Grasshopper New Media Presents...

I had many fears about doing the triathlon. For example, I was worried about leaving a trail of vomit behind me and perhaps finding myself on a Youtube clip. However, my bigger fear was about what would follow the event. I worried that once the triathlon was over, so was my exercise routine. Because of that, my triathlon training buddy and I signed up to do a couple others. The prospect of the triathlon and thoughts of my new smaller clothes flash before my eyes every morning as I contemplate turning off the alarm and going back to sleep.

Fortunately my commitment to exercise has persevered, and I’m still enjoying it, but let’s just say I’m not bolting out of bed in the morning in anticipation. I don’t think it just about being generally tired in the morning. This may sound really weird, but now that it’s nicer outside, my kids and I have been spending a lot of time outdoors leaving me more tired in general. Bring on the snow storms and cabin fever!

The great irony in all of this relates to my kids’ sleep schedules. Normally they are up at the crack of dawn on my day “off” from exercise. On those days, I am not only already not bright eyed and bushy tailed from exercise (and my husband may have started a rumor that I’m…shall I say…not quite as chipper the whole day), but I have also failed to enjoy that precious extra couple hours of sleep. Yet, on days that I do go into the gym, my kids sleep late. Unless I snore like a rhinoceros, in which case I know there would be a video clip on YouTube, I can’t figure out why they only sleep in when I am already awake.

by Alex Elliot

Photo graciously provided by Coyotos, through a Creative Commons license, some rights reserved