I convinced two other women to do the triathlon with me. They each have two kids, too. The times we’ve gone running, it’s as if we’re sailors on shore leave. An hour away from the kids, the messy house, the neverending chores! We sail through the woods, bounding and laughing, giddy with freedom. None of us has any idea how we’re going to fit in biking and swimming, but I don’t think anyone cares. The point is really just to try.

When I went out to get the paper this morning, one of my co-conspirators was talking to a neighbor, a woman with three kids. “Hey, I’m gonna do it!” she yelled across to me. Yeeha! We need a cool name or something, we triathloning mamas!