Scheduling time for exercise

My life is about to get a whole lot busier, at least for the next 9 weeks.  I've taken on a part time freelance gig that I honestly couldn't be more excited about...I'm over the moon with anticipation and glee and the thought of getting some precious office time and meaningful conversation with other adults, not to mention a chance to utilize my skills and talents outside of the child rearing realm.  Call me crazy, but I am SUPER excited at the prospect of going to work.

That being said, I just spent the last hour trying to put together a workout schedule for the next 9 weeks.  I'm on the verge of hitting "print", knowing that the schedule will likely change a gazillion times, but I'm the kind of person where if I don't have something scheduled on the calendar, it's not going to happen.  And not running or working out is just not an option.

So, over the course of the next 8 weeks (I decided the last week in May would be a good, solid time to end my schedule, rather then venturing into June), I will be running 3 times a week: on Mondays, I will alternate between a tempo run and a "fun run", where I intersperse things like pushups, mountain climbers, planks, lunges, etc. along the way.  On Wednesdays I will be running trails (woo-hoo!) and Saturdays will be my long run days.  I am also going to attempt a Pilates workout at home on Wednesday evenings.  Tuesdays and Thursdays will be Zumba and strength training, alternating between upper/arms and lower/abs.  On Fridays I will work on my yoga home practice and do the 20/20 workout or another HIIT type workout, and on Sundays I will do Pilates.  Sounds ambitious while working 20 hours a week and taking care of a 3 year old full time, no?  Well, ambitious I am.  And somehow, I will make it work.  It's just that important to me.

I would love to get advice and thoughts from those of you who juggle employment/parenthood/exercise on what has and hasn't worked for you.  I know I will have to be flexible, but I also know that exercise is a top priority.  So, how have YOU made it work?

Shaking it up!

With my latest half marathon behind me, and my next one (ahem) 5 months away, I am ready to shake up my workout routine a bit - okay, a lot - and see what kinds of results I can get.  I've learned that the best way to move past a plateau or see a change in myself is to change what I do.  So, I plan to do a little experimenting and hopefully have lots of fun, sweat and laughs (not necessarily at my expense) along the way.

Right now, my weekly routine looks something like this:
Monday - yoga / run
Tuesday - Zumba
Wednesday - strength / run
Thursday - Zumba
Friday - strength
Saturday - long run
Sunday - rest (usually involves a walk; sometimes I do my long run on Sunday & rest/walk on Saturday.)

My strength workouts consist of Cybex machines, free weights, squats, lunges (sometimes), and a core routine that varies but usually includes some combination of planks, crunches, situps and the medicine ball.

I don't want to give up yoga and I don't want to give up Zumba.  I can give up some of the miles in my running, but I don't want to lose too much momentum and have to start at square one for half marathon training.  I'm thinking about perhaps incorporating an interval type workout into one of my weekly runs, where at various "stations" I'd stop to do pushups, mountain climbers, burpees, planks, etc.  That fun routine always incites lots of comments and looks of sheer horror from joggers and walkers along the route.  I could also turn one of my weekly runs into a trail run; in fact, one of my fitness goals for the year is to spend more time in the woods, and honestly, trail running uses some different muscles (not to mention mental agility!) that road running doesn't, so I'd likely see some results from it.

What I REALLY want to explore is HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training), like the Tabata method, CrossFit, Blast 900, etc.  I keep hearing and reading that interval training involving fast, powerful bursts of energy with very brief recovery periods is the golden ticket to burning fat.  I am also dying to try TRX at the Y and Barre Sculpt at Dance Stop to see if I can gain more definition in my muscles. Oh, and Piloxing...I almost forgot how much I loved the trial class I did late last year!  A pilates/kickboxing combo?  Does it get any better than that??

If time and money were no object, I'd join all the local studios and take classes every day.  Fortunately, there are free trial classes available for most everything, and even more fortunately, I have the Hot Mama's Definitive Guide to High Powered, Fat Burning, Muscle Sculpting Workouts from my friend Stacey.  (The title is my brainchild - you can thank me later, Stace.) Time to print those pages out, maybe invest in a Gymboss & hit the gym! 

Seriously, though, it's high time for me to get creative and put together a new weekly routine that will have me ready for pool season in approximately 2 months.  Any suggestions or advice you may have, bring it - I love to learn from the best.  Happy HIIT-ing!

My discovery (or, how I keep myself sane)

I've discovered that my attitude is in direct correlation to my activity level.  Sedentary = crabby.  Active = happy.  For the most part.  Exceptions do occur, such as being sedentary at the beach.  Vacation is a whole different mindset.

I discovered this today, when my plans for a grand "Tour de Chattahoochee River Area Parks" with the lil' guy were washed away by drizzle, wind and cooler than predicted temps; unfortunately, weather.com got it wrong again.  So, the toddler and I stayed home.  ALL. DAY. LONG.  I was okay when we were doing activities like reading, or playing trains, or constructing a NASCAR-esque race track for Matchbox cars out of a hula hoop, and when I was busy cooking or cleaning up.  During the lulls, like when said toddler refused to take a nap and I allowed him to watch Thomas and Berenstein Bears instead, I was bored outta my skull and grumpy.  When I decided on an impromptu game of "Hot Potato" using first a balled up sock, then a bouncy ball, then an actual potato (not hot, mind you), and we really got into it, running around the living room and tossing the objects back and forth, I was happy as a clam.  See?  Physical activity = one happy mollusk mama!

All day I was looking forward to Zumba tonight as an excuse to get me out of the house and burn off some pent up energy (and calories).  Oh yeah, and as an excuse to dance.  Barely 30 minutes into class, one of the staff members from the Playcenter at the Y came to get me and said the lil' guy was really upset.  I found him red faced with huge tears streaming down his cheeks, and he ran to me and clung to my leg.  Let me tell you that this NEVER happens.  In fact I don't think it has EVER happened, not even when he was much younger.  Turns out he was okay, just wanted his Mama for some unknown reason, but who can argue with that, right?  Nonetheless, I had to stop mid-merengue, put my mommy game face back on and walk out of there, dripping ponytail and all, carrying my 30-something pound mama's boy.  I was NOT happy.

So, my mood having turned from euphoric to bitter, I went home, performed the required amount of snuggling and put the lil' guy to bed.  Then I sat down with a glass of water and a catalog and tried to relax.  Nothin' doin'.  It didn't work.  I was angry, frustrated, and just generally PO'd that my precious hour of endorphin releasing cardio had been taken away from me.  STOLEN.  So, I got in the car, made the 5 minute drive (I may have run there if it weren't dark!) and marched my still slightly sweaty booty back into the Y.

After an hour and a half of weights, the medicine ball, a pilates ring (thank you, Lord, for that brilliant invention), some quality stretching and a few yoga poses, I was back to my old happy, bouncy, nothing-can-phase-me self.  Mission accomplished.  And realization discovered.  I. Need. Activity.  Unless I'm sleeping, or unless my toes are dug deep into the sand.