How Can I be Michael Phelps?

Carrying on our Olympic theme here at BC…

I have a serious query for all of you hard-core-mommy types out there. How and when and what is your means of staying fit? I mean, we all have husbands with demanding schedules and a lot of kids that require childcare, so how do you do it? I know that at least three of our builders were inter-collegiate athletes at P-town and I always saw Juris Mater at the student fitness center at strange late hours. So now, here we are five years and a lot more responsibilities later — how do you keep it up? How do you strike the balance between maintaining the fitness (that is crucial as a mother for both health and stamina reasons) while giving your kids and husband the time they deserve? I want to hear it all – do the kids let you work out at home on a machine? Do you run with double joggers? If so what happens when #3 arrives? Are you as reluctant as I am to ditch poor Dad with the kiddos as soon as he gets home so that you can sneak in a workout? What about nursing boobs in sports bras – how many bras do you have to wear, seriously? I want to see what the record is amongst our readers as far as how many are required.

This issue is weighing heavily on me as my husband is about to return to “the real Army” after several months in a training environment. This will mean that it will be much more difficult for me to depend on him for my daily runs (sans kids, I am not a jogging stroller girl, I have balance issues as it is) and I am highly interested in what you all have found to work.