Just breathe....

So I'm getting up in the morning to run now, mainly because if I don't get it over with early, I find excuses not to go.  Plus two days a week I have night classes, so there really isn't any time.  My afternoons are pretty full with getting Henry home, fed, bathed, and put to bed, especially now that he brings us upwards of six books to read every night.  I guess he should just get one, but if you can resist a kid bringing you a book and then getting himself situated in your lap, then looking up at you expectantly, then you're a tougher person than I am.  Or than Ben is (I still maintain that he's a bigger sucker than I am when it comes to that).

But there are some things to remember when running in the morning.  You'll be tired and out of it, because you just woke up.  So it's important to have short-term goals that you can concentrate on, like finishing a mile, or getting to the top of the next hill.  (My personal goal is to avoid lying down on the sidewalk and going back to sleep.  Whatever works.).  However, you need to remain aware of your surroundings, for safety reasons and to avoid falls.  Also, if you are deep in thought, and all of a sudden the sprinkler system you're running past sputters on in a very loud and startling way, you may screech like a girl and come dangerously close to peeing your pants.

Not that this happened to me today.  Or ever.  Although if it did, hypothetically, I think my speed for the next twenty feet or so would rival that of Carl Lewis.  A good scare can give you that adrenaline rush you need.

Anyway, so when I got home, I decided to attempt a yoga DVD.  I have a bad back, so I ordered one specifically for back care, and it has been really helpful.  I figured I could get as much of the DVD done as I could before Henry woke up, then get him set up for breakfast and finish the rest.  He woke up pretty quickly after I started, but seemed to enjoy the entertainment with his meal.  He did finish breakfast before I finished the DVD, so I set him down on the floor to play while I wrapped up my workout.

This made me decide I needed to narrate a yoga workout for those of us with impatient kids.  "Ok, on your next inhale, you're going to lower into plank....on the exhale, a 26 pound kid is going to throw himself across your back....ok, use his weight in the pose...on the next inhale, he will dig the corner of "The Hungry, Hungry Caterpillar" into your spine....use this to focus your energy..breathe....."

It's not the most relaxing thing, but we get to have some fun before he goes to school and I go to work, and hey, my back does feel better.  I'd try one of the kid yoga workouts if I thought he had the attention span for it, but I don't know that Henry's the yoga type.  He currently gets most of his exercise by climbing on things he shouldn't, beating one object on another object, or chasing the dogs.  They do say find a workout you enjoy, or you won't stick with it.  Thank goodness Jack Russells are fast.