baby we were born to run *

After discovering we have the same goal for tomorrow -- to get to the Y with our babies -- new mom Emily and I started doing some complex logistical planning:

IF Emily's baby eats at the same time mine sleeps, THEN we might get to the Y at approximately the same time. Once there, IF hers sleeps and mine doesn't fuss in the fit kids gym, THEN we can hit the treadmills together.

"Usually 11 a.m. is a safe time for us," I conjecture, noting, however, that she fell asleep at precisely 11 today.

"Usually I can know 45 minutes ahead of time when I'll have a window," she says.

Success will be defined by getting in any amount of exercise at the gym.

I'll take 2:1 odds on that happening.


*not to prevent our mamas from running, please.

Labor vs. marathon

All I'm saying is that IF you should find yourself in the room with a marathon mama-to-be in labor, it would be better NOT to mention that labor is "just like a marathon"! Especially not in a cheery voice.

Because, quite frankly, if it were as easy as running a marathon, I'd probably have 17 kids by now. (Ok, maybe not. But you get the point.)

Yesterday I visited the new baby of a running friend.

"So," I said, after she'd described her 48-hour labor + 4-hour push, "harder than a marathon?"

"Oh my God." (lots of eye rolling.)

A couple of minutes later, she asked how soon she could start running again. (Because no race will ever feel quite so hard again.)

I'll stop after this post. I promise.

From a publication that QUOTES the reputable National Enquirer, we learn about Nicole Kidman's exercise regime during pregnancy, and that some unknown -- but super reliable -- sources find it concerning.

This officially ends my celebrity fit-during-pregnancy craze.

Distance runners, rejoice!

Please celebrate with us this news from Gina Kolata in the NYT:

"...distance runners do not benefit from being flexible," found Malachy McHugh, the director of research at the Lenox Hill Hospital Nicholas Institute of Sports Medicine and Athletic Trauma in Manhattan. "The most efficient runners, those who exerted the least effort to maintain a pace, were the stiffest."

“Runners don’t need to stretch.” -- Stacy J. Ingraham, an exercise physiologist at the University of Minnesota and a long distance runner

“If stretching was a drug, it would be recalled.” -- Dr. Charles Kenny, an orthopedist in private practice in Stockbridge, Mass.

Doing the Snoopy happy dance.

*After writing this, I discovered that the New York Times and I were the last to discover this. The news is actually a few years old.

I am so going to reignite my PEOPLE Mag career

This just in: Halle Berry has a Girl.

According to PEOPLE.com, Berry is clearly a Go Mom:

During her pregnancy, the Oscar, Emmy and Razzie winner told InStyle she felt "fantastic" thanks to eating right and keeping fit with yoga, swimming, light weights and an elliptical machine. "Right now I just have so much joy and energy," she said. "I can just go and go and go."

More importantly, Our Own Emily has a Boy! 7 lbs, 9 oz, cute as can be. Details (hint: labor harder than a marathon) to come.

At risk of becoming known as the celebrity gossip fit parenting blog

Christina Aguilera has been working out, like, really hard since giving birth in January.

Putting 16 layers of makeup on and posing for daily photo shoots probably burns calories, too.

An Incident

Thank god/dess my kid wasn't the cause of the Midtown Y's leisure pool being closed to "an incident" during swim lessons last week (a fecal incident, to be specific.)

But it meant that instead of finishing my four hours of exercise for the week, I was forced to sit in the hot tub and watch swim lessons taking place in the lap pool.

I was super, super, super, DUPER disappointed, as my son would say.

Somehow, the baby made it through her lesson in the cooler pool without freezing, and we all jumped back into the leisure pool the second it opened (really, what's one little incident after three years of diapers...isn't it all that chlorine we should be worrying about, anyway?)

Go Alisa!

Here's Alisa cross-country skiing at 31 weeks. In her own words:

"I adamantly said to my husband, 'No one falls while cross-country skiing!' Of course, I said that before finding out how entirely icy the trail was, starting down a small hill, and picking up speed until I sort of crashed onto my right butt cheek. All is well. But after that J cut our skiing adventure short. Oh well! It was fun while it lasted!"

For the PEOPLE Mag fans

Since I know you're out there, here's a link just for you. Maybe you can fill me in on who Brooke Burke is, and why she's an expert on fitness during pregnancy.

Go Bronwyn!

Fortunately, the local rock climbing gym has recently added a kid play room. Here's Bronwyn bouldering at 25 weeks:

Swimmerday

Swim lessons last 30 minutes, but it's really an all-day event: First, the strategizing (ergo, bjorn or stroller? family locker room or girls'?), then the cajoling (wouldn't it be fun to put your swimsuit on at home?), then the bribery (yes, you can watch the racing scenes in Cars as much as you want if you let me put your swimsuit on for you). Not to mention the baby, who inevitably needs to be woken up to go to class, and who gets cold in the 88-degree water within 20 minutes.
After hearing my husband's account of last Saturday, when he had to keep one foot on the baby to prevent her from sliding around the grimy floor while helping our preschooler shampoo, I came up with a brilliant plan: umbrella stroller + carpeted girls' locker room.
And it all went swimmingly, I must say. I didn't even blink when my son threw a curve ball, insisting on wearing a snowsuit (which requires a team effort to take on and off). We left triumphantly, and finalized the whole effort by successfully (although sadly) avoiding the Girl Scout cookie table on the way out.

Oh, and my son loves classes now ... although today I was most proud of the fact that he told the (somewhat panic-stricken) teacher when he needed to pee.