Nicole Knepper Board

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!