Honest Beginning

I will have nothing original to say about running. Consider expectations leveled. I’m just your average, unexceptional, recreational runner.

Why, then, start a running blog? Accountability and motivation.

At the beginning, I joined a running club as a way to stay in shape and meet people in a new city. The support offered by more seasoned runners was heartwarming. Having never run more than 3 miles at a time, the sense of pride and accomplishment that came with new pace/distance milestones pleasantly surprised me. I was hooked.

Over the following years, work/school/life interfered with running to various degrees, but running remained my center of health, balance and sanity. While often further apart then I would have liked, my marathon and half marathon times showed consistent improvement and I made wonderful friends with running partners along the way. This was all the motivation I needed.

So, what changed?

I’m 6 months (28 weeks) pregnant.

Thrilled to be pregnant (it’s a girl!)… not so thrilled with the changes to my fitness routine.

My spring marathon turned into an easy, non-PR half-marathon and my fall marathon (I’m due in September) is, well, delayed. Runs through beautiful scenery are replaced with 2 mile loops around my neighborhood, for reliable bathroom access. The endorphin-induced euphoria of the weekly long-run to exhaustion has morphed into just another ho-hum 3-5 mile slog at what used to be my recovery pace. As my girth expands and mileage and pace drop, I’m finding it hard to maintain motivation.

Enter… the blog.

Don’t get me wrong, I hope any readers out there get something from looking at this blog too. Runners at all stages of fitness benefit from shared experience… I know I’ve benefited from others’ in the past. In truth, however, this blog is for me, to help keep me focused on the primary reason I run… health and sanity. New PRs will come in their own good time.