We’re excited to return to our regularly scheduled Tales From Another Mother Runner Thursday and to keep the #TAMRTour momentum going. (TAMR rhymes with BAMR, btw.)
Today we’re profiling Nicole Knepper, a mother of two in Plainfield, Illinois (or, as she says, “middle of absolutely nowhere!”).
My running history: I started running as conditioning for gymnastics and ran track in junior high for a bit. I rransitioned into running for stress relief. In college, it was my favorite workout. Kept me sane.My writing history: My book Moms Who Drink and Swear, came out in 2013. I still see it as a fluke, but I’m working on the proposal for another. It is a humor book about mental health. I KNOW: Weird. I’m also very excited about the upcoming book about caregiving that I am writing with a good friend who is also passionate about caring for caregivers.
My essay “Running For My Life” is: basically me turning my heart inside out and talking about how much I love life, how grateful I am, and how I want to have a high quality life. I run so that I can live well, to break the cycle of sloth and ill health that my parents were raised in and lived themselves.
Current mental health status: I am on the perfect meds. My ADHD and depression managed well and I have a wonderful wellness plan. I prioritize wellnes, which means keeping to a regular sleep/wake schedule, regular exercise, regular check-in with psychiatrist and general docs for physicals, and eating right.
Current physical health status: Happy to report that this is also well managed. I keep to an anti-inflammatory diet, avoiding things that I know trigger digestive issues or arthritis, saving the wine and dairy for special occasions. Most of the time, I manage pain with a low dose of Alleve. I am very proud of this, and I work hard to take care of my joints by not overdoing the exercise. I want to keep active until it’s time for my permanent dirt nap.
Recent memorable run: Okay, so the first day it was over 40 damn degrees, I hit the road and my iPod was on shuffle and the first song was “Steal My Girl” by One Direction (mock me all you want, I care NOT!) and it set the tone for an epic run. It felt so good. I ran slow and my pace was perfectly comfortable. No pain at all. Felt like magic.
Recent horrible run: I walked my daughter to school after spending the previous hour and a half riding the roller coaster of her emotions. She is notT a morning person. Was looking forward to taking off from the school parking lot and shaking off the negativity. I could not get my pace. It usually takes me a mile to feel right and smooth, but I couldn’t get a balance and I got a butt cheek cramp. I was actually wearing clean running clothes too, which is rare. I’m disgusting. I’ll wear the same stuff for three runs before I wash it. See? Disgusting. Also, a total bullshit run.
My next athletic event: I’m going to pound out 5Ks for charity throughout the spring and summer. Little themed races keep me motivated and I can run them with friends who run slower that I do, and afterwards we end up hanging out together (read: food and booze involved) for hours!
Quick, easy ask: If you have purchased and found the time to read Tales From Another Mother Runner, we’d love, love it if you could take a minute a put up an honest review on Amazon, which, for reasons we don’t totally understand, is huge in spreading the TAMR word and helping women find the book. Thanks in advance!
Running for your life….that’s exactly what I’m doing! And your book title is great as well. I’m going to have to check it out.
That is hilarious – “I was actually wearing clean running clothes too”. I’m the same way…they don’t have to be clean, they just have to be dry. Loved your story…Keep on!
Love it! Keep it up!
I’m not too ashamed to admit to a rocking Huey Lewis kitchen dance party in the last 24 hours.