What were you doing one year ago today? Do you remember? I do. I was waking up very early in an over-priced hotel in Nashville so that I could put on some short shorts and run 26.2 miles. Yep. One year ago today, I completed my first marathon.

I hope to some day try it again. I performed very poorly, compared to what I expected. I had run 20 miles three weeks before and hadn’t stopped to walk but through my water breaks. I didn’t start to get blisters until mile 18. So, these two things made me pretty optimistic that I’d run the majority of the distance if not all of it.

But, something about the roads in Nashville or the mood of my feet had me working on my first blisters at mile THREE. By the time I crossed the finish like, I had walked almost 10 miles of the 26 (if not more) and had at least one spot on each foot with THREE layers of blisters that had popped and reformed. It was AWESOME.

I do blame a lot of that on the fact that I was unable to really commit to the training program. If I were to tell people thinking about training for a marathon anything it would be: Prepare your family and make sure everyone is okay with you being gone a lot. I did not, so I just missed a lot of the training runs. Having a small child who was still nursing made it harder for me to make all of my runs as did having a husband and a son who also needed me. I just didn’t commit 100% since we were also trying to have a baby at the same time. It’s hard to motivate yourself to ditch your family four-five nights a week when you might end up being pregnant and not even run the marathon.

But - I would also tell everyone who is reading this that if I can do it, anyone can. I am not a runner. I am not even an athlete. I learned to enjoy my long runs because they made me very proud, but you can ask anyone who has seen me run. I actually walk faster. However - with the right program, your body learns to do more and more as the weeks pass and before you know it - your running double digits and freaking out about it.

I think the half-marathon is the distance for me. For now. I won’t train for another marathon until I’m done having kids and the ones I have are all at least potty trained. Until then, I want to try to at least run one half-marathon a year. Because that’s also a distance I feel proud about, but not one that takes me away from my family an unreasonable amount of time.

So, I look back today and feel proud. I crossed the finish line. Maybe in the bottom .000009 percent of the group with only a handful of people behind me - but I finished. And I’m proud every time I see that medal hanging on my china cabinet.

Funny thing is? If you look at me walking to my car this afternoon, you would see me walking just as oddly as I was a year ago. But this time it’s the pregnancy waddle, and not the blisters-on-my-feet or can’t-bend-my-knees walk. Either way - just as attractive.

Yesterday was loads of fun and I think I’m done getting all of the pictures up on flickr. However, as usual, there are so damn many I know most of the casual readers of this site probably won’t make it through them all. So, I’m going to first pull out some of my favorites from Panoply yesterday. We got there when it first opened so NikkiZ was able to take her time at all of the Kids Craft tents and made some really cool things. We didn’t get to do them ALL because as it got more crowded, the groups of kids got a little less patient with the two-year-old taking FOREVER to paint her duck. But truthfully? I think I had hit my limit anyway. We were there for almost THREE HOURS. That’s a lot of time to spend with glitter and glue. TRUST ME.

Shakin’ it like a polaroid picture

She’s participating in this HUGE drum circle (three times as big as it was Friday night) with her little shaker. It was SO much fun. The group that ran it is this group and if you ever get a chance to participate in one of their drum circles, DO IT. They bring loads of percussion instruments and guide the group to make some AMAZING music. NikkiZ loved it.

Face-Painting: Day Two

She would have played in this thing ALL DAY. I had to drag her away so the other kids could get in. Sharing is NOT her strong suit.

She made this CD fish and then danced with it. She’s weird. She gets that from her father.

Well. We did Panoply and made nine-hundred cool things in the children’s crafty areas. We ran through some fountains downtown. We played in a drum circle. We went to the Botanical Gardens to see the butterflies and play in the water features there. I’m officially worn the hell out and don’t think I’ll ever move again.

I’ll upload the pictures gradually - but for now? I wanted to show you my favorite (so far) creation from Panoply.

We have an art festival downtown every year. It is called Panoply and it runs this weekend. We went as a family last night because Saturday and Sunday are out of the question for us as a group. So, we went last night to try to enjoy it for a few hours. MrZ is pretty sure he hasn’t been to this festival in years, which is one of the downsides to being an adult in the town you grew up in: You take stuff for granted. He ended up really enjoying himself and I’m actually kinda hoping he’ll go with us again today. He wants to get the house painted (the outside of it) before AndyZ gets here, but I’m thinking the rain last night might have soaked the walls too much.

Either way - the festival is going on all weekend and NikkiZ and I will be heading out again if the weather holds out. I’m taking it as my mission to do as much with her as physically possible the last few weeks of this pregnancy and there’s plenty going on this weekend for her to enjoy.

What are YOU doing this weekend?

Well. My eye is better this morning. Either the particle that was irritating it is gone, or the allergy attack has waned. Either way - the reminant swelling will hopefully fade as the day progresses so I can get back to being the totally hott and sexy 36-week pregnant woman I know I can be.

Speaking of that…my weight gain this pregnancy looks like I’m going to hit the exact same weight at delivery with AndyZ as I did with NikkiZ. Since I started out 10lbs heavier this time, that means I’ll have actually gained less. But, that still puts me at 40lb weight-gain. Which is not bad considering I’ve gained 65 and 50 before, but a little daunting when considering my anniversary plans would have me losing all of it by late September.

So…here is my question. When will I be allowed to do anything post-op? I don’t remember what the restrictions were the first time around. (Hey - it was over two years ago - give a girl a break.) When will I be allowed to at least walk around the block? Is that pretty much when I feel like it? What about running? I’d like to run the half-marathon in November, but I’m not sure if I’ll have enough time to train. What about diet - what kind of diet should I go on to lose the weight if I’m still nursing at the same time?

Essentially - what worked for YOU? I didn’t worry so much with NikkiZ because I didn’t have any solid plans on the calendar. This would be why I never lost those last 10lbs. But this time around, I have a little bit a time constraint. I’d love any input you have on the matter. Especially if your plan involves watching a lot of TV and eating chocolate cake with daily doses of beer for good measure. That would be awesome.