The Connection Runners

Workin' On Our Fitness

Even though Charlotte has already "run" a marathon, a 10-miler, and a handful of 5 and 10k races with me, I wanted to take her out today to experience some miles while not in utero.

But first, she insisted on doing some calisthenics of her own on this sweet lady bug playmat.

She kicked and punched and wiggled for nearly an hour. Eat your heart out, Denise Austin.

A Mom Secret: I feel guilty when I leave my child to play on her own. When she's awake, I feel like I should be holding her and teaching her Latin or something. But I suppose the bright colors and crinkly texture of Ladybug will suffice. There's always time for Latin later.
p.s. I don't even know Latin. Maybe some half-assed Spanish will have to do.

After she finished up her aerobics session, it was time to get my sweat on. I laced up my Mizunos and took off for the gym first had to feed C, get her dressed, pack up both of our belongings and load up the car. It was definitely quite a challenge to get us both out the door, but (sanity still mostly intact) we did it.

Since I haven't been cleared for any kind of real exercise quite yet, I planned on walking two easy miles today. Our gym allows strollers on its indoor track Monday through Friday mornings which made it easy for me to get moving while keeping us both warm despite the frigid Michigan air.

The gym was filled with mostly elderly folks at midday on a Monday, and Charlotte was a hit with all of the slacks-and-sweater-wearing old ladies and gentlemen who were also out for a walk. They oohed and aahed over "the little baby", and she was only called a boy once. Win!

We walked 22 laps around the track with Charlotte snoozing most of the way while I broke a mild sweat. Totally forgot what sweat feels like. It's glorious. You know what else is glorious? Finally being able to log those laps in my Daily Mile account, something I haven't done in 3 months.

All in all, today's workout was a success. I plan to keep up our walks 2-3 times a week until my doctor gives me the okay to begin running again.

A Birthday Celebration
It's a good thing we got out to exercise today because I consumed about a bazillion calories last night when Erika and Julia and Megan and Ryan came over last night for a birthday get together.

(photo ganked from Megan)

We ate massive amounts of pizza and cheesebread, and Megan made an amazing Oreo pudding poke cake of which I ate a pound of.

To add to our Sunday fun, we watched Empire Records (which is one of the greatest movies ever made) and debated mid-90's fashion.

"What's with today, today?"

When I was about 13, I coveted Liv Tyler's midriff shirt and plaid skirt. Gosh, she was sooo cool.

Also of note: Kevin made a new friend in Julia as they played with Charlotte in her swing, and Megan's bf Ryan got a little taste of babyhood when C decided to take a poop while he was holding her. Magic. I'm sure she's got him convinced to have a babyfriend of his own, now.

It was a fabulous evening and a great way to end the weekend. Thanks, ladies and gents, for reminding me that I can still have adult fun!

Some questions for you:
-How do you get back into a workout routine when you've been away for a while?

-What's your favorite 90's movie? Do you also wish you'd owned a midriff shirt?