Time To Step Up My Game

I just walked/ran ½ mile with my baby and boy was it a struggle. No, that is not a typo. Not 1 mile. Not 2 miles. One half mile with a stroller! Though I've been working out consistently for about two months now, 2-3 times per week, I have realized it is time to take it up a notch. Age is not an excuse when you have a father 24 years older than you with better abs. My dad recently beat a 22 year-old in a tennis tournament! I doubt at this point if I could get through one match. I, on the other hand, recently attempted to play volleyball at a family barbecue where my lack of hand-eye coordination showed no sign of past athleticism. Those of you who played sports as children, remember what it was like to have your coach push you. You would run or do the required exercise until you thought you would DIE. There was an achy pain in your joints that made you feel like you couldn’t go on. But you did. And you lived. Your drive and determination was unshakable. As a nearly 40 year-old, I sit in my Pilates class and watch each of the women in the room with me, at varying times during the workout, simply stop and take a rest. Can you imagine telling your coach you needed to take a rest? That would mean more laps or more push-ups or more of whatever torturous activity they could devise on the spot. I have fond memories of literally laying on the tennis court after having a rigorous workout. Yet, last week I smugly retorted to my not so young herself Pilates instructor after she asked me why I wasn’t moving, I lack the upper body strength to do that particular move. She demonstrated it with ease and smiled at me. She sat there grinning in front of us with her perky breasts and legs so flexible she effortlessly wrapped them in strange configurations right before our very eyes, while we dreamt of laying on the couch watching Oprah and drinking Chai Lattes from Starbucks. Today, however, I realized I have to change. Running (or attempting to run) with my son made me see how important it is for me to get in shape and just how little stamina I possess. I want to have the same energy level my parents had when we were growing up. I’d like to enjoy playing tennis and running up flights of stairs with him like my dad did with us. Further, I want to live long enough to watch him graduate from high-school, college and, eventually, Harvard law school (wink, wink). This means more cardio, more discipline, more consistency. Perhaps being a parent is just motivation enough for me to step up my game.