Running, Inspired by Running!

So I did it, I ran my first half marathon! It might not have been pretty, but I successfully completed it.

Success meaning I crossed the finish line. I had no expectations for myself except that I wanted to finish. I didn’t care if it was on my hands on knees, I just wanted to do it….and I did….a solid 3 hours and 6 minutes later.

Thinking about running for 3 hours seems awful, and at times it was. I had heard that the course was pretty hilly so I was running hills as part of my “training” or half-assed training as I like to call it. I ran 6 hilly miles the weekend before to prepare. That was the most I had ever run at one time and it was only the 3^rd time in my life I had ran 6 miles. Was I in over my head? Possibly. Could I have trained more to prepare? Absolutely. But when I say I’m going to do something I do it, no matter how hard it may be or how ugly it may end up.

I knew a handful of people running the half marathon, and luckily I ran into them all! We met up with Tom and Mike in the parking lot before hand, I saw my old roommate from college Devon and her sister right by the start, and thankfully I also ran into my HS friend Kelly and her friend Davia right around the same time. I was able to cross the start with all of my lady friends!

I started running with Davia, who had the same goal as I did; finish. She had actually only run 6 miles prior to this race as well. We were meant for each other.  Running through the streets of Baltimore was cool and weird at the same time. I felt so little running past those big buildings. It almost felt like the buildings were going to devour me. It was a strange feeling. Luckily we were blessed with such a beautiful day. The weather couldn’t have been more perfect!

If it wasn’t for Davia, I really don’t think I would have made it to the end in the amount of time I did. She got me through the first 7 miles, which were the toughest and hilliest. She was there when I needed the mental motivation. I did not bring headphones to run with, so having someone there with me was extremely important. I don’t know what I would have done if I hadn’t run into her before the race started.

She left me at mile 7 because she wanted to run faster, or something ridiculous. A 12-14 minute mile wasn’t fast enough for you Davia?! Ha. Just kidding. I’m glad she was able to go on at a faster pace. I was perfectly content with the pace I was running, or as Jeremy likes to call it, walking. I knew if I pushed any harder or faster I wouldn’t make it. At this point my body was not trained to go any faster.

Around mile 9 I lost it. Up until that point I had felt pretty good about the race. Endurance wise I felt fine, but it was around this time that I started really feeling the pain in my knees and hips. I had walked at all of the water stops to hydrate myself, but at mile 9 I felt the need to stop. Once I started walking the pain in my hips and knees became worse. It was at this point that I thought about walking the rest of the way. Then I thought about how much longer it would have taken me to walk those remaining 4 miles…I did not want to be on the streets of BMORE for that long.

So I got myself together and I picked up the pace. It actually felt better to jog than it did to walk. So there I was, in order to not be in so much pain I had to jog. Davia helped me mentally get through the first 7 miles. Here I was, relying on only myself to get through these next 4 miles physically.

It got louder and louder the closer I got to the finish. Even if there hadn’t been mile makers I would have been able to sense the finish coming. There were more people, more cheering, more signs, and more noise. It was wonderful. With one mile to go I was overcome with serious emotion and I wasn’t sure where it was coming from. I wasn’t sure if I was just so happy with myself that I had gotten so far, or if I was in so much pain that I was just happy to be done. I may never remember exactly what I was feeling in those moments. All I know is that as I was finishing the last mile by the warehouse and Camden Yards I was looking forward to holding MY Camden in my arms. As I passed by the stadium I heard my name being chanted. There they were, my two favorite boys and my two biggest fans waiting close to the finish line cheering me on with my sisters. While I saw them and quickly acknowledged that they were there, I couldn’t make eye contact or I would have cried. At that point I was physically, emotionally, and mentally tired.

I didn’t care what my time was as I crossed the finish. That was the furthest thing from my mind. I was proud of myself for crossing that finish line and not having to do so on my hands and knees.

The way I felt physically after the race was worse than I felt after giving birth to Camden. My hips and knees hurt so bad after the half that I was convinced that my hips were made for having babies and not running. I guess I had “trained” for 9 months to have a baby and I only half-ass trained for this half marathon for a couple of months. My body was worn out. In those moments I said I would never run a half again. Two days later I am still in pain, but it is bearable, and thoughts of running another half are crossing my mind, only this time I’m thinking that I would train a little bit better before running that kind of distance again.

It is safe to say that I would never run a full marathon. My knees, hips, and head hurt from just thinking about running longer than 3 hours. Plus, even though they’re not the prettiest things in the world, I like having toes with toenails too much to run a full.

All in all I’m happy to say I did it. I’m proud of myself for sticking with it even when I felt like giving up.

Slow and steady wins the race, and in my book, I won.  

4 Months Old!!

Camden turned the big 4 months over the weekend. Today was the dreaded 4 month check-up :(

We started the day off by going to work. Camden comes to Gymnastics with me for a couple of hours on Monday while I sit at the front desk. Luckily Monday's class is a Pre-K class and all of the kids seem to have younger siblings. So while mommy "worked"...Camden got to play.

Then we took a trip to the grocery store to get some essentials...you know, coffee, toilet paper, and coooookie crisp. Where's Camden??

Then it was time for his appointment. He was talking up a storm while we were waiting! He was laughing, chatting, and blowing bubbles for Nurse Meghann. Camden is 15 lbs 13.5 ounces. He is 25 1/2" He is such a big boy!!

Shot time! (And not the kind that mommy likes) Camden was such a rockstar and acted like the shots didn't even phase him. He cried for maybe 5 seconds. I did manage to snap a picture while he was upset...then I picked him up and he was over it. All he needed was a little love from mommy <3

Camden has mastered "grabbing" and especially loves long hair. Good thing I have plenty to lose. He is also working on sitting up on his own and grabbing his toes.

He also has the prettiest blue eyes I have ever seen. If they stay this way, he'll be breaking hearts with those baby blues before I know it!

Ending the blog today with a video I meant to post last time. Camden thinks Grandmom is sooo funny...which she is. I took this video and couldn't help but laugh at Camden's laugh...hence the shakiness and weird laugh mid video. Enjoy :)





Run, run, run!

So today I ran a 4.2 mile race at Quiet Waters Park in Annapolis.

It was cold and a little rainy, and I'm not going to lie...I was a little hungover. Who's idea was it to go out the night before a 7:30am race? Oh yea, mine. Good news is that I wasn't alone in my running misery, my friend Jenn from Bay Area was also there to run!

13 days from now I will be running in the Baltimore Half Marathon. I will not be going out the night before that race. In fact, I have decided to stop drinking until after I run it. Let's see if my shaky hands can stay away from the booze for the next 13 days. Just kidding (about the shaky hands, that is) Of course I can make it 13 days...I did it for 9 months no problem. :)

Speaking of Camden, this time last year is when we found out we were pregnant with him. October 1st, to be exact, was the day I took the pregnancy test. One year later we have a handsome little man who has completely changed our lives, for the better, of course. This weekend also marks one year since I have taken any type of over the counter meds. This probably isn't something that would be considered exciting for most people, but this is cool to me. I stayed off any type of medication while I was pregnant, even ones that I was told I could take, and have continued to stay off of them. The only pills I have taken and still take are prenatal vitamins, and now birth control (It's too soon for Camden to have a little brother or sister.) I have felt really good this past year without any meds and have managed to get by with just a couple of colds. Let's see how I do through this cold and flu season!

We had a lovely little weekend. A little chilly for my liking, but I hear the temps are going to go back up to the low 70s by Tuesday. I can get down with that. Had a nice, unexpected family lunch today. We got to celebrate Angie's birthday since we won't be able to see her on her ACTUAL birthday. <3 Aunt Angie even bought Camden a new moose/bear/mouse hat. Perfect for the cold weather!

Sunday, Sunday, Sunday! Although we're really not into letting Camden watch TV, Jeremy lets him watch sports. So today I figured I would kill two birds with one stone. If he's going to be allowed to watch TV then he will also need to work on his "tummy time" And I figured if he's going to watch anything, it might as well be football. He needs to start to learning how to play so he will be prepared for the day he begins to grow into those line backer thighs of his.

Tummy time for Daddy and Camden! Check out that neck control. He's really working hard at keeping his head up and strengthening those neck muscles. Camden's working hard on his control too :)

Tonight was also a big night for Camden. Sometimes he will fall asleep while eating and then we'll put him right to bed. Other times we will rock him for a minute or two to make sure he gets those burps out and then we'll put him to bed. Tonight after he ate, he wanted nothing to do with falling alseep or being bounced. So Jeremy put him in his crib and said something along the lines of, "If you don't want to be rocked then you need to be a big boy and put yourself to sleep" We let him cry. We decided we would go back in there at 9pm if he was still crying to address any issues. Happy to report that he stopped crying at 8:50. Approximately 12 minutes after we left him in his room. Camden apparently has his big boy pajamas on tonight and Mommy and Daddy are so proud <3

Baby Floyd Update

So there's not much to update. Baby Floyd is doing great, per usual.
He did start rolling over from his tummy to his back and he's standing like he wishes he could walk. He is also talking up a storm and laughs like Jeremy and I are the funniest comedians he has ever met.

And because there's not much to update I will overload you all with a cute baby picture montage.

Celebrate!!

Today we celebrate! Camden is 3 months old today!! Today is also Cousin Erin and GGs birthday. What a great day :)

Camden is quickly becoming a little man. He has been through so much during the first three months of his life. He survived the earthquake like a champ and was braver than I was during the hurricane. We only lost power for a few days and were extremely lucky to have no damage! Last night I woke him from his slumber to take him down to the basement to protect him from the pending tornado. Yeesh!!

 I am very happy to report that he is still doing amazing with his sleeping....mommy and daddy really appreciate that one <3 He has started to really laugh and he is working on rolling from his stomach to his back and vice versa. This morning I went to go get him out of his crib and he had turned himself around...his head was where his feet were when I put him to bed. Silly boy.

He is working on his tummy time. He doesn't seem to like it very much, but he is getting better. (check out that neck control and the glistening red hair)

He loves to blow bubbles. Daddy taught him that. He is now a bubble blowing pro.

He has also mastered the art of being absolutely adorable....he must get that from his mom.

While Camden has been experiencing new things these past few weeks....so have I. I started a personal training class at the college that started the end of August. It's been a few years since I have taken an actual class, I forgot how tough it was! Good news is that Aunt Wendy is also in that class with me. Thank goodness for a study budy!

I also started a new job, teaching gymnastics to little kids part time. I get to play with my son and then leave to play with little kids then come back to play with my son. Love it!!

I also started training for the Baltimore Half Marathon in October. Bad news is that I JUST started training....good news is that my goal is to finish - no specific time.

So much going on in the Floyd household but my favorite thing is watching my son grow and learn. We have been blessed with such an amazing, happy baby!

I'm such a mom

I was looking through Facebook the other day and I was thinking to myself...."Why haven't I put more picture albums on here?" I used to add pictures all of the time, and now looking back, the last album I posted was from the Winter Classic. What's changed?? Oh, that's right...I became a mom.

At this point, I don't even think I know how to take pictures of anything else besides my son. I went out with my girlfriends from HS about a month ago...girls I hardly ever get to see...I walked away with one picture of the evening. I have about 5 pictures from this morning alone of my son. Was he doing anything special? Nope...just being super cute.

I could bore you all with album after album of Camden, but I'm not going to. No one would appreciate those pictures the way I do. Instead...those of you who chose to click my blog get to enjoy the pictures I add of him <3

I'm enjoying my last week and a half before I start back to work. The good news is that I only have to go back part time. I really couldn't imagine leaving my new best friend for the entire day, 5 days a week.

Last week we got to spend some quality time with Aunt Stephie and Uncle Howie in Downtown Annapolis. The weather was perfect, the company was excellent, and the ducks were super cute.

Happy 2 Months Baby Camden!!

Yesterday was Camden's 2 month birthday and his 2 month checkup! Nothing says "Happy Birthday" like 2 shots in the leg and a liquid vaccine. I was so sad in the morning because he was just so happy, he had no idea what he was in store for. Later on, at the doctor's, I got the..."How could you let them do this to me???" look.  :(   I was warned that he would be extra fussy and he might have a rough night's sleep. I would like to report that he was good with a little extra love yesterday and slept for a solid 10 hours. <3

Camden is now 12 lbs 3 ounces and 22 1/4". Which means he is gaining weight, but not much length.

He has also been practicing his fist pumping. Let's just hope he doesn't end up short and plump like his fellow fist pumper...

He has officially gotten big! How big? Soooo big. He is almost to the point where he is getting too big for his lamb swing, which is such a shame because he loves it. I had to put new batteries in it because it was dying. I swear it doesn't swing exactly like it should because he is a little too heavy.



Auntie Stephie and Uncle Howie come back next week from their 7 week vacation. They aren't going to even recognize him!! He can't wait to see you guys! :)