Running Mom

Me and my boys

I know many runners who are also moms.  Some of my friends were runners before they had kids and kept going through and after pregnancy.  Others did not even start running until all their kids were old enough to be left alone while they ran.  I am somewhere in the middle.

In June of 2011 Enzo was 2 years old and Mark was 6 years old and we were at the Troy Strawberry Festival waiting for Nick to finish riding the Strawberry Festival Bike Tour.  I thought he was silly, riding in a big circle for some free food and a T-shirt and paying to do that (now I would NEVER mock going in a big circle, getting free food, and a T-shirt, especially for as cheap as that event is.  What a fool I was) and I was getting impatient waiting for him.  Mark was old enough to be aware of this annoyance, Enzo was barely aware that his birthday was coming up.  He was more concerned with eating and sleeping at this point in his life.  One month later, I started my fitness journey.

Now some people might think me negligent, for taking time away from my 2 year old to go out and run or ride a bike.  How could I abandon him at home with a 6 year old?  One thing that helped was that my husband had been a stay-at-home dad for years.  I didn't have to find a sitter and I could exercise any time I wanted to exercise.  Others might ask how I could bear to be away from him at such a young age.  Well, I am one girl in a house with three boys.  While I love my sons it is hard to spend so much time surrounded by so much testosterone.  I am also not one of those moms that cries when school starts or my boys go on trips.  I love them, but I fully understand the need for them to leave (for both our sakes).

Mark at the Troy Kids Triathlon
I'm still jealous that he has finished one and I haven't

This created quite a difference in perception for my boys.  Mark knew me.  He knew me very well.  He knew that mommy had to grade, loved to watch TV, played online quite a bit, enjoyed popcorn, candy, and root beer, and spent a lot of time inside.  He liked this mommy and we spent a lot of time together doing these types of activities.

Now that I have been running, cycling, and cross-training for 4 years he doesn't always like it.  He enjoys my friends and likes hanging out at our local running store, Can't Stop Running Co., when Nick and I go running.  He's been in the running club at school as well as the track club at the Y.  He's done quite a few 5ks and some smaller kid's races (1 mile runs).  At the same time, he gets upset that I run.  Mark gets mad that we don't stock pop in the house anymore (really he's the only one that tends to drink it) and that I spend hours training some days.  He never said anything but he stopped playing soccer after Nick and I missed some tournament games he played in because we had a race.  We did plan it after the season so we wouldn't miss the games, we had no idea when tournament games would be because they didn't tell us until the end of the season.  When I ask him to come and run or walk with me he doesn't really want to because I am much faster than he is at this point.  In anger he has asked for the "old mommy" back because she was better.  Mark has seen me be lazy and unhealthy and has watched me be a very bad runner and observed my improvement to a decent runner.  There are days that he tries to be better because he has seen my journey and their are days he doesn't because he misses the past.  My hope for him is that he looks at the progress, not the past.  He is running in the Holly Jolly 5k next weekend, he wants to do better than he did at the Flying Pig 5k earlier this year (he was sick).

Mark and Enzo at a Fun Run
They were both part of Reasons to Run's Kids' Club

Enzo, on the other hand, was 2 when I began running.  His memory doesn't really extend to that point in his life (he was so happy just being a baby).  I asked him the other day if there was ever a time when mommy didn't run, and he said no.  All he knows in his life is mommy running.  One of my favorite memories of Enzo running was at the Miami County Parks Garbry Woods 5k in 2012.  I was volunteering with my running group, Reasons to Run, at the registration booth.  Nick was running the race.  Both of the boys were helping me.  When all the runners lined up and were started Enzo decided to join them.  Off he went, running after the crowd at 3 years old into a trail race in very tall grass.  I freaked out.  I was so scared he would get lost or hurt and Enzo just wanted to "run 5k" as he said.  To his memory our family has always been a running and cycling family, he just has to wait his turn and be ready when it comes.  Enzo has run one 5k and determined he isn't quite ready for that yet.  He has done some mile long runs and one that was much shorter.  Honestly he wants to ride, swim, or run any distance he can, though he loves swimming the most.  The one thing I worry about with him is that he didn't see us struggle to get better.  He knows that mommy and daddy have gotten better and faster, but he never saw us stink at being fit.  When he does a race or event and feels tired, hurt, or not good he thinks he can't do it and wants to try something else, something that comes naturally to him.  I've seen this with adults when people say they aren't fast enough to run a 5k yet even if they've been running for a year.  They think that have to be ready to win to be ready to run.  I hate this mentality.  I walked my first 5k in 50:40 and it started this whole crazy running business and now I have a PR at 24:46.  I want Enzo to know that he just has to do the events to be good, not win them, but it's hard for him to see this when I regularly come home with medals.

Mark and Enzo at the Subway Dayton Dragons 5k
Mark's PR, Enzo's only 5k

No matter how my boys see my running or me they know that I am a runner now and that isn't going to change.  I am glad I am setting a good example for them and I hope that my example as well as my attitude is encouraging them to follow in my footsteps.  I want my boys healthy, happy, and close to me.  I will always support them as long as they are doing things that help them become good people whether they come in dead last or 1st place, whether they run or play football.  Also, I hope that they both benefit from these experiences.  They both have a different view of them and I hope both views turn out to be good and that they see me as a good mom in the end.



My running Family
Yeah, I was taking this picture