Exercise??

It is freezing outside. Utah winters (any snowy, colder than CA winters, actually): the BANE of my existence. I love the season changes, but then I wish they would change back. Yes, I recognize that that is fairly demanding, but well.

So with snow and freezing wind comes a new new set of challenges for me--how to exercise...?? Anyone? Usually I run--that's my torture of choice which, surprisingly, became somewhat of a euphoria this year as I moved up to 5 miles without stopping! I am a runner (Okay, Tera, and all you cross-country-ers, don't steal my thunder right now!)!! And frankly, I would continue running in the cold if it weren't for a 23-pound tagalong named Coren, Sticks, Sticky, Favorite, Most Cutest, Mi'jo, Corencito... or whatever his latest nickname happens to be.

I have a son, and he is very, very, very healthy. I would prefer that he stay that way. So sticking him in a stroller in biting cold weather for hours at a time doesn't sound like such a fabulous idea. Hence, I am housebound.

I could do my runs at night, when Chad gets home from work. But Chad has a chronic condition--he really, really likes me; and so he doesn't really, really like the idea of me running at night in the dark by myself. I am okay with this--he basically lets me do whatever I want all the time, so when he makes the occasional request, I am happy to comply; it gives him peace of mind. Really, as husbands go, I'm not sure there's an easier, more perfect one out there! No, there isn't! So this leaves me with a short two-hour window right around dinnertime to run... and Saturdays are always fine.

In the meantime, on those days when I can't get out and run, I exercise inside the apartment. I have a DVD full of great workouts (and I use great honestly, not sarcastically at all): Biggest loser workouts, cardio blasts, yoga, pilates, dance, etc). These are videos that actually leave me sweating and sore at the end, so they work!

And here drops the other shoe. Coren also loves these videos! He absolutely loves watching his mother running, hopping, lunging, boxing, and contorting all over the living room floor. He loves it so much, he simply has to be in on the fun! So three minutes into my workout, there are little hands on my legs, and there he is bouncing alongside me. When I lunge, he makes a grab for my weights--every time. And when I'm doing crunches, he lays across my stomach and cracks up. He wants to be right where I am, doing whatever I'm doing, or at least attempting it.

So even my in-house exercise routine becomes tricky. But man, it's pretty hard to be annoyed with a little dude crawling across your stomach over and over again while you're trying to finish your bicycle crunches, laughing and patting your face every time he makes another cross. Or a little bulldozer cruising toward you at top crawling speed to grab your feet and chew on your toes while your in down-dog. Oh boy. My boy! So exercise becomes quite the feat during the winter.