Well, Hello It's Been Awhile

I’ve always considered myself an easy-going person. I roll with the punches fairly well…and while I am a worry-wart that worries a ton about change, I still let all the pieces land where they may.

A few weeks ago, I kinda, sorta fell. Oddly enough (or rather, not odd at all because it’s me) I didn’t fall while running. No, I’m only a danger to myself in my other daily activities…like rushing down the stairs. I knew that I landed fairly hard on my left leg, but it didn’t hurt all that bad so I didn’t feel like I did much damage. I switched to the elliptical for the next few days, just in case, and then continued on my training schedule for my long weekend run. I felt fine, the run went awesome. Hooray for everyone! Oh wait, just kidding…no hooray for me. I started to not feel so great with my inside shin/calf area. In fact, it started to get progressively worse…but not too bad, right? I was FINE! Fine enough to do the six mile run on Saturday as part of a relay team for a tri-event. Or at least that’s what I thought heading into the event. The event that turned into six miles of pretty gosh-darn awful. Fast forward to the next day, heading to urgent care because I was in so much pain (and the fact that people started to freak me out saying that I could have a stress-fracture.)

The urgent care doc (bless him) is a runner. He understood my worry and frustration. So when he came back in the room with my x-ray results, the first words out of his mouth were “Nothing is broken.” In the same breath he says “no running for two weeks” due to pulled muscle. He told me that to keep up with my training I could switch to a stationary bike or swimming for the duration of the two weeks. And while I was grateful for the alternatives, on the inside I was completely freaking out.

All of a sudden, I went from a fairly easy-going person to someone who was ticked, disappointed, worried, sad…freaked out and, well, ticked. My usual positive demeanor has been tainted with a touch of Debbie Downer influence. I don’t like it. And obviously, I don’t love being in pain. That really stinks.

The silver lining of all this is that it doesn’t appear to be anything major. Nothing is broken. The injury is kinda like a reverse shin-splint, in a way. I’ve been swimming twice and I don’t hate it. (I don’t love it, but hey.) I know that this is my body’s way of telling me to chill out and take a breather. But boy is it tough when you’re freaking out about marathon training…or lack thereof. I guess, if nothing else, this is helping me see how important this is to me. If I ever doubt why in the world I do this to myself, I need to remind myself how I feel right now when all my plans are put on hold. I need to remember what a big-freaking-baby I’m being right now. (For reals!)

I know I’ll snap out of the bad mood. But I guess that I hope I never snap out of understanding the love of the run.

a HUGE question

Hello all! This is my first post and I have a huge question that I hope you can help me out with. I am the mother of 4 boys. (In this picture, my 3 month old baby is nestled snugly in a babysling under my husband's coat.) I ran my first marathon last year and am addicted to running, but I think I might have started doing too much too soon with this last baby. I am a nursing mom and am afraid I might be losing my milk, which completely terrifies me.
I have cut back on running and have started to drink an herbal tea for nursing mothers, but running is my "sanity" and I am really missing it.

**Have any of you successfully nursed while training?**
Any tips or suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

Oh, The Questions That I Ask...

I feel like such a baby writing to ask this question, but HOLY COW! I have a question!

We all know I’m no running expert…I’m consider myself still very new to many running experiences. And, well…I have a wardrobe question to ask all of you because INQUIRING MINDS WANT TO KNOW.

I do most of my winter running indoors on a treadmill. I have to run in the wee hours of the morning and since I don’t have anyone to run with, it is safer to run at the gym each day. (In a gym where the temperature is quite nice for a morning run.) So knowing that I have a 5k on Thursday and a marathon relay event in two weeks (and these events just so happen to be outside*) and I have no idea what to wear.

And here is where I sound like a moron:

Yes, I live in (Northern) California and many (many!) of you consistently run in snow and/or much colder weather than I have to worry about. However, on my weekend runs outside, I never seem to dress appropriately. And by “appropriate” I do not mean that I’m out there in a tube top or heels, but I just can’t seem to get it right. My legs end up numb and cold…and my torso, arms, etc are on FIRE. My feet, so far, have had no issues with the temperature change.

Also, while we're talking about this, I have had very few runs in the rain. Help!

I do want to hear the options that you Marathon Mommies have for your own winter(ish) runs. It will make this very wimpy girl feel so much better...now that I've finally asked.

Hello. My name is Sarai and I am a runner-holic.

Hello to all of my fellow running mommies! I am a newbie as well, and I'm so excited to have found this blog! So here goes my introduction.

Since this blog is about moms that run, I am a mom to 2 beautiful girls- a 3 yr old and a 1 yr old. I have been running for about 3 1/2 yrs, but it wasn't until recently that I discovered the world of "Running Races" and that's when it all started to make more sense! People run not just to torture themselves and loose weight, but in preparation to enter a race! Since then it has all been so much funner and enjoyable. I want to push my self and find out what I am capable of. I didn't know I could run a 5K in 27 mins and a 10K in 50 mins! It's such a feeling of accomplishment one gets to discover what you didn't know your mind and body could do, and then you just want more and more, a good addiction maybe? Not only that but I have found it to be my happy place, my pull it together, breathe, la-la-place. You get the idea. It makes so much sense for me to have this be a part of my life and daily routine. I need it to be a better mom, a better wife, a better me. If I said this to anyone else they wouldn't understand, but I know you all do!

So far my journey as a runner as been lonely, even though I run with my 2 babies and my dog. So I'm hoping that I get to meet some of you gals that live in the Salt Lake City area. Looking forward to be inspired by all of you super running mommies!

Allow Me to Introduce Myself

Just another newbie excited to be here...

I started running my last year of graduate school. More than five years later, I can't stop. I just became a mommy in March and am excited to get that boy in the jogging stroller, but am slightly afraid of running alone in my DC suburb. So for now, the treadmill will have to do. (Although, I admit that running while watching Project Runway is one of my favorite things to do.)

I haven't run a marathon, but I've done a couple of halfs (LOVE the Provo River half!), a few ten-milers, handful of 10Ks, some 8Ks (my fave), and a slew of 5Ks. I am currently training to run the Ragnar Relay here in DC (http://www.ragnarrelay.com/dc/index.php) and am scared to death. But hopefully that t-shirt will look great in my race shirt quilt...making it all worth it, of course.

Favorite race distance: 8K
Favorite song to run to: ??? Honestly, no idea why this is so hard, but it is.
Favorite dessert: McDonald's ice cream cone or, when in Utah, Maverik cones
Current goal: Simply finish the Ragnar DC Relay (September 26-27--eek!)
Blogger screen name: erinmalia

If anyone has any tips they'd like to share about running the relay, I'd love to hear them. While I feel confident in my training, it's the logistics of it that scare me to death.

But most of all, thanks for letting me be a part of this site. I love reading about the fun and amazing things you all are doing!

Another Newbie

Hey All!
I have stalked this blog for a long time and have loved reading it! I thought I better introduce myself since that seems like the thing to do. I am fairly new to running- at least more of a serious approach to running. I have sporadically ran throughout my life but nothing more than 3 miles. My husband started running last year for a fitness challenge at work and then he got hooked. He ran several races and I wanted to run as well but was pregnant at the time. Now I am not pregnant and I am loving the thrill of running!

I have a 3-year-old son and a 6-month-old daughter. I have run a few 5Ks and then went a little nuts-o and I signed up for the St. George Marathon. I am currently training for that and to keep me motivated, I also signed up for the Provo Freedom 10K and the Hobble Creek 1/2 marathon. I hope I can do it! This blog has been so inspirational to me. You are all SO amazing and I love learning from you all!

Also, you all probably know about this website, but in case any of you don't, this is an awesome website! You can find the dates and web info for most races in Utah.
http://www.utahraceguide.com/