After the baby comes...

A friend once said: "You know, after you have the baby, you will actually have the baby..."

At first this got me mad!  It was, in my mind, a nay-sayer sort of comment.  I was so pumped about all the races I was planning and how fit I was going to be again (pregnancy does this to me, makes me feel like I am revving my engines and running on the spot going no where!).  And he drops this negative bomb on me...

But of course now I see the wisdom, after doing it once, getting back out to the races post-baby, I did see the many many issues that present themselves while trying to juggle it all.  I did see how many moms give up, and give in to the endless excuses of why they can't get anything done for themselves.

For me, the tipping point of dropping into the abyss of not being able to do anything for myself (read - exercise  - which is the only "thing for myself" I put any real value into), was full-time work (as a kindergarten teacher!) while being pregnant. 

I think everyone has that point where they can no longer manage trying to do it all. 

But now, I have a full year ahead of me.  I plan on making the most of it (read, getting in a lot of exercise!) because who knows what the future will bring, so you gotta go when you feel good.  This time around I am placing more stress on losing the weight quickly, but less stress on getting in race shape.  I am not going to set any big target races this summer, but will wait a full year to get back into competing.