But I don't mean silence in the typical meaning of the word. I mean the absence of anyone wanting my attention. I mean no one saying "Feed me" or "EHHHH!" or "She won't share!" or "Did you pay the truck registration renewal yet?" or "So do you want to go to bed? wink wink". I mean the mp3 player blasting in my ear. I mean the sound of my feet hitting the sidewalk. The sound of my own thoughts being the loudest thing around. I mean the sound of my alone time. The time I take to exercise.
I don't really exercise for the sake of losing weight (although, I'm hoping it will be a side-effect) or for staying healthy. Mostly, I do it to get out of the house. It helps me relax. I'm better able to deal with life when I get a break from it. Every other night, my husband puts the kids to bed, and I leave for as long as I want. I walk around the neighborhood all.by.myself. At my own pace. I don't have to stop and wait for anyone to pick up rocks. Or stay vigilant to make sure no one runs out into traffic. or stop to feed the ducks. or argue about whether we're going to stop at the playground or not.
Now, don't get me wrong - I love taking walks with the kids. In retrospect. It just sometimes is nice to not have to worry about anyone else.
So, every other night, I walk laps around our subdivision (He walks on my off-nights). It's about 1.5 mile per lap, and I usually walk 2 or 3. It takes less than an hour, and is a pretty good workout. I aim for 15 minutes/lap, but rarely accomplish it (I'm getting oh-so-close). I have very flat feet and get shin splints if I walk too much. So when I read Kristen's review of the Ryka shoes, I was pretty excited. I signed up to win them, and have seriously thought about just buying some for myself. (If you haven't signed up and you want to, let me know. I'll email you an invite, and we can both get an extra entry!) And now, ParentBloggersNetwork are having another blog blast sponsored by Ryka. Maybe I won't have to buy them after all...
*in the interest of full disclosure, I haven't actually walked in a week. We stopped one night for rain, and it's awful damn hard to start up again. I swear I will walk next time.
Today, i'm going to try to kee up the linky love too. I'll update the list of other participants whenever I get a chance. Check out their stories too. They might inspire you to start exercising.
Because If I Could Make it Peel Off, I’d Be a Millionaire
In the Event of an Emergency, You Can Use My Torso As a Floatation Device
If I Only Had Time, Wait I Mean Motivation
Sadly, I Can No Longer Blame It On the Baby
The Absolutely Bananas Plan For Fitness, Health, and All-Around Beautification
I am going to pick back up next week with my morning workouts...for the same darn reason. I like the silence!
Posted by: Amy W | September 14, 2007 at 07:33 AM
Oh now I am really feeling guilty.........
Posted by: arizaphale | September 15, 2007 at 11:17 PM
I hear you. But I have to get up at 4:30 for my run/silent time.
Posted by: CPA Mom and Soccer Mom Angela | September 17, 2007 at 10:03 AM