As a lot of ya'll know (I posted about it on Facebook, so all of you are probably clued in), I am and have been training for my 1st half marathon coming up on November, 23rd-The Magic City Marathon in Birmingham downtown area. It has been good for me in multiple aspects. I have always had this on my bucket-list; well, it has been on my bucket list probably since I have been competitively running since high school. Originally, I thought that there was no way in heck that I could do this with little ones, all the moving around we've done in the last few years, and how incredibly out of shape back-to-back pregnancies has left me. No, this item on my bucket list would come to fruition after all my children (and future children) were grown and gone when I was probably in my 50's and had "time".
However, obviously things change. Now that Facebook keeps me updated on numerous friends and family who are running half and full marathons, it has motivated me even further. Every time I would see in my newsfeed another friend with the exhausted yet victorious look on their face, medal around their neck, standing close to the finish line of their half, I would feel a little twinge of motivation and jealousy combined. I wanted this...but it seemed so distant. The final straw that did it for me and pushed me into training now was seeing a good girlfriend who at the time had 3 little ones (the youngest at the time was around 9 months old and also breastfeeding like Benjamin is for me) run this with her little sister, also a good friend, last fall. Thank you (you know who you are!)!
Training has been a little difficult at times, I'm not gonna lie. Some of the obstacles I've had to work with are: My neighborhood doesn't have sidewalks and we live off a busier street with through traffic everyday so neighborhood runs are basically non-existent. I do have a dreadmill, oops, treadmill in the basement; however, now that my runs are mostly 4 and 5 miles and up, it gets old real fast. Christopher's busy schedule also keeps me on my toes with scheduling my runs with friends. I can only go if he's there to watch the kids. Most days, I squeeze in my runs after getting the kids all to sleep, on the treadmill, late at night, and that's assuming I haven't fallen asleep while putting Benjamin to sleep.
A new thing I've started doing recently is going on my runs after dropping Gabriel off at school. This way, I can use our double stroller with Gianna and Benjamin and I don't have to wait until late at night on the treadmill. This whole scene is challenging for me. First of all, I have to have enough distractions for them to keep from crying, whining, trying to get out, etc. My essentials for them on these trips include stickers, drinks, snacks, and a few favorite toys. Secondly, I feel pretty safe since it's pretty heavily traveled by bikers, walkers, joggers, dogs, kids, skateboarders, and even the occasional elderly person pushing their lap dog in an umbrella stroller (seriously). But still, the paranoid momma in me is always looking behind my shoulders for creepers. Thirdly, I have some big kids; Gianna and Benjamin are actually my biggest, percentage wise. When they are both in the stroller, we're talking about pushing 60+ pounds of kids, and that's not even mentioning pushing uphill or against the wind.
Now that I've done a few of these jogging stroller runs with the little ones, I can't help notice a trend with the other jogging stroller mommas and myself. I call it "the Sisterhood of the Jogging Strollers". It is an understanding between the jogging mommas that is unique to any other person on the trail. Most people I pass on the opposite lane have a pretty focused look on their face, eyes fixed on the path ahead, and with no trace of acknowledging my existence next to them. I get it; I've been there. They're in "the zone". It's a different story when I pass another momma pushing a stroller. First, it's the empathetic smile and look on their face. The "I know what you're dealing with" and the "keep it up, momma" and the "I know you're tired pushing the weight of your kids plus trying to finish your run" look. Then, it's the "Hi" we both muster up in passing. Or a wave to the little ones in the stroller. Or both. And then after we pass, I smile to myself because they've just given me some more motivation to keep going. And we've also shared in the sisterhood of the jogging strollers.
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