I've recently taken up running after a three-year hiatus having my kids. I absolutely love it -- how I can tune out the world for that half hour each morning (or night). I'm thinking about trying for a half-marathon. There's one at Disney -- it doesn't get much better than that. Are there any other moms on the board who are runners? Has anyone ever run in a race before? How do you find time to train without sacrificing time with your kids?

I never could get into running. I love aerobics, yoga and Pilates .

Hmmmm....how do you define running?

I do enjoy jogging a bit on my treadmill. I try to do it a few times a week, for minimum 2 miles and 30 minutes. But there is walking in there How far is a half marathon?

Marianne, you sound like me. That's pretty much what my routine is right now, too. A half marathon is 13.1 miles. It sounds like a lot, but I really want to try. I figure if I sign up, I'll train for it, then I'll run as much as I can and walk the rest.

LEW, have you done any yoga or pilates classes in town that you would recommend?

I think the classes at GHFC are good. Due to my schedule, I can really only make the 6am aerobics class on MWF (the Newberry road location)on a reg bases. They also have yoga at 6am on Tues/Thu which is also good. The woman's center location has good pilates casses...they really do not work w/ my schedule though.

I used to enjoy running back in high school, but now that I'm a busy mom like every one else out there, I don't ever exercise. How do you all have the motivation, and when do you do it? I have no problem eating well, but I just can't seem to stick to an exercise routine.

How can I get started?

After my first child I stopped working out reg due to lack of time, energy etc. I just started back a year after my 2nd was born! It was so hard to get started as I felt so flabby ad out of shape. I took the Jump Start program for one month and GHF-yuo work out w/ a small group three days a week w/ two personal trainers. Since I was paying for the program, I was motivated to stick w/ it. I lost 7 lbs and toned up. That got me really motivated! Now, I find that if I do not work out, I have even less energy-so that is incentive as well. Since I go at 6am-my family is asleep and I do not feel guilty

Like LEW said, I didn't start working out again until after my second baby. I had kept on an extra 5 pounds after my first and felt really sluggish and low on energy. So I made it a priority while I was on maternity leave, and went to the park to walk/run every morning. Of course, once I went back to work finding the time got much harder. We bought a treadmill, which has actually worked really well for us. I can never get motivated to leave the couch if I know I have to drive somewhere to work out. Instead, I just try to find 20-30 minutes before work, after bedtime, during naps, when I can hop on and jog a few miles. We put our treadmill in front of the TV too, so I can watch my favorite shows in peace most nights.