The Penultimate Week. I’m not looking forward to it being over. I’m actually a little worried about what I’m going to do next. But first I have a week left of early morning workouts and a 2k race “at” Fools Fest. It took me like 2 years to figure out they call it that because of its nearness on the calendar to April Fools Day. Pretty clever, guys.

This morning was Race Day on the training plan, which I’ve been doing on Saturday mornings. The timing is usually a blessing and a curse. Generally, all I want to do on Saturdays is sleep in, but I also have more time to recover because I don’t have to head straight up to my computer and get to work, so having the hardest workout on Saturdays is definitely the right move for the household.

However, this morning was especially difficult to get out of bed. The little one was up for a solid hour and a half overnight. Who knows why. Teeth, brain development, stubbornness – it could be a lot of things. He’s fine. Not sick. No cause for concern. So if I didn’t get up and get the workout done, I’d have to figure out another time to get it done today or tomorrow. That’s partly out of stubbornness on my part too. Once I make a plan, I don’t like to change it, particularly not last minute. Quarantine has suited me well in some ways because of the near complete control I have over my own schedule and tasks, unless children throw me a curveball. I did the workout. I didn’t feel all that great, but I put in the work, and now it’s done.

Parents prioritize their kids. Workout plans come second and results suffer. It’s just the way of things. It’s why I’m  MOMlete, not an athlete. If I was getting paid big money so that my kids would ultimately benefit from my peak performances, it would be a different story, but this is essentially a self-serving endeavor. Don’t get me wrong: I think it’s important for me, for MOMS to have their own things and take care of themselves, and that Mom mental health is really important to kid mental health. But my performance suffering on a random Saturday morning due to lack of sleep caused by my small child having trouble sleeping just doesn’t matter that much, as long as I don’t let it matter that much. I still got up and did my thing, and I feel good about what I accomplished. 

So here’s the tally. Kid prioritized: check. Mom’s mental and physical health seen to: check. Mom got an afternoon nap while baby napped: also check. Win-win-win.