Wednesday, February 8, 2012

Yesterday, I blogged about what kind of athletics I do and what drives me to engage in them.  Today I thought I’d expand on that by telling a bit about how I’ve manage to fit in my workout routines with my family life.

Thought I have older kids now, three of whom are grown, that wasn’t always the case.  When they were younger, trying to squeeze in working out was sometimes a challenge.  But being determined and having an equally determined walking buddy, back then, helped me put in my weekly mileage.  For twelve years, I walked our surrounding neighborhood several times a week with a dedicated girlfriend who helped me lift my kid’s strollers over curbs, rocks and across streams.  Both of us knew that, left on our own, we never would’ve maintained the same level of commitment to getting out there and walking as when held to the higher standard of letting our friend down if we bailed.  So, regardless of the weather, we got out and did our walks, exploring every street, trail, etc that surrounded where we lived. 

My girlfriend’s children were older, so she had more free time.  Mine four were still young, so I had small pockets in which I needed to fit in our walks.  And that I did.  Like I said, I had an equally dedicated walking friend who had the luxury of time and could bend her schedule around that of when I could break away, one or more kids in tow strapped into their stroller.

As my kids grew, I helped teach them how to rollerblade, ice-skate, ride their bikes, skateboards, etc and would play with them out on our cul-de-sac along with the other neighborhood kids and adults.  Having other small kids and needing to attend to maintaining my household, I was never able to enjoy these play periods for very long, but I took every chance possible to get out and do something physical, figuring that something was better than nothing.  In the end, my methodology worked, and I was able to remain in relatively good shape—not the shape I’m in now, but then, I have more time I can dedicate to working out these days.