Running uphill with a jogging stroller

So I was running uphill the other day with my jogging stroller…Ok, I have to be real with all of you…So I was jalking (jog/walking) uphill the other day with my jogging stroller when it dawned on me exactly how having children has impacted my life.   Before I had Mia and Sophia, you could find me running in the same neighborhood on a nice Sunday afternoon.  That hasn’t changed.  What has changed is that I no longer run alone (now I am usually pushing a double-stroller and about 50 extra pounds) and I no longer run with an ipod (now I am usually answering a million toddler questions) and I am no longer training with a purpose (now I am just running as much as I can before I hear the dreaded “mom, Mia walk now?”).   It isn’t what I am doing that has changed, it is just how I am doing it.  Before I had kids my life was made up of family, work, margaritas, and running.  After kids my life is made up of…well, family, work, margaritas, and running.  (If you have to wonder why I slipped margaritas in to a list of clearly important things to me, we just don't hang out enough!)  The “whats” of my life are still the same.  It’s the “hows” that have changed.  How I manage work.  How I define success.  How I balance family.  How I fit running in to my life.  How I limit (or pay for not limiting) my margaritas;) 

I only have one item on my bucket list and that is to run the Boston marathon.  For someone like me that is not a natural runner, running any marathon would be a significant time commitment and a lot of work.  How could I possibly do this now that I am trying to balance so many other aspects of life?  The truth is, it would be harder now, but it would be just as possible as it would have been in the past.  Training now might mean “jalking” uphill with a 50 lb. jogging stroller instead of speed training at the track, fitting a quick run in during nap time instead of planning my whole Saturday around run, or chatting with a 2-year old about all the “whys” and “hows” of the neighborhood instead of listening to some kick ass music.  But the end result would be the same...one marathon complete and one (very short) bucket list fulfilled.

This realization is a pretty important one for me and one I wanted to share.  Like most new parents, I had a fear of the loss of freedom that would come when I had a baby.  I was a little panicked that whatever dreams I hadn’t accomplished would be impossible after having children.  So, the realization that I could do everything with kids that I did without came as a revelation to me…almost a relief.   There is no loss, only greater challenge.  This change in perspective is helping me to enjoy being a parent a little more because I know it just added to my life, it didn’t take anything away… well, except  my ability to sleep in and recover when margaritas get the best of me.

Until next time…