Pushin' It

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I haven’t been as consistent with running lately as I’d like to be (and as I know I will need to be come July when the real training for NYC begins). I could list oh so many excuses (allergies, teaching and taking Stroller Strides more often, party planning for a special little boy, hot and humid weather, cold and rainy weather, etc.), but I know I will soon need to put my weekly runs a little higher on my priority list. So yesterday I laced up my shoes and went for a run with Roan in the stroller, even though the weather was iffy and I had already taken a Stroller Strides class that morning. We headed over to Mount Trashmore to find the place almost deserted. The wind whipped around the hill, and the skies looked like they could open up any minute. I checked the weather on my phone for reassurance, and it still said only a 10% chance of rain, so I pulled out the stroller and got ready to run.

It was one of those days custom made for excuses, but I kept pushing that stroller. I didn’t have a distance in mind; I was just running. I made it around the big loop, around the hill and the lake, and saw Lei, my friend and fellow Stroller Strides instructor, near the parking lot. There was an afternoon class set to begin in another 10 minutes or so, and I told her I might join them if I made it back around in time. She replied, “We’re taking it all the way around today!”

I continued on, and I knew I had a choice. I could run the whole loop (another 2 miles) and miss the start of the class, or I could run the small loop around the hill and make it back to the parking lot in time to join them in their workout. But did I really have enough energy left for another 2 miles? PLUS the exercises and the stairs?

I leaned over and looked at Roan in the stroller to find that he STILL hadn’t fallen asleep, even though I’d been running for over 20 minutes. It was not a good sign. I decided to run the small loop and see how he did. If he fell asleep, I might have another hour of stroller time available. If he didn’t, I could use him as an excuse to not take the class, and at least I would have gotten about 3 miles in.

As I neared the parking lot 10 minutes later, Lei and two other moms were warming up. Roan was still awake - the perfect excuse - but I decided to join them anyway. I could always cut around the hill or turn back after the first set of stairs instead of going all the way around the lake again. I HAD just run 3 miles, and I DID have a frequently-fussy baby who still hadn’t fallen asleep. No one would blame me for quitting.

I entertained thoughts like that for the next 15 minutes as we took to the stairs not once, but twice. At one point I even said, “I think I overestimated how much more I have in me today.” I thought about all the excuses to stop running, about all the reasons it would be OK to just quit and call it a day, but I kept going. I kept pushing that stroller.

At one point during a difficult series of lunges, when I was at the point where I would have to commit to the long loop or turn back, Roan started fussing. He still hadn’t fallen asleep, my legs felt like they were made of lead, and I had just about decided I was going to turn back. I had my exit strategy all mapped out. But when Lei told us to grab our strollers and head to the next station, I surprised myself a little when I turned the stroller toward the lake and started running. I kept pushing that stroller.

Then a funny thing happened. Once I made that choice to keep pushing through the doubt, pushing through the soreness, pushing through the thoughts that I couldn’t do it, I started to feel stronger. I led the way to the next station without hesitation (and Roan even fell asleep on that long stretch – a nice bonus), and for the next mile and a half, I pushed even harder than I had in the first three. There was no turning back at that point – no easy exit available – and I just kept pushing that stroller, but it somehow seemed lighter.

In the end, I ran about 5 miles, in addition to the other elements of the class (and the one I had taken that morning). I had a little voice in my head telling me it would be OK to quit, that no one would blame me, but I kept pushing. I’m lucky to be able to do this, I thought. I have the physical strength to run 5 miles while pushing a stroller. My legs work, so why the hell shouldn’t I use them? There are far too many people in the world who would love to be able to walk a block. I CAN run, so I do. I will. I will keep pushing myself – and my stroller – to give hope to those who can’t.

The families of boys with DMD push through hard times every day. The researchers keep pushing limits to find new treatments and keep pushing to find a cure. As long as these people keep pushing, I will too, and I hope you’ll join me.

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Go me! (Go you!)

First, I want to say thanks to all of you who have shown me support as I have gotten 50 Races, 50 States going these past few weeks. I've got two races in two states planned this year for sure, and there's still the possibility of one or two more, and I have heard from so many people with offers for places to stay when I get to certain states in the future, which will be a great help. I've also gotten several generous donations to get my fundraising off to a great start. Your support means the world to me, and it really helps to keep me going when I'm out there racking up the miles (36 total in the 6 weeks since I got the OK to run again after Roan was born - a pretty good start!).

Second, I want to share something exciting that happened last weekend at the Jewish Family Services 5K, my second race since giving birth - I actually placed in my age group! Here's a pic of me getting my medal, which Aren wore for the rest of the day. :)


Now this is something that has never happened for me. I like to run races, so I run a lot, but I am not a really fast runner. In fact, I just started consistently running rather than run/walking races about two years ago.

When Louise and I crossed the finish line at the Live By Example 5K back in April, I felt so good and knew I could have run it even faster. I was still walk/running at that point, just a few weeks after getting the OK from my midwife to get back out there, and for my next race I had the choice between running the JFS 5K or walk/running the 8K. I decided to sign up for the 5K and give it all I had, and that's what I did. It was a little humid and pretty breezy Sunday morning, but I still finished in 30:42, 18 seconds faster than my goal time! I had hoped to keep up a 10-minute mile pace, and I did even better than that. (I think I also lucked out in that most of the faster 30-somethings ran the 8K rather than the 5K that day, but it doesn't matter to me.)

3rd place out of 17 is the best I have ever done, and I really do have you all to thank for it. It helps to have a support team behind me, and of course it's easy to run when I have a cause like Charley's Fund and a reason like Owen in mind. There were a few moments early in the race when I felt like I should stop and walk - I was once again running against the wind for half of the race - but I didn't. You were the hand at my back telling me to keep moving forward.