Liberty Triathlon Race Report

>> Monday, June 13, 2011

This was going to be my 3rd straight Liberty Olympic Distance Triathlon. Here's some of the major play-by-play:

FRIDAY, JUNE 10TH: PRE-RACE.

5:00 pm: Loaded my bike into my car.

9:00 pm: All my clothes packed. Well, "packed" is a loose interpretation. Maybe I should say "thrown in a loose pile on the chair." I had a few tri suits and lots of different tops to choose from - it was going to be a chilly morning on Saturday, and I wanted to have options.

10:00 pm: Pharmie and I went to talk to the new college neighbors. We could hear "CHUG, CHUG, CHUG.... WWOOOOOOO!!!" though our windows. It might be a year of college kids who like to party next door. But they're all 19-20 years old, so the cops will take good care of them if we need them to. ;)

11:30 pm: Pharmie shoots up in bed and says "I think my water just broke!" I followed her into the bathroom, and she embarrassedly says "Crap - I think that was a false alarm."

SATURDAY, JUNE 11TH: RACE DAY!

3:30 am: Pharmie wakes me up after being up most of the night and says "Yep, my water DID break a while back. You're not racing today, and we're heading to the hospital in a few hours." So after the noisy neighbor kids and the couple of wake-ups from Pharmie, I got a solid 2.5 - 3 hours of sleep on Friday night.

5:30 am: Pharmie and I headed to the hospital at the exact time that I would have left for the race. She got hooked up in the triage room for some observation for a while:



10:00 am - 2:00 pm: Baby had a few freak-outs inside of Pharmie, and we were all just hoping for the best. Our doctor was amazing.

3:00 pm: Started helping Pharmie with contractions on top of a balance ball. Pharmie's Mom was there (who's a Labor and Delivery nurse herself), and she was AWESOME!

6:00 pm: We walked the halls through contractions (2:00 to 2:30 apart, and about 1:00 long) because the doctor needed to see progress by 7:00 pm or Pharmie would most likely need an unscheduled C-section.


Some brief smiles between contractions

7:00 pm: Pharmie showed a little progress - just enough to be left to continue contractions.

9:00 pm - 11:00 pm: Contractions got more and more intense, but there was SO little progress being made. An epidural was discussed, and everyone thought it would be a good solution to help Pharmie get those muscles really relaxed down there to allow labor to progress. (Not to mention that Pharmie was in a lot of pain at this point, and could not have held out like this much longer.)

12:00 midnight: With the epidural in place, Pharmie was able to get a few hours of sleep along with her Mom in the room.

SUNDAY, JUNE 12TH: ADDITION TO OUR FAMILY.

1:00 am: I wandered the halls of the hospital as Pharmie and her Mom slept. One of the nurses grabbed an empty room for me and I was able to lay down. I got 15:00 of sleep and came back out to check on Pharmie. The nurses yelled at me and told me to go back to sleep, so I got another hour of rest.

5:00 am: After a total of about 2.5 hours of sleep, I went back to be with Pharmie. I had helped one of the nurses turn her in the middle of the night, and she was doing well. She probably got about 5 hours of sleep. The best news here was that when the doctor checked, she was at 7 centimeters!

7:45 am: Pharmie started pushing!! We'd been in the hospital for just over 24 hours at this point, and Pharmie got through the first hour of pushing REALLY well. Then it got harder. I was doing all I could throwing wet and cold wash clothes all over her to help keep her cool. Again, her mom was AWESOME to have there to help. Pharmie's a freakin' rock star!!

8:30 am: We saw hair! There was a hairy blonde baby ready to make his or her way through the birth canal to come meet us!!

11:15 am: After 3.5 hours of hard pushing (and just 1 day past the due date), out popped a healthy baby!!! I got to announce "IT'S A BOY!!!" to everyone in the room (while fighting back tears).

Dear blogger friends, allow me to introduce Henry Steven Stenzel:


Henry's first photo (just a few minutes old)


The 3 of us with our amazing Doctor: Dr. Doty




Pharmie's Mom who was a GREAT help through the whole process!


We all think little Hank looks most like his Grandpa (Pharmie's Dad).
They have the same big honkin' fingers!


My folks with their 3rd grandchild


Henry and his mohawk after his first bath


Clean, swaddled, and resting 6 hours after being born

So, like I said in the opening line of this post, "this WAS going to be my 3rd straight Liberty Olympic Distance Triathlon." But there was something better planned for me instead.

129 comments:

Jen 9:14 AM, June 13, 2011  

CONGRATS! He is gorgeous! Best way to celebrate a non-race report! Thank you for sharing Henry's photos with us!

Jamie 9:15 AM, June 13, 2011  

Congratulations! Nothing in the world beats being a Dad, you will love every minute of it! Take care of Mommy and Baby, and thanks for sharing!

M 9:16 AM, June 13, 2011  

Woo hoo!!! Congratulations to you, Pharmie, and your family!! What a wonderful "race report."

caasen 9:17 AM, June 13, 2011  

Beautiful,Beautiful,Beautiful! I am a father of three and a triathlete. Saturday two of my three kids ran the last 1/4 mile with me at Manitiou. Its hard to do 6min mile with kids with you but I would NOT trade it for anything. Congratulations to you all.

Christi 9:18 AM, June 13, 2011  

Congratulations to you and Pharmie! Hank is a great lookin' boy!

swimfin 9:18 AM, June 13, 2011  

Wow! THat is way better than a race report!! Congratulations to you and Pharmie. He's Amazing.

Angela 9:19 AM, June 13, 2011  

Congratulations! It seems only fitting Henry would show up on race day - perhaps that is a peek into his future. :)

SM 9:19 AM, June 13, 2011  

Congrats to the new Daddy and Mommy! Welcome Henry! Your going to have your hands full with your dad and mom!!!!!

Jennifer 9:19 AM, June 13, 2011  

So thrilled for you guys!!! Congrats!

kristen 9:21 AM, June 13, 2011  

That's the best non-race report ever :)

I have to admit- if you hadn't posted this today I was thinking of stalking the triathlon results to see if you had started and finished. Creepy.

Great news and congrats to you and your entire family. Pharmie- you are definitely a rock star. Congrats!

Suzy 9:22 AM, June 13, 2011  

Congratulations to both of you! Welcome to the world Henry. I see a future runner in you. My daughter thinks you are adorable (though she's too old for you).

Kathrin 9:23 AM, June 13, 2011  

Congrats! All the best for the little family!

Adrienne 9:27 AM, June 13, 2011  

Congratulations and welcome to the little boy's club!

Nelson 9:32 AM, June 13, 2011  

Congrats Steve, what a cute little guy! Don't worry about sleep, you won't be needing that for a few months!

Dan Isaacs 9:33 AM, June 13, 2011  

Congrats! Glad everyone is healthy and OK!

My money is on Henry having mastered rolling his eyes at his goofy dad by age 4. :)

Kimberly 9:39 AM, June 13, 2011  

Congratulations! When I saw the blog title, my heart dropped a bit for Pharmie (I read her blog) but so glad your race report turned out the way it did!

TMB @ RACING WITH BABES 9:43 AM, June 13, 2011  

Congrats to you both! He is adorable!

Robyn 9:44 AM, June 13, 2011  

Big big congratulations to all 3 of you!

Anonymous,  9:44 AM, June 13, 2011  

Mazel Tov, as my people like to say! Being a dad is the best ride you'll ever take.

ScottyB 9:45 AM, June 13, 2011  

Great Race Report! Looks like you guys came in first place! :)

Thomas 9:45 AM, June 13, 2011  

Welcome Hank! Congrates Mom and Dad - blessings on your family.

best,
t

Amber 9:45 AM, June 13, 2011  

Congratulations on your baby boy! Best race report ever. :-) And way to go, Pharmie!

Jan in Katonah,  9:46 AM, June 13, 2011  

Congratulations! Parenthood will be one of your greatest adventures. Henry is my son's middle name. Great name. Good luck. Take lots of pictures, because he will grow up FAST!

C 9:50 AM, June 13, 2011  

Congratulations! Little Hank has such a serious looking expression on his face. Too cute.

ActiveEggplant 9:51 AM, June 13, 2011  

Congratulations to you and Pharmie! Babies beat Triathlons any day!

Lauren Starks 9:56 AM, June 13, 2011  

Congrats to your entire family! That is, by far, your best race report ever. :)

cdnhollywood 10:04 AM, June 13, 2011  

That's awesome! Congrats! Boy that brings back memories....

Now you 3 get some rest - you're gonna need it!

Anonymous,  10:06 AM, June 13, 2011  

Congrats!!!! He's so cute!

Alisa 10:07 AM, June 13, 2011  

Congrats Steve and Pharmie!

I'm sure there will be many more posts with many more pictures.

I saw a father and son duo at the triathlon on Saturday and totally thought---how cool is that AND I bet I know people that will do these with their kids someday!

Alili 10:12 AM, June 13, 2011  

Aw shucks, I got a little weepy. Congratulations on the beautiful new addition - boys are awesome! :)

Unknown 10:20 AM, June 13, 2011  

He's a beautiful baby. Congratulations!

Allison 10:23 AM, June 13, 2011  

Congratulations to you and Pharmie!!! What a beautiful little boy!

April 10:26 AM, June 13, 2011  

Congratulations Steve and Pharmie! You've been in our prayers since we heard you were at the hospital! :)

Shelly 10:29 AM, June 13, 2011  

That was the best Liberty Triathlon Race Report blog post I could ever imagine reading!!! Congratulations to you both and welcome Henry!! Can't wait to see him on his first swim/bike/run.

SteveQ 10:32 AM, June 13, 2011  

Congrats! I can see Hammerin' Hank Stenzel now, lining up for his first race, Dad embarassing him by taking pictures while dressed as poultry...

Kelly 10:44 AM, June 13, 2011  

Congratulations! What an adorable baby. :)

Tea 10:45 AM, June 13, 2011  

What a beautiful family! Congratlations!

Kristin Deaton 10:47 AM, June 13, 2011  

Oh Steve he is beautiful. Congrats to you and Pharmie. She is a champ after 24hrs of labor and still letting you take pictures!!! Enjoy your first few days with Hank

Anonymous,  10:52 AM, June 13, 2011  

Congrats, Steve -- you are definitely the winner of this year's Liberty Tri :-) Best wishes to you and Pharmie. He is beautiful. Welcome to parenthood -- nothing tops it! Sincerely, Tracy in Victoria

Trisaratops 10:52 AM, June 13, 2011  

He is just beautiful, and I am crying because I am such a sap!

Love you guys! Can't wait to meet him! :)

Martha,  10:57 AM, June 13, 2011  

Congratulations, Dad! Just in time for Father's Day.

Anonymous,  11:26 AM, June 13, 2011  

Congrats to all! So happy everyone is healthy and happy!

Anonymous,  11:26 AM, June 13, 2011  

Congrats to all! So happy everyone is healthy and happy!

Anonymous,  11:26 AM, June 13, 2011  

Congrats to all! So happy everyone is healthy and happy!

Anonymous,  11:32 AM, June 13, 2011  

Congrats and best wishes to you, Pharmie and Hank! Your life will never be the same, it will be amazing!

Kim 11:38 AM, June 13, 2011  

hank is precious! congrats to the new addition to the stenzel family! give my best to pharmie!

Sarah B,  11:46 AM, June 13, 2011  

Congrats on your very handsome little boy. Enjoy every minute - it goes SO fast! Soon enough he'll be racing along side you both! :)

Heather 11:52 AM, June 13, 2011  

Congratulations on your beautiful baby boy.

Holly 11:55 AM, June 13, 2011  

Beautiful!! Big congratulations to you all.

Lisa,  11:55 AM, June 13, 2011  

Congratulations Pharmie, Steve and Little Hank! It makes me cry seeing you all well and happy. Although my baby days are long past it reminds me that each one is truly a miracle. Well done!!

OzarkTri 11:59 AM, June 13, 2011  

Much love to your family Steve. Awesome report/news indeed! Looking forward to the future of your blog, family and life.

Thank you for sharing it all!

JenC 12:06 PM, June 13, 2011  

Like Sara, I am also crying. Oh, your poor wife! I thought my labor was miserable and it only lasted 17 hours and I only had to push for 3 hours. Congrats to you and your lovely wife! Baby boys are the best!! Welcome Henry!

Christine 12:08 PM, June 13, 2011  

CONGRATS! You sure fooled me!

I started to read you post and thought "Oh darn, he raced!"

Welcome to the world, Hank! It's good to have you here!

Abigailius 12:25 PM, June 13, 2011  

Even if I weren't six days postpartum I'd still be bawling. Nice work! Our children clearly need to get married...that is if Hank can handle an older woman!

Unknown 12:28 PM, June 13, 2011  

Congrats Steve! He's absolutely amazing! Pharmie is a rockstar... please tell her that we're all so excited for her, you and the little man! :)

LB 12:31 PM, June 13, 2011  

He is beautiful!!! Congrats!!!! Now THAT is an awesome race recap!!!! What a beautiful family!

Ironmom (Julie) 12:55 PM, June 13, 2011  

Way to go! Best race report ever!

Marie-Claude 1:05 PM, June 13, 2011  

Beautiful baby boy! Congratulations to you both and Pharmie - way to go. A rock star, definitely! Now go enjoy your new family :D

akRunner 1:09 PM, June 13, 2011  

Congratulations. Best race report ever!

clinton from nc,  1:10 PM, June 13, 2011  

Congratulations!!!
Now the fun starts......

steele 1:30 PM, June 13, 2011  

!!!! Congratulations!!!! What a beautiful baby boy!

Sara Kuglin,  1:51 PM, June 13, 2011  

Thanks for sharing the big event and beautiful pictures! Can't wait to meet him!

Melissa 1:57 PM, June 13, 2011  

Congratulations! He is beautiful. So great to have your family of three now!

Megan 2:08 PM, June 13, 2011  

Congratulations! Very happy for all of you. :)

Katie 2:16 PM, June 13, 2011  

AWwwwwwwww--congratulations!

Jennifer 2:18 PM, June 13, 2011  

OMG, best race report ever! I'm sitting here bawling, even though I don't know you. Our little guy was born 8 months ago and this brought back so many memories. You will love being a daddy. It is freaking amazing.

Unknown 2:19 PM, June 13, 2011  

congrats! enjoy him :-)

Unknown 2:30 PM, June 13, 2011  

Best race report EVER!! Congrats to both of you! I hope PHarmie is recovering and everything is going smoothly!!

Cap'n Tan Lines 2:34 PM, June 13, 2011  

Holy Cow! You made a person! And a cute one too. Congratulations and blessings.

Anonymous,  2:52 PM, June 13, 2011  

Steve and Pharmie, congratulations!! It was all I could do to not scroll down to the actual birth, so exciting! And I love the name Henry...a very honest, strong name. Congratulations again on your beautiful baby boy and future running partner!

Beth 2:54 PM, June 13, 2011  

Just wonderful in every way. Pharmie is a rock star!! You've both shown what a wonderful team you make and you will be incredible parents for Henry. Enjoy it all!

Megan 4:04 PM, June 13, 2011  

Awesome!!! Congrats to the both you and Pharmie, and welcome Henry!!

Unknown 4:17 PM, June 13, 2011  

Congrats!! Henry is darling :)

saroy 4:22 PM, June 13, 2011  

Congratulations to both of you! He's beautiful! :)

Anonymous,  4:40 PM, June 13, 2011  

Gorgeous son! Great family photos! You guys are going to have so much fun with him! Congratulations again! :-) (our post got me all choked up!)

bobbi 4:42 PM, June 13, 2011  

congratulations!! he's beautiful!

Kayla 5:05 PM, June 13, 2011  

Congrats! So excited for you guys!! He's beautiful!

Chris and Amy 5:07 PM, June 13, 2011  

This one made me teary! Congrats! He is gorgeous! And you're right, Pharmie is a rock star! Woohoo! Amy

krystyna47 5:29 PM, June 13, 2011  

He's a good looking punk. I say, keep him!

Sue 5:31 PM, June 13, 2011  

love love love this post! so excited to hear the good news. congrats to you and Pharmie!

bigmike600 6:04 PM, June 13, 2011  

Awesome. Glad everyone is healthy and obviously happy. Super happy for you two. I wouldn't trade raising my 2 sons for anything. Best years of my life so far.

A World of Gratitude 6:14 PM, June 13, 2011  

Congratulations!

I actually had a dream about this last night... ah..the wonders of the bloggy world. :-)

He's a very handsome young man. Best of Luck to you, Pharmie, and your entire family.

Mark Baker 6:44 PM, June 13, 2011  

Congrats on missing your triathlon.

Enjoy fatherhood.

Laurie 7:00 PM, June 13, 2011  

Congrats on writing the best race report of all time!
And, on the cute kid, too.

trimybest 7:06 PM, June 13, 2011  

awesome!!!!! i knew it had to be when you didnt show up at liberty! good job steve and sarah!

oh and steve, eat the shortbread cookies they have out, theyre delicious!

John 7:25 PM, June 13, 2011  

Congrats to you and Pharmie - I have 2 kid and cannot imagine life without them! You are in for a wonderful adventure.

panzershoes 7:57 PM, June 13, 2011  

Big time Congrats to you and Pharmie!!

Unknown 8:09 PM, June 13, 2011  

Congratulations, Steve & Pharmie! That was HOW many hours? Looks like he's built for endurance!

ALB Tri Me 8:21 PM, June 13, 2011  

So much better than writing about standing on another podium! Congrats to you & Pharmie!

Mike 8:32 PM, June 13, 2011  

Congrats to you and Pharmie!

MCM Mama 8:35 PM, June 13, 2011  

Congratulations!!! Great job, Pharmie!

Richelle 8:42 PM, June 13, 2011  

Congrats again to you and Pharmie! Your little boy is such a cutie!

RunningWhit 9:16 PM, June 13, 2011  

Congrats Steve and Pharmie! So excited for both of you.

Julie D 9:24 PM, June 13, 2011  

Ha ha... I thought there was going to be a race report there, but this was even better! Congrats to you both!

Julie 9:27 PM, June 13, 2011  

Congrats! He's handsome!

kxux 10:37 PM, June 13, 2011  

Congratulations to you both. It is great that you are endurance athletes to have stamina to go through such a long delivery. I'm sure the outcome is better than expected. He is handsome and will likely become a hearbreaker.

JimmyB 10:51 PM, June 13, 2011  

Congratulations Steve. The fun is just beginning.

jenez_world 12:33 AM, June 14, 2011  

wow that is fantastic. congrats to you both and i hope pharmie is recovering well !!

Maggs 4:14 AM, June 14, 2011  

Awww... such a cute baby (and I don't' say that about very many babies!) Congrats to all 3 of you.

TriEric 5:49 AM, June 14, 2011  

Awesome race reports Steve. Congratulations on the arrival of Henry.

TriMadness! (Joel) 6:00 AM, June 14, 2011  

Congratulations! Great pictures! Glad both Henry and Pharmie ar doing well!

Karina,  7:18 AM, June 14, 2011  

Congratulations to both of you on beginning the best race of all! May you be granted strength, wisdom, and endurance to do everything you need for gorgeous little Henry. Congrats especially to your courageous wife Pharmie, whose been such a model of gracious strength through her pregnancy, and now through labor and delivery, and whom you've done such credit to. Well done, Mom!

Kirstin 8:24 AM, June 14, 2011  

I'm totally a stranger but love your blog and just wanted to say Congrats...as a mom of 2 boys: it just doesn't get any better than that!

Anonymous,  8:32 AM, June 14, 2011  

Congrats! I was wondering if there was an arrival after a long weekend of no race reports. He's absolutely beautiful and your life will be changed forever (for the good).

Anne 11:21 AM, June 14, 2011  

Congratulations to both of you - he is just beautiful and what a GREAT blog about the whole experience. Thanks for sharing this!!

Rachel 12:38 PM, June 14, 2011  

Congrats on the wonderful new addition! He's absolutely stunning!

Unknown 1:22 PM, June 14, 2011  

Congrats on the newest triathlete in the family! He's adorable!

Makeup Audrey 1:29 PM, June 14, 2011  

Oh wow congrats to you and Pharmie! He is adorable and I love the name Henry :D

Bruther 1:36 PM, June 14, 2011  

Congratulations - triathlon means nothing at this point - nothing else will matter to you - or shouldnt

FinnyKnits 2:57 PM, June 14, 2011  

Super big congrats to you both - he's so handsome! Now, the big question, when will he get his first Speedo?

Ellen 3:03 PM, June 14, 2011  

Congratulations to you both! And especially to your "good sport in every way" wife. Sleep when you can and let the grandparents hold down the fort!

Frayed Laces 4:17 PM, June 14, 2011  

I think some of us were nervous that something was wrong since there was so much twitter silence! Congratulations Mom and Dad---a beautiful baby boy. Steve, thanks for letting us share this with you.

Michael Clark 6:28 PM, June 14, 2011  

Congratulations! I hope you are both caught up on your rest!

Isela 7:58 PM, June 14, 2011  

I would like to add my congratulations to the list :). He is beautiful! Congratulations :)

Sparklinglady 11:15 PM, June 14, 2011  

just a few things: OMG OMG OMG what an adorable little guy! Of course Pharmie is a rock star - nice work!! and wow, your mom is a total hottie!
Congratulations to you all!!!

Jennifer 8:36 AM, June 15, 2011  

Sooooooo happy for you guys!! Congratulations! Thank you for sharing this magical time with all of us. Take extra good care of yourselves and don't be in a rush to 'get back to normal' (whatever the heck normal is when you have a brand new human in the house.) :)

Christopher Hawes 8:48 AM, June 15, 2011  

Congratulations! Good to hear that everything is good. It looks like you guys have a new adventure ahead.

JC 9:08 PM, June 15, 2011  

Congratulations - what a beautiful baby. Savour it ALL!

Regina 10:36 PM, June 15, 2011  

Yeah! Congrats! I think I relived my own labor and delivery reading that, ha! Glad you are all doing well!

SixTwoThree 10:13 PM, June 16, 2011  

He's a handsome little fella with big honkin' fingers! Congrats! Wonderful photos and "race report!"

Kate Geisen 1:12 AM, June 17, 2011  

Absolutely beautiful little boy. Congratulations!

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