One of my dearest relatives asked me about my fitness levels. (not in a comment on the blog though…got more comments there from Brasil and Japan than all family combined :-()
A month ago I happily blogged about my new shoes, stroller and motivation… Soooo. Did it work? Kind of. I jogged today and took the metrics (running for almost 2 miles before needing a walking break, slightly over 5 mph / 12 minute miles – the metric metrics are 3 km in 22 min) … my performance has slightly improved, and my weight now hovers around 148 – 2 pounds less than when I started. That was the good news.
The bad news is, it is not easy getting up and out with Leilani: There is a short window of oportunity, if I start running past 7:00am it gets too hot, and Leilani is not allowed to get up before it is light outside (parental self defense, because if it is dark she has no way of telling if it is 3:00am or 5:30am). Once we are up she needs to go potty – and that takes up to 10 minutes, and both need to get dressed and ready…
But that is not all. Both of us need to be in a fairly good mood, painfree, having had enough sleep (that’s relative). And then there is the motivation factor, all might be perfect, and I could still be lazy. And the weather – no running in the rain with a baby. In the end, we manage to get out about twice a week.
Unfortunately there are further hurdles once we hit the road. Sometimes Leilani gets bored or antsy in the stroller and wants to be carried, sometimes the sun is out (and very low) and shines in her face. We start out by running north (yes, sun is rising NE) and west as far as possible, while the sun is behind the clouds – and turn around right away when it comes out… But I still get in 1 or 2 miles almost every time, and then some walking and carrying the baby – that’s called a cool down and the idiot’s running guide says it’s a good thing.
The next obstacle is stretching. Often I have to disturb Andy and ask him to hold the baby, because with my feet and ankles not stretching is not an option. By then the baby might want to eat, and I am sweaty, stinky and want a shower. Today she played with her blocks while I stretched and then we showered together – she kind of liked it, except when the water was turned on too much and hits her on the back, and I have to remember not to use the peppermint soap. Other times she wants a nap, and I have to lay down with her on the bed (and wash the sheets the same day).
Update 2 days later: Today I tried running again and did not do as well. 100% humidity made me drip with sweat and run much slower, the sun came out 1 minute after we started, and black clouds were looming over Nounou. Still ran a mile and walked almost another one, and got home 5 minutes before the rain started…
