Sunday, January 1, 2012

Giving this Blog Thing a Try

I've been a reader and follower of running blogs for a while and I thought I'd give this blogging thing a try this year.  I'm hoping it will help me keep better track of my training and races. 

I've been running since college.  I started running back then as part of my workout routine.  My husband, boyfriend at the time, used to run to keep in shape for his sport, so I though I'd join him.  I ended up hooked and ran our local Turkey Trot with him and many more races after that including 2 marathons and a half marathon. 

I had just started training for what was to be my third marathon in 2009 when I found I was pregnant with our now 2 year old daughter.  I decided not to continue training for the marathon since it would have been right around my fifth month and I wasn't sure I would be up for it.  I did continue running though and ran through just about my 8th month.  I was very slow but proud that I kept it up.  I was sure I was going to be back out there running a week or two after giving birth. HA!  After two days of labor and an emergency C-Section my doctor told me there would be no exercise for about 6-8 weeks.  I didn't believe him, I though I ran while pregnant I'll be back out there in no time.  Well he was correct- there would be no running for me for a while.  At 6 weeks I started mall walking with my daughter in the stroller.  I was amazed at how sore even that made me.  At 8 weeks I attempted to run but it was more of a walk.  I was frustrated and discouraged at how hard it was to get back to running.  Not only was my body sore and out of shape I was dealing with a colicy little girl who did not sleep and cried often.   Everything seemed so much harder than I expected.  

When my daughter was about 4 months old a friend connected me with her friend, The Happy Runner.  She was organizing a running group for moms who had never run before. The goald was to train for a local 5K.  While I had run plenty before I felt like I was starting over.  This group of women turned out to be amazing.  Just knowing there were other moms out there dealing with juggling families, babies, jobs, and everything else really helped me.  The Happy Runner has continued to add to the group and we meet up at local races or to train sometimes.  She also formed a facebook page so we could help keep each other motivated.   It's been an amazing resource and motivator for me.

Two years later I have learned to cut myself some slack and listen to my body.  After struggling in the early days of being a mom, I have learned to appreciate all my body has been through.  My runs are about clearing my head.  I truly believe taking time out to run makes me a better mom.  As a result, I'm running faster than I ever have before.  I've completed 2 more marathons and PR'd at both.  Today to kick off the New Year I ran a half marathon with many of the ladies from the running group and finally broke 2 hours in a half- 1:59:41!

This year I hope to run 2 marathons. The New Jersey Marathon in May and The New York City Marathon or Hudson Mohawk Marathon in the spring.   My goal for 2012 is to break 4 hours. 

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