Blog Hiatus

After much consideration, I've decided to place this blog on hiatus. When I originally started this, it was called "Trying to Tri for the First Time" and I used it to chronicle my journey towards getting fit, losing weight and training for my first triathlon. I had a lot of fun detailing my first races, milestones along the way and just keeping track of the drastic changes I was making in my life through fitness.

When I started travel nursing, I added the dimension of moving to new places and having experiences as a mobile nurse while still posting about my running and races (this was when I changed the name to "The Verbose and Curious Travels of Nurse Jenn).

Now I'm finding that I'm no longer relevant ... I'm not traveling anymore, and I'm not currently able to train. I was hoping that I could continue on as a "struggles to stay fit while pregnant" theme, but at this point the most exercise I'm getting is taking the stairs at work. It seems that I have now resorted to using this as a way to vent about frustrations in my life, and honestly I don't want to do that. When I really think about it, my journey to doing that first triathlon truly made me the person that I am today. I gained such self-confidence and for the first time really felt comfortable with who I was. Not only did I look awesome physically, but I felt better about myself than I had in years. I doubt that I ever would have ever left Missouri and started traveling had I never pushed myself into doing things that were tough, seemed out of reach, and quite frankly were not a lot of fun in the beginning.

I really want to get back to the essence of who I was back then, and to have that focus and determination on a specific goal. I think I'm better off mentally when I'm training and obviously physically as well. The reality is that it's going to have to wait so I'd rather just put this project on hold until I can once again make this the blog I intended it to be.

I will be maintaining my pregnancy blog, but I know that a lot of you aren't really into that - seriously I wouldn't read that type of blog either unless it was a good friend or family member.

If all goes well with the delivery and recovery of the baby, I should be starting back up in mid-December training for the Little Rock Half-Marathon in March and then of course finding some late Spring tris to shoot for. If anyone would like to be notified of when I start training and posting again, please send me an email to jennx_rn@yahoo.com and I will send out a message when the blog becomes active again.

Thanks for reading and I'll see you when I start my quest to be a hot, in shape triathletic MILF!!!

Maybe there's hope for Little Rock after all??

I can't lie, there are times where I am slightly dissatisfied with my new geography. I think a lot of it has to do with job dissatisfaction spilling over into other areas of life, but we'll just say that there are a lot of times where I dream of picking up the new house and far from perfect yard needing LOTS of work and just moving it somewhere else. Preferably a place with better summers, mountains in the distance, several excellent options for Thai food (and no, having just one place that also serves Chinese does NOT count), local coffee shops, bagel shops (bonus points if it's Einstein's), SuperTargets (they put the super store that starts with a "W" to shame), better grocery stores - ooooo!!! maybe a huge Whole Foods Mart? Suffice to say, there are conveniences that I miss and these are just a few things off the top of my head.

Maybe, just maybe there's hope for this river town after all?? After eating at my latest pregnancy induced crave stop, Cheeburger Cheeburger, we saw a large vacant corner space in the shopping development with a sign promising .... Coming Soon!! Panera Bread!!

This just might be my salvation!! Though their bagels aren't nearly as good as Einstein's, I love their menu - especially their salads and soup - and I spent a lot of time there when I lived in Columbia, MO. I often stopped for breakfast after work, basically bought my iBook solely to enjoy surfing their wireless while having a late lunch, and I wrote a lot of my first blog posts there while drinking the bottomless cup of coffee. I found a local Panera hangout in Virginia Beach during my three months there, and even occasionally hit Panera in Denver, though the parking in Cherry Creek North was atrocious so it was more of a treat than a routine hangout.

I don't know when it will be opening, it looks like they're just starting but I have high hopes of Panera goodness later this summer. A bright, glimmery ray of hope to look forward to in the midst of 105+ degree, humidity filled misery. Mmm, I can see that half salad and french onion soup now!!

So much for economic stimulus...

Like most Americans, I have now received my $600 "gift" from Uncle Sam and what's not to like about free money?? Especially after considering how much I paid in taxes last year after making more than I've ever made in my life thanks to overtime and several bonuses.

Of course, I don't think Sam would be proud of what I did with it. I know that I was supposed to run out to the Mall or some other store and buy something frivolous to fuel the economy. Maybe get a new stereo receiver or some new shoes to inject some cash into the slowing consumer markets?? Well not me, the same day that I received it, I sent it promptly to my credit card that I have been whittling down to nothing since I started working as a travel nurse. It's so un-American of me to pay off my consumer debt when everyone else is just charging more. More importantly, it's so NOT Generation X of me to only buy things that I can pay for in cash. I'm of the generation where they signed you up for credit cards on campus despite the fact that most students had no money or income. I remember them hanging out on the quad and offering silly gifts for filling out the Visa application, knowing full well that a full time student had NO business with a credit card with a $2000 limit. Those poor saps that took the easy money are now the ones that a decade later are still paying on student loans, credit card debt and basically making the banks rich on interest. I'd be curious to see whether credit cards are still passed out like candy on today's campuses like they were in the early 90s?? Something tells me times have changed on the bank's end, though I'm sure the 19 year olds would still happily mortgage their future for a new X-Box, iPod or laptop computer if someone offered it to them for marginal payments each month.

Running ... what a pain!

Well I guess I'm going to become a walker for the next 5 months. Despite my cool new Garmin and desire to be the hip pregnant chic that runs 5Ks, the body just isn't willing. I've been having a lot of discomfort lately from round ligament pain, and though I've learned the tricks to avoid it at home (don't get up from a seated position or bend over quickly), it's really noticeable when I try to jog. I went out this week and my heart rate was great when I warmed up! I felt awesome and really wanted to just pound the pavement a little, but as soon as I started even a slow jog it was extremely uncomfortable. I wore my tight supportive spandex shorts with a higher waist to support the growing lower belly, but it was no good. I was a little frustrated because I know lots of people run far later into their pregnancies, and I just have the slightest of bellies going on .... it seems silly for it to be so uncomfortable already, but it is what it is.


I was able to walk fairly comfortably (I think the right supportive belly gear will be crucial) and tomorrow I'm going to hit the gym and try the elliptical. I don't mind walking but it doesn't get me as aerobic as I would like and I'm guessing that bending over on a bike trainer may not be the most comfy either. I'm hoping the elliptical is tolerable and once my neighborhood pool is open, I think that swimming laps will be the way to go. I just don't want to end up with a ruined body AND a complete lack of cardiovascular fitness. I want to be running again by Christmas so we'll see how my alternative methods work.

A Garmin of my very own!!!

I think that this is the day that will change the trajectory of my training forevermore .... the day that I received my very own Garmin Forerunner 305 GPS!!! Woo HOO!!!

BJ has one that I have used on occasion and it is the coolest thing ever because you turn it on, put it on your wrist and off you go. If tells you distance, speed, heart rate - you can set it to alarm when you're running too fast or slow or your heart rate is too high or low. When you get home you can download your run and see it on a map and it is incredibly accurate, even showing the spot where you went back into the middle of the street to avoid a particularly nasty looking dog for example.

BJ doesn't mind loaning me his, but the problem is that he runs at work at lot so it's typically with him in his gym bag when I'm in the mood to head out. There's also the problem of when we run or race together .... well to clarify, we may start at the same place at the same time, but he's faster than me so we do our own thing. If we're training, we usually set a time - "OK we're running 45 minutes" and then we each turnaround at our respective half way point or perhaps take our own route. He always has the super cool data .... and I don't :(

I was reading one of my triathlete forums and learned that you can even load routes onto the GPS then run it. This would be super cool if I was planning something new or in an unfamiliar location and put in wayside points so that you don't get lost. You can also do an out and back and pay absolutely no attention and zone out (which can happen if I'm listening to some good tunes or a great NPR podcast) and then use the GPS breadcrumb trail to find your way back.

Seriously, I really think it's going to change my life!!

A shout out to Diane of the Hot Legs for tipping me off on the fabulous sale that REI has going on. BJ had apparently been monitoring the internet for prices trying to find a good deal for a while so that he could surprise me with it. Now if only it had a cute purple covering or something so that it looks truly Jenn!!