Race Day
This morning was the first race we've run as a family... all four of us! It was just a 5K, but neither Hari nor I are in the shape we used to be in, and it was hot as Hades (and humid too!), and (of course) the second half of the course was mostly uphill. I don't know why, but all race course designers must be serious sadists because I have yet to run a course that isn't uphill for most (if not all) of the 2nd half of the race.
Strangely enough, it is technically the second race for both boys. I just realized this morning as we were driving home that I ran a race while pregnant with each of the boys. With Colin it was a little more impressive as I ran my first half-marathon while 12 weeks pregnant. That may sound like a big deal, but it honestly was pretty easy because I had been training so well before I found out I was pregnant. I didn't do a ton of running, but was cross training like a mad-woman, working out on average for 2 hours a day. The only hard part with that race was the constraint of running with a heart-rate monitor on and slowing down to keep my heartrate under 140. I kept seeing people ahead of me, but I couldn't pass them because of the "governor" I had and it made me crazy. I kept ticking them off in my mind: I could beat him, I'd be ahead of her if not for this stupid machine, what - SHE'S ahead of me??? It was great motivation, although frustrating too, and in the end I had a decent time and felt great throughout.
With Ryan I stayed in shape but wasn't able to train the same way I did when pregnant with Colin only because of scheduling. I couldn't just spend all my free time at the gym any more - I had a little guy to take care of! Hari and I traded off a lot, and Colin spent a ton of time at our gym. Our standard schedule was for Hari to meet me at the gym, play with Colin while I worked out for an hour, then he'd stay and catch a workout and I'd take our little guy home and get him to bed.
And while I wasn't in half-marathon shape I still ran my annual autumn 5K with Sydney. I kept up my training throughout my pregnancy, and was working out right up until delivery (although I have to say, I didn't do combat the morning that Ryan was born... slacker!).
Since Ryan things haven't been so breezy. Hari now works an hour away, so I'm lucky if he gets home in time for me to take any classes at the gym, or even hit the gym at all. Most nights by the time he gets home I'm putting the boys to bed, or if we're lucky we have time to take the family over to the park for a half hour, then it is baths and bedtime, and I typically end up falling asleep while putting one of the boys to bed, and there's another night with no workout. Poor Hari isn't doing any better - his fitness is... well... even worse than mine right now. By the time he gets home (after driving over an hour each way to work, along with all the usual stress that work brings) he's wiped out. He manages to hold it together for a little while, but by the time I'm putting the boys to bed he's usually wiped out and half asleep on the sofa if not snoring outright!
Yes, pathetic. Yes, we both need to get motivated and find a way to start working out again. Yes, we both need to prioritize our health so we can be good parents for our boys and set a good example for them. But it isn't easy and we just haven't figured it out yet. Frankly I keep trying to think of how to get it done, and short of getting up at 4:30AM I'm not sure how I can start working out regularly.
Because of the above this morning we were two middle-aged, out-of-shape people trying to run a 5k on a hot, muggy morning with 80 pounds of boys/stroller to push. We (thank God!) ended up in the middle of the pack, trading off the stroller from time to time but struggling the whole way. It wasn't pretty and neither of us are proud of our time or the way we finished the race. But we did finish, and as Hari always says: we didn't get out of shape in a day and we won't get back into shape in a day.
My hope is that we can both take today as a motivating factor and start prioritizing our health and get back into fighting shape. I have professional photos taken from when Hari and I ran our half-marathon together (my goal after I had Colin was to run my 2nd half marathon before he turned one). I look at that picture and I'm amazed... the photo was taken about half way through the race, and I am smiling and look like I don't have a care in the world, and Hari looks very relaxed and calm. After probably 8 miles we both look like everything in the world is just fine... today I doubt either of us could log that kind of mileage without serious threats.
SO... after a frankly embarrassing morning, and the realization that my pants don't fit the way they should and my waist is a bit larger than it should be... this is my declaration: I WILL get back in that kind of shape. I don't have an exact plan yet, but I've finally reached the point where I'm no longer willing to just let things slide. It will be a long road I know, but as I work my way back I'm going to remember that I'm a distance runner... I am no good at sprints, but I'll stubborn my way through anything. This included! Fitness isn't a 100-yard dash. It is a marathon that I intend to enjoy for the rest of my life.
Strangely enough, it is technically the second race for both boys. I just realized this morning as we were driving home that I ran a race while pregnant with each of the boys. With Colin it was a little more impressive as I ran my first half-marathon while 12 weeks pregnant. That may sound like a big deal, but it honestly was pretty easy because I had been training so well before I found out I was pregnant. I didn't do a ton of running, but was cross training like a mad-woman, working out on average for 2 hours a day. The only hard part with that race was the constraint of running with a heart-rate monitor on and slowing down to keep my heartrate under 140. I kept seeing people ahead of me, but I couldn't pass them because of the "governor" I had and it made me crazy. I kept ticking them off in my mind: I could beat him, I'd be ahead of her if not for this stupid machine, what - SHE'S ahead of me??? It was great motivation, although frustrating too, and in the end I had a decent time and felt great throughout.
With Ryan I stayed in shape but wasn't able to train the same way I did when pregnant with Colin only because of scheduling. I couldn't just spend all my free time at the gym any more - I had a little guy to take care of! Hari and I traded off a lot, and Colin spent a ton of time at our gym. Our standard schedule was for Hari to meet me at the gym, play with Colin while I worked out for an hour, then he'd stay and catch a workout and I'd take our little guy home and get him to bed.
And while I wasn't in half-marathon shape I still ran my annual autumn 5K with Sydney. I kept up my training throughout my pregnancy, and was working out right up until delivery (although I have to say, I didn't do combat the morning that Ryan was born... slacker!).
Since Ryan things haven't been so breezy. Hari now works an hour away, so I'm lucky if he gets home in time for me to take any classes at the gym, or even hit the gym at all. Most nights by the time he gets home I'm putting the boys to bed, or if we're lucky we have time to take the family over to the park for a half hour, then it is baths and bedtime, and I typically end up falling asleep while putting one of the boys to bed, and there's another night with no workout. Poor Hari isn't doing any better - his fitness is... well... even worse than mine right now. By the time he gets home (after driving over an hour each way to work, along with all the usual stress that work brings) he's wiped out. He manages to hold it together for a little while, but by the time I'm putting the boys to bed he's usually wiped out and half asleep on the sofa if not snoring outright!
Yes, pathetic. Yes, we both need to get motivated and find a way to start working out again. Yes, we both need to prioritize our health so we can be good parents for our boys and set a good example for them. But it isn't easy and we just haven't figured it out yet. Frankly I keep trying to think of how to get it done, and short of getting up at 4:30AM I'm not sure how I can start working out regularly.
Because of the above this morning we were two middle-aged, out-of-shape people trying to run a 5k on a hot, muggy morning with 80 pounds of boys/stroller to push. We (thank God!) ended up in the middle of the pack, trading off the stroller from time to time but struggling the whole way. It wasn't pretty and neither of us are proud of our time or the way we finished the race. But we did finish, and as Hari always says: we didn't get out of shape in a day and we won't get back into shape in a day.
My hope is that we can both take today as a motivating factor and start prioritizing our health and get back into fighting shape. I have professional photos taken from when Hari and I ran our half-marathon together (my goal after I had Colin was to run my 2nd half marathon before he turned one). I look at that picture and I'm amazed... the photo was taken about half way through the race, and I am smiling and look like I don't have a care in the world, and Hari looks very relaxed and calm. After probably 8 miles we both look like everything in the world is just fine... today I doubt either of us could log that kind of mileage without serious threats.
SO... after a frankly embarrassing morning, and the realization that my pants don't fit the way they should and my waist is a bit larger than it should be... this is my declaration: I WILL get back in that kind of shape. I don't have an exact plan yet, but I've finally reached the point where I'm no longer willing to just let things slide. It will be a long road I know, but as I work my way back I'm going to remember that I'm a distance runner... I am no good at sprints, but I'll stubborn my way through anything. This included! Fitness isn't a 100-yard dash. It is a marathon that I intend to enjoy for the rest of my life.
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