When I was preggo, people would follow up their initial “congratulations” with super helpful hints of horror as to how Life was now going to take a turn for the worst:
“You’ll never sleep again!”
“You’ll be lucky if you can shower once a week!”
“Say “Goodbye” to your free time!”
“Pray your baby doesn’t have colic, but it probably will!”
“I remember mine crying for 3 days straight!”
“I didn’t sleep for 8 months!”
“You’ll do laundry every day!”
Fortunately, they’d end their pitch for a Stephen King novel with, “But it’s all so rewarding.” before returning to the checkout at TCBY, leaving me questioning, “Which part?”
Despite many of the warnings above being factual for all parents, I devoted a lot of energy (maybe too much) to proving the customers at TCBY wrong: I managed to shower regularly (no, the shower doesn’t drown out Baby’s crying), I did laundry every other day instead of daily, I made time to visit the figurative gravesite where my “free time” is buried, and I even slept every now and then. Sure, my main activity was crying with the baby while fighting exhaustion and severe depression, but the transformation from gremlin to goddess I felt when I found time for a shower is indescribable.
Now, about running:
Parenthood requires sacrifice. So does training for a marathon.
After last week’s epiphany about how I was failing to jam my pre-baby training routine into my post-baby life, I took stock of these little luxuries I’ve managed despite being a brand new mom. This minor Bri-flection revealed there aren’t enough hours in the day to add marathon training to a schedule that also prioritizes not looking like a foot while I raise my baby. I have to sub stuff out (not including raising my baby, as that is a cemented aspect of this new life).
So, instead of ending the night with wine, sloth, and watching some True Crime garbage on YouTube, I do my best to use that time to go for a run. Instead of saying, “Maybe tomorrow” when I miss my opportunity to take a morning run, I’ll stay in my gross running clothes so I’m ready to leap into it when another opportunity presents itself.
And I make myself endure longer runs while pushing Baby (who always feels 5-10 lbs heavier than she did the day before) while wrangling a dog who has no sense of where the jogger is when a squirrel is in sight. We’re close enough to the GR Marathon now to where training does have to be prioritized along with keeping your baby from putting her fingers in exposed outlets.
But, don’t worry. It’s all so rewarding ;)
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