New Ultrasound and Baby Bump (Week 28) Pics

Leandra had a follow-up ultrasound today to check out some measurements and facial developments that we were unable to view the first time around. Everything looks really good. No cleft palate issues. Heart looks good. The heart beat was 140 beats/minute (see video below). The baby weighs 2 lbs. 9 oz. The due date provided by the computer is May 24, which is a day later than the original date, but I'm sure the baby will come out when it wants to.

Now for the cool stuff. Here's the hearbeat video (not Don Johnson):


Ultrasound pics (by the way...these are all high-res pictures. If you click on the picture to open the larger file, you should be able to print any of them):
PROFILE SHOT

LEG & FOOT


BABY KRUEGER FACE


BABY KRUEGER FACE + FOOT (flexible)


New baby bump pic:


...and if you made this far. Here is why I reference the "heartbeat video" by Don Johnson.

Group Kick Aftermath

Last Sunday I completed my Group Kick assessment video. I was very fortunate to have more than 20 people come to Bob's Gym and spend time in the studio so I could tape myself teaching a class.

Group Kick takes boxing and mixed martial arts concepts and puts them into a one hour workout. There are ten tracks of music that are themed to a specific style. Some tracks target general moves and technique; some focus on cardio; others put it all together into a "fight."

Overall, the class went well. The goal is to complete the full 10-track program in 60 minutes. I did it in 62 minutes. I had a good crop of new people there so I spent a little extra time making sure everyone understood the strike moves...especially the kicks. Afterwards, everyone stuck around for some snacks and refreshments that Leandra and I provided.

While I am appreciative of everyone who came to the class, there are three people who need to get some special props. Mellissa Renfro, Lexie Jones and Brent Woodard are three of the instructors who have let me do some "student teaching" leading up to this point. If it wasn't for their encouragement and opportunity to work in front of their classes, I probably would not have gotten to this point so quickly.

For those of you who saw my posts about Group Kick, especially my family up in Wisconsin, but never really understood what I was talking about, I have downloaded a couple of videos onto YouTube. Out of the ten tracks, I have included tracks 1-3 & 5-8. I didn't include 4, 9 & 10 because they are not as intense as the ones I have included.

It will be a few weeks until I find out if my assessment is approved. In the meantime, you can see what I did. Enjoy!

Tracks 1 & 2: Warm-up and Box


Track 3: Muay Thai


Track 5 & 6: Fight #1 and Super Box


Track 7: Fight #2


Track 8: Muay Thai #2

Future Furniture Addition + Baby Bump

In addition to the crib and dresser/hutch that we purchased two months ago (currently on layaway), we got a nice cushy rocking chair for the baby's room as well. We got it from Baumburger's, which is a pretty nice furniture store. The price was decent (some might think it was still a little high) as it was about 60% off the list price and it was the last one available. We have this on layaway as well for the next month or so.


Oh yeah...and here is Week 27 baby bump.

Belly Bump - 26 Weeks

Ok...it took me 26 weeks, but I got Leandra to finally get a picture of the baby bump. It may not look like much, but it's a pretty solid bump...trust me. I also agreed to not put it on Facebook, but the blog was OK. We'll be doing a weekly pic ewvery Monday the rest of the way.

Leandra had a doctor's appointment today. The baby's heartbeat 146 beats/minute. I'm not sure what that means exactly, but there is a heartbeat and that's all that matters. She was supposed to have some bloodword done to determine if gestational diabetes could play a rolw in the rest of the pregnancy, but that was delayed until the next appointment.

Speaking of the next appointment...we will be having another ultrasound in two weeks. I guess this particular hospital doesn't normally have a second ultrasound (maybe that's pretty universal...I don't know), but because our child was mooning us on the last ultrasound, the doctor wants a new set to make sure everything is developing correctly.

Next week: new baby bump pic.
Two weeks: more baby bump + ultrasound.

USI: Hearts on Fire 5K

On Saturday, February 12, 2011, I officially started my trek towards the SIC Half Marathon by running the USI: Hearts on Fire 5K. I guess you could say that I started a couple of weeks ago since I have been training for about a month prepping for this run. This is only the second organized run I have ever done. I did a 7K run last year, but I'm doing a series of runs leading up to the half-marathon.

Being a cyclists, I have to adapt my clothing for running. My insulated leggings and cycling gloves did the trick. After that, a long sleeved t-short with a short sleeved over that, a bandana and sunglasses. Good to go. One a side note, I wanted to wear a Packer's t-shirt, but they were all XL from my "Fat Dan" days. When I found the Milwaukee Brewers; Racing Sausages shirt...at a large...it was a no-brainer.

I'm not really sure how many people did this run, but it is considered the first run in the SIC series. Knowing that I wasn't going to be taking any awards, I tried to find a spot where I would not be in the way of the real runnners, but not getting held up by the walkers. A little after 9:00 am, with the sound of the gun, we were off.

The route runs pretty much through the University of Southern Indiana campus. It's not a huge campus so you get to see all of it. As a matter of fact, there were areas that I had never seen before so I could at least see something new.

I felt pretty good at the start of the run. My pace felt pretty decent and faster than what I would take onthe treadmill at the gym. There is a bit of an andrenaline rush with everyone being on the road to give a bit of a giddyup.

For the few times that I have been on campus, I didn't really consider the area to be hilly. Generally, it's not. Trying to maintain a pace while running up a hill...even if it is gradual incline... is much different when running.

At the 3K point, I started to get a little tight in the shins and the burn began to set in the legs. My pace dropped off a little bit, but I was still moving.

The best part of the run was the end...DOWNHILL. Not being an experienced runner, my first inclination was to keep my pace and hold up as I descended. I was a little worried to let loose and get my legs tangled and take a digger. Once the downhill set in, my shins were taking a harder pounding than running on the flats as I tried to hold back my pace through the descent.

I thought to myself, "This is dumb. I just gotta go."

I opened it up, extended my stride, and basically sprinted down the hill. It was nice to maintain that final pace as the finish line was at the bottom of the hill.

The official times haven't been posted and I didn't stick around long enough to see a print out. I think I came in at around 27:30 which I am pretty pleased with. I was just happy to be back within 30 minutes. I usuually pace myself on the treadmill at the gym at 5.2 mph. My pace on the course was around 6.5 mph.

That's it for the run. Very pleased with the results. I need to get in more outside running and with the weather slowly getting warmer, that should be happening soon.

My next run is in March for a 7K (4+ mile) run called the Run of Luck.

Taking the Week Off (Kind of)

As I said last week, I decided to step away from the instructional side of Group Kick and use this week to prep for the 5k run I have on Saturday. I still went to my normal classes...in fact I still attended two Kick classes at the gym.

The first was on Saturday. This time around I went as a general attendee. It was nice to see myself in a mirror and make sure my technique was sound. As an instructor, you have to face the crowd so you have to base your technique on feel. For the most part, I feel the same as I did before. Kicks need work...yadda, yadda.

The hardest part of the class was "unreversing" myself. When instructing, I work as a mirror image of the participants. Basically, when I say "Right," I have to display my left and vice versa. Undoing that was a little challenging.

After Monday and Tuesday classes, I ran 3.1 miles (or 5K). I didn't got at a killer pace...just kept it easy. I know that the rush of running in a crowd will increase my overall pace, but I know I won't be winning anything.

Kick on Wednesday was the same as Saturday. I was able to figure the "right/left" issue much better this time around. I had Boot Camp afterwards and called it a night.

I was planning on hitting the gym one more time on Thursday until I realized that I had a bike club meeting (HA!). I got two days of rest instead of one. Can't complain about that.

I'll have an update posted tomorrow after the 5K.

Ready for My Video

I had two opportunities this week to teach a full class of Group Kick and I took advantage of both chances. The first took place on Wednesday evening; the second on Friday morning. Up until this point, I had done groups of songs, usually 5-6, and split the mic time with the instructor. This time around, I was mic'd up for the full hour.

Wednesday went really well. By about the 7th song, I started to feel the burn in my arms and legs from the classes I took on Monday and Tuesday at the gym. I made it through with little problems, but my form started taking a dive as I struggled to get through track 7-8 (which are the toughest tracks on the CD).

This morning I had another shot to lead a class. My biggest concern was pulling myself through another hour. Prior to Wednesday class, I did a one-hour class on Monday and Tuesday, and had all day Wednesday to rest up. For this class, I did two one-hour classes on Wednesday and Thursday with no recovery time on Friday. Stamina would likely be an issue.

I made it through the class and got some nice feedback from the instructor. She had the opportunity to talk to some of the particpants and found two things that were brought up.
1.) I need to give a little better direction on the use of R/L hands and legs, specifically on fast combos. No problem.
2.) I was told my eye contact was a little "weird." Apparently as I am moving around and giving instruction in the front of the room, my gaze can look a little "interesting" as I'm trying to focus on the next move sequence. I can understand it...not sure how to fix it. In talking to the instructor, this is probably a tendency that results from my performance background, where direct crowd connection is always needed.

I think I'm in a good place. There were a few small glitches where I missed a transition as I was working on some directed instruction or I was overthinking the next sequence, but nothing major. I feel I'm ready at this point. I think if I did my video today in class, I could be happy with the final product.

Since I have two weeks until my video, I figure that I can lay low for a little bit. Next weekend, I have a 5K run that I am going to focus on. The following week, I'll probably start reviewing everything again to prep for the video.

Let the countdown begin.