11 Months!

Posted on April 5, 2014 by thefasteryoupedal

Stats: Not too sure right now, since we are going on almost three months since the doctor! I’m guessing around 20 pounds and 28 inches.

Favorites: FOOD! She is a great eater. She loves to play with cars and strollers. She is definitely a little tomboy! Other favorites: Bubble Guppies, books with pictures of animals, and throwing balls.

Lifesavers for Mom and Dad: Dad says that playing ball is a lifesaver when he is watching her. I still am praising the family members that bought me the BOB stroller. I use that thing every day. I have flatted my tires too many times though taking that thing off-road too many times!

Dislikes: Being alone, wiping her face, getting snot off her nose, occasional baths, tomatoes

Facts: She has stood without holding anything for a good solid minute or two, but nothing else. She is definitely trying to use her legs to stand more. She squats a lot without sitting on the ground. She is getting into everything and crawling everywhere! She loves the back door and looking outside. She is great in the high chair as long as I keep her entertained. She has been going on a lot more outings and play dates and always has a blast.

Sleep Habits: She has been making it from 8 at night until 5 in the morning most nights. I have yet to have her sleep through the night. And yes, I do let her cry, but I give myself a three-time a night cry-fest and then I go in on the fourth time, which is usually around five in the morning. We just nap until 7 and then we are good. I know. I suck at this sleep training thing.

Doctors Visits: Well…she has her one year appointment this month. One year. Wow.

Eating Habits: Still using the bottle 3-4 times a day. She loves her sippy cups and straw cups. She is eating three pretty good meals and even snacking on a lot of solids. She loves bananas, pancakes, french toast, peaches, green beans, squeeze fruit,…I could go on and on….

Milestones: Standing…almost walking. She has walked with assistance and then stopped doing it. We are not in any hurry.

Looking Forward To: Her first birthday! Yay!!!

Trifecta Omnium 2014

Posted on April 4, 2014 by thefasteryoupedal

I love the Trifecta Omnium because it is a local race in Las Cruces, New Mexico. Zia Velo (our team) hosts it and does a great job making it eventful. I really like how they do the TT and Crit in one day. Usually on an Omnium event, it takes three days to do all of the events, but it makes it so much better when you can do it in two days.

As you can see, the weather was a little gloomy and of course it was windy. Let me just tell you it was beautiful and sunny the whole week before. It always happens! As if the bike gods know that a race is coming up, they will make sure the weather plays a role. Mike prefers it to be windy though, because he considers it as an advantage. Yes, I just shared a tactic by my husband. 🙂

This picture above is Mike coming back in from his TT. He placed 5th place in the Category 4 group. The top people were all ten seconds apart. It was crazy how fast they all were!

Olivia managed to come and behave herself, except when it was time for me to volunteer for the Crit. Then she decided to have a blowout and meltdown at the same time. Thank goodness after Mike’s race, he was willing to take over.

The crit was actually really fun to watch. I was a volunteer and had to stand in the median as they passed me on the laps. I was holding an orange flag and making sure they didn’t hit me. Unfortunately, I had to witness a pretty gnarly fall from the Cat 1-2-3 group. I saw a guy hit a cement barrier and go rolling across the pavement. It was intense! I love this shot of Mike.

If you look closely in the background, you can see the ambulance. Here is Mike pre-riding. Can I tell you that he gives me a heart attack every time because he waits until the last second to get to the starting line!

On the second day, the cross-country race takes place in a tiny town north of Las Cruces called Hillsboro. I rode it a few years back and loved it! The roads are smooth and they have an awesome climb that starts in the town and then climbs up towards the next little town. Yes, there is a lot of climbing!

More action shots of the Cat 4 guys on the crit.

Mike’s last-minute prepping. I like how they have these races out by the Las Cruces airport. The roads have less traffic and there is a lot more room to park.

Overall, the weekend was a success!

10 Months!

Posted on March 20, 2014 by thefasteryoupedal

Better late than never! She is almost 11 months now!

Stats: 18 or 19 pounds (No doc appointment this month!)

Favorites: FOOD, her car, Monks, books, sleeping on mom, and making messes!

Lifesavers for Mom and Dad: Her little car that someone gave to us. She loves to play with the wheels and move it around, and especially loves when dad pushes her around the house in it. I love her jogging stroller and use that thing almost every day!

Things She Hates: Sleeping in her crib (sleep training has been so fun…not), wiping her nose, taking baths (for some reason she started hating them..)

Facts: Wow. So much has happened in the last month. People are right that when your kid starts to crawl, you pretty much need to make sure everything is picked up. Her little pincer fingers are doing their work. I have to vacuum every day. Also, my shelves are getting cleared off pretty well too. She loves to play at the back door with the curtain. She is EVERYWHERE. Church is like a workout. We flew to Vegas and having her sit still on my lap was a real treat. She is so expressive. She laughs a lot more and is so smiley. She loves it when dad makes car sounds. She follows you around the house wherever you go. She LOVES Barney and every other animal she sees and makes sweet sounds to other babies and kids to get their attention. She sings in her car seat while we drive around and loves to go shopping and sit in the cart.

Sleep Habits: Ugh. If I had one complaint, this would be it. She fights the crib. I let her cry it out, but when it starts hitting a long time, I go in (not picking her up) and try to console her. She is one stubborn girl who wants her way. I have read every book about it.

Doctors Visits: Not until her year appointment. After looking at the 9 month questionnaire and worrying about all the thing she couldn’t do, she sure has caught up and does all of those things and more!

Eating Habits: Has a bottle before naps and bedtime. She eats so much!! She loves food and practically everything I give her. I don’t bother with baby food anymore because she has so many teeth!

Milestones: Crawling like crazy, standing with support, stood for ten seconds on her own, started clapping, repeats sounds you make (like raspberries, motor sounds, cat’s meow, mama, and dada), has six teeth.

Looking Forward To: Watching her hit more milestones! This last month was so crazy!

9 Months!

Posted on January 31, 2014 by thefasteryoupedal

Stats: 18 pounds and 27 inches; 90 percentile for her head!

Favorites: Playing with her teapot set she got for Christmas from Grandma and Aunt Robyn, Monks the Wabbanub, SHOPPING, banging measuring cups, playing drums on her stomach and table tops, singing and humming, and sticking her tongue out.

Lifesavers for Mom and Dad: Her high chair and the fact that she is eating more solids so I can cook and do chores until she is done. Her playpen (she actually likes it).

Things She Hates: Being left alone (sometimes), crawling (she could do it but she is too lazy, she would rather stand), getting out of the bathtub and getting lotion put on her.

Facts: She says “Mamama” and “Dadada” but doesn’t mean anything by it unless she is mad, then she will yell “Mama”. She is teaching herself to stand by using the play pen or coffee table. She loves to put things in her little bucket and then take them out. She likes her Mother Goose class she takes on Wednesdays.

Sleep Habits: It is hit or miss still. I finally started feeding her a lot more when she goes to bed, so she lasts longer but she still wakes up one to four times a night.

Doctors Visits: I was feeling all guilty about the questions they asked me but soon found out it was more for a 12 month old. I can’t wait for her to repeat words back to me and actually mean “Mama” and “Dada”. Doctor said she looked pretty good and no worries.

Eating Habits: Eats about five bottles a day. I give her three meals and two snacks. She loves mashed and sweet potatoes and loves her fruits! I’ve had to sneak spinach and green beans into her baby food and smoothies to get them down.

Milestones: Almost crawling (takes a few steps) but prefers standing, she likes to scoot around the room, she can move from her belly to her butt, she sits up in her crib now, she is very squirmy, and communicates a lot on whether she wants things or whether she is stuck. She is really good about playing with toys. She got her third tooth this month!

Looking Forward To: Crawling (even though that means trouble for me) and practicing standing and walking. She is going on another airplane flight this month to Salt Lake!

Easy Peanut Butter Cookies

Posted on January 21, 2014 by thefasteryoupedal

If you need a quick cookie recipe that doesn’t take too long, I totally found a VERY easy peanut butter cookie recipe. I used a traditional recipe from recipes.com and then just tried to simplify it as much as possible.

Just mix it all together. Form little balls and then flatten with a fork. And then put in the oven. It makes 12-24 depending on the size of your dough balls.

I LOVE Strava!

Posted on January 21, 2014 by thefasteryoupedal

A friend of mine is training for a 5k in February and she texted me the other day to ask me what I used to keep me motivated to run. I know most people like to use Map My Run, which I have nothing against, but I really found an awesome app to use. I immediately told her to download Strava Run (and for you bikers out there, Strava Bike). My husband and I are very competitive people and like to have goals to achieve whether it is going against other people or even ourselves. Mike was the one to show me this app and now I am hooked!

The best thing about Strava Run is that it pretty much is going against yourself (unless you find a course that someone else has run and documented). In my case, my neighborhood has a perfect loop that you can run a perfect 5k. I run this about once or twice a week and it will tell me whether I beat any previous records I set. Mike likes to run a loop at NMSU where other runners have recorded their times, so he can see his records along with others.

I like how it shows how my pace was (I was running with the stroller this day) and how I started off faster and then got slower with my pace. That tells me that I need to pick up the pace at mile 2 and 3.

When you finish a run, it will show your overall pace, calorie burn, elevation gain, and moving time. The moving time is especially good for those times you are standing at the beginning trying to get the music started on your headphones.

Here’s where the competitive part comes in. On this particular bike ride, I noticed I had a Queen of the Mountain when I was done. This means that the people who rode before me had a slower time.

You then click on the trophy and it will tell you the time you did it in and the other times of the other riders. You can add friends (and enemies..hehe) and see an activity feed of their rides. I love looking at what other people did to keep me motivated!

You should try it out! It’s really a great app!

Aguirre Springs Ride

Posted on January 21, 2014 by thefasteryoupedal

Since the weather has been completely awesome here (I apologize to the people back East), Mike and I have been out riding as much as possible. We took off to Aguirre Springs on Saturday for some major hill climbing.

We like to park on the opposite side of the Organ Mountains and then bike up the pass over into the Aguirre Spring campground area.

I always forget how terrible I am at downhill biking. You never really think about that, but when there are major hills I clam up and think about the fact that I am going really fast and could be part of the asphalt if I don’t play it right. I had to keep stopping because I was developing the “crab claw”, which is from holding your brakes so tight that you can’t let go. I hate to say it but I’ve had the “crab claw” before during races too.

I don’t think you can tell in this picture, but this downhill is intense once you make it to the highest point of the loop. The whole loop from where we parked on the other side of the mountain is about 15 miles. The inner loop, which is very steep, is about 4 miles.

If you look closely in this picture, on the left hand side towards the top, you can see your destination. Just take my word for it, it is a big climb. My Strava totalled about 2600 feet in climbing.

This guy came along with me and decided to show me up and do three loops around the hard part of the course.

It’s a good thing I like him 🙂

On the climb back to where I was picked up, I felt pretty great because the climbing is very gradual. I even made a Queen of the Mountain on the final ascent!

I totally recommend this ride for strengthening hill climbing skills. I did this ride right before my first road race in 2011 and it definitely prepared me for it.

Back In The MTB Saddle Again

Posted on January 15, 2014 by thefasteryoupedal

The New Mexico Off Road Series is looming in the future (March 2014) and I am currently trying to get back on the mountain bike to race. The last time I raced big time was in 2011. I’ve been riding since four weeks postpartum, but I will be honest and say that it took about six months to feel normal and even now, I still don’t feel completely 100 percent.

I think my saving grace right now is the road bike, believe it or not. There was a time that my husband would have laughed out loud at the thought, but I am a true believer (and he is too) that if you want to be a great mountain biker than you get in some miles on a road bike too. I have seen it happen to my husband and I can see it happening to me now. It’s funny how 15 miles on a road bike is so little, but on a mountain bike that is a Cat 2 mountain bike race!

I can’t go riding without my lucky charm. I’ve had this Hen in my Camelbak since my first race in August 2009.

UPCOMING RACES

Here is a list of Southern New Mexico races in the next month or so (road and mountain) to help with training:

January 26 El Paso Puzzler (El Paso, TX)

February 1 12 Hours of Old El Paso (El Paso, TX)

February 1 Missile Man Duathlon (White Sands, NM)

February 21-23 Valley of the Sun RR Series (Phoenix, AZ)

And here are some running events too:

January 20 MLK 5k Run (White Sands, NM)

January 26 The Biggest Loser 5k/Half Marathon (Las Cruces, NM)

February 8 Cupid’s Chase 5k (Las Cruces, NM)

Holiday Weight Gain

Posted on January 11, 2014 by thefasteryoupedal

I felt so accomplished when Thanksgiving went by without a single pound of weight gain. I think it really helped that Mike and I had a triathlon to train for the week after, and also the fact that we ran a 5k on the day of Thanksgiving. We also went to a buffet instead of having the post Thanksgiving day food laying around the house. Then Christmas and New Years happened…

It could have been the cookies, the egg nog, cinnamon rolls, and other sinful treats that pretty much ruined any momentum we had to our diet. Both Mike and I have weighed in this week and have gotten to the “angry phase” of dieting where you are so mad at yourself for getting to where you are.

TRY THIS!

Needless to say, we have been trying to eat right all week and working out every single day! I have been making smoothies left and right! Here is my favorite recipe:

Liz’s Awesome Blueberry Smoothie

1/2-1/4 c of almond milk

1/4 c spinach

1/4 c blueberries

1/4 c yogurt

Sonic ice (2.49 a bag)

add chia seeds for more substance

We are loving the Sonic ice! It blends so much better and works well with small blenders (like the Baby Bullet…don’t hate).

WORKOUT

I tried this treadmill workout today from www.fitsugar.com. Loving the treadmill workouts lately!

We All Can’t Be Good At Being Antisocial, Right?

Posted on January 10, 2014 by thefasteryoupedal

Today was definitely one of those days that I needed. I’ve had something to do every day this week and found I needed a little “me” time, which meant I actually had time to read a book (which I haven’t done in YEARS) and take the dog and kid to the park. I woke up around 6 with LO, made some breakfast, and then started gutting the garage to fit all of our Christmas stuff that magically doubled this year.

I came across this little gem today while I was scrolling through Facebook during my “me” time. I was cracking up about the whole “Antisocial” thing for New Mexico because I was totally feeling like that this week. I thought it was some kind of joke! Really though. Ever since I’ve had Olivia, I’ve become MAJORLY antisocial. Sometimes it’s just easier to not make plans than to make plans and cancel them because your kid is being fussy right? Plus, I hate to say it, there aren’t a lot of things to do here in Las Cruces, especially in the winter time.

CHECK THIS OUT

So I LOVE the blog www.pbfingers.com and read it almost every day. I came across it a few years ago when I was trying out some quick, healthy recipe that I wanted to make. She is my hero for a few reasons: she quit her job to work from home, she loves Les Mills’ BODY PUMP just as much as I do, she lives in Florida (my dream), she certified to be a fitness instructor, and also has some really good workouts listed on her blog.

Thursdays are my gym days so I did one of her Treadmill Workouts, which was titled “No Joke Walking Workout“. It seriously was no joke! Mind you that a pace of 4 seems like nothing, but it actually is a brisk walk. When you start to max out the incline, you feel like you are going to fall off! I saw a friend of mine at the gym and wanted to say hello while I was doing the workout, but I had to focus so much I couldn’t even give a smile. Again, going with the whole antisocial vibe…

TRAINING

Since I always need something to train for to keep me on track, I thought I would let you guys know that I am coming back to the mountain bike world. On February 1st, I will be racing the 12 Hours Of Old El Paso with Mike and his brothers on a co-ed team. I am super excited because it has been almost two years since I have done a 12 hour race. This course is super windy and has some great hill climbs. The people who put it on are super organized and lot of fun.