Ann's Running Commentary

After delivering my first child, I decided that most women are just wimps. The entire process was painless. Certainly nothing to make a scene over anyway. I held to this belief for twenty six months, the day my second child came along. Having decided giving birth was easy, I declined the drugs the second time around. I was not like other women; this would not be a problem. Boy was I wrong. Apparently those drugs make all the difference and the other moms are not quite as wimpy as I thought.

It is amazing what a little perspective will do for you. I have been reminded of this recently as I struggle to find the time in each day to get to the gym or fit in a run. For the past eleven years I have been a stay at home mom and have made it a priority to get my workout in first thing each morning. I have preached the importance of finding the time to stay fit. Truth be told, I have been a bit of a know it all.

Suddenly though, there is a perfect storm in my house. My older children and built in babysitters, have both returned to school after their summer break. My three year old, who is still home each day, would prefer to be entertained by mommy. And I am spending more and more time each day in an attempt to launch a freelance writing career. Suddenly, I can understand all of the women who have told me they can’t find the time.

But fitness is important to me and so I practice what I preach. I have to carve out the time and become truer to a schedule than I had to during my non-working years. I also have to compromise. I can carve out an hour or an hour and a half each day but that will have to do. I will have to increase my intensity to burn the same number of calories, but I don’t have the time to spend two to two and a half hours a day at the gym.

As embarrassed as I am about not having had more sympathy for the moms who told me they didn’t have time to exercise, I am also pleased to see that I was, to a certain degree, right. It is about making a choice. It is about making a sacrifice in another part of my life. Beyond that, it is about giving myself a break. Sometimes, one of the kids has to empty the dishwasher. Sometimes, my husband has to run a kid to and from practice. Worse still, there are days when things simply don’t get done.

The lesson is one I have preached but never been forced to apply. The time has always been there for me. Now that it isn’t, I am walking in the shoes of those other moms and finally, I can feel their pain.

Originally published at Irongirl

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