The Number Field

There's a nice trail near our house. It loops around a shopping area, and is about a mile and a third long. Jenny and I have gone walking there a few times. Today I had meant to do an erg workout, but instead found myself at home, with no time to return to the boathouse, and I decided to go for a run. Very rarely in Austin do we see weather that reminds me of my winter training glory days, but with the temperature a balmy 38 degrees and a stiff north wind, today was one of those days. I hadn't been running in months, and have only recently gotten back on the erg--the semester always gets in the way of my fitness, but now that it's over, I have a little more time. I eventually ran hard and long enough to warm up, and had a very nice run. During my third (and final) loop, I heard a rustle in the trees off to my left. When I looked over, I saw a pair of deer bounding past me.

When I first told a friend that we were pregnant, he said "prepare to get a lot less fit." Those words, coming from a triathlete and father, were not very encouraging, since I'm not in great shape now, while somehow he and his wife continue to perform at top levels. Last night my brother said the same thing in more general terms; that it's very difficult to find any amount of extra time when the baby is a newborn. I'm worried, and fitness is just one small part of it. I don't need to make great strides forward in that area, I just want to stay healthy. I do need to progress steadily in my research, and I would like to make sure that Jenny has personal time to work on her projects also. Everyone must think like this before the baby comes, and then remember those thoughts only faintly afterwards, through the sleep-deprived haze. Is there anything I can do to prepare better?