Daily Chatter

Monday, March 19, 2012


Last night I posted this workout to Daily Mile which auto-feed to facebook.  I know my settings allow this to happen but sometimes I forget my "audience" is completely different between the two social medias.  After changing "the plan" to account for my tired legs which left me feeling a bit defeated, I received this comment about my run.



I took offense to it. 
I didn't have two extra hours in my day.  I chose to use two of the hours in my day for fitness/good health.  Was that wrong?  Were they somehow allotted to something else?  Like maybe the laundry?  Or playing with my kids?  Or cleaning out my car?  Those are all things I need to do.  Was it "extra" to give myself two hours of my day?

Let's see how my Sunday hours were spent.
Times as an approximation.
I woke up around 6-6:30 a.m. when the super secret spy had to slip off to work.
Tried to keep S'ghetti girl and her sleep over friend quite so that LBM could sleep in.  I spent some of this time looking up recipes for breakfast and lunch.  I spent some of it shushing the girls to be quiet.  I spent some of this time clenaing the cat box.  I spent some sipping coffee on the deck in the fog.  I guess that time was for me.  But it only worked until about 7:30.
7:30 cuddle with LBM
7:40 LBM off to terrorize his sister and friend
7:41 in kitchen, cooking breakfast while LBM ran back and forth between me and his sister
8:00 while upstairs dealing with a sibling squabble, gathered laundry to start wash
8:15 found laundry in dryer, started to fold
8:30 realized I had been in the middle of breakfast, went back to kitchen
8:31 - 9:00 cooked, wash dishes
9:01 went to find kids, discovered (their) mess in living room, started cleaning it up
9:15  realized their breakfast was getting cold, went back to finding kids
9:20 found kids outside, got them in to wash up for breakfast
9:25 finally kids eat breakfast (no I didn't eat.  I didn't want any breakfast.  I cooked for them)
(sausage in pancakes on sticks with warm syrup, hashbrowns, fruit, cereal, milk and juice)
10:00 - 10:10 kids finish up and leave table, yell at kids to come back and clear table and clean up
10:15 - 10:25 wash more dishes, clean kitchen
10:30 S'ghetti girls' sleep over friend's gram there for pickup, girls beg for more time, talk sleep over friend's gram into a little more time
10:45 look up recipe for whipped cream icing, the super secret spy's favorite.
11:00  remember that I have to get the laundry done before we leave for PA, back up stairs
11:15 flip-flopped laundry, notice kid's bathroom is a wreck start cleaning it, LBM back and forth with complaints of non-inclusion in the playing fun
11:30 back down stairs, txt from the super secret spy about when he'll be home for lunch, more cooking, icing cake
12:15 super secret spy home, gather kids, sing happy birthday, lunch, cake and ice cream
12:45 have the kids gather S'ghetti girl's sleep over friend's things and we take her home
1:00  back up stairs, finish laundry, fold more, pack, load car, up the stairs, down the stairs 15x
1:30 final check of the house, bathroom visits, and on the road
because I want to drive 3 and a half hours
after gas stop, food stop we are finally back in PA
5:00 LBM fell asleep on the drive, unload car, unpack
5:20  LBM awake but grouchy, cuddle him on the couch while S'ghetti girl shows me her latest duct tape creations
6:00 clothes changed, movie set, snack for kids, kids playing, on the treadmill
2 hours and 22 minutes later
I had watched Vampire Diaries, negotiated sibling quarrels, retrieved unreachable toys, hugged upset little bug men, oohed and ahhhed over 3 new duct tape creations and traveled in one place for 16.5 miles.
8:23 peeled out of soaking wet running clothes and took a super fast shower
8:30  kid time: talked with the oldest and his girlfriend, played and read with LBM and
S'ghetti girl, helped the two little ones get ready for bed
9:40 S'ghetti girl in bed, LBM and I hang out and go through mail from the weekend, I try to cuddle/read/play quietly in his room to get him to go to sleep
in his own bed
but give in.
10:30ish LBM and I go to bed
10:45 finally get LBM to lay still and be quiet.
10:46 sleep

Was that 2 hours extra?
Did I somehow not give enough time to everyone else in my life?
Why do I feel guilty over that 2 hours simply because of that comment?
Should I stop feeding DailyMile entries to Facebook?
Am I just being too sensitive?
Maybe I'm still just a little tired.

16 comments:

  1. I would have been very offended by that, as well. I am not at your level of running, but I will never feel guilty about leaving my kids while I run. It's GOOD for them to see their mom working out and being healthy.

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  2. That is just plane rude and I would definitely take offense. You by now means have to explain your day or how you spent 2 1/2 hours at 6 pm.

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  3. Yeah, that was pretty rude. Exercise is a choice that we make, it's true but we often make sacrifices to make that choice. I sacrifice sleep to get up early and get my run done without it impacting on all my other duties.

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  4. I take offense.
    I had someone tell me this week that I'm "too big for my britches and Boston isn't on everyone's mind". Well, it IS on mine. And it IS important. And it IS my facebook page so I'll post about what I want to and if you don't like it, then ignore it and move on! Geesh.
    I love your running updates. I KNOW that you spend quality time with your kids/hubbs. I know you balance everything with grace and stress about being sure that everyone is getting a little bit of you.
    Keep posting my friend. They're just jealous!

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  5. You're doing great!! Just keep doing what you're doing. You just prove that it's possible to get a nice run in during a CRAZY day. There are no excuses.

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  6. Really? He/She is probably just insanely jealously that you made time in your 24 hours to get that run in; it's not easy for anyone. You find time to do so many other things too through the day; I honestly don't know how you get it all in.
    Don't let someone else's problem rub off on you. I'll say it again: you are amazing!

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  7. I think any running mom gets that the time you spent on fitness is at best "me time"devoted to keeping you healthy for your family, and at worst "everybody time" as you try to exercise and do everything else at the same time.

    A week ago, I spent five miles hopping on and off the treadmill to help kids out, negotiate arguments, and wipe behinds. I know where you are coming from!

    Whoever posted the comment apparently just doesn't get that. It sounds to me like you are doing great!

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  8. It's people that wait for "extra" hours in their day that never accomplish anything.

    I would have put that on my Facebook as a response, but that's just how I roll. :)

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  9. Devil's advocate here! It's so hard to read into email/Twitter/Facebook responses. It could have been someone being cheeky. It could have been someone being rude. It could be someone who is just trying to figure out how you do it (kind of like I do too).

    What you do as a runner and a mom is AWESOME! Ignore everything else.

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  10. Oh yeah I can see where that would tick you off. We all have the same 24 hours to work with everyday. It's our priorities that are different.
    Don't take offense though. That person is using their busy life as an excuse. Their issue not yours.

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  11. I say keep the tie between Daily Mile and facebook. And I love that you "forgot" the breakfast for a bit this weekend too. Granted, I didn't burn the pancakes but I was juggling a bit too much at once and forgot I had them on the skillet for a bit.

    We all make choices with our lives. You know I support your two hours of running and honestly, we all have the same amount of time. You chose to run and watch Vampire Diaries. Others may have chosen to sit on the couch and watch.

    But in all reality, I would have been equally sensitive. ;)

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  12. The comment above made by me but was not meant to be rude or negative. It was simply a comment. A thought that I am sure most if not all of you felt at one point or another. Tell me that none of you who commented never wished for just a few more hours to do one more thing.
    I don't live in a perfect world so things don't always get done when they should so yes I do sometimes wish I had just 1 more hour let alone 2.
    The comment was simply made from one "friend" to another. No maliciousness on my part but it sure did make for a good conversation starter. Right?
    Oh and thanks to Jennifer P. who didn't just jump to conclusions but was willing to give me the benefit of a doubt when she doesn't even know me.

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  13. Let me add that I did not mean to use my friend's comment as a negative reflection on her at all. She is a wonderful and supportive friend. This post was aimed at me only. I feel guilty from time to time for what this lifestyle takes. It's a balancing act that doesn't always stay level. Right when I was struggling with keep the scales in check (remember how I didn't do my 20/10 training weekend) Tammy's comment, although not meant in a hurtful way, upset me. Why? Because I was feeling guilty already. Every mom runner out there can identify with that. Heavens, every mom can identify with that. But in my efforts to seek the opinions of other mother runners via this blog post, I hurt a friend's feelings. I won't take down this post because I think it might help others remember that what I had intented to be about ME was viewed in other ways. In a way that hurt a friend. Something I would never want to do. Tammy, I am sorry.

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  14. I'm sensitive to certain comments, too. I find it best when I don't react and when I don't try to justify how I live my life. It's my life. How I live it is well ...how I live it. I only have God to answer to at the end of the day.

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  15. !!! Really??? I hate that. I have heard it all, especially with my training, when I had 25 & 30 milers to do (and I am not fast). I did not get "extra" time in my day, I simply got up at 3 am to run on the treadmill in my basement and didn't get quite as much sleep. We all have the same amount of time in the day, it's just what we individually chose to do with our time. They probably did not mean it offensively, but I can understand how you feel.

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  16. I stopped feeding my DM to facebook. Too many people were giving a "you think you're better than me because you run" attitude. Something the people on dailymile have the exact opposite reaction to when you post a run.

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