The 25th Hour

I know plenty of parents who wish there was more time in the day. And by that, I mean time in the day when the children are sleeping. Because we all know there's plenty of time in the day when they're awake and demanding our attention! Finding time to run is a constant struggle--especially in the winter. Between the shortened daylight hours, the snow on the ground, and the near-freezing temperatures, it's hard enough to get outside to run period. Then there's the added challenge of working two nights a week. In the winter, lunchtime workouts are my only salvation. But throw in several back-to-back weeks of too many lunchtime appointments and commitments, and I find myself constantly juggling and shuffling and trying to figure out when I can get four or five workouts in during the week. Ella has gymnastics on Thursdays, so that night is out. Then there are the two nights that I work--also out because I can't count on being able to sneak in a run. Last week the situation was making me crabby, so I decided one last-ditch effort: the morning workout.

Now, I'm not a morning person. At all. Just ask Dean. Even the girls know by now that I'm not particularly pleasant in the morning. So when I set the alarm for 5 one morning last week, I figured I'd wake up, turn it off, and go back to sleep until around 6:45, thus officially making myself late for work. Instead, I woke up 15 minutes before the alarm went off and headed out the door to the Y. To my complete shock, it was a pretty painless experience. The people who are at the Y at 5 in the morning are all business. Plus, I have slightly more time in the morning than I do over the lunch hour. As I was leaving that first morning, I heard one desk person say to the other: "What kind of person wants to go to the gym at 5 in the morning?" And the other person replied, "The serious kind." Indeed. Or, you know, the insanely busy, can't find a single beter moment kind.

I went again this morning, lest you think this was just a one-off. Lakefront training started today (well, I actually "started" three weeks ago but never really got it off the ground), so I did an easy, almost not worth my time two-miler and had plenty of time.

After we had Ella, I never, ever thought I'd willingly sacrifice sleep for *any*thing. But I guess the life of a parent is constantly evolving, and now that I can more or less count on everyone sleeping at night, an hour of sleep once a week seems like a worthwhile sacrifice. Plus, I have a feeling that once marathon training starts in June, it will be a necessary sacrifice, albeit an easier one when the sun is up and the weather is warm and I can just run outside instead of on the dreadmill. Oh treadmill, how I hate you!

Not the Least Bit Indie: the New Additions to My "Long Run" Mix
Most likely to get me out the door when it's 20 degrees: "Let's Get It Started" (Black-Eyed Peas)
Best pre-race song: "I Gotta Feeling" (Black-Eyed Peas)
Best song for the last mile of a long run when you're totally dragging ass: "Pump It" (Black-Eyed Peas) or "Tik Tok" (Ke$ha)

(My poor indie rock husband is ready to disown me, I fear.)