Here’s the first one on basic first aid kits for long trail runs:

http://endurancebuzz.com/2013/01/30/diy-first-aid-kit-for-trail-runners-the-essentials/

And here’s the second on altitude sickness and acclimatization.

http://endurancebuzz.com/2013/05/15/altitude-illness-lowlander-insight-for-mountain-running/

I’m just finishing up the  next one on snake bites.  Then maybe some heat and overhydration — and a few ticks.

Eliot came home from leading a Big Bend river trip last night and headed out this morning for an overnight staff  retreat.  Wah.  I did get him to take the compost out before he left, which was good because it was about to become sentient.  AND he killed a scorpion in Asa’s bathroom.   A big one.  Now it’s just me, the compost, and the kettle bell workout I need to get done.  Wah.  ;)

Hope you’re having a snake bite free day.

Nice, eh?  I had so much fun pacing Brian –even though I didn’t get to holler “Keep up with the pregnant lady!” once.  He had a big 1oo-mile PR — on those rocks!  I was actually pretty worried I wouldn’t be able to keep up on the climbs for 40 miles, what with all the extra belly I’m lugging around.

But my leg muscles managed it.

The aid stations at Massanutten are incredible.  My favorite interaction was this one:

Aid Station Volunteer: Can we get you anything?

Brian: No, I think I’m okay for right now.

AS Volunteer: Maybe some French toast?

Brian: Oh, that sounds good.

AS Volunteer: Would you like that wrapped around a sausage?

Brian:  Yes!

AS Volunteer:  Now, would you like this in a bag to go, or are you going to eat it here?

I mean, REALLY!  And that was typical.  I didn’t get into Massanutten this year (which turned out to be a good thing), but I’m definitely going to try to go back next year and run the whole 103.7 miles and eat more sausage and French toast.

My friend Dave also had a great race, running 23-hours and pennies.  He is a great runner.  And take a look at his excellent pacer.

You know you have a good pacer when they can tie your shoes with the right amount of tension.

My only “complaint” was the absence of port-o-potties on the course.  That’s a lot of “surface dumping” in the woods with 198 runners.  I wanted to ask about it, but by the time we got to the finish line the next morning, I was an incoherent zombie.  I’m not all that great at staying up all night, and being 5-months pregnant didn’t help matters — especially since I felt like I needed to limit my caffeine intake.  I didn’t want the baby girl to have to deal with caffeine as well as all that bouncing.

The worst part of the experience was this:

That’s how Brian had to sit on the Southwest flight home because he is 6’5. (6’6?)  He couldn’t sleep either because he had to keep pulling his legs in when people walked by.  Saddest moment: When the guy in front of him reclined his seat.  Brian paid to upgrade his ticket to be able to board with the A group, but the only aisle that accommodates 6’5+ is the exit row.  And those seats go fast.  My belly’s not quite big enough to play any Pregnancy Card to help him out either.  Obviously this is not anything I’ve thought about as a 5-foot person, but man, the airlines are actively discriminating against 6’5+ people.  You want to fly with us and not suffer?  Fly first class on an airline that has first class, or pay more so you can get an A1 spot on Southwest.  103.7 miles, “a bit” sore afterwards, and then active knee crushing for 3 hours.  If only my belly had been bigger…

Also a huge congratulations to my friend and and coach-ee, Jen, who finished with style after surmounting huge injury challenges while training.  Looking forward to welcoming her to San Antonio.

Anyway, both Brandy and I are pregnant right now and due about the same time this fall, so we thought we’d do some weekly blogging together about the experience and how it’s affecting our running.  We’ve also warned Katie DeSplinter, the third female on the team, to be careful when she’s wearing the team uniform.

 Katie DeSplinter: Bun Only on Head

Here are the questions I came up with this week and our answers.  Let me know what you think and if there are specific questions you’d like us to address next week.  And please pass this along to anyone you think will find it useful.

Brandy Erholtz: Bun in Oven

And me:

Just kidding.  That’s from UltraRunning Memes on Facebook.  I think I looked like that last Rocky though.

Me: Just before Baking

So how far along are you?

Brandy: As of today, I am 14 weeks 5 days. But who’s counting, right?!

I’m due November 7^th.

Liza: 18 weeks, 5th month.  And the baby can already do yoga.

I’m due October 14^th-ish.

What kind of weekly mileage/workouts are you doing this week?

Brandy: I live at 7200 feet so all of my runs are at altitude and as often as possible on pretty hilly trails. Because of these things, I usually run by effort/mileage vs. pace/distance. If I had to estimate my current mileage, I’d say I’m between 55-65 miles/week which is fairly low for me. Usually, I would be putting in 80-100 this time of year. I’ve been working with the same coach (Gary Lepisto) since 2005. However, for this season, we aren’t doing anything really structured or intense and I’m not getting weekly workouts from him. I’m just running by how I feel each day. I’ve incorporated a little tempo running and run a lot of hills, but mostly my training is just helping me keep solid base mileage for my 2014 goals.

Liza:  I had a pretty rough first trimester.  I wrote about it here if you’re interested in reading about couch-lying, isolation, long-suffering husbands, and zombies — in a way that will make you chuckle, of course.  Now I’m working with Matt Hart to  build my mileage and strength back up.  I think I’ll end up with about the 55-65 miles this week because I’m pacing my friend at the Massanutten 100.  (My goal is to be able to holler at some point during the race: “Come on!  Keep up with the pregnant lady!”)

Are you following any particular guide/advice about how much to run/how to train while pregnant?

Brandy: I wish there was more literature on competitive runners during pregnancy. The New York Times did an article a while back on Kara Goucher, Blake Russell and Paula Radcliffe and shared really basic information on their training during pregnancy. I’ve done a ton of Google searches, but haven’t found much information out there.  However, recently, I was reading my fellow mountain teammate’s blog (Nicole Hunt Running Mama’s Journey) and she made reference to the following book: Exercising Through Pregnancy.  I’m loving this one! The entire thesis is supporting why exercising during pregnancy is good for both mom and baby!  I’d love to read more if anyone knows any good resources!

Liza: I talked with the nurse midwives I’m working with, as well as the special OB for Old Ladies I have to see because I’m 41, and they both said I could do whatever training Matt laid out as long as it felt good.  This study  published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine found that that baby’s heart rate stayed within normal range (110-160bpm) “as long as long as the woman exercised below 90% of maximal maternal heart rate.”  I’m not training with a heart rate monitor, but it’s easy not to approach 90% max these days.

Race plans?

Brandy: My race plans are definitely altered this season as I won’t be trying for the U.S. Mountain Running team or traveling to any European races. However, I do hope to run the entire pregnancy and race just to be part of the community.   These are my tentative race plans (obviously subject to change based on how I’m feeling):

MAY 18^th Black Canyon Ascent (6 mile uphill race; Montrose, Colorado)

JUNE 8^th  Uphill Half-Marathon Teva Mountain Games

15^th Mt. Washington Road Race (7.6 miles uphill; New Hampshire)

20th-22nd Estes Park Ascent/Trail Conference (Ascent Race is Saturday—I think) I’m also speaking on an athlete’s panel for the conference.

JULY 4^th  (Local 5K)

Probably 1-2 more local trails races. TBD

AUGUST 4^th   Evergreen Town Race 10K

17^th & 18^th Pike’s Peak Ascent/Marathon (Won’t be running this year, but will probably go and watch and may volunteer—we’ll see.)

Cross Country starts this month.

SEPTEMBER 21^st  Cougar Stride 5K (Local 5k supports high school sports teams & homecoming.)

28^th UROC 100K (Won’t be running this year, but would like to come and watch.)

OCTOBER—I’ll just have to play it by ear here with how I am feeling here!!

Pike’s Peak Road Ascent-date to be determined

Mine to Mine Challenge 9K- date to be be determined

October 18^th Scream Scram 5K

October 26^th, 2013  Coaching:  State High School Cross Country —hopefully, our girls will be in the top 3!

NOVEMBER 7^th DUE DATE!!!!

Local Turkey Trot if I’m not too sore. Could just be a walk!

DECEMBER

Base mileage; get back in shape!!

Big goals for 2014!

Liza:  Dang!  I feel like a slug looking at Brandy’s plans.  I’m going to have to cut out some donut eating and add some more races…

MAY: Pace 40 miles at Massanutten 100 (in 80 degree temps and pouring rain)

JUNE: Maybe pace at San Diego 100

Pace Western States 100  (“Keep up with the 6month pregnant lady!”)

JULY: Muleshoe Bend 60k

AUGUST: Crew and pace at Leadville 100

SEPTEMBER: Eat Donuts

OCTOBER: 14th-ish: Baby

Oct 26^th: Anybody want me on their Cactus Rose relay team? I’ll have my walking shoes ready.

NOVEMBER 8-11^th: Trail Running Camp for Team Red, White and Blue (organize and participate in – Nursing on the Run, anyone?)

Wild Hare 50k

Prepare for Rocky Raccoon 100 and Umstead 100 in 2014.  PR time.  I hear babies make you run faster. 

Thanks again to New Balance, UltrAspire, and Drymax for supporting pregnant ladies — even the old ones.  ;)

“Mom, do you know what the “S” word is?

“Yes…”

“It’s not a nice word.  You should never say the “S” word.  You should never say the “S” word to anybody.”

“True.  Very true.”

“Can I say what it is?”

“Sure.”  Sigh.

“It’s…STUPID.”

Whew!  We had a nice discussion about the word stupid and moved onto the snack options I had waiting at home.  then yesterday he piped up with”

“Mom, do you know that there are two bad “S” words?”

“Really?”  (Not to be faked out again by my sweet 5 year-old, I was thinking “silly” or “slow.”  Don’t you call me SLOW!!!)

“Yes, and the other one starts with “S-h.”

Damn.  We were going to have to have the curse word discussion.  Sh**.

“Do you want me to tell you what it is?

“Go ahead.”  Sigh.

“It’s “shut-up.”

“Oh!”  And whew.

So does school get out for summer vacation before Asa learns the third bad “S” word or not?

It’s 84 and muggy here today.  Think I’ll be sweating a bit on tonight’s run.

Joe asked me the night before the race if I’d help out at a confusing intersection.  You should never say no to Joe’s requests for help  during a race unless you’ve got a very good reason.  He and Joyce have given too much to the trail running community for that.  Besides it’s very bad karma and I have Rocky 2014 to think of.  So I changed my “race” plans to the half-marathon and headed out to the intersection Joe was worried about at 6am.  This involved a misplaced truck, a frantic call to Chris R. as he did his final race preparations, Joe driving Chris’ truck with its one working headlight over rutted trails that dropped off sharply into ditches, and a quick review of my complex task before Joe careened off to get himself and Chris to the start line before he was supposed to say “Go!”

I walked up the trail about half a mile to the before I got to the intersection in question.

The middle sign says “Marathon.”  So my job was basically to make sure the people who’d lost the ability to read 4 miles into the race didn’t get lost.  Honestly, Joe spoils us, — and probably sets us up for failure at non-Tejas Trail races.

It was going to be an hour wait before anybody came through, so I set my sleeping bag up on a rock with a view and pulled out the jet boil stove to brew some coffee.  It was as cold as it ever has been in May that morning — if not colder — and I was very happy to have three puffy jackets with me.  I sat and sipped coffee out of a large Nalgene — reheated the coffee after a while — and finally moved down to perform my intersection duties.

I think I probably did save two 10k racers from running a lot farther than they’d intended before I packed up my gear and headed off to do a loop of the course myself.  One of them was in a pack of half-marathoners and had his head down, and the other was just genuinely confused.  Even after I told him which way to turn.

I hiked back up the trail until I ran into Chris R. and then tagged along with him for the rest of his marathon.  I managed to ruin most of his race pictures in the process.  I’m wearing a “Take a Picture of the Pregnant Lady at Your Own Risk” next race.

I’d best get e-mailing before the morning disappears.  I’ve got hill repeats with friends on the schedule tonight.  I’m pacing my friend Brian at Massanutten next weekend, so I figured I’d better go up an down a few hills before then.

PS. Oh my gosh! I almost forgot!  Take a look at this if you’re pregnant or the spouse of someone who is pregnant — or you’ve ever been one of those two.  The turtle one is my favorite, but the beer one is pretty great too.

The Pregnant Husband

One site I checked for a Week 17 update had this advice:

“Don’t lie down immediately after you eat. You may want to wait an hour or two before lying down.”

Yeah, right.  I’d like to see them try to keep me from my postprandial couch time.  I bet that advice gets followed about as much as “Do sit-ups when you’re cold.”

Another website was spot on, however, with some itchy boob and strange dream warnings.  Really, how can one not love this process?  ;)

My teammate at New Balance, Brandy Erholtz, is also pregnant (Be careful the next time you wear the uniform Katie DeSplinter!), and we thought we’d do a little Training-While-Pregnant-Here’s-How-It’s-All-Going blogging together.  I think we’ll start off next week.  I’ll be 18 weeks along then and Brandy will be about 15 weeks.

Brandy announced her pregnancy after winning the Cheyenne Mountain 25k in 2:09:57.  (So number two female, you were actually third.)  ;)

Here is a picture of Asa to tie you over until a real post.

Joyce and I marked the heck out of the dome section of Pandora’s until I had to get back in the car at 12:45 and speed home to pick up Asa.  So yes, I drove from 6-8am, worked from 8am-12pm, and then drove from 12:35-2:35pm.  That’s “balance,” right?  Perhaps you noticed the 12-12:35 gap?  That’s when I was running back to the car in my jean shorts, an underwire sports bra, and a baggy pregnant-lady top.  I had left the “get back to the car” out of my course marking schedule calculations.  I was quite the site.  And while I’m usually grateful for the “adventure in cleavage” that the boob fairy has bestowed, I definitely missed my 6th-grade-trainer’s-bra physique yesterday.  At least this was going also going on during the run:

In other news, here’s what I’ve accomplished with the chalk paint so far:

(It still needs a bit of sanding and waxing.)

I’ve got another piece in progress, but I can’t post a picture until it’s done, so no family members have heart attacks.  I will be ignoring my actual To Do list and working on it today.

And last, but not least:

“Chicken Diapers?  Urban Farming Spawns Accessory Lines”

PS. Eliot and Asa had a wonderful walk to school and arrived tearless before the second bell.

All the websites agree that the baby is the size of an avocado today.  They didn’t list any junk food or candy bar sizes this time.  I’m going to have to do my own research on that one and keep up the new American baby-sizing chart.  One site did say the baby was the length of a tube of mascara, but that wasn’t particularly helpful to me and my thin, light lashes.  So I’m guessing they’re talking a 50-cent medium-sized avocado and not one of those giant Hass ones.  If she is up to a $1 avocado-size, I officially feel good about the pace I ran those 19.2 miles at.

I ran with a friend who lives in very nice hilly neighborhood.  In addition to the nice hills, the neighborhood has a club, which is beyond belief.  There were large jars of M&Ms in the ladies locker room.  Just sitting there.  Next to a large jar of peanut butter-filled pretzels.  Which was next to the latte machine.  I almost couldn’t force myself to leave to finish the run.  Honestly, if there’d been a jar with Jelly Bellies, my friend would have had the next 12 miles to himself.  I did feel like I should help myself to a few handfuls to offset his home owner association dues.  Give me a call if you ever need that kind of help from me.

In other news, I have officially started nesting like crazy.  I spent burpee and lunging time this weekend glued to a site about painting furniture.  And as soon as I’m done typing, I’m heading out to buy expensive chalk paint and chalk paint brushes, so I can paint every piece of furniture in the house.  Honestly, I’m out of control.  Eliot rode 100 miles yesterday — the longest distance he’s ridden yet — and all I could say when I went to pick him up after I handed him the beer, was “I’m really excited about painting the china cabinet.  I’m thinking it’d be beautiful in a deep blue.”  Eliot sized up the hormone situation correctly and managed to say something kind as he hobbled around to the passenger side of the car.

Okay, I’ve got to get out the door and get some “Aubusson Blue.”  And maybe I’ll get a set of burpees in first too.  I hope you are all having an excellent Monday.  Mine is almost perfect so far except that my latte didn’t look like this: