by Sarah Macedo
My son was born 3 months ago and, although he has been a joy, I feel at times that our lives have been completely upended. I was warned by friends and family that this would happen, but like many new moms, didn't realize what it would mean. I've been able to return to running since his birth and there are days where I am not sure if this was a good thing or not.
There are days when my running seems to be the only thing that saves my sanity and then there are the days where I find myself frustrated by the desire to run and the inability of my new schedule to get out there. A few weeks after birth, I told my husband that if I didn't go for a run someone was going to get hurt.
That first run felt much better than expected; it was nice to be reminded of parts of my old self and see that they were still with me. Since that first run it hasn't always been easy and my running life is very different. Pre-baby I was obessional about my training logs and hyper-vigilant about my weekly mileage, now running takes a back seat to naps, feeding, diaper changes, spit up, and play dates.
I've been forced to change routes to those that are jogging stroller friendly and give up my preferred 5am run time to a more reasonable mid morning start time that fits in with the feeding and nap schedule. Some runs have happened indoors quietly on a treadmill during a nap time. There have been days where to complete 4 miles I am running multiple times a day because I can only squeeze in a mile at a time between meeting the baby's seemingly never ending list of needs.
I've often questioned why I'm doing this to myself and what it comes down to is that it is important to me. Just as maintaining other aspects of my old self is important, I need to maintain a relationship with my running shoes. I'm lucky to have a husband and a strong support system of friends and family who understand what this means to me and offer support in a variety of ways. I'm also lucky in that my child doesn't mind the miles we complete together with him in the jogger. Flexibility and patience have been key for this slow return to running and it's funny how these two traits have also been key in other aspects of learning how to parent. I still feel like I don't know what I'm doing but I remind myself that the baby is still breathing, my husband and I keep laughing and I've found time to keep running.
Sarah is a new mom of "Miles" and member of the Ronald McDonald House of Providence Running Club. Read her blog A Runner's Ramblings
