Training Plan

A weekly training plan was emailed to 3-day walkers today. Omg - I actually do need to *train* for this thing. I walked 5-6 miles a couple of times in SF before we moved and was actually fatigued afterwards... something tells me 20 miles won't just come naturally to me THREE DAYS IN A ROW.

Today I did the elliptical for 45 minutes - it was 3 miles in total. This fit with the training plan, but how I am going to actually get out for super-long walks with two squirmy children in tow - that is the question. I suppose the dead of winter is not the time to start freaking about it though.

During exercise, it's nice to reflect upon how far we have come in a year. Last year at this time I was pretty darned pregnant and recovering from a bad sinus infection... Tyler was working 80 hours a week (and commuting for almost 12) and Natalie was in daycare, sick for literally weeks in a row, in that crazy-rough 18 month developmental stage. My place of employment was going through heavy downsizing and my job was changing dramatically. We had just found out that my dad had pancreatic cancer. Things really seemed tough.

This year, even when I catch colds from the kids, it just isn't bad like it was when I was pregnant. Natalie and Noah don't have to go to daycare so we can all recover together at home, with nice naps for the kids and no further exposure to germs. Tyler is still working busy season hours but his commute is shortened to 2 hours a WEEK instead of 2 hours a day. He is making it home for dinner on Friday and Saturday nights, no matter how late he has to work the rest of the week... this makes a *huge* difference with the kids. Two and a half isn't the *greatest* of all stages, but Natalie is freaking hilarious, so that makes up for it - today she decided that yet another stuffed animal was named "Mrs. Boots". Tyler said quietly to me "sounds like Mr. Boots is a polygamist" and Natalie piped up with "MR. BOOTS IS A POLYGAMIST." Tyler and I have never had to struggle so hard not to laugh before. I get to hang out with the cat all day (oh, and the kids too) - and Noah is in this time of his life where he just wants to crawl around, so if I sit on the floor near him, he is happy for at least 30 minutes - I can read a book if I want to, and he is thrilled just to crawl around me. I CAN READ A BOOK AT WORK, DID YOU HEAR THAT? :-) Granted, this isn't an option when Natalie is awake ("Mommy! Dress Polly! Mommy! Read this! Mommy! I want something! Mommy! I need you!" This is literally what my day sounds like...) but it's nice for that time when she is napping but he is awake.

If my dad had beaten the odds and my friends were here, life would be pretty near perfect.