At least I tell people I'm not really a runner. I used to hate running. I mean hate it. Like thinking it was torture, hate it. Which is why it's so funny now that I pretty much work my day around fitting in a run. My daughter expects to go for a run. My husband asks when I ran or how my run was.
Yes, well, life changes. Goals change. We change.
I began as a dancer. I actually still classify myself as a dancer even though the only reason I've set foot in a studio in the last 4 years is to drop off my daughter at class. Some things die hard.
But the fact is, I don't dance anymore. I no longer teach group fitness classes. Instead I found something I could do to exercise and achieve goals while keeping my kiddos with me. And that's running. And that's why I heart Bob (I have 2 Bob strollers) and Phil & Ted (I only have one of theirs but it's got the doubles kit . . . . so it's kind of like 2-in-1). I'll get into that more later.
I started running after my first daughter was born, just a 2-3 mile jog a few times a week. Not a lot. I call it my "running for fitness" phase. I ran in combination with stroller classes, teaching the occasional group fitness class, and regular trips to the gym. That was when hubby came home at lunch most every day and took care of Angel Girl while I worked out. That slowly faded and as he got busier at work, I found myself putting her in the stroller for a jog more and more often.
Then hubby changed jobs and my workout routine switched almost exclusively to running and stroller classes with the occasional trip to the gym or group fitness class (and by "occasional" I mean maybe once a month).
While I was pregnant with Little Miss Spitfire, I had a complication that precluded any exericse. At all. My doctor actually told me that I wasn't even allowed to walk for exercise. I thought I might go crazy, and I dreaded getting "back in shape".
After Little Miss Spitfire was born and I was cleared to resume working out, I returned to stroller class and then decided to start the 5K101 program. I blame this new found love of running on that. I registered for a 5K 6 months post-birth just to have a goal. I had so much fun at that race that I did something really crazy, crazy for me anyway. I registered for a half marathon 10 months post-birth. I consulted with my friend, Wonder Woman, who's run many marathons. Could I train for a half in that amount of time? Was I crazy? Her answers were "yes" and "no" respectively. I ran the Princess Half Marathon in February and then turned right around and ran another half 3 weeks later as part of a fundraiser for the cancer center in my hometown.
My goal is to run a marathon by the end of the year, for my birthday actually. I've got a series of races on my schedule along with a training plan. If you've done the math, I'm almost a year into this journey, and I guess we'll have to see how it all turns out.
I'm reading a lot and trying to learn what I can from that. I would love to join a running group and learn from experienced runners, but so far the ones that I've found don't have times that I can work in. Yet. Maybe soon.
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