I am in love with Charlottesville! What a perfect city, especially to raise a family. We have a cute townhouse that is within walking distance to downtown's walking mall and the farmers' market, there are more gyms, parks, Pilates/yoga studios, and running groups than you could shake a stick at, Hunter's commute is 30 minutes or less... I could go on forever. I have found a great moms' group, we have wonderful neighbors... seriously someone stop me! I truly feel that this is the spot that our family will take root.
Phinn and I have been going for our daily morning run ranging somewhere between 3-5 miles depending on heat, whether or not I have to work, and how sore I am. Did I mention Charlottesville is practically all hills? You go up a hill then down it only to find another one waiting for you. He still loves riding in BOB. I swear if we miss a morning or are late getting started, he gives me this look like "Mom, where's my BOB ride?" My neighbor - also a Midwesterner and to go off on a tangent, in my opinion Midwesterners make the BEST neighbors the are always friendly! - is also a runner and mom to an 18 month old boy. She and I have been meeting up on Saturdays to attend Charlottesville's training group for the Women's Four Miler in September. She has also offered to do long runs with me as I half/full (trying to decide...) marathon train. If that isn't friendly, I don't know what is?!
Phinn and I out for a morning run. This is pre-soaking sweat in heat and humidity. (Sounds lovely right?!)
Phinn representing the Hokies behind enemy lines!I have also started attending Pilates mat classes at a local studio and am more than pumped to try the reformer method next week. (Shout out to Alia for coaching me through how to pick a good studio and convince me that it is worth it!) I feel like Pilates is going to be the keystone to reaching the body I have been working for. (I have stopped saying getting my body back because it is always going to be different - which is a beautiful thing - and I have every reason to believe that I can be fitter now than I ever was before pregnancy.) I was really struggling with the cost of Pilates and I found myself thinking "Well toning your core really doesn't matter. You are just going to have more kids eventually and have to do it all over again." DANGER! DANGER! That is exactly what I did NOT want to be thinking. In my opinion, looking at getting back in shape that way is only going to set you up for either A LOT of hard work down the road or is going to enable you to be complacent and make excuses as to why you aren't getting in shape. So I am not going to let myself go down that path and am dedicated to finding the most cost effective approach to managing my fitness goals while staying within my budget.
Another awesome thing about Charlottesville is that they have a yoga studio for kids! (Also walking distance from our house!) They have classes for children starting in the womb (Ok- actually that one is a little more for Mom!) all the way through high school. I have taken Phinn to their Inchworms Class which is for crawlers up through 24 months. It was pretty much social hour for him which don't get me wrong is great but not at what they were charging me. However, I can see him getting a little more out of it when he is a bit older. Luckily they have yoga story time on Fridays for a very reasonable price, so we'll be going to that every now and then.
I have also been going to Baby Boot Camp on my days off with Phinn. He mostly gets to sit in the stroller and watch while I get some good cardio and weight training. He does get to hear some pretty funky children song remixes and usually a story or two all incorporated into the workout routine. This has been a great opportunity for me to meet other moms. I even met a mom who moved here from St. Louis last summer! We bonded instantly over how great St. Louis is and how Charlottesville reminds us of the Kirkwood/Clayton area.
So as you can see, I have found some great ways to stay fit and active as well get out there and see what and who Charlottesville has to offer, and I couldn't be more pleased with what I have found! I promise more blogging and pictures to come :)
