Rewriting Motherhood

                           All girls, while growing up, are well aware that motherhood comes with a list of expected behaviors. Mothers MUST be this way, mothers MUST do this, mothers MUST basically serve the entire family and place herself second always to be defined as a "good" mother, and even then, it might not feel like you're doing enough. I see plenty examples of this form of "sacrificial" moms all around me. One way to know IF you are a sacrificial mom is by simply asking your own kids, "what is mommy's favorite thing to do?",  if they answer something to the affect of doing service to them, like, "mom cooks", or "mom cleans and does the laundry", you have become a sacrificial mom. In thinking this over as I write, I suppose being a sacrificial mom is not the worse thing that could happen ; Your kids find you indispensable, your hubby enjoys the daily meals you provide and it all feels for the most part in perfect, harmonious balance because no one is complaining, everyone is happy. Another way to tell is you are a sacrificial mom is by checking your general, day-in-day-out energy level. I see too many young moms, friends of mine, with small kids who are tapped out creatively and are desperate for a way to escape the big drain. Trying to be a perfect mom can be so, so tiring, so exhausting. 

                When all is said and done, I feel a good life should not be one in which you help others fill their dreams in spite of yours. So ask yourself, what do I love to do and just do it. You have kids? bring them along. Figure out a way to do your thing before they wake up, after they go to bed, find a sitter once a week, give yourself the gift of worthiness. Let your kids witness you fulfill your BIG dreams right before their eyes so they will grow up with this gift, this life recipe, if you may, of just how to go about chasing their own dreams. 

Inspiring our children to have a healthy lifestyle

   
                 My daughter and I were in the car the other day and she noticed a runner. Having done a few races in the past few months has made her super aware of runners. She yells out, "look mom it's a runner, but he's not in a race because he does not have a number on him!'. Both my children know what the difference is between a marathon and a half marathon and no longer get upset when I get ready Sunday mornings to go on my 2-3 hour runs. There is no doubt in my mind that them seeing me run will make them also lead active lifestyles in the future. 

             Having a girl makes me ultra aware of my own verbalized views about my body. As odd as I feel saying out loud, 'mommy feels so beautiful today', or 'These shorts makes my legs look strong.' I want my daughter to grow up being thankful to have a working, healthy body. My teen years were filled with a mix of envy for waif girls and self-hatred for all the ways in which my body looked....like me. 

            When the kids were smaller we'd take them to Rock Creek Park around the corner for longer and longer hikes on the weekends. Just letting them run around in nature wherever their little hearts desired was always very mood-altering for both kids. We actually sought out these walks as a way to get them back to 'normal' on weekends when they would be particularly difficult to deal with in the apartment. 

           I have noticed some parents will place their kids into sports of which the child may not be necessarily interested in. I don't believe this is a good approach. Last year, Luke began to show interest in baseball. Chris, my awesome hubby and dad, would take him out almost daily for about an hour or two to hit and play ball. Luke loved baseball enough that he did not mind practicing those long hours daily. As a teacher I have noticed that children do not mind spending enormous amount of time doing something they love, yet, if asked to do something they are only half-way interested; they will never be good at it, because the passion is not there. That secret ingredient, passion, is what makes a life feel well lived and we should all wish that for our children. Making kids do things, join clubs and teams they do not care for I feel is absolutely detrimental for their future ability to feel like they are the creators of their own lives. They will be grown men and women one day and teaching them to make choices based on how they feel about the activity needs to begin sooner than later. 

The absolute torture of running in a gym

                                    I was way too tired to get out of bed and run yesterday and the day before so I ended up running in my BORING apartment building's gym at 9pm after putting my daughter down for the night. I have two kids and my hubby puts down our son (8) and I put down my daughter. We did not plan it that way, but these habits just form and then it becomes a solid routine, so that is our life. 

                         The gym is absolute torture on so many counts but I was not in the mood to run in 20 degrees and high wind so gym it was. In the gym, which is about 14 feet by 14 feet with about 7 machines crammed in like sardines was my punishment for not getting my butt off in the morning. There was a young man in there singing out loud and on my favorite treadmill. Just when I was entertaining the idea of what I would say to him to make him be quiet he left to go to the weight section of the gym (an even smaller room) where he proceeded to make even louder noise as he let the weights fall after each pump. 

                But there IS hope. This morning as I was getting breakfast ready for my kids, I noticed the sun was up just a tad bit earlier and it brought a huge smile to my face. I can smell spring!! Soon, I will be jumping out of bed in the mornings ready to experience the fresh air only mornings can offer and as I have said many times, DC has the best springtime of any other 'big' city. Nevertheless, I was so proud of myself for completing my workout regardless of the conditions. I feel like this is the last time I can run in the gym without doing some kind of injury on my foot. The treadmill makes me change my form a bit, but enough to affect my entire form and weird aches and pains have been creeping in....I have noticed that running outdoors allows me to keep better form and avoid injuries (knock on wood). 
  
                  Where do you run? 

Updates on longer runs, running stores and new buys

Quick updates....

***I ran 11 miles this past Saturday.....I have never run that much at one time in my life....Needless to say I felt amazing. I was also happy to find that the next day I experienced very little cramping. 

***Making time to run is one of my big issues lately.  Although I am still running about 20-22 miles a week, more and more if it is being chewed up by my long runs, making the weekday runs easier and easier to miss.......In addition, the cold makes running outdoors so unappealing, despite knowing that the minute I get out there I am loving it within minutes of starting. It's the 'getting out there' that takes a high level of resolve, resolve I lack when trying to make up needed sleep.

***I found a running store a few blocks form my house. PR Running. I went in and bought Under Armor women's shorts, 2 pairs of Wright socks, and a leg compression sleeve. The man who helped me was quite friendly, even measured my calf to measure me for the right compression calf sleeve. I was happy to get a free copy of Competitor magazine, which I love. Can't wait to have a minute to go through it. Being a full time teacher with 2 young kids leaves you with very little me time....reading is quite a luxury. 

***In the next few weeks I will see how my body handles the upping of long-run miles. I know myself and only in seeing that I am handling these higher miles well will I begin to even entertain the possibility of preparing for a marathon in late 2013, or early 2014. No sense rushing this decision. In time it will become clear whether or not I can wrap my mind around this new possibility.

*** Tossing around the idea of doing a juice fast before going to my mom's next weekend. I will need the weekend to plan and buy enough vegetables and fruits to make double what I normally drink. I am curious to see if juicing more daily affects my level of performance while running. Will update you all on that as I find out.