I’m a typical stay at home mom. What I mean by that, since no we are not all the same, is if you saw me in the grocery store, you wouldn’t peg me for what I’m about to become for the first time in a few weeks: a triathlete. You’d probably notice that my kids were leaning out of the car cart they were in attempting to lick the floor and possibly succeeding. (Please don’t tell me if they were.) You may notice me looking around frantically as I’m trying to find my new inhaler for exercise-induced asthma and then remembering that 1) it’s appropriately in my gym bag which is not with me, and 2) despite repeated, meticulous reading of the instruction manual, I have yet to find “child(ren) licking floor of public building” as one of the listed indications for using the inhaler.
About a year ago, I decided the time had come to get back into shape. Maybe back into shape is a strong way of putting it, because I hadn’t really been “in shape” since before I gave birth to my older son and that’s even pushing it. The problem is that I really didn’t identify with the exercise gurus in magazines and blogs who wrote about how they only ate carrot tops and parsley or whatever they were claiming was the sure way to excel in fitness. Didn’t their preschoolers have a cookie dough drive at school? How did they fit in time to exercise? More importantly, could they help me find the time? Seriously had they never gone through a McDonald’s drive-thru?
This past year has been about learning how to get in shape while being a parent and being true to myself. Honestly, I’m all for eating healthier, and I have been, but I also want to try some of those cookie dough drive cookies. Nothing is perfect and I’m still working on how to balance it all and how to commit to training when my schedule isn’t always predictable. How to figure out how to fit my bike in the trunk of my Honda CRV so I can take it through the preschool pick-up line with my younger son strapped in his carseat, and the stroller in the front seat so that after picking up my older son we can drop the bike off at the shop for a tune up on the way to swim lessons. Let me tell you, it is quite a drive.
I’m Alex Elliot, and I am a professional mom to two boys, 4.5 and 21 months as well as two cats, a dog and the former owner of an ant farm.
Alex Elliot also blogs at Formula Fed and Flexible Parenting.
Photo graciously provided by antiguan_life, through a Creative Commons license, some rights reserved
[tags]asthma, parenting, triathlete/tags]
4 responses so far ↓
Todd Tyrtle // May 1, 2008 at 4:27 am
The last thing I wanted to do after being away from my son all day was to go spend another hour at the gym. What works for my family is integrating exercise into our daily life. In fact, it is the taking the desk jobs and moving to suburbia driving everywhere (what choice do we have?) that causes much of the weight problem we have in North America.
Sage has taken to walking and using the stairs more (we live 300 feet up in a highrise so this helps more than you’d think). I switched from taking public transit to cycling for most of my day to day transportation and lost over 30 lbs.
So that’s my suggestion. Don’t drive the bike in the trunk to pick up the kids, get a trailer like this one (http://flickr.com/photos/therileyclan/475066669/) and pick them up yourself. Start doing your grocery shopping on good days using the bike. You’ll be surprised at the difference it makes.
InTheFastLane // May 1, 2008 at 9:36 am
As a working mom, I don’t want to spend more time away from my little one as I need to and my older ones are involved in so much that trying to run after work would be crazy. I have to fit it in early in the morning, when the family is still sleeping. It is what works for me.
Alex Elliot // May 1, 2008 at 11:42 am
Thanks for the comments! Thanks for the suggestion Todd Tyrtle. Unfortunately, my bike was broken hence the need to drive it to the shop a few towns over where it was repaired for free.
Megin Hatch // May 1, 2008 at 6:52 pm
Welcome, Alex. And a huge and hearty congratulations on jumping into the world of Tris. Although I am on (cough) hiatus from everything right now, I actually started blogging a few years ago because I was training for a sprint Tri. I felt great and made time for all sorts of training. I think the keys are having a specific goal, and, if at all possible doing something that you love.
I am really excited that you’ll be here writing about your adventures and providing those of us with lazy bones to get back up and move!
Welcome to GNMParents!
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