Yes thats right like a mummy, and mummys are pretty tough. I used to run like a girl, I would turn the alarm off and go back to sleep, say I will go tomorrow, or in the afternoon, anytime other than right now. The slightest hint of rain or increase in temperature would be enough for me to abandon my plans. That was until I became a mummy and I discovered that managing to get an hour out of the house on my own would take the planning and coordination of a Royal Wedding. Like many mums, I don't always have the luxury of doing it properly tomorrow or making up for it next time. I have managed to make this window available and I am not about to waste it.
I really don't enjoy running on my own, it's boring and you can talk yourself into walking so easily. I need the accountability of a buddy, some one to keep my feet shuffling along. But today was a busy day and my usual gym class was going to be a stretch, so I decided to go for a run at home because it was more time efficient and didn't require unnecessary travel. I used to run a short route pretty regularly and after having a successful run with some friends last weekend I figured it was time to test my resolve.
I dropped Skye off at Family Day Care and set off feeling pretty proud, it was still cool outside but the sun was out and it was really beautiful to be out in the fresh air - yes I have made a good choice over the sweaty spin class today. After about ten minutes my lungs are starting to feel tight and my legs are getting heavy, I am tempted to slow to a walk, telling myself its really a nice morning for a walk along the lake. But then the little voice starts to whisper in my ear "you know the first 15 minutes are awful, even at your fittest, you hate the first 15 minutes, just keep going and you will hit your rhythm". So I keep going, bargaining with myself to just get to the next tree, that house just up there, and then I see the hill, I have to change my speed and stride to maintain my pace and by the time I reach the top of that hill my breathing has regulated and my legs have caught up. Right, now I can keep going and start to enjoy the peaceful surrounds.
A few hundred more metres and I round the corner and turn onto the waterfront, its a little windy but that cool breeze is heaven, there isn't another soul around, there is shade from the trees and soft grass under foot. I take all this in and keep going. The tree roots cause the ground to be uneven and my concretration shifts from my surroundings to dodging tree roots which plays havoc with my breathing, damn here comes the slacker again, but I push the doubt aside, you chose to do this run today and you are not going to get home and be disappointed you took the easy option. So I run a bit further until the ground cover gets too much to deal with and I slow to a walk, the lake looks beautiful and its nice to checkout the lovely homes.
Sure enough, as soon as I stop running the to-do list creeps in, groceries, appointments, emails, invoicing and bills, argh! I didn't come here to think, I came here to "be". I start running again and yes it hurts all over again, but I know I won't be able to do this tomorrow, who knows when my next time will be so I pick up my pace and soon I am at the bottom of the last hill. I take a deep breath and I RUN up that hill, not jogging, not just a little faster, I RUN because I know it will all be over in a matter of minutes and I can do this for another few minutes. I huff and pant my way through the front gate and as I take some time to stretch and bring my heart rate back down I realise I am smiling, I know that I have run like a mummy today and mummy's know how to make it count.
