Mommy's Uniform

My girls are at the age where they are starting to grasp the concept of time and schedules.  I'm often being drilled with questions in their first attempt to make some sense of the world. 'What day is today? And then what comes after Wednesday? And what comes after that?' And now they are starting to put events to these days. 'On Monday Daddy go to work. Tuesday we go to school. Friday we get pizza. Sunday I go to soccer.' The list is endless. And when they add me to the equation, at no particular point, they typically say, 'And Mommy goes running.' 

In the mornings, on the way to carpool, I usually hear a little voice from the back seat asking, 'Mommy are you going to your exercise class? Or, Mommy are you going running?' It's kind of a silly question in my mind because I'm sitting up there in full workout gear, but then again, it seems at least 6 out of 7 days I'm in my running clothes so how are they to know the difference.

Working out has been an important part of my life - some years less so. With the first few years of mommy-hood under my belt, exercise is starting to take a greater importance in my life again -- hence the new 'uniform'. I find that athletics are good for my self confidence and general well being. I also find that it helps me to have balance in my life - I'm the type that can easily put myself last. 

I would describe myself first as a runner but I cross-train too, to avoid injuries and boredom. To keep motivated and committed, I try to have a goal or a race in the future. My biggest race this year is the ING New York City Marathon. This will be my first marathon. 

In this blog, I will take you on the journey of my training and hopefully motivate some of you along the way by sharing the ways I figure out how to get it all done. As any mom knows, finding the time to do anything for yourself is challenging, particularly when your kids are in pre school and you have three hours to jam in errands, laundry, housekeeping and oh yeah, a run.