books at 7:50. I told him he could read until I got home. (Don’t worry, Christian was home. I wouldn’t leave him home alone!!!) When I got home, Cole was sound asleep still holding onto his books. I love these little mom moments.

I also bought myself a present – my new water bottle. Yay! This one holds 22 ounces. It actually feels a lot better on my hand than my other smaller water bottle. It even has a small pocket on the front which is perfect for my Gu.

My run was great tonight. No extra walking minutes. I stuck with my plan, and it felt really good. No pain in my leg. Tonight, my leg felt strong. I’m going to start my 4:2 ratio on Friday but I’m giving my self permission to walk a little extra if I need to during my run. I am making progress folks.

It also looks like we are going to get a little break from all the heat this weekend. Thank goodness. It’s Clean the Bay Day on Saturday. We are also celebrating Jillian’s 2nd birthday.

Happy National Running Day! Hope you got out there to run!

Holy Hotness!

Leaving Work -101 Degrees - Enough Said!

Wow! Did I forget how hot it can be around here in the summer time? Or is it just extra hot right now? Yesterday morning, I set out for my morning run at 8:30am. It was 82 degrees when I left the house. This morning, on my drive into work at 7:30am, it was 86 degrees. Crazy!

running2 — Saying a quick Hello to my parents and cousin who came out to cheer me on last year - Mile 5 ( I know you like my fuel bra, I mean belt! Why I can't I be one of those people who can wear them down around their hips and look cool? My just always creeps on up!)

If I’m going to survive training for a half marathon through the summer months, I’ve got to figure out ways to beat the heat. I struggled last year. Between our wedding (May 1st) and the Rock n Roll Half (Labor Day Weekend) I managed to run 5 miles max. I still set out to run the half without any expectations. I actually ran the whole thing besides walking the water stations. My time wasn’t my best, but I did it with very little training. It was a huge boost of confidence, but I would not recommend running 13.1 miles this way! and I will never do that again!

This year, I need/HAVE to do things differently. I have to follow my training plan. There are no shortcuts this year!

So what are you running secrets to beating the heat? (and treadmill is an absolute last resort for me. I’m so uncoordinated on those things. I get bored. I’m clumsy. and I’m soooo slow. Honestly, I feel like I’m sprinting when I run a 12 min mile. Trust me, it is not pretty!).

I’ve invested in some good summer running clothes. Wicking material is amazing! I also always carry water with me. My current hand-held bottle holds 6 ozs. My only other water option is my fuel belt. I think it’s time to invest in a bigger hand-held. My 6 ozs lasted 2.6 miles on my run yesterday. I’m also retiring my hat, and pulling out my visor. My head likes to breath, and the hat was just too hot yesterday. Since I’m not a fan of running in sunglasses, I need something to keep the sun out of my eyes.

Running Attire: Tank - Lululemon Cool Racerback; Shorts - Lululemon Run Speed Shorts; Water

Am I missing anything? What are you must haves when running in the summer heat?

And a quick running/training/recovery update – my leg feels good. It still feels weaker than my other leg (bone-wise). It’s hard to explain, but some days the bone actually feels tired. I’ve also decided to keep the 3 minutes running to 3 minutes walking ratio for a few more days. My running hasn’t been as consistent as I would like, and I feel like my body needs these few extra days. Yesterday’s run was really good. I kept a nice even pace the whole time (about 9:30 – good for me!). I did take 2 extra minutes before my last 3 minute run. I needed it, so I went with it. In my 30 minutes of total running and walking, I went 2.6 miles. Not too bad!

Tonight I have a date with my yoga mat! In the AC!

A little bit of fun sandwiched by a lot of sick

Our holiday weekend consisted of a little bit of fun sandwiched between a lot of sick. While the entire household has managed to have some sort of funk, we did manage to squeeze in an hour or two of fun here and there. Saturday morning started off great. We all slept in – possibly a sign of the sick that was to come. Everyone slept until 8. In our house, that is late! Cole headed to Grandma and Grandpa’s house, and Christian and I (and his two buddies) headed to Richmond. While I enjoyed my lunch with Erin and Sara, Christian biked the James River Park System. I truly enjoyed my lunch, but I’m always a tiny bit jealous when Christian is off doing some great outdoor activity. Yes! Sometimes I want to have my cake and eat it too!

The sicko bug hit me about twenty minutes from home on our drive back from Richmond. Bring on the stomach pains, aches, and fever. I spent the night in a half comma on the couch. My mom and dad were wonderful enough to offer to keep Cole over night so I could sleep as needed. Thank you mom and dad.

Sunday morning was slow-moving for me, but I managed enough energy to visit the beach for a few hours. It seemed to be my cure! The high light of the day was watching Cole walk straight for the ocean. He ventured out further than he ever has, and he didn’t want to get out! Score 1 for summer! It doesn’t look like Cole will need a breaking-in period this year. In the past, he usually starts enjoying the summer mid-August.

Sunday night Christian got attached by the sicko bug. I think his Jimmy Buffett hangover combined with his allergies turned into some nasty type of sinus funk. He was up all night with a fever, hot flashes, and chills.

Monday brought the sicko out in us all. While Christian definitely has the worst of it, Cole and I both are just blah. Early bedtime for everyone!

Hope everyone had a great memorial day weekend. While we did miss out on some fun pool parties and BBQs due to our germs, we all have caught up on sleep and have had some fun times watching movies on the living room floor.