10 Signs You’re a Badass Mother Runner
You make time when there’s no time. You hack the baby monitor to run lapse around your house. Your kids know what Gu and Nuun are. You are a badass mother runner. Here are the telltale signs, compliments of our fabulously innovative and tough Facebook crew:
10. When you FaceTime your iPad from your iPhone as a video monitor after your kids have gone to sleep and run .25 mile laps past the front of your house to get your run in.
9. When you look forward to running a half marathon on the weekend as your “break” from regular mom life (Scouts, PTA, sports activities, academic clubs, etc.).
8. When your child comes in your room at 4:45 am and says she was having a bad dream and asks is she can climb in bed with you, and you whisper to her, “okay, but I’m getting out of bed in 15 minutes to go run.”
7. Doing a Ragnar Relay when your baby is seven months old and you pump numerous times in the van and keep it in the team’s cooler.
6. While lacing up your shoes you hear one of your kids say, “She’s going for a run, dude. Leave her alone. She needs to go.”
5. When your 4-miler turns into an 8-miler to retrace your steps looking for various items that were thrown out of the stroller during a temper tantrum (that you ignored. Because, “runner”).
4. When you and your BRF can run side-by-side for an hour–and never once mention the kids because you’re too busy hashing out details of your next race.
3. Your children have opinions about the best flavor of energy gel.
2. When you get up before the Marines on base to do your run so that you can be finished before your Marine husband goes to work.
1. The 4 year old knows she can play dress up with all your shoes, even the fancy ones. Except for your running shoes.
Ladies, anything to add? Drop yours in the comments section below.
Room on the Road: Age Is Just a Number. Right?
This is the second installment of a new bi-monthly column: Room on the Road by Denise Dollar, who you might know as the founder of Heart Strides. She is in the process, as many of us are, of struggling with body issues as she finds the space between running and weight loss. Catch her first post here.
Ahhh…the good ole days when numbers and cake were celebrated without a second thought.
Crawling out of bed, I head straight to the kitchen, where I give thanks for the pot of coffee that is brewing. And there is a pot of coffee, not just enough for one cup or—gasp—an empty pot, which would have me cursing my husband. What is the occasion for this full, glorious pot? Today is my birthday.
Today I turn 49. Over the years I’ve heard horror stories from friends that have had a hard time turning (insert age here). “Hold on,” I’d say while gushing about how I loved turning 30, 35, 40, 45…30’s oh yeah, 30’s are the best but not as great as the 40’s, 40’s are the best. I don’t recall a birthday I didn’t enjoy. Until now.
Forty-nine, which sounds like FORTY-NINE in my head, has shown up like a big zit on the tip of my nose on the day of an interview for a dream job. Can’t ignore it, no matter how hard I try. Today, it’s not just a number—a line I have repeated to many friends fretting about their age. (Apologies!)
Of course, over the years, I’ve tried to make it’s just a number to be my mantra when stepping on the scale.
It’s just a number. I repeat these words over and over. No need to mentally press play, the phrase is pretty much on repeat in my brain. I feel the warm coffee cup in my hand, my eyes glaze over while my mind searches for a distraction. Just let it go. But I can’t. Because after coffee I’ll be thinking about breakfast, which commences a non-stop stream of thought about what I want to eat, what I should have. Granola? Too many carbs. Eggs? I’m so tired of eggs. Blueberry pancakes? Bacon? That sounds like Sunday to me, but what I’m really craving is some banana-chocolate chip-walnut pancakes from our favorite place on the East Side of Milwaukee. Will my pants be tight? Where are my FORGIVING leggings? Will I feel guilty about what I’m eating? WILL I LACE UP AND RUN? OF COURSE I KNOW I SHOULD, BUT WILL I?
THAT stupid scale.
I have two scales. TWO. First, I had to get the official Weight Watchers one, because you know, it’s official. Then when I started gaining weight I had to buy another one, because you know, that one couldn’t be right.
It’s just a number, right?
My current number on the scale? Well, it’s a big number. At least it feels like one to me. Kinda like 49 feels today.
But here’s the thing: It’s not just a number. It’s an insidious reminder that I don’t like where I currently am physically. I’m beyond my comfort zone on many levels.
And unlike a birthday which reliably appears at the same time to mark exactly one more year, my weight gain is sneakier. It takes me a while to notice the extra weight, but it does leave little hints as it creeps up. I know things aren’t great when I’m searching for a child—any child; doesn’t have to be one of mine—to stand in front of me when I’m having my photo taken. Or when its 97 degrees outside and I want to wear my running jacket. Or when I pull out my signature move: The stretch-my-shirt breaststroke. I put on a shirt, pull my arms out of the sleeves and into the body of the shirt, and do the breast stroke to make it bigger. Sometimes I turn the shirt around and stretch out the back too.
As I look for random children to be in my photos or wear cardigans on my runs, I think this number isn’t so bad. And then, still standing in the kitchen, leaning against the counter, realizing how my fat roll is gently laying on it, I think a bunch of other things about the two numbers that are dominating my birthday.
It’s hard to lose weight after 40, seriously why didn’t I exercise more when I was in my 30’s? Here I am staring down 50. Okay not just staring down; I’m right up there in its business. And holy crap, why does 50 come with its own megaphone? Why does 50 sound so much louder than 40? It’s just a number. It just a marker. You know, like a mile marker: It tells you where you are. But holy hell, that’s just it, I’m here and I’m not going to be here again. It’s going to get ugly isn’t it? Yep, it’s going to get ugly, but it will be real. Real ugly. You can sit in this space for as long as you need to, but you cannot stay here. You need to set a goal for yourself. What are your intentions for this year? How many miles can you get in? How much weight do you want to lose? What makes you feel good? What makes you feel strong? Where do you want to go, who do you want to spend time with? I want to run, I want to laugh, connect, be creative, write, and travel! I don’t want to be a size or an age, I want to be MYSELF.
I stop. My eyes well up. Something is missing and I don’t know what. Why am I so emotional? I must be pms’ing. God I hate that excuse. I really hate it. Just drink your damn coffee already.
Ever since I agreed to write about my running and my weight challenges, my brain has been chatting non-stop. What should I share and what is too much? My mind trails off into the nitty gritty details of my life and I wonder is that too transparent? I don’t even know if I want to go there, much less share it.
What I do know is that I don’t want this to be another before-and-after story, the kind we all love. (She went from being 100 pounds overweight to running at 4:12 marathon!) Those stories give me hope, but I’m always left wondering, what about the during? You know, the in-between, the part where it gets messy and you want to quit? That’s what I want to know about.
With time, the edges of 49 will smooth and it won’t feel like that big of a deal. But my weight? I can’t just tell myself to get over it, the same advice I give friends bemoaning another year. I know that if I try to get over it without getting into it, I’m going to keep coming back to it, over and over and over.
So today, on my birthday, I am raising my coffee mug to embracing the details of the in-between, the most powerful part of a journey.
#234: Podcast with Dean Karnazes, Ultramarathon Man
The dynamic duo of Sarah and Dimity dive into a lively podcast with Dean Karnazes. Befitting the Ultramarathon Man, the podcast is ultra-long, covering a wide range of topics. Dean divulges that part of what drives him to run is to escape the “noisy world,” leaving him feeling rejuvenated not depleted. He reveals the intricacies of stringing together 50 marathons in 50 states in 50 days a decade (!) ago. Learn how Dean composed much of his new book, The Road to Sparta: Reliving the Ancient Battle and Epic Run that Inspired the World’s Greatest Footrace, while putting in miles, as well as how writing this latest book moved him outside his comfort zone. Dean disputes the notion of finding a “balance” in marriage/life/running. Now in his 50s, Dean describes his 4x/day strength-training regimen, saying he “cross trains to be the best animal” he can be. Dean shares a harrowing tale (with a surprise twist!) of nearly being hit by a car on a middle-of-the-night run. Find out what ambitious adventure Dean hopes to embark on in November 2017. Finally: If you want to play a drinking game while listening this podcast, we suggest chugging whenever you hear the movie title, “300.” An epic podcast!
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