I just don’t see a way around it…

I’m going to have to become a morning exerciser when I go back to work next week. Le Sigh.

Do any of you work out in the morning? And I don’t mean the “morning” workout that I’ve been doing on maternity leave (roll into the gym around 10:30 a.m. after all the stay at home moms and elderly folks have finished their workouts). I mean like 6 a.m. workouts. The only appealing thing to me about this is having my workout done for the day and not having to argue with myself over whether or not I’m too tired or too burned out or too whatever excuse I tend to come up with at the end of the day to avoid working out. At my old job, I could run on the trail during lunch time and it was always nice to go home and not have to think about going to the gym.

It makes sense. I have free use of the gym facilities on base ( It’s free! Why don’t I use it?! I think it’s because I’m afraid I’ll look awful compared to military folks who are obviously in way better shape than me. Also, my boss works out there and I feel like it would be weird for some reason.) I need to get over that, and soon. If I want to maximize time spent with my hubby and baby when I get home from work, then morning workouts it shall be.

Yuck. I am so not a morning person. But if I have to get up early anyway, I guess I should go ahead and do it. If I’ve planned everything right, it should only push back my start work time by 45 minutes. Then I will work through lunches and be able to still leave by 3:15 most days.

If you are a morning exerciser, what gets you out of bed and into your workout clothes? I’m hoping that by not making myself get up any earlier than I have to and instead pushing back my start work time by 45 minutes will keep me from hitting the snooze button.

I do still exist (sort of)

The past two weeks have really thrown a monkey wrench into my running/weight loss plan. I wish I could blame it on external forces (some of which I can, I suppose) but some of the blame also definitely lies with me.

Let’s back up a bit.

Two weeks ago – the weekend of the Super Bowl – I woke up late Friday night with horrible stomach cramps. What ensued was 24 hours of horrible, awful, wouldn’t-wish-that-on-anybody puking. And when there was nothing left to throw up, it wouldn’t stop! My best guess is some sort of food poisoning, but it left me completely drained and I needed several days to even feel halfway normal. Picture me attempting to feed my baby by laying on the ground, her in her swing, and me holding a bottle in her mouth. I didn’t even have the energy to stand up. By the time I started to feel back to normal, the weekend had rolled around…and my husband got a stomach bug! Not the same as me, but it definitely kept him out of commission for a day or two so I was on parent duty 24/7.  And THEN….Baby Marathoner got a cold. And that is the worst one of all – not necessarily because she is cranky and miserable (she’s actually quite a good trooper), but because her sleep has been AWFUL. She can go down easily, but can’t stay asleep for too long and once she gets up to eat in the night…forget about going back to sleep. Last week was so exhausting. I never want to repeat it (though I know I will at some point). I tried running last Monday, and could only make it about 2.25 miles before feeling the exhaustion. Between working and it being a busy week anyway, exercise just wasn’t happening. Hopefully we’re turning the corner now…she’s slept well the past two nights and the congestion seems to be lessening. Ugh. You know it’s bad when you think back to something you did last week and it feels like ages and ages ago.

But that’s why I made a 16-week half marathon plan in the first place. I knew I would have weeks where I would need the extra time/rest. So here’s to a brand new week…

… and here’s my little runner at 2 months old. Time flies.

Laying out a plan

It’s no secret that my Type A personality loves to plan. I’m pretty sure when Microsoft developed Excel, they had someone like me in mind (omg – love templates!)

I talked with my soon to be personal trainer last week and she suggested I train 3x a week – once with her one-on-one, once with the treadmill class, and once with another class she teaches (athletic conditioning or boot camp). Normally, I would be all over this. But time with my family is limited, even if I am just working part time for the next 5 weeks. On top of working part time, I decided to go into the office twice a week because I can get more accomplished. As evident on Tuesday, from the minute I hit the door to the minute I get back in my car, I’m working like crazy. So now, Tuesdays and Thursdays are spent on site. This is actually kind of a relief, because undivided attention at home is hard, and I can get in most of my required minimum hours on Tuesdays/Thursdays. Anything else is just bonus hours at that point. Takes the pressure off of meeting the minimum at home.

Anyway, I digress. Like I was saying – I LOVE to plan and I LOVE schedules. I registered for the Colfax Half Marathon a few weeks ago and at 16 weeks out, now seemed like the optimal time to start training. So I kept sitting down all last week to try and write out a training schedule, but I kept getting distracted (or letting myself be distracted…. curse you, Pinterest!) The reality is, dividing my time up between work, husband, baby, and ME takes a lot of effort. I feel guilty if I take any time for myself, even though I know it’s good for me (happy me makes better wife/mom!) Throw in a crazy work schedule and time seems very, very scarce.

With that in mind, I think I’ve finally come up with a solution – at least for the short term until I return to work full time. I am home Monday/Wednesday/Friday mornings, so why not take advantage of it? The gist of the schedule is like this:

Sunday: Long Run

Monday a.m.: Personal training OR tempo run

Tuesday: Off

Wednesday: Treadmill class (p.m.) OR tempo run (a.m.)

Thursday: Off

Friday a.m.: Personal training OR Interval training

Saturday: Off

Since the kiddo is old enough to go to Child Watch at the gym, she’ll get to hang out with the other babies while I work out. Seems like it’s doable (so far…)