I AM A SPARTAN!

On Saturday, June 29, Johnathan competed in the Spartan Beast in Midway!  This was his first ever race.  He's never even done a 5k before.  I thought he was crazy for starting off with something so hard, but that probably because I am pregnant and out of shape.  For those who don't know, Spartan races are mostly a trail run with lots of obstacles (mostly in the mud).  There are different levels of Spartan races, ranging from 3+ miles and 15 obstacles (Spartan Sprint), 8+ miles and 20 obstacles (Super Spartan), 12+ miles and 25+ obstacles (Spartan Beast), and a Ultra Beast Marathon (no idea how many obstacles).  Here's a cool video of his race: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3074OTsuIGE

Johnathan's scheduled heat start time was 1:15pm.  He had to work the 2 days previous to the race and we were very worried that he wouldn't get any sleep and would be super tired before it even began.  Little did I know that was the least of our worries...  He was supposed to get off at 7am and then his brothers were going to pick him up around 10 so they could get up to Midway about 2 hours before the race to pick up their packets (that's what the Spartan website suggests).  Well, that morning at work, Johnathan found out that the next shift taking his place was understaffed.  Then 3 people called in sick.  When they need people to come fill in empty spots, they send out a text message to everyone saying that overtime is available and the first people to respond get the spots.  That morning they sent out the message and nobody responded.  They had to keep paging out for people and slowly got 1, then 2 people to come fill in.  Johnathan knew he was the last person to be replaced because he is lower on the seniority list, so he knew he would be #3 to be replaced.  They kept paging for another person, but nobody was responding so he just had to stay and work.  10am came and went and we were sure he wouldn't be able to make it to the race anymore.  Then finally, someone called and said they could come in at 11 and replace Johnathan.  I loaded kids up in the van and we raced off to pick him up at work right at 11.  Then we headed up to Midway worried that the lines would be long and he wouldn't make his scheduled heat time with his brothers.  But, it turned out to be very organized and he made it through the lines with plenty of time.

On with the race!

 What studs!

Here they are stretching before starting

The race took them all over the place.  They started off running toward the bridge in the background of the pic above, and then they curved around and made a loop and then we saw them again at mile 4.  At that point they had completed roughly 13 obstacles.  That section took them about an hour and 15 minutes.

At this point they had to climb through several muddy water pits.  I think there were like 5 in a row they had to keep climbing in and out to the next one.  I wish I had pics, but I was taking a video.

This is when the hard part started for Johnathan.  They made their way up the side of the mountain and back down and we saw them again around mile 6.5, so they were a little more than half done.  The trail running was the hardest for Johnathan.  His legs kept cramping up on him so he had to keep stopping.  He said at one point they cramped up so bad he just started screaming from the pain.  The main reason we figure he had such a problem with the leg cramps is because he never trained by running up and down trails and also he started off dehydrated.  At work two days before the race, they had a hot tiring training out at the Provo Airport.  It was so hot outside, plus wearing his gear, that he sweat a lot.  He kept drinking gatorade to replace electrolytes, but couldn't seem to catch up.  Then at the race, it was over 100*, so he sweat more.  

Here are pics from the second time we saw him:

Then they were off again.  They had another really long stretch of running up and around in the mountains again.  John had lots more leg cramps.  He told me he did really well at the obstacles.  They have a variety of challenges like a wall to climb, a javelin to throw at a bell, logs to carry, ropes to climb, etc and if you don't complete the challenge or if you fall off the wall, you have to do a bunch of burpees (a push-up/jumping jack sort of combination).  Johnathan only had to do 2 sets of them.

Pics of some obstacles:

The last time we saw him was at the end.  They had several obstacles in a row.  When my sister-in-law told me they were coming, we hurried up the hill to see them.  They were rolling down the hill under some barbed wire.  It was a pretty long stretch they had to roll.

The last couple obstacles were a wall to climb, a fire pit to jump over, and some gladiators to get past.  Then they all crossed the finish line!  Their finish time was 4 hours 25 minutes.

I'm so proud of these guys!  They did such a great job.  What a super hard race and they all stuck together and had fun doing it together.  It's still being decided if they will compete in another Spartan again...  Next year it will only be a Super Spartan in Midway, so maybe they'll do it again  :)

 I gave Johnathan a big muddy hug for completing the race.

Scott & Jessie

32 Weeks!!

 YEAH!!  I am 32 weeks!  Only 8 more to go!  At so many different times during this pregnancy, I thought I'd never get to this point.  It's gone by super slowly, but I can now see the light at the end! 

I am actually (and FINALLY) feeling fairly good.  Actually, better than I've felt the whole pregnancy, and that is saying something because I'm almost done!  The uncomfortable-ness has set in, and yes I know it will get worse.  I am super excited to not have nerve pain anymore.  I was having trouble sleeping, and still do off and on, but I usually get fairly good sleep.  I think that has a lot to do with why I am feeling better than before.  I just REALLY need my sleep!  I have also settled into a routine with my hips.  I go once a week to the chiropractor (usually when I have a rough/painful night sleeping) and then I'm good.  I know what to not do to make them fall out of place easier.  Over all, I'm doing well.

The baby is roughly 4 lbs and 15 inches long.  At the Dr's office, the kids held the baby that's roughly the same size.  I think they were surprised how big she is!  The doctor said "This is why you're mom can't move fast anymore.  She's got something this size in her tummy."  I love that he said that to the kids! 

Summer is going by fairly quickly.  The kids keep me busy, which is good.  It's just so hot!  But at least I have air conditioning  :)

This was from a month ago, when I was 28 weeks:

Last Monday, I hit 28 weeks.  Like usual I am a tad bit late.  Oh well.  I was really nervous about this appointment because I would find out my results of the gestational diabetes.  This pregnancy has been nothing like the rest of my pregnancies, so I was nervous I would fail this test.  But, I passed!  I am so relieved!

The baby is approximately 2 1/2 lbs.  Next time I go in (at 32 weeks) she'll be 4 lbs!  I feel like we're finally making progress :)  I can tell she's growing lots because I am starting to feel very full all the time.  2 1/2 more months to go.  She's getting more active, but doesn't kick too hard or too much still.  **Fingers crossed for a mellow baby**  I probably just cursed myself...

Four weeks ago I was in a lot of pain with my nerves.  For the most part, that has eased up.  I didn't know how I would make it with everything being so painful.  I ended up having to quit exercising and that has made such a big difference!  Now I can tell my hips have loosened up again (because of the lack of exercising) and are more painful & easier to fall out of place, but in my opinion it's much more manageable than the constant nerve pain.  I have also hit the hard to sleep stage.  My doctor just told me what sleeping pills I can safely take, thank heavens.  I was getting about 3-5 hours sleep a night.  Me and no sleep= grumpy mom.  But, these pills are really helping.  Thanks heavens for modern medicine!

Another thing I discovered is that I cannot watch Call the Midwife.  I watched the first episode a few days ago and I started stressing about labor & problems with the baby.  Like on the verge of having an anxiety attack.  I think we'll just leave that show alone for now.  That show was too graphic & worry-some for this pregnant girl.