24 hours

I can't remember the last time I was alone. Really alone. No husband. No kids. Maybe never, at least not in the last 3+ years. And it happened. They all left town, leaving me with 24 hours to fill. It was during this time that I recognized that I have a real problem. And no, it's not my addiction to olive bread. All I did was workout. After getting rid of my small companions I went off for a run. I'll admit to a few moments of hesitation but figured I had nothing to loose. Hell a run without them is 92lbs lighter, it's bound to feel good! Living large in the child-free lane I ran down busy urban streets, jumping on and off the sidewalk never slowing to cross the road. I may have even run on the wrong side of the road! And I never once had to stop to help open a snack bag. Once that was said and done I went home and enjoyed a shower with the door shut and allowed steam to fill the bathroom in a way it never does when the door is being constantly opened while my friend checks to make sure I know he's giving me privacy. Then it was off to the yoga studio. I told you, this is about my problem. I could have gone for drinks. To get my nails done. Shopping. For coffee. To the movies. The possibilities are endless and yet I went for double sessions. It gets worse. I went home and made plans for a 5:30am run. I know, I know. It's bad. But do you know what a pain in the ass a morning run is lately? Is the husband going to be home? Is he going to want to run, b/c only one of us can go early? Get out the door fast before someone wakes up, b/c once a kid is up you aren't getting out the door. After that I did go to work for a bit...mind you that was the only reason I was foot loose and fancy free. But it gets dark again. I had a break. A long break. Where did I spend it? At the coffee shop? Did I call and check on my pint-sized friends? No, I went straight to yoga. Yes, doubles again. By 3:30pm I was back at home in the chaos, explaining why dinner cannot just be olive bread and that skunks will not spray through his second story window into his train bed while he is sleeping. So 24 hours off and I can say that I used it wisely Made up for some lost workouts and remembered how nice it can be to be completely alone. Remind me of this in 2017 when it happens again.

YTT weekend 4 - Half way there!

Yoga is about more than your mat. Even if you think you are just there to sweat, you haven't realized it but there is more there. There is always more. I was triggered this weekend. I got pissed. Felt the urge to do what I'm good at. Shutting down an argument. Getting the last word. Proving my point. Holding that grudge. But wait, why am I there? To change. To realize this and let it go. We covered assisting this past weekend and it instantly clicked. First time in this entire expirience it felt right. So why? Why do I love this work that I will never get paid for in a studio? What is the draw. Look off my mat. Look at my life. My life is built on assisting others. It's what I do at home. It's my job. It's how I show my friends love. It's what makes me happy and feel useful. Don't ask for a hug, I'm still not a hugger. Assisting is not doing for. It's not fixing. It's providing support. Providing education. Providing encouragement. Providing love. It's support and then watching people fly.

YTT weekend 3 with Baron Baptiste

I’ve been searching for the words to describe this past weekend and have given up. And I have no pictures to post that show it. It doesn’t matter in many ways because if you weren’t there you wouldn’t understand it. Not only has it deepened my personal practice but it showed me how much this group will mean to me going forward. There have been jokes about our yoga mama and our yoga family but joking aside these people mean something to me. We mean something to each other. I also realized, for certain, that I’m doing the right thing with this training. I’m in the right place. With the right people. At the end of our weekend Baron read this poem and it struck me. Really struck me.

We convince ourselves that life will be better after we get married, have a baby, then another. Then we are frustrated that the kids aren't old enough and we'll be more content when they are. After that, we're frustrated that we have teenagers to deal with. We will certainly be happy when they are out of that stage. We tell ourselves that our life will be complete when our spouse gets his or her act together, when we get a nicer car, are able to go on a nice vacation,or when we retire. The truth is, there's no better time to be happy than right now. If not now, when? Your life will always be filled with challenges. It's best to admit this to yourself and decide to be happy anyway. Happiness is the way. So, treasure every moment that you have and treasure it more because you shared it with someone special, special enough to spend your time with...and remember that time waits for no one. So, stop waiting --until your car or home is paid off --until you get a new car or home --until your kids leave the house --until you go back to school --until you lose ten pounds --until you gain ten pounds --until you finish school --until you get a divorce --until you get married --until you have kids --until you retire --until summer --until spring --until winter --until fall --until you die There is no better time than RIGHT NOW to be happy. Happiness is a JOURNEY, not a destination. So -- work like you don't need money, Love like you've never been hurt, And dance like no one's watching. Author unknown

YTT wekend 2

Inhale. Exhale. Inhale. Exhale. Big breath in and let it out. Reach up. Fold. Halfway lift. Fold. Arms all the way up. Hands to heart. Breathe. Over and over til my shoulders ache and creak. How's the yoga stuff going? You like it? Questions I struggle to anwser, so give a brief and enthusiastic yes. Time away from my family means time at the studio with strangers who are quickly starting to feel like family. High highs and fierce anasana's accompanied with nerves and fears of unknown and not knowing. There is no control. Get used to it. Be comfortable. Let it all go. Describe it, I can't. I'm doing it. Working at it. Breathing through it.

Weekend 1 complete

I am not sure where to begin. Overwhelming is certainly true in all aspects - physically I was pushed close to my limits, we hit a point where I stopped counting hours of practice b/c I couldn't keep it straight. A little Real Worldish - 20 yogi's placed in a room and we'll see what happens when people stop being polite. Information. So much information. My brain hurt as much as my abs by the end. Emotionally it was tough - I'm rarely away from my family for longer than a handful of hours and never for days in a row, I learned very quickly that they are my life force and when I'm away for days at a time it hurts. Guilt. Lots of it. Shit comes up on your mat. It just does and it did this weekend. Use the breath. Ego checked hard when I struggled with student teaching. Loving acceptance and instant forgiveness. It's all a learning curve. Powerful - Oh man, hitting my own unexpected walls. Watching others hit and overcome their walls. Amazing, simply amazing. Arm balances. Holding crow for 3 breaths for the first time. Ever. Attempting other crazy shit and laughing when we fell. Pride. We were all there. Starting something real together. Achieving something together. Dirty - 21 hours in a hot yoga studio with 20 other yogi's. Enough said. I can see how this experience has the potential to be transformative. I can also see where I'll be tested. 1 down, 7 to go.

And it begins, WSPY Teacher Training

Teacher training starts in a little under 4 hours. Am I ready? Not quite but given this is the first nap for my 3 year old in months I'm allowed to goof off a little rather than deal with the mountain of chores I should tackle including packing a bag. This blog has covered everything from running to tri training to pregnancy to motherhood and god only knows what else. For the next 15 weeks I expect it - and most other aspects of my life - to revolve around yoga. 9 of the next 15 weekends will be spent in the studio in training. I'll share my experiences and thoughts along the way. I'll admit to some butterflies going in, I'm not sure what to expect. Not sure what we'll be doing, who I'll be doing it with and what the final product will feel like. Doesn't help that the list with what to bring included pain relievers!!! I need this though, in so many ways. Time away from my life, my phone, diapers...all of it. Nap time is ending so that's all for now. I'll keep you posted along the way! Ran for an hour this morning

Knees, stupid knees

So my knee hurts. Not sure why, haven't changed much or amped anything up. Lets compare today's reaction to maybe 5 years ago with no kids. 5 years ago: I would have likely already taken a week or so off of running. Likely would be hitting the spin bike hard. Would have already arranged for PT eval and would have signed up for every other day sessions for the next 6 weeks. My entire list of running friends would have been consulted for their diagnosis. Coaches would have been emailed, maybe even a podiatry appt scheduled to have my inserts tweaked. Today: I've ignored it for the last week. Keep toying with taking time off but since running is not only by stress reliever but also my main form of socialization I keep going out. Today I actually thought about taking a spin class and realized that I can't do that with my crew of little one's so packed up and headed out for a run with the beast. No time for PT, nor am I interested in the co-pays that would accompany those sessions. Haven't texted about it, my phone is full of babysitting related messages. As I type I have a frozen cookie monster boo-boo buddy on it and this would be the first time I've iced it. What's my plan you ask? I'll probably keep running til it gets worse or goes away. Oddly enough it doesn't hurt during or immediately after, so who knows. I thought about blaming aging but then I remembered that I'm only 29 as my son insisted that I was really in my 50's. Ran 3 miles today

Who has time for this??

Blog? Oh that's right, once upon a time I blogged with a bit more regularity. My excuse? There is the baby who is up like clockwork at 5:30am, really 4:30 but I refuse to go in that early. I lay there and pretend to sleep until she threatens to wake up the boy then I scoot as fast as possible to scoop her up and silence the alarm. Then there is the boy. Oh the boy. Lets just say that nursery school starts in 2 weeks and it can't come soon enough. I love him, I really do, but we need some space...time to miss each other. Joking aside, life is a whirlwind. I can't tell you if I'm coming or going. Every week starts and I wonder how we will survive and then before I know it we are celebrating suriving yet another week. My sense is this is life now and we just have to get used to it. Running? Yes, I'm running. It varies week to week, no training plan but I aim for 3 week day runs and usually hit them all with distances in the 4-6 mile range. Add to that a weekend "long run" which has been anything btw 5-7 miles. I should go longer but need beach season to end. Um, also we are owed a round of applause. Not only am I runing with pretty good regularity but Joe is getting out there as well. Yes, you read it right...2 kids and we are both running! Difficult feat but we are pleased with some small tangible baby steps. What's that? When am I going to come up with a training plan for that spring marathon I keep hinting about? Patience please, I need to get in a few 10 milers before I feel like I can commit. Yoga is going strong, 3ish classes a week. 2 weeks before that training takes over my life and I think I'm underestimating the impact it will have. Ignorance is bliss right? Ran 3.5 miles today

200 YTT...here goes nothing

I'm gearing up for my 200 hour teacher training program at Wayland Square Power Yoga. I feel like this has been something on the to do list for a number of years and the fact that it's finally going to come to fruition is a little wild. There have been any number of reasons why I didn't do it sooner and the story as to how I ended up with this program is one for another day. Regardless, here I sit with a month to go and a world of doubts. I mean really, I signed up for a program that requires my total attention 8 full weekends over 14 weeks while trying to manage 2 small kids?? We are the definition of a hot mess at our house, all of us! So then why am I doing this? For the last year and a half I've been introducing yoga to kids and love it. This certification will allow me to continue with this work and also expand to working adults and older adolescents. Going in and introducing kids who have never experienced yoga and watching it click for them is something else. Listening to them tell me that they taught their parents and siblings the breathing exercises is really what this is all about. Seeing kids develop a healthy sense of self and grow in confidence week to week gives me a sense of fulfillment that is hard to find elsewhere in the professional world. Most importantly I'm at a crazy time in my own life. I need yoga now more than ever, the quiet, the focus, the clarity, all of it. So I can't do handstand and my sandskrit pronunciation is laughable at best but yoga is about expanding personal boundaries and testing limits so here goes nothing.

Save the Bay Recap and what's next

Fail on my part, Save the Bay was over a week ago now and I've been absent. No worries! It was amazing, great event. One that is already penciled in for a repeat performance next year. So it's hard to recap a swim event, unlike running once you get swimming things zone out. Morning of was nothing but laughs, ball busting, and photo-ops with friends. No nerves, just smiles all around. I knew I had put in the work, joking aside there was no question that the day would go without issue. Hardest part was at start of swim trying to hook up with my trusty kayaker. Once we found each other, or lets be honest she found me (I had given up and was ready to bandit with someone else's kayak) I just started to swim. The water was like glass, easy breezy. Yes there were jellies, yes there were other creepie-crawlies and they only made me swim faster. I started to get cranky about 3/4 of the way through and thankfully that's when Melissa started to get more excited. With running you get cranky and slow your pace maybe walk a bit, with this I would sputter a bit and just keep swimming. Nothing else was going to get me out of there. Official time was 1:11:03, just 1 minute over my estimated time. Forgot my garmin, but a friend clocked in at 1.9 miles so who knows how far I actually went. This might go down in the books as an annual event. I've been a bit bummed ever since finishing, it was one of those events where I really loved not only the lead up to but the day itself. So what is next? Too be honest I'm not sure. Had toyed around with a spring marathon but not sure I want to go there just yet. I'm running 3-4 times a week and never more than 6 and having a good time with it. I've been accepted to a yoga teacher training program and that starts in Sept!!! Every time I think about this I get excited and queasy all at once, it's going to be wild! I have to get my personal practice in gear, both at home and in the studio. So far doing well with 2-3 classes a week, the home practice is a work in progress. More on the yoga in another post, I have a lot to say and am still formulating it all. I don't know if I can do that and marathon training, at least not without Joe threatening to leave me. And I will sheepishly admit to not swimming a stroke since Save the Bay, ah well, happens to the best of us! 1 hour of yoga today

Good for the soul

It's crunch time, a week and a half before I risk my life going across the bay in nothing but a wet suit. Nevermind the 399 other swimmers, my personal kayaker, and coastguard support. And yes, there is a god damned whale somewhere in the bay, just waiting to eat me. The pressure is on to get more comfortable in the open water. We hit up the pond last week and things went ok. Minor panic attack in the beginning but settled in. Not smooth enough that I could call it and stay in the pool, so this morning we headed back out to the pond. We had a newbie with us, who needed some reassurance. Did I complain about pond scum? What about the snapping turtles the size of my table with biting teeth and a taste for toes? Water snakes anyone? Nope. "An open water swim is good for the soul, easiest mile of your life." I lied through my friggin teeth. Misery loves company! So 5:30 rolled around and we quickly found ourselves on the beach. After some minor hesitation we headed off. No panic this time, I might as well embrace it. Soon the sun started to come up over the trees and it truly was beautiful. Peaceful. Newbie swam back and was amazed at how nice it was. She was right. It was quiet. You could get lost in your thoughts, zone out. Struggles with a sick kid faded away; stress about work and sleep deprivation all forgotten. We hit the first dock in no time at all and ventured out for the far buoy. Wrapped things up back on the beach, 1.5 miles in total. A needed dose of peacefulness before hitting the chaos that is my current life. Swam 1.5 miles

Just a regular run

To give you a taste of my current life, here's a run down of how today's run went. Planned start time of 9:30 in Bristol. 4 hours of sleep total and not straight lead to what can only be described as a very bad morning. 8:40 I begin to panic because there is no way I'm going to get everyone out of the house in time when my phone buzzes and my friend is going to be late. Start time pushed to 10. Spend the next 30 minutes getting my son to poop, my daughter in a clean diaper, do breakfast dishes, move laundry around and pack 15 snacks for the run. Yes, 15, my son is a diva. Finally make it into the car and to Bristol right on time. While we are waiting for my partner in crime to show up my son crawls up and down rocks by the water. Several times I'm sure this activity is going to end with a split chin but no blood actually happens. Partner in crime shows up about a half hour late, during which I realize that the sunscreen is at home and it's 85 degrees out and full sun. Great. It then takes us a good 10 minutes to get 3 kids locked and loaded and run to commence. Just when we get the kinks out and everyone, including the 80lb dog, is running in stride my daughter begins to wail. I try to ignore her in hopes that she'll suck her thumb, my son tries to tell her to stop crying and she only gets louder. We hit the turn around and then find a bench where I can nurse her. Lets not discuss that I have on 2 of my tightest fitting sports bras. Commence 20 minute intermission in the 4 mile run that is going to last all day. After the intermission everyone is happy, except the dog, he doesn't want to run anymore. Next 2 miles features my son begging to get out of the stroller and dog slowing to a walk. Finally 2 moms, 3 kids and 1 dog roll to a stop at the end of the bike path. Just a regular run between friends, and our kids. Ran 4 miles today.

It always feels so good

My working out has been totally derailed by the angry 4 month old who lives in our house. My compounded lack of sleep is becoming a major problem. I have no laughter in me around this subject and if one more god damned person sees her in public and comments on how happy she looks I might punch them. I told you, we have a major problem. That combined with the fact that my do.everything.with.mom.pal has relocated, it's been a rough week or so. I'm out there but missing some gumption. Nothing to do but get out and run. Finally last night the terror from upstairs took some pity on me and kept quiet most of the night. What do you do when your baby is still snoozing at 5am? That's right, you get out of bed and hit the pool for 5:30. Thank god for friends who are excited to get that "let's go, I'll be there" text. It's Thursday so the Mom Posse was missing but we got it done, torn swim cap and all. All my moaning about no sleep, I will say this, I'm feeling strong in the water. Less than a month to go for Save the Bay and I'm not too nervous. That day I'll be signing a different tune. This morning was strong, warm up, some kicking which could have gone on all day while we discussed dresses and then 100 pull/100 swim x5. I think my pal thought we were done after that and there was a brief moment where we thought about a cool down but instead went for 5 fast 50's to get the sweat factor up there. It was just what I needed. It's so easy to skip a morning workout and go later but there is nothing like that feeling after a hard am session. I'd love to say that I'll be there again tomorrow but I have no hope. Swam for 45 mins today

Lets catch up a bit.

Almost a month since my last post...sorry about that. Often I thought about posting but then you know how it goes. Regardless, I may not be blogging much but I'm on the workout train. Where to begin? Running? Yep, and it's feeling good. Have been attending track on Wednesday nights and have to say I've fallen back in love with track. It may have something do to with the fact that track gets me out of doing bedtime but the reasons don't matter. I almost came close to shelling out cash for a sitter so I could go this week but had no luck. Times on the track are good, 8 min pace for most everything and ending every workout with the last set closer to 7:30. Unlike the past where I'd go out too fast and then suck wind, I've found the sweet spot and am just enjoying it. Overall mileage is a bit all over the place. Good weeks I'm close to 20, other weeks closer to 10. At some point I need to get a bit more serious about distance but for now this works. Having trouble committing to any races, I think this is a reflection of the state of my life. Our home life has reached a level of chaos that I have trouble putting into words so to add a training plan to that would likely be futile. Swimming? 2 times a week with my Mom Posse. New recruits are joining weekly including a Dad and friend with no kids, might need to rename our group. I should go back to open water swims, even once a week would be helpful but just as I should get more serious about adding distance to my runs, I'm in no rush here. Overall feeling strong in the water, most workouts are around 2000 yards. I continue to hate circle swimming, although spend most mornings sharing a lane with at least 2 sometimes 3 others. Ugh, the things I put up with in an effort to get out of the house and enjoy uninterrupted adult conversation. Yoga? Yes to that as well. TT will start in September so I'm feeling the pressure to get stronger/more confident with my practice. Also feeling like this needs to bump either the running or swimming and be more of a focus but struggling with how to make that happen. It's all about balance. So that's where I'm at. Life with 2 kids is wild. Swam for 45 mins today

workout, parent, repeat

Alarm goes off at 5am, I jump from bed and settle in for an early morning pumping session. Manage to make it to the pool for a 5:30 start time. Half of my swimming crew is faster than me so when we circle swim it means that I basically swim continuously until it's time to end it. I'd complain, but we have less than 2 months before I'm to swim across the friggin bay so this was needed so I don't die during that event. Out of pool at 6:30 and home by 6:45. Chaos begins. Day includes building enormous train set, laundry, meals for both kids throughout the day, managing naps, trip to swimming lessons, laundry, play date with friend, picking up trains, realizing I forgot a meeting, managing tantrums from both children. Needless to say 5pm rolled around and I really considered not going to track. It's cold and windy and my people weren't going. Cue 3 year old tantrum...not first of the day either...I very quickly find my running stuff and load us into the car. Husband meets us at track, we do the social thing for a bit, he leaves with both kids (I silently cheer as they drive away) and workout begins. Wait. Another workout? Damn it. 3x1 mile with 4 minutes in between. Ready set go. 8:20, good but too fast considering the last one should be my fastest. 8:19 good but I'm really doubting that I can go faster. 8:10 total score and big props to Michelle who ran along side and pushed the pace with me for all 3 miles. No time to waste, husband has a board meeting at 7:30. Leave track at 6:30 arrive home 6:45 to baby screaming. Nurse baby and put baby to bed while husband argues with 3 year old about turning on his "poop machine". I can't make this stuff up folks. Kiss husband good bye and shove dinner down throat while kid finishes Thomas movie. Don't judge until you have multiple children. Brush teeth, change into PJ's, commence never ending bedtime saga. 8:11 all in bed and lets breath. House is a mess, lesson planning for tomorrow needs to happen, but here I sit blogging instead. And tomorrow it starts all over again. Swam 2000 yards Ran 4 miles Changed 37 diapers...not really but felt like it.

1 step forward 2 back

In many ways I feel like we are finding our way with this whole 2 kid thing. Everyone is sleeping, we are all still breathing and laughing most of the time. I feel physically like my body has recovered. Strength is returning and workouts are enjoyable. I'm almost ready to set some definitive distance goals for the fall and next spring. Feeling fairly confident that I won't drown in July going across the bay. Life is almost good. But then in other areas I feel like I'm barely treading water. After my son I felt like too much changed too quickly, I thought this time around I did things right to avoid that feeling. Wrong. Here I sit suddenly (at least for right now) a full time stay at home Mom. I'm not going to get into which role is harder, for me I'm best out of the house at least some of the time. I love what I do for work and and happy when at work part time. It'll get there, patience is the key and things are moving and shaking so I need to just hold tight for the time being. But that said being at home full time is hard. Very hard. I'm not great at it. Joe is traveling more and that sucks for all of us. People keep saying to us that we are in the thick of it. They are right. Life with a 3 month old and 3 year old is no joke. It will get easier, maybe not easier but more balanced. Maybe. In the meantime we are hanging in. It feels a lot like stumbling in a dark cave, I'm not quite sure what we are doing or if we are in the right direction. But I felt this way about my fitness and my body a month ago and am now feeling strong and back in control, so here's hoping the rest of life falls in line with the same ease. Swam 2000 yards Ran 5 mile track workout

Once upon a time

Once upon a time I would run track on Wednesday nights and then NEVER think about running the following Thursday. And then I had kids and realized that the jogger brought peace and quiet. An outdoor activity that doesn't involve me pushing a swing or pretending to be a train. So it really doesn't matter how tired the legs might be, a run gets everyone out the door and into fresh air. The break is provides is only 2nd to a nap, which sadly by the way is moving toward the extinct list in my house. Once upon a time I would insist that I could only run first thing in the morning and NEVER after eating. And then I made Mom friends and found that you get more company at 10:30am rather than 5:30am. Oh by the way, if running is your break in parenting then you are going to go when you are sick of parenting. My favorite times are now mid-morning and late afternoon. I don't care if I've consumed a foot long sub, everyone starts whining and we are hitting the pavement til it's quiet. Once upon a time I swore that the single jogger would be the end of me. Then I had 2 kids and realized that pushing 1 is nothing compared to 2. Today was lucky enough to only have 1 with me and it was heavenly. Ran 4 miles today

Back on the track

It's been 11 months since my last track workout, and I haven't missed it. There comes a point though, where you run out of excuses and have to return. Just as a surefire way to get me out the door in the morning is to pump, I'm a sure bet at track when both kids are melting down. You want me to run 1200, 2x800 and 3x600 fast enough where I consider puking and it means I don't have to deal with dinner or bed? Sure, need me to run it twice?! Joking aside it wasn't as terrible as I anticipated. Ran within myself, not having any real clue where I would be coming off 11 months of no speed work. In the end I'm happy I went, saw many old familiar faces and got in some laughs. If my legs didn't hurt I'd walk across the room and download the Garmin data and break it down. But the legs are sore and I've already poured my wine. Laps were consistently between 2:05 and 2:10 and I was fairly right on throughout the whole workout. I'll take it. Tomorrow will be an easy 3-4 miles with the kiddo's making this the highest mileage week to date! I don't do a lot of quoting of the kid on the blog but have to share that he honestly thought that Meb would be at the track and is demanding a Meb shirt. Adorable, I know. It's what keeps him alive at this point. Ran 4.5 miles today.

Here I come, ready or not

I have found a sure fire way to ensure that morning workouts happen, I just have to make it to the pump. As long as I pump I'm going to workout regardless of who is there. I don't care about the weather, how terrible I might feel, how tired I am, how comfy by bed is or any other excuse that typically keeps me in bed. In the past I have been known to get completely ready for a workout, get in my car and change my mind and go back to bed. Totally unreliable, but thankfully there are few people who will agree to 5:30am workouts so the workout invites keep on coming. Once I pump I am completely useless to my household. Breastfeeding mothers are the original food truck. Once the food is gone, no one cares where the truck goes to restock. Today for instance, I had just finished pumping and both workout buddies cancelled, no problem. I was still in the pool by 5:34am (a new record by the way). A half hour in I got a little lazy and thought about skipping the last few sets, then I saw the time. Only slightly past 6, the baby would be looking for a meal and I have nothing to offer. All the motivation I needed to just keep on swimming. Swam 2500y Ran 3.2 miles

A day for the record books

It didn't start out bad, and I'm not sure I can pinpoint where I lost control. Lets just say the day ended with a lot of poop, an exploding toilet and the husband leaving work early after a very pathetic phone call from home. All I wanted was to melt under the bed and forget today ever happened. Too bad it was only 4pm and both kids were wide awake. So what do we do? Hit the pavement. We loaded up and started to run. My son spent some time trying to negotiate ending the run almost as soon as we started, "you look tired Momma, lets go back to the car". Once that approach didn't work, he sprinkled the road with goldfish. And I wonder why we have to buy the extra large $8.99 container every week. At least we'd easily be able to retrace our steps. Just as I hoped, with every step I could feel my body relaxing. I was able to laugh at my son and forget about the power struggles that almost did us in earlier in the day. I was serenaded by the ABC's sung at the top of his lungs and received some interesting looks from other's on the Blvd. Little do they know it's all about preventing the meltdown and if screaming the ABC's at the top of his lungs while turned around facing me in the jogger means we get to go a little further...by all means sing away my friend. 4 miles passed relatively quickly and I had one more hill between us and the car. A perfect time to let him loose and avoid the hill. We spent the next quarter of a mile running side by side. He was Speedy Spencer and the babe and I played the role of Thomas and we chuffed right along pretending to be on the island of Sodor where toilets don't explode and Mom's don't seriously consider running away. Ran 4 miles today.