Sunday, November 23, 2008

No More Naps



It’s an end of an era: John and Daphne, our 3-year-old twins, are nappers no more. I tried to deny it as long as possible, enforcing “quiet time” in their room for an hour or two every afternoon. That system worked for a few months with their singleton sister, Phoebe, when she was 3, but with the twins it was a joke. Instead, it was “jump on the bed time” or “tear out the insulation time” or “rip pages out of books time.” Argh!

Yet as much as they don’t want to nap, the dear little things still need a siesta. Most days it’s John who is worse for the wear as the day progresses, getting grumpier and whinier with each passing hour. Sometimes cradling him and singing to him allows him to nod off for a 2-hour snooze, but then that wrecks him from going to sleep at night. Usually Daphne is a ball of energy from 8 a.m. until 8 p.m. and then she racks hard, but last night, she short-circuited right before dinner, and we put her to bed at 6 p.m. No naptime is tough on them, and on our family.

And now it’s got me worried about my marathon training. Last go-round, a 3-hour nap on Sunday afternoons was as critical to my training as track workouts or weekly long runs. Honestly, doing my 18- or 20-milers, my mental “finish line” wasn’t our back door, but the twins’ 1 p.m. naptime. I’d put them down, set Phoebe up with an activity, and sink into my pillow. When I hit the heavy mileage for the Eugene Marathon, the twins will be about four or five months shy of their fourth birthday…not quite old enough to trust on their own while I rest. (With Phoebe at that age, it was no problem, but John and Daphne are a handful…and then some.)

My only hope is that I’ll find new resources of energy that allow me to power through my heavy training days without a nap. Yesterday, I ran 10 miles and didn’t feel tired all day. But as we all know—10 miles is a far cry from 20.

-SBS

3 comments:

Rakicy said...

Good luck getting your nap! My wife and I are expecting our first in May and I am already contemplating the changes I will have to make to my running schedule. I have never been a fan of early morning running, but I am guessing I will learn to love it...

KathyGTwins said...

I also have twins (7 1/2) and am training for my first marathon. There's no such thing as rest time so I've been slogging through the rest of Saturday hoping to make it to an early bedtime (I was asleep by 9:00 this Saturday and we're up to 17 miles). Good luck!

Anonymous said...

I wouldn't fight a nap...good luck with John and Daphne! I know with my 25 kinders a rest is much needed in the classroom - OMG if they don't...10 miles isn't bad at all, soon it will be more - you can do it Champy! Joanne