​I had wasted my entire day.
 
It happens sometimes. And maybe wasted isn’t the right word. Procrastinated probably is more accurate.
 
On Monday, I had hoped to get up and run, even if it had to be on my treadmill. But I snoozed until it was time to get ready for work. And then when I went to wake the kids up, my daughter said she didn’t feel good – a continuation of the day before, which she had spent under the weather on the couch. I decided to keep her home from school, and threw the rest of my day into chaos.
 
I knew if I slept in, I could still go to the gym after work.
 
But now with a sick kiddo, I didn’t want to take her there.
 
So I thought, well, I’m working from home, and I can easily hop on the treadmill during what would be a lunch break on a normal day – especially since there’s nobody to see me in my gross clothes as I finish working.
 
But then the dentist called and said they had a cancellation for today, and would I want to bring both kids in during the late afternoon. They had an appointment for Wednesday morning, but if I could avoid missing more work, I would, so I said yes.
 
That meant a lunch break was a bad use of my time.
 
And so it spiraled.
 
After the dentist, we ran a quick errand, which took twice as long with two kids who swindled me out of a pair of earmuffs with sparkly ears on them and an impulse buy of silly putty. And then we came home and made dinner – black bean and sweet potato enchiladas.
 
While I waited for them to come out of the oven, I checked social media (which this horrible thing on my phone tells me I spend way, way too many hours on every day), and I saw a Tweet from my friend Katie, where she had pulled up an old column I had written about how running can ease anxiety and depression.
 
It was the exact right time for me, as I stood there and wondered how much of my procrastination was just straight spinning, for no good reason. I’ve been blaming the weather. Blaming the clutter all over the basement. Looking for reasons to do something else.
 
And sometimes that can work, and it does – when I feel burned out on running, I do a lot more yoga, or ride my bike more, or read a ton. Luckily I have any number of very time-consuming and solo activities to resort to.
 
But it’s been more than that lately.
 
I thanked her on Twitter for sharing, and she commented on some of the events I’ve done. And then noted that she had a date with her treadmill in the evening. “Me, too,” I replied.
 
And then I made one.
 
But when I went downstairs, the cats – dreadful creatures that they are – had, again, lost the safety magnet. The kids had followed me downstairs, hoping they could do their reading while I ran.
 
We all marched back up.
 
I complained mightily to Patrick, who was riding his bike trainer in the garage.
 
I stood in the hallway.
 
The kids went to their rooms to read.
 
I sent cranky texts to some girlfriends, railing about cats and clutter and winter and imagining how terrible the Zumbro 50-miler will go in April.
 
Then I opened a Nike app I have that I’ve used a few times. I found a 45-minute weights workout using basic equipment I have at home. And I stood there, in my entryway, and did the entire thing.
 
The kids came back down. They did it with me, in their hilarious way. Viv in red footie pajamas. Jack in an oversized sweatshirt trying to hold a weight and do squats. The kitties laid on the table and watched. I told myself this is just as important, and it was.
 
I got a workout in – and lifting weights is always good, and something I don’t do nearly enough.
 
The kids saw me do it, and that matters to me. I want them to see that this is what people do with their time. That their mom is strong. That we don’t give up. That we try new things, even right here, in the hallway, at 8 o’clock on a Monday night.
 
I’ve been teaching indoor cycling classes at the gym again lately, and sometimes my daughter comes with me and sits in the back of the classroom, reading a book and listening to music. I want all of this ingrained in them, this healthier living.
 
Earlier in the day I had been talking with a coworker about how at some point it’s just bad business to not have more workplace options for people who want to bike commute or workout over their lunch break – nothing enrages me more than when someone schedules a lunch meeting, and I don’t even have time to leave to run as much during the day as I used to. It’s just the principle of it.
 
But it’s not easy, for any of us.
 
My social media feeds are full of people signed up for spring races – the 605 Running Co. Skedaddle just passed a thousand runners for the inaugural race. That’s a thousand people in the area trying right now to get in the miles so they can have an awesome day.
 
And then there’s Chilly Cheeks just before it – a perfect training run – or Zumbro or Black Hills after, a need for more and more miles this winter and spring.
 
It’s so hard to not let life intervene. Sick days. Dentist appointments. Lost magnets. Lost motivation.
 
But not hope.
 
That’s not lost at all, and wasn’t, as the kids and I spent 45 minutes doing more than lifting weights. We spent it laughing, and talking about what we were doing, and trying new things and just being together.
 
It’s easy to think life is getting in the way, and so much harder to remember, it’s not. It’s life. It’s family life. It’s working mom life. It’s living on the trundra life.
 
It’s my life, and I have to keep putting myself back in the right spot in it, and then let it unfurl before me.
 
There are races to train for.
 
And kids watching me show them the way.

​Jacqueline Palfy is a longtime runner, reader and writer, marathoner, mom and board member of the nonprofit Sioux Falls Area Running Club. You can follow her on Twitter @runnerJPK or reach her at [email protected]. Story ideas are encouraged.

​Everyone and their brother is doing an end of year recap or a list of resolutions related to either running or decluttering or time management or something else I’m sure to fail in my resolve for.
 
I’ll keep my recap to a minimum: For the first time in probably a decade, I didn’t keep a meticulous running log. Sometime around July, I just stopped updating it. I was still running, with higher mileage in the fall and a lovely holiday season of going when I felt like it and not having any goal or plan.
 
I ran several races, including the Glacier Hills 50K in October, and spent about a dozen solid weekends traveling all over the Upper Midwest to compete in cyclocross as part of Parallel 44 Racing – including winning actual money in the Iowa Cyclocross Series. How about that?
 
Now it’s January, and I keep thinking it’s time to start a new spreadsheet and keep track of my mileage, if for no other reason than to know how shot my shoes are.
 
Still, it was a pretty good year for recreation in Sioux Falls.
 
Falls Area Singletrack finished several miles of trails for running, riding and hiking at Tuthill Park, adding to the work they’ve already done at Leaders Park and along the sides of the bike trail.
 
The Sioux Falls Area Running Club held its second year of a trail series – not easy in a year when every park was flooded for what felt like the entire season.
 
Group runs at 605 Running Co. blew up over the early winter with their 100K challenge, and the evening trail runs at Good Earth State Park continued to do well.
 
Then there’s what everyone else is doing: Coffee shop bike rides with Falls Area Bicyclists that draw 100 riders. Weeknight hikes with the Great Outdoor Store that show you different parks in the region. Family rides for ice cream. Women-only group runs all over town as part of Sioux Falls Women Run.
 
What do you want to do? Whatever it is, there’s someone out there who wants to do it with you.  

This weekend, I’ll be at the 2019 Winter Bike Summit, representing my two loves: The Sioux Falls Area Running Club and women in cyclocross. It’s the first time the club has been involved in the event, and it’s perfect for us.
 
I would love to talk with you about what the club does, how you can get involved or just hear what races your training for this year, what injury you’re coming back from, what new distance you just tackled.
 
Hearing people’s stories never feels like work. It feels like inspiration.
 
We should be part of all the recreation that’s happening in our community. Every time any of these events happens, or trails get built or someone discovers something new they can do, right here where they live, we all benefit.
 
The club also will be presenting a check to Falls Area Single Track of money raised from our trail race series.
 
I hope you’ll come visit and see the other vendors who are there and meet others in the community who want what you do – a better place to live and play.
 
Doors open at 3:30 p.m., and I’ll be moderating a panel on cyclocross at 4 p.m. You can read more about the event here.
 
There’s a stack of events going on that day. Join one.

​Jacqueline Palfy is a longtime runner, reader and writer, marathoner, mom and board member of the nonprofit Sioux Falls Area Running Club. You can follow her on Twitter @runnerJPK or reach her at [email protected]. Story ideas are encouraged.