It’s 7:50 am and I know where I should be

Over the past almost two months now, I have been working out nearly every day. I usually take Sundays off, although not always and sometimes I take off Wednesdays, but that can spiral into taking off Thursdays and Fridays too, so Wednesday stakes are a little higher. I had been working out kind of sporadically after receiving the all clear at six weeks postpartum, but I was finding it hard to carve out time and even harder to feel like pushing my still very tired body.

Then a friend texted to say that I should run in this with her:

I immediately texted back that I would not be doing that. I’m nursing. Running seems silly for a chest that is carrying the nourishment for a human. Who wants to run in pain? Plus, I have never run in any kind of official race. That also seems like a foreign idea. People will see me running? They will be running too? Eh. I’ve never really thought of running as a group sport and I’ve never really needed to prove myself, even if it’s only to myself. So, no. No, I would not be doing that race, but I was happy she asked.

And then someone else called me about it and said I would be doing it. I guess she was more persuasive…?…because I signed up while I was still on the phone with her. And then I sort of freaked out because I was not in shape. Not at all. I was mostly flabby as I had sustained myself with whatever I wanted to eat for the past year. Before Greer, I’d been running about 28 miles a week. I’d been in the best shape of my life. But after Greer, the only shape I had was round and slightly dimpled – kind of golf bally. So the freak out was called for, warranted, appropriate.

I told Jud and my parents that I was going to need to get on track and figure out a schedule to whip myself back into shape. Nearly two months later and I’m pretty much there. It’s involved my dad watching the kids in the morning for an hour while I hit the gym. It’s included heading to my parents’ house to run on their treadmill when my dad can’t make it in the morning. I’ve had mornings where I’ve nursed the baby and then headed off to the gym before the sun rose so that Jud could chill with the little people while I climbed stairs or ran. And now, with July just around the corner, I’m ready.

It’s only a 5k, which is what I run three to five times a week, so the distance won’t be an issue, but I’m still a little nervous. How does it all work with all of those people lining up to race at the same time? What about parking? Will my friends and I run together or at our own unique paces? Will it rain and cancel the whole thing? Will it be blazing hot and hard to breathe?

Hard to say how it will all play out, but I’m ready to run and I’m glad my friend called to convince me. Two-ish weeks to go!