Trust your Training

I have learned a lot from John Bingham (aka The Penguin) of Runner's World fame. I have literally read all of his books and I own a Penguin running shirt (which I LOVE). Of all of this, the most important thing that I have learned from John and coach Jenny Hadfield is "Trust Your Training". Funny, from someone who never feels trained enough, but it has become my mantra.

I had a really good run in the cold last night. I ran 3.5 miles in 35 minutes and over .5 of it was a steep grade uphill. I maintained my pace even uphill!!! The race course I am running on Saturday is very hilly, but shorter, smaller hills. I have decided to remind myself of my mantra to get me through it. I will report back then!

Rambling...

I have about a million things racing through my head right now. First things first... I officially feel like a "real" runner. A woefully underprepared runner, but a runner nonetheless! It is less than 32 degrees here tonight and I dragged my dead butt out and ran 3.1 miles in it! I am so proud of myself. Kind of funny, I am proud of myself for something that I would ordinarily consider borderline insane. Go me! This gives me a more specific wish list... primarily (besides shoes, of course) I need a midlayer shirt with long sleeves to go over the under armour, but under the windbreaker layer. I also need warmer socks. Otherwise, it seemed to go rather well.

So, the other 999,999 things going through my head all center around Saturday's race. The biggest thing is that my 4 year old wants to run the kiddie fun run. I think this is great!!! EXCEPT, he thinks he's going to win it. I am not disparaging my wonderful son in any way. But let's face it: a four year old doesn't stand a chance against the 10 and 11 year olds. They all get a ribbon and it will be great IF he doen't flip out when people pass him. I want him to love running. I don't want to damage him. Maybe I just worry too much.

Also, about the race, I don't feel like I am ready for it. I don't feel like I have run enough. though I wonder if I ran 20 miles a day, seven days a week, if I would feel like I was running enough or should I be running 30. Argh. I am so competitive with MYSELF it's crazy. I have no delusions of actually ever winning. I just want to get a PR every time! That's crazy and unrealistic, but it eats away at my psyche. I guess any motivation is better than no motivation at all, right?

Running Like a Mother

After I decided on the title of my blog, it occurred to me (while running last night) that maybe I should think about what exactly it means to "run like a mother". I chose the title based on the fact that "mother" is the role in my life that I seem to be the most connected to... you ask me to tell you alittle bit about myself and the very first thing you are going to hear is "I am a mother of three". Somewhere during the speech I will mention briefly that I am a lawyer, but won't dwell on it for long! But how is it that a mother runs?

In my case, I think the answer is both "sporadically" and "as though my life depends on it". That may sound a little drastic, but let me explain. I was talking to another mommy runner yesterday and it occurred to me that I felt like a total fraud because I am not a real runnr- I hadn't run in three consecutive days. How dare I talk about running as though it is actually something I do?! But as the conversation went on, I realized that her running was every bit as sporadic as my own. I asked her if she was going to do the local 5K this weekend and she began telling me about the State Cross Country meet on Saturday that would be hopefully nearby the state soccer meet that another of her 4 children has to go to, and between soccer practices of the three younger kids (her oldest is a senior and one of my oldest's best friends0 she didn't feel very ready anyway. So this conversation ultimately lead me to a three mile run that began at 8:45 last night.

While I was running, I realized that although I SHOULD have been at home checking homework, bathing the 4 year old and getting everything ready to go this morning, the world wasn't going to spin backwards if just this once my husband did those things. I may always be a mother, but I am not always going to be a mother with kids in the house, and I need to identify myself in another way when the time comes. I think the identity of "runner" will fill the void nicely. And in the meantime, I owe it to those little people (and not so little people) that I love so much to be the best example that I can be and to keep myself in the best shape that I can to ensure that I am around to be their mother for a long, long time.

I'm Dreaming...

of new running shoes for Christmas. I have gone beyond wanting new shoes. I NEED them. I realize that I was pretty much a slacker for all of 2007. So, when I think about how long I have had my shoes, I really can't count that entire year. Still... I bought my brand new Brooks Glycerin 4 shoes in September 2006!!! Brooks is now up to Glycerin 6!!! Again, these shoes did sit dormant for all of 2007, but still... it's about time before I get myself injured or something. I am also dreaming of some winter running gear to keep me going through the cold WV winter. I tend to hibernate like a bear in winter and I am determined not to do that this year. I am hoping that this blog will help.

Okay... here goes nothing...

So, here it is, my first blog post. Okay, not really. Once upon a time we had a family webpage and I had a little blog on it, but this is the first one I have created myself. So, I called it "Run Like a Mother" because I happen to love that little running slogan, as I am a mother of three. I considered calling it "Running From the Law", as I am also a lawyer, but I consider myself a mother above all else.

A little about me and my running career... I never ran a single step until I was 31 years old. My daughter ran cross country at the time. A friend of mine bought her a Runner's World magazine and, bookworm that I am, I read it simply because it was there. It inspired me, somehow, and a (not so great) runner was born. I ran my first 5K in November 2005 and finished with something like a 41:00 time. I felt like an Olympic Athlete!!! I won't bore you with my entire race history, but my biggest accomplishment was the completion of the Army 10 miler in October 2006. In August 2008, after losing 35 pounds, I posted a PR of 27:55 in a 5K.

So, don't expect to see anything amazing transpire here... just a girl who tries really hard to get better and learn from her mistakes. :)