In observance of Fearless Friday today, I was torn between two recent (and fearless) pledges. I could talk about my commitment to join the mominatrix in her sexual resolution. Lord knows that’s scary to admit in public. But, nah, Whitney talked about that yesterday!
So, instead, I announce my plan to fearlessly reclaim an athletic achievement from my past. I will run with 11 virtual strangers (and, yet, because of the interwebs, many are also “virtual friends” too) for a relay race of 199 miles with the team Eat. Blog. Run. My own section will be three different legs of approximately five miles each.
I completed this relay race two other times. Back then, I was given the easiest running assignments and was in my best shape from triathlon training. I also had a training partner with the same pace, races, and life schedule as myself. I thought it was hard back then.
But not anymore.
Why am I so scared?
Glad you asked. If I’ve already done this before, I should feel confident. But I don’t. Let me count the ways.
- I pee when I run. There I said it. In front of God, my coworkers and the eleventeen strangers reading this. Four and a half years since my 44 hour labor with four frakking hours of pushing and I still pee when I run. And I hate it. And it causes me not to run.
- I am not in great shape. Because of reason #1, two young children, and a myriad of other excuses, I am going to have to really work for this one. Like that part of Rocky when they play Eye of the Tiger, but with kids and a full-time job.
- I’m shy. What if they don’t like me? There are no secrets from the ladies in the van, when you’re running, sweating, and self-doubting around the clock on very little sleep. While it’s easy to crack jokes through twitter, I lose some of my charm at 2am.
But I’m gonna be fearless about this. I’m going to figure out a training schedule that works for my family. I am lucky enough to have a super supportive husband that wants me to exercise and be healthy almost as much as he wants to do it himself.
I will claim Tuesday, Thursday, and Sunday as my running days and find some running buddies for the next few months.
I will also use all the geekery (pedometer, new Nike Plus) at my disposal to see my running times improve from a 14 minute run/walk to the 9 minute mile pace I can be proud of. And if a 9-minute-mile is still the slowest, I will not worry about it because I have improved so much.
Oh, and about being shy in the presence of blogging-greatness, can I worry about that another day?
I dont have a blog, but I’m on the same page! Started the trainning 4 months ago, I have a full time job, a 14months old gilr, a very demanding husband (what husband isn’t?) and 10kilos to loose, plus zero background in sports.
I run three times a week at 5:20 in the morning, for 30min. I’ll be pleased to be your virtual running budy if you want!
Cheers from Australia!
Just being able to complete 15 miles is something to be proud of–no matter what pace you run! Good luck!
Way to be fearless, and on so many fronts! Very inspiring post. I’m training for a 5k in Feb. (my 1st post-partum event while pushing both kids) and a tri or 2 in the summer, so I’ll follow the quest of the relayers for inspiration.
And Heather, if you want a running partner on Saturdays, let me know. I’d be up for some company. I can’t commit to early-morning runs during the week until my little one takes a bottle (or better yet, sleeps through the night)…
You can do it!
(just wanted to throw out a supportive comment)
I did a lot of running before becoming a mom but never have I been as proud as when my boys cheered for me from the sidelines of a half marathon last spring. It brought that accomplishment (and the work needed to get there) to a completely different level, so much so that I convinced my sister to run one with me and we’re doing it in two weeks with all 5 of our kids as cheerleaders.
So worth all the crazy juggling that was required to train to see their happy faces yelling “Go mommy!”
You can do it!
You can definitely do it! If you want some cross-training that will help improve your running endurance, prevent running injuries and help you with the “peeing while running” issue (which by the way is intimately (excuse the pun) related to your new commitment to join mominatrix (=) ), come visit me at The Dailey Method -Berkeley (www.thedaileymethod.com/berkeley).
Keep an eye on Lululemon Berkeley’s event page as we are planning a Lulu sponsored The Dailey Method class just for runners this month as well!
Good luck Momma!
wow – i’m impressed, inspired, and relieved.
impressed: what a big goal! you can totally do it…and you have to because blog readers tend to keep you to your statements. 😉
inspired: i said that i was going to “get in shape” as a resolution…but then i returned the nike plus that i got for christmas. maybe i’ll go back and get it…
relieved: i’m not the only one who pees when she runs.
way to go!
I too am a little scared, realizing that we only have 4 months to train. I haven’t been running for quite a while, so it’s going to be a challenge to get going again. But I loved your goal for 30 miles in 30 days. Very doable.
And love Kerry’s comment about the Mominatrix helping the running and pee situation! Funny!
See how everything comes together? – kegels + running – a whole new bladder AND you.
Yay 2010.
Hi Heather! I’m scared too! Way scared. But I think knowing that we are all counting on each other, will be a big motivator for all of us. We can do it!
You can do it! I know you’re not reviewing products right now, but if you get serious about running and have an iPhone let me know. Runmeter is great for tracking distance run, previous runs, calories burned and even lets you hear Twitter @replies.
Hi, I just started running again and, as the women i run with don’t have kids and the moms I now don’t run, I would LOVE to hear more about your experiences with running during and after pregnancy, if doing Kegels helped with the peeing, how long it took you to get into shape (as in “fit” not as in “thin”), how much you train while pregnant etc.
That would be wonderfull! thanks for the great post,
Julia