Another weekend in the Dez...

We Schneiters love weekends, especially ones spent with friends climbing in the desert. We left Friday evening and met about 17 friends in Indian Creek to climb. Here are pictures from the trip.

Evening light on the gorgeous sandstone.

Most of our group, from L to R, Tracy Wilson, BJ Sbarra, Sarah Selling, Derek Hanrahan, John Connor, Dave Meyer, Kristen Pogue, Steve Smith, Joy Joy, and Mike.

I thought Mike looked hilarious sleeping by the fire.

The belly is still growing!

Tracy and Sarah, two of my best gals.

Mike decided to make a feast for the whole group. Here are the foil packets filled with potatoes, peppers, onions, corn and spices. He BBQ'd burgers and brats and I filled the dutch oven with green bean casserole. We ate it all! It was a delicious meal! Cooking in the campsite is one of my favorite parts of Indian Creek. The unregulated camping is all on BLM land, so there are no campgrounds, no water, no picnic tables, etc. It's all free and we love it.

Steve and Mike goofing around. They were happy boys this weekend because they brought the drill and were able to put up 3 new routes.

BJ in his pirate vest. He also had a sword and flag, and his dog wore a breast plate. He had to bag the eye patch because it made the climbing a little difficult!

Panorama from the 4x4 wall.

I am still climbing (though not leading).

Courtney, Dana, and Tracy. T dressed up as Rainbow Brite. This is a bad picture of her costume, but she had on a blue felt dress with white fur trim and striped tights and arm warmers.

Dana sends!

Update, 17 weeks

I've just about hit 17 weeks, now, and my belly continues to grow at what seems like a phenomenal rate. I'm hiding an extra 20 pounds(!!) on my body but can't figure out where it has all gone (definitely not all in the belly). I'm feeling Great, capital G, am running lots and very energetic. My weight gain has surprised me because I'm running about 40 miles a week and eating well--I guess the body just has its own plans! I have started the feel the baby move--very exciting--but only when I lay still and concentrate on it. According to the many baby websites, our kid is pushing 6 inches in length, can hear, sense light, and taste, and has the ability to suck its thumb.

Mike and I are headed out tomorrow evening with about 12 other people for another trip to Indian Creek, south of Moab. It should be lots and lots of fun and there are rumors of climbing in Halloween costumes! We love that place! My harness waist belt usually has about a 10 inch tail for cinching that is now down to about 4 inches. It is not going to fit much longer. When the harness no longer fits, I suppose I will have to stop climbing (having snow on the ground will help). We have been enjoying the indian summer around here--it has been in the 70's all week. It's hard to believe it's almost November!!

The belly shots were taken this evening:

This is from July, the week we found out we were preggers. When the pics are compared, there is a huge difference!! Even though I know I'll get back to normal eventually, it's hard to imagine being that size ever again!

I found this picture tonight while going through iPhoto and thought it was cute. It's from this summer, at the San Diego Zoo.

Annoying yet entertaining

Yesterday was cold and rainy, so I decided to head to the gym for the first time of the season. I started my workout session the same way I always did prepregnancy--by working up a good sweat on the treadmill. Lately, I have gotten creative on my outside running routes because they now must have a certain component--frequent places to squat in the bushes. This does not work so well on a treadmill in a gym. After 1/2 mile, I had to pause the machine and run to the bathroom. And again at 1 mile. And the urge came back at 1.6 miles so I just forced myself to hold it until I hit 2 miles (I like to go at least twice that far!). The funny thing is that there was a line of people waiting for the machine, watching me come and go. Ugh! I gave up and rode the bike, which is much easier on the bladder.

Ladies' weekend in the Creek!

This weekend was a blast! 13 women, splitter sandstone cracks, fireside conversations, incredible moon and stars, and desert camping--life does not get much better. Stef and her friend Lindsey showed up on Thursday and we left Friday for the weekend. They really wanted to learn how to climb cracks, and this was the perfect opportunity! So, we loaded up Stef and Wes's veggie-mobile (it runs on recycled veggie oil that they get for free from local restaurants) and drove to Indian Creek, about 50 miles south of Moab. We got there late and rolled out our sleeping bags under the moon and stars, which were so bright we had to cover our eyes to sleep. The next morning, we found the rest of the crew, a large group from Durango headed by Lauren Heerschap, and hiked up Donelly Canyon to start climbing. It was about 75 and sunny, and we climbed until our feet and hands were so sore we had to quit. Back to camp for yummy tacos and a warm fire we went before falling asleep, exhausted from the great day! Stef and Lindsey were psyched at their crack climbing success, as was I. I resisted the temptation to lead anything per my midwife's advice, but had a ton of fun toproping. Sunday morning, we hiked to the Optimator Wall where Lindsey led on-sight her first 5.10--Lady Pillar, 120 feet. That was a huge accomplishment for her and only gave her more confidence to come back and try to step it up next time. That afternoon we all did Soul Fire, 5.11, which Linds toproped twice (she intends to come back and lead it next time!). Stef also vastly improved her crack skills and discovered the pure joy that comes with a schtonker hand jam. Here are some photos from the weekend (as always, they are concentrated in small areas because I always forget to take out my camera!).

Stef, me, and Lindsey--laying on the ground before bed, night #1.

See why we love this place?! This is a view of the valley from the Optimator Wall.

Stef and I.

Me on Soul Fire, 5.11.

Lauren leading Generic Crack, 5.10.

Stef cranks on the bottom of Soul Fire.

Stef sinking her hands and feet into the jams.

Stef shows us her stemming and drop knee skills on Lady Pillar, 5.10.

Happy Joy.

Me, high up on Soul Fire. Check out the beautiful rock above us.

Mike took me to my first NFL football game on Sunday--Bronco's vs Jaguars. It was a blast even though our Broncos lost. The fan energy is really incredible--80,000 people cheering, stomping their feet, booing the refs--wow! It is an experience that everyone should have.

Reeser sent me this present today. She made me an awesome CD and two potholders. These are not just any potholders--they are handmade and frickin cool!

An up close shot of her handiwork.

I had 4 different people comment on my belly today--I think it is really growing this time. Wes called and made fun of me for trying to stick out my flat belly in all of the previous "belly shots". Whaddaya think now, Wes?

Mike and I went to Crested Butte a few weekends ago and found these sheep in the middle of the road. It was really a huge flock that went all the way across the road for about a half mile. They were having some sort of sheep drive.

Here is the lovely sound of our baby's heartbeat from my midwife appointment yesterday. What an incredible thing!! The baby is about 4 inches long now and growing about 1/2 inch each week--that is equivalent to an adult growing about 8 inches in a week! My computer is having a hard time embedding the video, so just follow the link. You Tube-Baby's Heartbeat 14 weeks

On Exercise and Pregnancy:

I have tried to keep my fitness up during this pregnancy, but have had a very difficult time finding good information on what exactly is safe to do. Most websites talk about prenatal exercise in terms of yoga, stretching, walking, swimming, etc, not running marathons. They often give a magic number to keep one's heartrate below, usually 140. But, there is no discussion of what a person was doing for fitness before pregnancy or what their normal resting or max heartrates are. When I got pregnant, I was about a month out from running a 50 mile trail race and was not ready to start stretching for exercise. I quickly found out that running was much more difficult than I was used to, but I really wanted to keep it up, so I did and continue to do so. Originally, I had planned on doing a bunch of races during the pregnancy, but have since changed my mind. Different experts gave me different advice--an OB doc gave me the OK for the marathon, while my midwife told me not to run for longer than an hour at a time. I have since found what I think is a happy medium between the two. I have continued to do 1-2 hour runs but have decided against the marathon in November. Honestly, the 10-12 mile runs are leaving me completely wiped and the thought of turning around and repeating the distance is unfathomable. 6-8 miles seems to be just perfect. Plus, there is the uterine-pressure-on-the-bladder problem. I have to stop at least every 15 minutes to pee, often every 8 or 10 minutes. I have to plan my routes very carefully, making sure there are sufficient bushes along the way for my bathroom breaks. It's quite hilarious, I run for about 10 minutes, feel the overwhelming urge to pee, get out barely 1/4 cup, and repeat the process. One major problem with the marathon was that it is all on the road (meaning not enough bushes) and there is only one port-a-pottie on the entire route--that is a major problem. I guess they just don't think of pregnant women when planning their courses. Reese also asked me about the whole thing last week, namely "why do you want to do this?". Well, I couldn't think of a better answer than just to say I did, and that is not good enough. (thanks for your insight, Reese) I'm still going to do the Las Vegas half marathon (13 miles) in December, but it is a flat course and there are toilets every mile. Plus, because my pregnancy will be so obvious, I won't feel the pressure to go fast.

Belly Shot 13 weeks

Here's the belly at 13 weeks (It feels so much bigger than that!). I took this in the mirror with my phone--not the greatest quality.

And the old shot from 9 weeks. Can any of you see a change??



Mom and Dad skipped work one day last week to climb Static Peak in the Tetons. Mom sent me this photo and I loved it so much I had to post it. They are such genuinely joyful people, as you can clearly see!


My fellow prego friend Elinor (17 weeks) ran the Golden Leaf Trail Half Marathon last weekend. She fell and completely filleted her knee open with 3 miles to go. Here she is after finishing, holding up her hand to block her view of the wound. She went directly to the ER for stitches--what a toughie!! She is planning on doing the Chicago marathon next weekend--we'll see how her knee treats her.

Pictures

Here's a shot of our school trip group on the first night (before the wet sleet/snow covered the camp). It was colder than it looks, probably around 25 at night. We woke up to frozen waterbottles and nobody wanted to leave their sleeping bags. Don't pay attention to the shorts--that student refused to wear pants! (Don't you all remember the days when we were just too cool to wear warm clothes?)

I found this sweet note on the back of the suburban I was driving when we got back to campus. We all had a good laugh.

Sari and I rode our bikes to the base of the Maroon Bells on Sunday before having a delightful lunch in Aspen. She towed her 15 month old daughter, Juniper, in the bike trailer. The Fall colors are absolutely amazing right now and, as you can see, the Bells aren't too bad themselves. (Check out that baby bump!)

I received an email from a friend of mine today, John Evans, informing me of a new cover photo. A year or so ago, we went to Castle Valley where he took photos of Katie Menghini and I climbing Fine Jade. One of the photos ended up on the latest cover of the Access Fund's publication Vertical Times. It will be a while before I can do that again, so it felt good to reminisce about what I could once do. The route was a big challenge for Katie and me




I spent the last 4 days and nights with another instructor and 12, count 'em 12, high school students. We were on a school climbing trip on Independence Pass above Aspen. It was my first trip and I found it quite challenging. The climbing was a cinch--set up a few top ropes, make sure the kids tie in right, cheer them on, etc. It was night time that was interesting--funny how 12 kids appear so quickly when dinner is served and disappear even quicker when the dishes need to be cleaned. It was a lesson in patience, but overall a great time. I love seeing teenagers get excited about climbing and hope that they will continue to pursue it beyond high school. It provides boys with some healthy risk and girls with some much needed confidence.

Another milestone this week--12 weeks! I'm feeling better and better! I am very excited about something--today I received an official "okay" to run a race I've been wanting to do, the Rim Rock Run. I ran it in 2006 and my friend Sarah asked me to do it with her again this year. I will be 18 weeks, and the race is 22.6 miles. The doctor I spoke with told me "just don't compete", but I can do it as long as I take it easy. Yeah! I also registered for the Las Vegas half marathon in December. Mike wanted to do the full LV marathon, so we decided to make a fun weekend out of it. I tried to research endurance training during pregnancy, but couldn't find much info. So, I asked the dad, an ex-OB doc, of one of my students and he gave me the okay.

My sweetie sent me this today, and it completely made my day!! It's hilarious and I just had to share it.

Hallmark Ecard

Getting moving!

My face has returned to normal, my sinus infection has cleared up (thanks to two rounds of antibiotics!), my thyroid is getting back under control, and I am nearing the end of my first trimester. The combination of these things has vastly improved my quality of life over the past couple weeks. I have been excited to run and have done so nearly every day. Last Friday, I was able to do a gorgeous trail run for an hour and 40 minutes (see photo below). The week before, I truly was starting to feel down, that I had no energy to do the things that bring me joy in life. I was feeling absolutely like a sloth and desperately needed some endorphins. I am now starting to feel like me again! Energized, excited about life! I am also starting to love my new job. The kids need my help, and nothing makes a happy nurse like helping someone that needs it. I've been able to utilize my assessment skills and have really learned alot. Today I learned all about the kind of parent I do not want to be while on the phone with a truly unique mother.



I took this photo of Mount Sopris on my run with my camera phone last week. The school where I work is in the valley, and you can see a distinct snow line at about 11,000 ft on Sopris.



Life is so good. Lane and Bing had their babe about a week ago, Hannah and Jarred had Noah just yesterday. Addie is glowing and our baby is quickly growing, nearing 11 weeks. We should be able to hear the heartbeat externally (with a Doppler) in the next week or 10 days, which is very exciting! The photo below is from google images of an 11 week fetus. So cool!

Watch this video.

This man is full of contagious joy. Check out the link, it's worth your time.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zlfKdbWwruY

9 weeks

This is what our baby might look like at 9 weeks. Still pretty alien-ish, but looking more and more human. Its nervous system is beginning to develop, so it has begun to move around, and its webbed hands and feet have separated into itty bitty fingers and toes. It is about the size of a grape right now.

A big congrats to Lane (Myers) and Bing Perrine for the birth of their new son Maddox last night, 8 lb, 20.5 inches.