Happy Independence Day!

Sofia's first Independence Day! We loaded her up in the bike trailer for the first time and rode the wild streets of Huntington Beach!

Greg riding the Santa Ana River trail towards Huntington Beach on his big cruiser with Sofia in tow.

Mommy's "cruiser" is a Singlespeed Niner! :)

Sofia likes the ride!

4th of July in Huntington Beach! Bikes, bikes and more bikes!

We hopped off the bikes for a little while to enjoy the parade.

Sofia got a bird's eye view!

Jax Bicycle Shop parking lot on Main Street Huntington Beach. Downtown roads are closed for the parade and the bikers.

Sofia's first time at the beach. We couldn't stay too long because she just wanted to eat the sand.

Sofia's first dip in the ocean. The water was only about 61 degrees so it was a quick dip.

Daddy & Sofia riding under Huntington Beach Pier

Sofia had a busy 4th of July. She was worked!

Sofia's First Time In the Pool

I love multi-sport!!!

Cal Multi Sport Vail Lake

The feeling of completing one discipline after another is so utterly satisfying to me.

We started with a quick 1.8 mile bike ride to the kayak section. Although it had been over 2 years since I'd paddled, I was confident I could make it around the lake. I dropped my bike and quickly put on my PFD and hopped in the boat. Bike shoes, helmet and bike gloves still on, I started paddling. I was doing well until about 15 minutes into it when I started to wonder how big Vail Lake really was. I put my head down and just concentrated on using my core and couldn't wait to switch disciplines. 7.5 km later, I was done and so were my shoulders!

I had been passed by a few folks who had faster boats than mine. Notice I didn't say they were better paddlers. Yup,,,I just told myself they had faster boats. But I caught them in transition and swooped right passed. I had made it a point to transition as quickly as I could so that I wouldn't waste any unnecessary time especially since I knew my actual racing would be slow.

I rode back through the starting gate and on to the 15 km MTB course. Since I had raced the 12 hours of Temecula at Vail Lake many times, I was very familiar with the entire bike course and it was super fun. In fact, I was having so much fun that I totally missed a turn sign and ended up having to back track to get back on course.

My transition from bike to run was super fast also. The TA attendant said I was in and out of there in 20 seconds. Not bad for a gal who hasn't adventure raced in a couple of years.

I took off on the run section which I affectionately call a "trot" section. I trotted over and around the trees, through some trickling water and then through a thigh high creek. But after the first 20 minutes, the fun was over. I hiked up the dam climb and remembered why I prefer to be on my bike. I lost some time on the run (trot) but surprisingly no other ladies caught me and I ended up finishing in 5th place.

It took me 3 hours and 30 minutes to complete the course and I was TIRED! But it was so fun and I can't wait to get in better shape and do it again!

Juggling

No, I haven't taken up juggling (although some of you wouldn't be surprised if I said I had). I'm talking about the constant juggling of life, especially with a baby.

My juggling act requires me to constantly prepare bottles

Sofia

My Little Ladybug is 8 months old already! Some days I get home and it seems like she grew longer in the few hours I was gone. She is a pretty good sleeper with 2 regular naps a day and nighttime hours from 7:30pm to 6am. She likes to baby talk and crawl around all day long. She's quite the busy body and wants to investigate every single little thing. She's been pulling herself up to her feet for a while now and I suspect she will be walking within the next month. She is a mover and a shaker and always wants to be on the go. (hmmm, I wonder where she gets that from?)



Training
I finally feel like I can call it training now instead of just working out. I'm feeling more and more like my old self when I'm out on the mountain bike trails. A few months ago there were some dark moments when even the weekend warrior guys were kicking my butt up the climbs. But yesterday......well let's just say there were a few guys who were bummed when they couldn't hang with this 8 month postpartum mommy. :)

Running has become a necessary evil in my training program since it's relatively easy to take Sofia out on the trails by my house in the baby jogger. So when she starts to get grumpy around 9:41am, I quickly throw on my running attire, strap her into the baby jogger, and out the door we go. She immediately falls asleep. I get in a good run and she gets in a good nap.

Mother's Day
My first Mother's Day was special because I got to climb up a mountain and then go back home to a beautiful baby girl.

Tim (from The Alaska Experiment), his friend Kim, Carl & his wife Marlyce & me on Mt. Baldy

Cupcakes

I made some sunflowers for the special ladies in my life. I also have a cupcake website going now too. Check it out......Clickity Click!


Race or Work?
I was planning on running (walking) the 24 hours of Nanny Goat this weekend but plans have changed. I've got my real estate license exam on Thursday so it makes better sense for me to study and get that done. Back in my care-free selfish days, I would have raced, however this is one step closer in my quest to finally settling on a career. Plus Sofia's grandparents are coming from Texas and they can't wait to spend more time with us (her).

Sofia's First 24 Hour Mountain Bike Race

Sofia and I took a two hour drive up to the local mountains of Idyllwild to the 24 Hours of Adrenalin. Nope, I didn't race this time. I was there to DMS massage the racers.

My babysitter backed out at the last minute so I took Sofia with me and we made the best of it. Luckily Carl and Marless were there to help me for the first day and Christian was there to help the rest of the time. A few other friends came by our Feed The Machine/DMS Massage Booth and played with Sofia.

I came up with the ingenious idea of enclosing her in a blow-up kiddie swimming pool that had a canopy. I padded it with a cozy comforter and put all her toys in there and she was happy. It was only $25 at Target and it worked perfectly!

It got down to the low 30's at night so Sofia and I cozied up in my Honda Element. I took the back seats out, put all our blankets down and we slept together in the back. Every hour and half I turned on the heater for a few minutes to warm up the car and we stayed pretty cozy all through the night. (I know it's a box on wheels, but dang I love that car!)

And thanks to La Ruta Lou, Sofia had the PERFECT outfit! She was wearing her "stars & stripes" bike jersey and she looked adorable! Meanwhile, Mommy is still trying to fit back in her's! :)

Taking Time to be a Mommy

I've been following a blog written by a friend of mine who took time off of adventure racing and ultra running to have a baby. I'm always interested to find out how other new moms are dealing with the effects of taking it easy through pregnancy and new-motherhood.

It's seems as though my friend and I have been going through similar emotions. We were excited and anxious to become pregnant and have our children even though it meant slowing down our intensely active lifestyles. All the while we were probably thinking that a couple of weeks after popping out the kids, we'd be back on the trails running and riding. Of course we knew we'd be slower and have to take a little time to get back in shape but I'm sure we didn't realize how much work it would be.

While reading her blog, I was amazed at how quickly she got back to running long distances and how she had some very ambitious race goals so soon after giving birth. Although I knew I had to keep my own pace, I was almost beating myself up for not keeping up with her post partum fitness levels.

I've been training as much as I can around working and taking care of Sofia, and a few times I've been plagued with some knee pain that I didn't have before. I'm pretty good about listening and understanding my body so I've attributed the pain to the changes my body made during pregnancy and also the extra weight I'm still carrying. Surprisingly I've been really good about taking it easy and not pushing myself too far to further any injury. Maybe it's because I'd rather spend more time with Sofia anyway, but whatever the reason it doesn't matter. At least I'm being patient about my return to pre-pregnancy ultra fitness levels.

It turns out that my friend now has some injuries in which she is attributing to post partum and is not able to fulfill her ambitious race goals. That news just assures me that listening to my body and taking my time with my return to pre-pregnancy fitness levels is something I must do in my own time.

Every week I have to plan a training schedule and try the best I can to adhere to it. Luckily adventure racing has made me very patient and flexible because having Sofia means that plans will always change.

I still have about 15 pounds I'd like to shed but I've finally accepted my current size and have bought clothes that fit. I've got a few races on my calendar including a 12 hour run (which I will walk) and a 12 hour mountain bike race. So maybe by Sofia's first birthday I will be back to where I want to be.

My First Duathlon

Competing in races has always been very motivating for me. I know that if I put a race on my calendar, tell the world I'm going to do it, and then I PAY for it, I will force myself to train. So I decided to do a duathlon: 3.1 mile run, 18 mile road bike ride, 3.1 mile run.

Honestly...I did not set up the TEXAN behind me!

I have gone from running to riding to running many, many times in my adventure racing career. However, I have never done a true duathlon until now.



Running is definitely NOT my thing. So I "shuffled" my way through the first 3.1 miles and fell behind most of the pack. :)



But when I got on the bike, my body got happy again and I passed a bunch of folks. Some of them twice....hmmm, not sure how that happened.

Cool thing was that I had a fan in the crowd! When I finished the bike, I was transitioning to the run when a Marine said, "Are you Bernice?" I nodded and he said, "I've seen you on TV!" And despite the dread of my upcoming run, I forced a smile and a "nice to meet you" and I shuffled away.


I really had to talk myself through the last 3.1 miles! But I did and I was able to complete the entire race in 2 hours and 8 minutes!



I'm finding out that returning to my pre-pregnancy fitness level is way harder than I imagined. I have to keep reminding myself that I trained very hard for 6 years to be that fit. So I can't expect to be anywhere near that level at only 6 months post-partum. I just have to keep registering for races! :)