I am so wishing that I had thought to get my phone ready for a picture yesterday.

Noah had baseball practice last night and I haven’t really been able to go–I’m either out of town or at gymnastics with Zoë.  But gymnastics are done until next week and she’ll be going on Mondays.  So, as part of my lifestyle overhaul–clean eating, no soda, limited caffeine, limited dairy–I have committed to fitting exercise in and I want to fit it in with my family or as a normal part of my day.  I am away from my kids enough when I am at work, I don’t want to take away time I could spend with them to exercise.  I just can’t do it.  So, it’s been hard. When there are limited hours in the day, it is hard to find time.  I have tried getting up in the morning early–that doesn’t work.  I have tried after the kids  go to bed–that doesn’t work as I just want to relax.  So, I am trying to weave it into my regular days.  I will do a yoga class at lunch time and then just eat lunch at my desk (which I usually do anyway).  So, I’m trying–but I will admit only halfheartedly.

I asked my health coach to hold me accountable for exercising–I didn’t do everything I wanted to this two week period–but I did something and that is great.  I committed to doing the C25K program and hadn’t done any yet–so last night I went to Noah’s baseball practice with Zoë and her bike because there is a bike/running trail near his practice.  Zoë would rid her bike while I did the C25k program (walking for 1.5min and running for 1 min–alternating for 20 min).

It was going well–as well as it could since Zoë just got over her fear of riding her big girl bike.  She was in front of me and it was during one of the walking segments.  I was reminding her to stay to the right and so she started steering to the right, but turned her head to the left to watch some older girls do batting practice.  Before I knew it, I was sprinting (as fast as an out of shape, overweight 40-year-old can–seriously, I am sure it looked nothing like sprinting), as Zoë veered off the trail and into an huge overgrowth of bushes.  By the time her bike stopped falling she was completely engulfed in foliage.  She was crying–she was way more scared than she was hurt.  Not even a noticeable scratch of any significance.

After I pulled her out and got her back on her back, all I thought was “I can’t believe I didn’t get a picture.”  I know it wouldn’t have been a stellar parenting moment to take her photo before I hoisted her out of the imprisonment in the bush, but I so wish I would have.

She recovered and was able to finish riding her nearly 2 miles.  I’m sure I am more sore today than she is, considering I exercised more yesterday than I have in a while.

Today I felt the soreness and muscle fatigue on my bike ride to work.  Yep, I rode to work.  I didn’t realize how many bike commuters there are and I almost forgot how many up and downs there are in St. Louis.  This part of the Midwest certainly isn’t flat.