Without a running partner
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: active, lifestyle, partner, running, sleep
Leave a Comment Today I was in the park with Mateo and ran into my running partner. I have been feeling a bit guilty about not calling her when I have gone running the past few weekends, but I know I would not have been able to keep up with her due to this pregnancy. I didn’t tell her that was why I hadn’t called (I haven’t been sharing the fact that I’m pregnant with everyone I know, still waiting for the first trimester to be complete for that), instead I told her that my time of day was inconsistent (which is also true)…. Her reason was better: that she wants to sleep or read the newspaper with her free time. Good choice especially since she is caring for two little girls under the age of 2 1/2. She mentioned that she missed the activity though and I began to think about it. She is active in her life anyway so missing these morning runs won’t affect her health that much. Same with me, I lead a very active lifestyle even without my added running or workouts. And that is the point, the goal in life, to be active. It’s not just about exercising for an hour three or four times a week. It’s about being physically active on a daily basis: to create an active life. Then if you miss a workout, it doesn’t matter so much, well to the mental health maybe, but not the physical health, not so much. And sometimes taking time to sleep or read the newspaper is also very important for the mental health.
Vacation
Filed under: playful fitness | Tags: beach, cuban, jump, miami, toddler, vacation
Comments (1) We returned from a short vacation on Monday. After four days of riding around in a car, it felt great to be moving again: right back into a whole lot of walking and teaching the Toss Your Toddler dance class, with all it’s running, jumping , falling and rolling, stretching, and then walking more; this was the same day that we spent on an airplane coming home.
On vacation it was really difficult to keep active. It was hot and not at all like here in Brooklyn where we walk to get everywhere; Miami was all about driving. Driving to the beach where I did light exercise: Mateo and I jumped in the waves, ran from the waves, swam in the waves (well I sort of swam with him firmly suctioned onto me like a starfish.) One day we went to a pool and I swam a bit more, both with Mateo and without. Mateo challenged both myself and Guillermo by having us dive to the bottom of the pool and retrieve a toy. He thought that was a lot of fun, Guillermo also enjoyed it. I however, am a bit fearful of my head being under water and get a bit panicky, so I only dove to the bottom twice.
The day before the pool we didn’t get to the pool or the beach, we got lost on the Miami highways and went many miles out of our way. Mateo had a nice long nap, but woke up ready to get out of the car and run around. We decided to pull over and let him out for a few minutes at, what I believe was the Ziff Ballet Opera house. Mateo wandered around a bit, then I started doing a little jumping to get him jumping. It was a brick sidewalk with names of patrons every few bricks in a predictable pattern, so we jumped over the names of patrons. Then Guillermo joined in and we began to compete to see who could jump the furthest from a standing still position(Guillermo). Then added a run and jump. We did this as a family for about 15 minutes, maybe more, we had a great time and then Mateo sat in the car so we could go to a restaurant and eat delicious Cuban food at Versailles.
The Problem with Independence Day
Filed under: playful fitness | Tags: exercise, independent, jump, nanny, sit
Leave a Comment The problem with independence day is now we sit when we go to the park, which is nice; usually we are tired, the mamas, not the toddlers. So today I met my friend and the kids played and we sat. Cadman Plaza park was full of kids and nanny’s. The nanny’s sat, benches and benches full of nanny’s, some sat on the steps surrounding the plaza, and yes, here and there, were mothers sitting. Not all, but most. We sat.
What kind of an example are we setting as we sit? What kind of role models are we? Playing and running around is for kids. Adults sit. Oh sometimes the adults exercise, but that is the time for the child to leave the adults alone so they can do the all important EXERCISE. Exercise is something adults have to do, not so much something that is fun to do. Something they have to do to make up for all the time adults spend sitting. Running around a park and having fun, that’s what kids do.
But then I noticed kids sitting all in a row, 6 or 8 of them. And what were they doing? Watching. Watching some adults play tug of war!
Later we did stop sitting, we joined our children in a game of jumping off a tall wall, one by one, two by two and four by four. That was exercise and a whole lot of fun.
Father and Son
Filed under: playful fitness | Tags: dance, dancing, exercise, exercise partner, father, son, tennis
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Today, after spending the morning cleaning, I carried the scooter for 2 hours around Fort Greene Park. At one point I was carrying my son and the scooter, since he refused to walk up a hill; I guess the hill would look very large from the height of 33 inches. Part of the time I chased my son while he chased a ball. The ball would roll down the hill as he intended it too, but then a kind citizen would stop and catch the ball and hand it to Mateo, he would then do it again, because he really wanted the ball to roll far and all those people kept on thwarting his plans. His father, Guillermo, was playing tennis. Then 5:45 arrived and with it my time to rest, while Mateo and Guillermo played tennis together. Mateo was really too tired, but he wanted to play with Papa.
I think Mateo’s tennis skills are amazing, unbelievably amazing for a two year old. Of course I am his mother and, as such, I am biased, but his hand eye-coordination really is quite good. He spends so much of his time being active with me, I really enjoy having the opportunity to step back and watch his father and him play together, tennis or anything really. I like being able to sit back and enjoy the way they have such a great time playing together.
I remember when Mateo was much smaller, Guillermo world turn on the music, loud, and dance and jump around the apartment while holding a younger Mateo: supporting his bottom with one hand and holding his hand with the other. Around and around they would go. Laughing and smiling until Guillermo was too tired to do any more, but Mateo would insist and they would dance some more. I was usually busy cleaning or doing dishes while they did this, but I would always watch and enjoy their enjoyment. They did it again this weekend, Mateo didn’t want to, he was busy playing with his marble maze, but once they began, they kept on going and having a great time, marble maze forgotten.
Guillermo and Mateo dancing
Before I had started teaching the Sling Your Baby dance class, it was actually Guillermo and Mateo who did most of the dancing around the apartment. I was just too tired to move mostly, so in many ways the idea for the class came from watching them together and seeing how much of a workout it can be to dance and move while carrying a 15 pound baby, and it’s so much more fun than traditional exercise; your exercise partner is right there with you from his (or her) birth.
Independence Day!
This afternoon I met with a friend in Cadman Plaza park and our children played. For the first time we sat, while they played, and stayed sitting! No chasing the toddlers, no refereeing toys, no mamas hovering. We sat and we talked and we sat and we talked, full conversations without being interrupted by either or our children. It was amazing. So amazing that we even did pushups, two sets in between talking about the challenges of feeding toddlers! They are becoming independent and we are gaining more freedom, at least to converse and do a set or two of pushups.
Does playing trains count as exercise?
Filed under: playful fitness | Tags: book, dance, exercise, trains
Comments (1) So, my son woke up from his nap and we sat for a bit as he likes to do as he wakes up, then he wanted to play train. So we started to play train about 15 minutes into playing train on the floor I realized my arms were tired! Was it from playing train or from pushing the swing in the park? Probably both.
Mateo trains
25 minutes of crawling, crab crawling, lifting my body up and over train tracks, supporting my full body weight on one arm and a knee and general maneuvaring of my body in and out of a train track, I was exhausted. Mateo’s is getting great exercise too! I collapsed on the floor to rest and put my feet up the wall and suggested that we read a book. What better way to rest is there than to sit and read?
Mateo stepped over me and choose a book from the bookshelf: Barnyard Dance by Sandra Boynton. So much for my plan to rest. Instead we pranced like a horse, scrambled with the little chicks, leaped like a frog, and promenaded by two!
Centering
Filed under: fitness with toddler | Tags: centering, fitness, toddler, yoga
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This morning as I was running by myself I had the pleasure of letting my brain run and as I was heading home I began thinking over the past week. My mom had come for a visit so she had spent a lot of time with my son giving me lots of time to “get things done.” I did get a lot done, but I also spent very little time (compared to the normal amounts of time) with Mateo. I saw him for just over 2 hours on Friday. That is nothing to a two year old and Saturday morning the effects were felt: toys were thrown, water spilt with gusto, and he refused to put a shirt on. When we asked if he wanted to go outside, he said, “No.” He knew he would be going with Grandma; Mama and Papa would be staying home. They did finally leave and we continued to “get things done.”
This continued over the whole weekend. Mid-day Sunday Mateo had had enough. I was busy trying to clean up the lunch dishes and finish putting books back onto the bookshelves that we had moved, he began to pull all of his books off the shelves while sending sly, devilish glances toward me. He wanted my attention.
He got it.
I had run earlier that morning but had not stretched; the yoga mat was still open on the living room rug. “Let’s go to the yoga mat,” I suggested. This was met with great enthusiasm. He loves when I stretch on the yoga mat.
We went to the yoga mat and had a bit of a role reversal: he lay down in the middle of the mat and wanted me to climb on him. I’m not heavy, but he would have been squashed if I really climbed on him. So I modified, I supported my weight in a reverse table top (like in a crab race, hands and feet on the floor hips
pressing up), 
but then I lowered down on top of him so he was getting a bit squashed. Then I came up and suggested we get his stuffed monkey instead. So, his monkey climbed on him (with my assistance), then we switched and his monkey climbed on me. Then Mateo climbed on me and the cat climbed under my legs, then Mateo followed her under the tunnel of a pelvic lift.
This physical bonding and physical play together is so important to young children. It centers them, helps them center physically with all the movement, and emotionally by being close to a parent. As parents we are the center of the lives of our children and we are where they can come back to when they need to be secure, or just to organize their busily building brain, a place where they can center themselves and be comfortable.
So we played tunnels and it was great fun, for the stuffed monkey, the cat, the toddler, and me. And I finally did a little extra stretching and physical activity for myself.
Tips on Scootercise
Filed under: fitness with toddler | Tags: exercise, running, scooters, sneakers, toddler
Comments (1) Brief description of “Scootercise”: Exercise that occurs while chasing a toddler or older child who is riding on a scooter. (My first day of scootercise occured on August 15, 2008, for a full account go to my website and click on that blog and the entry titled Scootercise.)
1) Wear a good pair of shoes, preferably running sneakers. This is not the time to worry about fashion!
2) Bring water or know where the water fountains are located; it’s hard work chasing a scooter and the driver of the scooter will also get thirsty, eventually.
3) Be prepared to yell: “Stop,” “Slow down,” and “Wait for your Mama” are a few phrases that I use and they sometimes work.
4) Choose a path without many roadway intersections: a bike path, a running path, or a park are good locations.
5) Be prepared for bumps in the road or path: bring bandaids.
6) Remember to have fun, even when you are carrying a tired child and a scooter!
I found a running partner!
Filed under: fitness with toddler | Tags: fitness, running, toddler, yoga
Leave a Comment 7:55 am August 2, 2008
Today I will go for a run with a new running partner, if I can coordinate meeting with her at the correct time. I will be great if we can, for both of us. It always helps to have a partner especially when winter arrives and it’s cold and dark outside, very difficult to motivate for running and especially when I haven’t slept enough. She is a mother of two cute little girls, I think her second one is close to 6 months now. I will finish the log when I return.
Later….
Okay, that was a hard run, too fast, and plenty long. My new running partner is very good; an endurance runner. We did a loop around Cadman Plaza running loop (which I adore, the rubberized surface is fantastic), then we headed down Middagh Street to the Promenade, and up Montague Street with a confused turn onto Clinton, to Pierrpont Street to get to Cadman Plaza West, turned onto Tillary Street, then onto the entrance to the Brooklyn Bridge (I didn’t realize we were turning so there was a momentary collision of two sweaty, heavy breathing mothers as I went straight and she turned), then the difference between the two of us really became apparent as we reached the stairs going down off the Brooklyn Bridge that would allow us back into our neighborhood of Dumbo; she was ready to keep going, I was ready to call it a day.
We called it a day and went down the stairs; I still ran the rest of the way back to Bridge Street (“ran” may be a little strong a word, “jogged slowly” is more accurate), then walked up the two flights of stairs. When I arrived home, Mateo was awake, so we said good morning, got out the yoga mat and I did a round of the sun salutation. My son decided it was time to poop, I changed the diaper and then finished the rest of the sun salutation… Okay, finished is not quite the most accurate word:
The rounds were not consecutive, many poses became tunnels for Mateo: downward dog, plank, the step backs. Then Mateo climbed on top of me in the middle of a round and I held plank position with him on top; 25 pounds of toddler is a great challenge for the stabilizing muscles of the torso and shoulders. I attempted Vashisthasana, but Mateo decided it was time to climb on me again.
I think Vashisthasana is one of the most challenging poses to do with a two year old climbing on top, but I could really feel my oblique muscles working, more than the usual amount. Then he wandered away to play with cars and I began to prep for a headstand, which I have not done consistently since before he was born. That was when Mateo decided that I had exercised enough, “whine, whine, cry cry.”
It was time to end the session, Time to just be, no more trying to get in one more pose.
Mateo cuddled up in my lap, resting his head on my belly. Arms wrapped around my waist.
Inhale.
Exhale.
Rock, rock.
Inhale.
Exhale.
Inhale, “do you want breakfast?”
Inhale.
“No.”
Exhale.
Inhale.
Exhale.
Rock, rock.
Inhale, ”you just want to sit with me, right?”
“Yes.”
And so we sat.
First entry!
So, this is my new blog. I am just figuring out how this works, so bear with me while I get things up and running here.
Attempting to do pushups with 25 extra pounds of toddler.
Lynne's Fitness Adventures 