Speed Bump

How perfect that Mother's Day falls in May - Exercise is Medicine month. A few thoughts on exercise and motherhood... Mother's Day makes me think about many things - my own Mom and how grateful I am to have her in my life (and not just for emergency babysitting!), and how grateful I am to be a mother to two beautiful, healthy children. Last year was my first Mother's Day with a daughter. And, although I always wanted a daughter, parenting a daughter scares me. I feel like there is a lot more room to make mistakes - for her to rebel and hate me, and for me as a role model to fail. I don't want my feminist ideals to come on too strong, or make her do a 180 against them and marry the first guy she loves at 18; and I also don't want her to think she has to achieve and impress me all her life - she will be my perfect girl no matter what. I worry about these things, maybe more than I should. But one thing I don't worry about in parenting my daughter is giving he...

It's Mother's Day weekend - we deserve an entire weekend, right? Do you have something special planned? Our weekend is centered around running events , which is an excellent fit for Exercise is Medicine month !  We ran a 5K for Mother's Day last year , and I really like this new tradition. Lots of exercise and outdoor time for the weekend -  I am really looking forward to it all. Here's what we were doing two years ago on Mother's Day, and three years ago ...how time flies! And really, every day is Mother's Day with these two... Wearing his bicycle helmet this morning, just because. Some days are easier than others, but every day I am grateful and humbled to be Mom to these two. It's the main reason I keep this blog - I want to remember all the details, the big and small, from my days with C & Iz. I have a bad memory and so this blog is the keeper of my memories. One thing I am realizing more and more with every passing day in t...

Most kids go for the swings or the slide first. Not Charlie. When we go to the park, he goes for whatever court or field is there and wants to play. We target parks with a neglected basketball or tennis court, or baseball field, and he will entertain himself for hours. Izzy will wander around, following in his footsteps. I try to always have a ball of some sort in the car or the stroller for just this purpose. This particular day I forgot a ball, but Charlie made do with the small stuffed bear we had on hand. See the white stuffed bear up in the tree? He almost made it in the basket! He certainly gave it his best try. This little girl may never play with anything but trains, trucks and balls. The baseball diamond at the park was occupied with a little league practice yesterday, so we had to move our game to the tennis court. With all this practice, he is getting pretty good at hitting the ball. He tells me I am the coach and he is the player. If only...

 Running the Hospital Hill Half-Marathon with Ryan, circa 2007. Photo credit: K.Tuttle. 10 things - some new, some old - about exercise and me: 1. I ran my first 5K at the age of 10. Since then, I've run more road races than I can count. 2. In college, I was lucky enough to compete in the historic Head of the Charles , the world's largest two-day rowing event. 3. I had what I'm pretty sure amounts to a panic attack in the open water swim of my first triathlon. Thanks, but no thanks. 4. I've run 9 marathons, including the infamous Boston Marathon. My marathon PR is 3:24:40. 5. My favorite race distance is the half-marathon. 5 and 10Ks are too fast, a marathon requires too much time to train. 6. I am really excited that I get to help plan this upcoming meeting . 7. I'd like to run a marathon with my Dad someday. When I am 68, I hope I can still run a 10K under an hour and a half-marathon under 2 hours like he can. 8. I used to teach spin...

I know about Cinco de Mayo, and even that tomorrow is Derby Day. But I had never heard of  Star Wars Day until today. I've received emails and posts on Facebook along the lines of "May the fourth be with you." I guess I have a lot of geeky friends. Of course I do, I'm a scientist. Big plans for the weekend? Something involving margaritas and mint juleps maybe? Our weekend is going to be full of baby showers, yard work day at the kids' school, and hopefully a trip to the Brookside Art Fair. Will this be the last year we can walk to the art fair? I love this post about the love/hate relationship with kid's toys. Having to keep the house 'show ready' at all times right now made me think of it and I had to share. Izzy is really into books right now and she can clear a shelf like nobody's business. I can relate to the sand issue as well. We could have our own sand box with all the sand we bring home from the park. Yes, Charlie is sporting a...

I don't know anyone that would argue against the benefits of exercise, so let's start this series on exercise with the real issue most people face - lack of time. Here are my best tips on carving out time for exercise in your day. 1. Make exercise a priority.  Take stock of all the things in your life that are important to you - even go so far as to make a list and rank your priorities in order. Where does exercise fall on this list? If you value your health and want to live your best life, then it should be close to the top. Make it clear to those close to you that exercise is a priority and call on your family, friends, and even co-workers, to help you make this happen. Your spouse can watch the kids for an hour, explain to your kids why you need to go to the gym, and grab a co-worker for a walk during your lunch break. 2. Make exercise a habit. This is really key for me. If I get out of the habit of exercising on a regular basis, I have almost...

I played with my new camera this weekend for the first time. I am loving my new toy! These pictures are just on auto mode with no editing whatsoever. I have only scratched the surface on learning to use this camera and I have a long way to go. But just having the lens to focus in from far away makes such a big difference. I can get expressions and looks out of these two that I was missing when I had to get 2 inches in front of them to take a picture. Now they might not know I'm watching...