TIART - Transitions

This post is my contribution to Runner's Lounge - Take It and Run Thursday . . .

Fall is always a reminder that life is constantly changing. As I have gone through transitions - to lawyer, to wife, to mother - running has been a constant. So no matter what I may becoming, I am always still a runner.

This really hit home to me in my first few weeks as a new mom. Those bleary-eyed days of wondering "what have I done" left me feeling like a stranger in my own body (and by my own body, I mean the post-partum, flabby stomached version of my own body). I mourned the loss of my old self while telling myself that I was a terrible mother.

Then, three weeks after Sophie was born when I had the okay from my doctor, I went for a run. It was hard and it was difficult to coordinate. My husband was terrified to be alone with the baby for 45 minutes. I had to nurse her quick before I left, and hurry home before she was due for another feeding. But it was wonderful. As I plodded along, gasping for breath, I felt like I had come home.

Running through those post-partum days and reclaiming my lost fitness was a reminder that there is a part of me that, no matter who else I may be, will always be a runner. And no matter what change may be happening around me, I can always throw on my stinky running clothes, lace up my shoes and hit the road.