Recovered

Ivan's first birthday is just around the corner and I can finally say I'm back to 95% of my old self. Physically, emotionally, and psychologically.

Damn it feels great. It took longer to recover from pregnancy the second time around. I was so busy with moving, work, and two children that I didn't have as much time for good quality exercise. Sure, grocery shopping and breastfeeding burns calories but it doesn't do much for building muscle and endurance. My lifestyle was basically turning me into a caffeine slurping squishy mess. Skinny, but squishy.

A few months ago I started riding my bike to work which is about 10 miles round trip. I started out twice a month. Yep, you read that correct. I didn't enjoy it in the beginning. I wimped out constantly and told Jesse that I was just too tired. He reminded me that if I kept it up I would eventually have more energy than before. And I would remind him that I'm sooooo tired.

I VERY GRADUALLY increased to 6-8 times a month. I give most of the credit to discovering the shower at my work and having good music on my iPod. I'm very proud of myself. And guess what? I have a lot more energy. I must also mention that I weaned Ivan nearly 2 months ago and I felt some energy return from that as well.

Lucky me, I work with a few people who are into fitness and Jesse has also been exercising a lot this summer. Hearing about their long walks, bike rides, and marathon training has rubbed off on me. A few months before I got pregnant with Ivan I was running 3-5 miles a few times a week. I decided it was time to start building up to that again. And Jesse even said he would run a 5K with me next month.

I bought myself a decent pair of running shoes and I went running 4 times in the last week and a half. I feel fantastic! I feel so good that I honestly can't wait to go run again. So, if you have been telling yourself that you don't have the energy to work out (like I was), make the time to do it and I promise you will have more energy soon.

Oh, and one more thing. If you're reading this and you're currently pregnant or have a newborn baby I say, take it easy. In fact, demand that someone rub your feet RIGHT NOW.

A slower pace of life

I've decided that I want to try riding a bike to work (weather permitting). Every day I see people riding their bikes on a nice bike path while I drive. Oregon is a very bicycle friendly state with bike lanes on most roads. I want to take advantage of my new city for all that it has to offer. So, I took the bike out today to plot my 4.5 mile course and make sure that I won't be late to work on Monday by getting lost. It was an incredibly beautiful ride because the bike path parallels the Willamette River for a mile. Now that's how I want to start my day!

The only problem is that I'm a little out of shape. I really don't understand why. It's not like I finished college, gave birth, moved to a new state, and started a new job in the last six months or anything. I really have no excuse for not finding time to exercise.

Excuses aside, it's time to do something about the lack of physical activity in my life. I now have a desk job. I sit on my butt for most of 40 hours a week. If I don't "build in" some physical activity to my daily routine I will get squishy-er and squishy-er. My behind is already about as firm as a Krispy Kreme doughnut. I don't know how much softer it could get but I don't want to find out.