If you’re like me, every time you watch the P&G “To their Moms, they’ll always be kids” commercial during the Olympics, you tear up as you nod your head in agreement. My children are just 8 and 4.5 (twins), but sometimes I envision a day in their future, say, my older daughter’s college graduation or my son’s wedding day, and I think how I’ll envision them still as the sweet babies they once were. Even now, when I see my twins happily play at the sensory table at preschool, I so vividly picture them crawling around in our playroom or smeared with food in their high chairs. No matter their age, they’ll always be my babies.

In athletics, I often feel frozen in time as well. Even as I train for my sixth marathon, I sometimes feel like the newbie runner I was in college. Or, time-travel even further to the non-athlete I was during childhood. Yup, my self-perception is warped. Take this morning: A few blocks into my run, I saw a leggy woman clipping along at a nice pace. I thought, “There’s no way I could catch up to her—she’s too fast!” Yet as the blocks clicked by, I realized I was gaining on her without trying.

And now I’m the co-author on a book about running. Hard to believe on so many levels—and so exciting as well. Guess it’s time I updated my self-perception.