Friday, October 30, 2015

6weeks with Anja and an exciting new sponsor. Welcome SMASHFEST QUEEN :)

Well its over 6weeks now since Anja was born and wow has she changed our lives :)  Pregnancy and labour was definitely not a walk in the park but its all worth it in the end.  It is true that no matter how painful their entry is you soon do forget all about it!
I won't go on and on about the labour but it didn't go how i imagined.  People say if the pregnancy is hard the labour will be a walk in the park.  Well it wasn't.  I have learnt that you just need to go with the flow with these things.  I had all these ideas about what i wanted, drug free etc but it wasn't meant to be.  Heading in to the labour i knew it wasn't going to be smooth sailing.  With a cracked rib i was already in a bit of pain, also absolutely exhausted from 2months of illness prior.  But she was coming out one way or another.
Within 30minutes of them breaking my waters things were really starting to ramp up, something odd happened and my contractions were non stop!  This I'm told is by no means normal and meant no chance to have a wander around, or take a chance to relax, recover, or just plain and simple not be in pain!  Without me even asking for drugs it was obvious they were needed.  Before i knew it they had called the anesthetist and he was busy trying to tell me to sit still so they could give me an epidural.  The problem was i was in so much pain i couldn't do anything anyone was asking of me.  It truly felt like my insides were splitting.  I remember Glen trying to hold me up and me vomiting.  As you can imagine its hard to remain completely still when you are vomiting haha.  Anyway eventually the epidural was able to be put in and i could somewhat relax.  I was started on the lowest dose so that i could still feel everything and know when to push etc.  What seemed like would be a quick labour because of the intense non stop contractions ended up around 10hours.
Anja had a rough time on her way out also.  She was very stuck.  They had to use a suction cup and even then when her head was out (which i was sure they must of pulled off) her body wouldn't follow. After what felt like a lifetime she was yanked out and rushed away, so no contact time for me :(  She wasn't making a lot of noise and so was rushed off to NICU.  She needed to be put on a machine to help her breath, as well as antibiotics and a drip.  It was a very strange sad feeling being left in a room without your baby who was finally out but not with you.  About an hour later i was wheeled to NICU in my bed and allowed to stick my hand through the incubator to touch her.  To be honest i was feeling pretty worn out and sick and don't remember much other than seeing my poor wee Anja looking terrible.  The doctors told me she was completely fine but it didn't look like it.


The next week was very long with the first two nights spent back and fourth from my lonely bed in the maternity ward to down in NICU seeing Anja, then she was allowed back with me but kept on a bili blanket for her jaundice.  After yet another week in hospital to add to my earlier stints we were definitely ready to come home.

Since she has been home she's been very ill with reflux, so the day is spent feeding, cleaning spew then re feeding to make up for what she's lost.  She has such a strong wee personality though and even though i have spent the better part of 6weeks up most of the night with her, holding her upright she is such a chilled baby always going with the flow.


On to the triathlon side of things.  Its been a bit tricky to get back in to training like i wanted as she started off not eating well (but having her tongue tie snipped fixed all that), and she doesn't sleep too well as her belly is always sore.  There is no place i would rather be though than making sure she is ok. Its amazing how fast the days go and how little sleep you can function on when its simply what you have to do!  I do manage to get around 5hours a week done at the moment though and as she improves that will increase.

Now on to some VERY exciting news.  I have a new sponsor coming onboard this season.  I would like to welcome SMASHFEST QUEEN. www.smashfestqueen.com
They are sponsoring my training and race apparel.  The brand is designed and owned by Hillary Biscay (ironman and ultra ironman champion, as well as finishing over 60 ironmans) and Michele Landry (also an ironman finisher and endurance fanatic, as well as a brand new mum :) )They are based in the US.  I first started wearing Smashfest Queen in 2014 and absolutely loved it.  Its really comfortable and fun to wear.  Not like a lot of the boring plain stuff you see these days.  I get so many people commenting on it when i race.  I am looking forward to continuing to train and race in their gear as well as checking out their causal wear.  Hopefully i will see more and more athletes wearing Smashfest Queen in New Zealand supporting the brand.  Dont assume its just for the girls as there is a really cool mens range out as well, and now some items for the small people in your lives so Anja is going to look very stylish.  Check out their website.



I have some big goals about getting back in to training and racing this summer so it will be interesting to see how it goes. I think I'm going to just have to cruise with the motto "take each day as it comes".


Tuesday, August 11, 2015

Trying to remain active while Pregnant! The ugly truth...

Sitting here over 35weeks pregnant i realize the fact that it has been a VERY long time since i posted anything.  My last post was in October last year following Challenge Weymouth.  I had started off my summer 2014/2015 training well with a few of my favorite events through out December and start of January with some great results but early January i found out that i was around a month pregnant.  Everything as i knew it was about to change.  I definitely had a false expectation of what the upcoming 9months would be like.  I had in my mind and especially after reading several pregnant triathletes blogs that i was going to remain fairly active through out being able to swim bike and run.  At a more leisurely pace of course but that exercise in some form would still be a part of my daily routine.  Oh how wrong was i!

Once i found out i was pregnant i immediately got back in to full time work to save for the upcoming bubs.  The change from training outside a lot to being inside most of the day standing on my feet working took its toll.  But i think i was still getting in around 3-5hours training a week in those first few weeks and feeling great.

I then got hit by morning sickness.  Which as many of you probably know can be more like all day sickness :)  For basically 6 weeks all day every day i spent the hours curled up on the sofa or in bed.  My fitness totally went out the window at this stage.  Once that ended i tried to get back in to a little bit of exercise but it added to nothing much.  As the days got shorter i was only really able to jog or swim either side of work if i had the energy which ended up being maybe 2-3times a week for maybe 30mins.  I didn't fancy trying to ride my bike in the cold and dark plus it seemed to be very uncomfortable, even on the wind trainer.  I think the last time i got out on my road bike was March!


Looking forward to getting back out riding in Central Otago again :)


Next up after the morning sickness i started getting really bad headaches and dizzy spells at work.  Who knows whether it was standing for 8hrs a day on the hard concrete floors at the pool, the chlorine or the heat!  Its actually a great place to be working in the middle of winter as its so nice and hot but with the pregnancy it wasn't agreeing with me.
Lucky just around the corner was a trip to Europe with Glen for 4weeks.  This 4weeks at the end of my 2nd, start of 3rd trimester was probably the best i have felt through out the pregnancy.  It was relaxing and i was able to get in a few jogs, swims and MTB rides.


Since I've been back home for the last 4weeks i have been really crook in and out of hospital, doctors, midwife appointments with chest infections, pulled muscles in back and tummy and now the past week some weird reflux thing where i spend a lot of the time running to the toilet!  All you can do is laugh though through this whole process.  On the funny side we just had our bathroom renovated and the edge of the bath is the perfect height and distance away from the toilet to sit on when your head is down the loo.

Today was a big win…after 4weeks of no exercise again i managed to go for a 30minute aqua jog with my sister.  Its crazy how something so simple like this can make you feel human again.  Having a really supportive family and partner makes all the difference.  Poor Glen still has to go to work all day after being awake most of the night listening to me.  I think we may actually get more sleep once the baby arrives :)

It is after all only 9months of your life and at the end of it you get this cool new wee human to hang out with.  Its made me realise just how much i love and miss exercising.  Although staying active during my pregnancy hasn't really worked for me i have learned to accept the fact that everyone is really different.  I have huge motivation to get back in to training and racing this summer and all the new challenges i will face with having to fit around our baby.

Exciting times ahead.  Watch this space.