Time of day

Move that body: 5-mile run

I used to believe that the only time of day to run was the morning.

If I wasn’t out the door by 7:30 on a weekday or 9 on the weekends, a run wasn’t going to happen. Period. Maybe, in the afternoon, I might get in a walk but that would only be because I was feeling bad about myself for not exercising.

Things have had to change since Miles’ arrival if I wanted to continue running. In fact, I’m not sure I have ran in the morning since I went back to work. Last week, I ran at 8:30 after he went to bed and at 6 p.m. because I postponed dinner.

And, today, I ran at 4:15 after a long day of shopping for a dress for my brother’s wedding. (Side note: Finding something that is nice and provides easy access to the girls isn’t as easy as one would think.)

It took a bit of getting used to, running late in the day, but there’s a few things that help.

Get in my belly. News alert: Fro yo is the new carb loading. Ha! This afternoon, I had a late lunch and a fro-yo cone at 3 p.m. It was just enough food to keep me going but not so much that I wanted to hurl. When I run later, my dinner has time to settle and when I run right after work, I have a small snack to keep me from eating myself.

Setting the mood. I feel bad when I don’t run in the morning. Not in the “skipping one run will make me gain 100 pounds” but “I feel like a total not nice lady.” And while I don’t proclaim that I’m actually nice, I do prefer to stay married for the time being.

Denali. You’ve heard it before but he motivates me to get out - usually by being the most annoying dog on the planet. Sometimes I run just to wear his @ss out. (Crap. I’m supposed to stop cursing as of today so Miles doesn’t get kicked out of kindergarten. I do it to exert some energy.)

Me time. With Mark in a boot (sprained ankle), I have the luxury of leaving Miles at home. Going out for a run might be the only time I have to myself during the day so I can think about important things – like why am I having wedding nightmares when it’s my brother getting married and my nuptials were nearly 3 years ago.

Bad jeans. I have three pairs of jeans. All of them not in a size I currently wear. They don’t fit over my thighs. And I would rather dump a million dollars buying cute hates for Miles on etsy and not new jeans. 

Fall for it. Hello, lovely weather. The change in seasons makes it nearly impossible not to lace up and get out of the house.

What gets you out the door?

By the way, did you see I ran 5 miles today? It’s the farthest I’ve ran in, like, forever. Or since my second trimester. I really had to work for that last mile but I should be good for Saturday’s Fort-4-Fitness.