Finding the time...

People always ask me where I find the time to exercise when I've got a full time job and two kids. The answer is I make the time because I have to. If I don't exercise -- AND if I don't spend time outdoors -- I get depressed. I had a difficult winter last year because during my pregnancy I was diagnosed with a subchorionic hemmhorage which left me on restricted activity. I wasn't allowed to even lift anything heavier than a gallon of milk, let alone run. I was grouchy, antsy, and cried all the time during the 12 weeks I was stuck indoors, and very surprised Jamie did not sell me on Ebay. (I did, however, use my newly found free time to become a much better cook, which is what probably convinced him not to put me up for sale.)

I probably average 7-10 hours of exercise a week. The average person watches 2 hours of TV per day. I don't. So really I don't think my habit is that time consuming. It just takes some coordination since someone needs to be with the kids. (Other key ingredients are a really good double jogging stroller and a gym with fantastic kids programming and childcare.) I like to exercise in the morning and Jamie likes to do in the afternoon/ evening so we've worked out a pretty good schedule for this winter:

Mondays we both get up at 5 -- he practices music while I run at the gym. He has to be out the door by 6:45 so if I need a longer workout I just have to get up earlier. I make dinner in the evening while Jamie runs.

Tuesdays are the same thing except I run with the dogs and then hit the gym.

Wednesdays are my mid-long run day after work. So he leaves the house at 5 while I get to sleep in. Susie has ballet lessons at the gym at 4 so he gets in a gym workout while she has her lesson and then goes to the childcare for a little bit (Jack is at the childcare the whole 90 minutes or so -- he's a bit young for ballet lessons.) I do crockpot meals on Wednesdays so it's ready when we get home around 6:30.

Thursdays are family gym night. I still get up at 5 and run the dogs and am back by 6 so Jamie can get to work a little early. After work we meet at the gym and he runs outside while I do weights from about 4:30 - 5:30. Then we take the kids swimming for about half an hour and finish off with dinner at the cafe. (I love my gym. They actually have reasonably priced healthy meals -- which means Thursday is also no cook night.)

Friday is rest day. I hate rest days but I'm usually so exhausted by Friday that I can deal with it. Though I still feel like a sloth by the time I go to bed.

Saturday is my long run day. I usually run with DC Road Runners around 8 a.m. while he chills out with them and then takes Susie to her swimming lesson (at the gym.) Then he takes the kids to lunch and puts them in the gym daycare at noon so he can do a workout. I usually meet him there and soak in the hot tub for awhile. (Saturdays can get tricky though depending on what else is going on. For example last weekend I had something for work all day and had to be there by 8:15 so I ended up getting up at 4am for my long run.)

Sunday I give Jamie a break and take the kids out in the jogging stroller after lunch. If I run for an hour with them they will usually sleep most of the way, and they like being outside.

So that is just what we're doing now during tri off-season -- I'm training for a marathon until March and he's working on his 5K time. We'll have to get in another groove once the swimming and biking come into play in the spring. The bike time especially will take some coordination, but I'm thinking the bike trainer in the basement can get some use in the mornings, and swimming may well be happening at 5am. We originally were going to train for the IronMan together but the long rides and runs are too difficult to coordinate for two people so I think we're going to alternate seasons -- that is what we did for marathons this year (he did Marine Corps in October and I am doing National in March.)