She's (I'm) Going The Distance

I woke up early to the smell of coffee, always a good thing. My body steadily made its way to the kitchen, pouring myself a cup of coffee, I drank in a delicious, heavily creamed sip. The warmth filled my body and my eyes widened. Just one sip and that was enough to place me in the mind-set I needed to be in. I looked at the clock and the time was quickly approaching.

Thirty-minutes later my feet were pounding against concrete, steadily picking up the pace, the temperature was already reaching the 90s, the humidity was making it difficult to breathe but I tried to keep up with my running buddy who was steps ahead of me. I stopped a few times to take a sip of water and thought, Why did I agree to this?

My journey to fitness begun a little more than three months ago when I stumbled upon one of those Pilotonline Deals in my inbox. It was a 10-day pass for Stroller Strides of Virginia Beach and Chesapeake, a program designed for women, mothers who want to regain their pre-baby body or continue to remain fit and healthy.

I decided to purchase the deal and on my first day of class I was intimidated and I felt like my gear was shabby in comparison. But more intimidating than fancy strollers was that these women were like gladiators. Their bodies lean and strong as they maneuvered their children in strollers, stopping at stations and giving it their all as we were instructed by a petite instructor, with a strong presence, she rocked her daughters in her double-stroller as the one infant tried to cry over her instructions. She commanded us to do as many bicep curls in a minute or a peculiar exercise called a burpee. It was the first I had heard of it and at that point all I knew was that my thighs were screaming because of this painful exercise.

As I continued with the classes I began to notice my pre-baby legs making their way out from underneath the dormant muscle, er, fat. I soon began to jump into a routine and with all the deployment anxiety I had going on I noticed my tired body was now sleeping through the night. It was not only helping me physically but mentally. I had goals in mind again and was more focused after every workout. I became inspired by these great women who, as a group, at every workout made it their job to motivate one another to keep pushing forward.

Soon I decided I would sign up for their run training, impulsively signing up for three runs, that until recently I had no idea were all within weeks of one another (Military Challenge Run, ASYMCA Mud Run and the Rock ‘n Roll Half Marathon). Which brings me back to my morning run. My run, along with all the others leading up to this one, are in preparation for the the three above mentioned runs, one of which is this Saturday, July 30.

Although this is my first competitive run in more than two years, it is very different from any run I have done. We are expected to run a 5k (3.5 miles) and at this point that is not a great deal to me, but the catch is that there will be 26 obstacles to overcome before completing this run. I’m not concerned, I’m more excited than nervous.

Over the last three months I have gained confidence in myself. Though I may not be where I want to be yet, weight wise, I notice my priorities changing and seriously wanting to make a lifestyle change for myself and my family. I continue to keep training because it has made me a better person, I feel rejuvenated and strengthened. And I know that even though the upcoming races are all within weeks of each other that I will finish each and every one of them. I may not run as fast or not even run the entirety of the race but in the end I will be satisfied knowing that I did it and achieved my goal.

Hope to see a great turn out Saturday and I can’t wait to get dirty with the rest of my Mom's Gotta Run team!

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