After Connor was born, I used the excuse of "I'm training for a half-marathon" to get into pre-baby shape and ended up being in the best shape since the day I got married. It was a little bit of a self-esteem boost to hear my husband making comments like "I haven't seen you so in shape since before we got married." Knowing he was noticing all the hard work I was putting in felt so good and then we had the downhill spiral. We had a lot of pre-moving stress with the house not selling, an upcoming move to Fort Benning, on top of a ton of other things going on. Then the move and it got worse...eating out because it was easier than cooking and then we got pregnant and oh man...those reese cups sure made my baby girl happy! Now, 8-weeks post-partum I tried on some dresses for a wedding we are going to. *GASP! I don't fit in anything. I'm not talking the normal baby belly pudge still left from delivering my beautiful, sweet girl. I am talking about residual from weeks of stress, traveling back and forth to hospitals and trying to now figure out scheduling a toddler and a newborn.
I tried to start watching what I ate weeks ago. I hadn't been physically cleared from my OB yet, but I wanted to try and utilize those breastfeeding calorie burners to my benefit. WRONG! Murphy's Law happens and Connor has a high fever and intense stomach pains and then Alaina ends up with RSV. The best laid plans.....
Now, our house is healthy and I reset my "start" date for April 1. We will have returned from our trip up north, have a few days to settle in and a good day to go grocery shopping. So as I start planning out my workout calendar and menu ideas, I get an email about the Disney Endurance Weekend. I (out of curiosity sake) open the email to take a peek. A new option for the marathon weekend....the relay. The wheels in my head, at this point, are turning. Could I do this? I make a post on Facebook about and within a few hours, I get a reponse my sister that she had gotten the same email. "Are we crazy?" she asks. "Probably!" I say and think. And then I really think about it.....
Could I physically do that? Could I physically and mentally not only do 1 half-marathon but 2 in 2 days? Can we afford the expense of 2 marathons and 2 nights of hotel rooms to get to the marathons? Can we afford the plan ticket to fly down to Orlando? Again, can I physically do this? What in the world is it going to take to get me 30 lbs. lighter and conditioned to run a marathon? What am I going to do with the kids this summer while I need to run/train?
What to do? What to do?
If I can get as far as I have come in my running with two kids then you can do it too! I have NEVER been a runner. I've struggled running o.5 miles let alone a whole mile. After josh I was just determined to do this, felt tougher than ever, and needed an outlet. The day Josh turned 4 months old I ran 5 miles!! You can do this Tiffany. I will run smaller races with you to help get you ready and just for fun! Two gals getting out in the fresh air and running for ourselves. October leaves you plenty of time to prepare. You have it made with connor at school and/or your husband having a consistent schedule. Evening runs are nice too. I am here for you to encourage you to get out and run (with me preferrably :) and help you meet your goal! Getting started is the hardest part then you start really enjoying your runs. You got this! Do it for yourself!!
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