My mother is always right. Always. Whether I like it or not, her advice always comes back to haunt me when I don’t follow it - this time is no exception. When I told her I was planning on doing a half-marathon in May, her response was, “Are you eating enough? You look like you’ve lost weight - if you’re going to do distance training, you need to make sure you’re eating enough and taking care of yourself.” Well, being the strong-willed person I am, I laughed and said, “Don’t worry, I’ll be fine.” Turns out I AM human and I CAN’T do it all. So, when faced with this:
2 kids (2.5 yrs and 14 months)
2 jobs (which I love) with some tight deadlines
a husband who works late (NOT by choice) and is never home in the evenings
a unquenchable thirst for learning
family obligations
a trip to Chicago next weekend (REALLY excited about this!)
training for a half-marathon
What gives? It ended up being the half-marathon, and I’m ok with that. I have 2 marathons and 3 halves under my belt from back in the day before kids, a husband, and 2 jobs - those will do for now. I don’t have to prove myself to anyone anymore and my mom was right, I DO have to eat right and sleep enough to be able to train effectively. Otherwise, EVERYTHING suffers. Oh yeah, and there was no way a 10-mile training run was going to be squeezed into this weekend. I’m human, I guess it’s time, at 27, to finally accept it. My 2 mile powerwalks will have to do for now……….
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{ 6 comments… read them below or add one }
Wisdom at 27 - WOW!
Actually, a good lesson that I’m trying to learn as well!
It’s okay to be human :) and even to get tired!
Sounds like maybe some 10k or 5k’s are in your future–fun runs, not “stress” runs? ;)
@Carolyn - who knows, 10K/5k or maybe just good old practice…….I’m not good with pressure in running, so maybe just concentrate on building my base back up slowly and surely. I’m also really excited about getting to start swimming again this summer……….
@Stuart - can you imagine? I’ve actually learned something in only those few short years!
Kate,
Being human has its up side, too: more Mother/child time, more wife/husband time, more blog & Twitter time, more time to enjoy the seasons.
Since you like literature, here’s a poem for you:
Black Oaks
“Okay, not one can write a symphony, or a dictionary,
or even a letter to an old friend, full of remembrance
and comfort.
Not one can manage a single sound though the blue jays
carp and whistle all day in the branches, without
the push of the wind.
But to tell the truth after a while I’m pale with longing
for their thick bodies ruckled with lichen
and you can’t keep me from the woods, from the tonnage
of their shoulders, and their shining green hair.
Today is a day like any other: twenty-four hours, a
little sunshine, a little rain.
Listen, says ambition, nervously shifting her weight from
one boot to another — why don’t you get going?
For there I am, in the mossy shadows, under the trees.
And to tell the truth I don’t want to let go of the wrists
of idleness, I don’t want to sell my life for money,
I don’t even want to come in out of the rain.”
-Mary Oliver
Kate,
Thanks for the validation of my motherly advice. Though you come from a long line of strong women…we all learn that there are actually times to say “enough”. Enjoy the weekend…and the poem by Mary Oliver!
Love, MOM
Nancy,
You’ve done a wonderful job raising a strong, independent woman.
Kate is the same age as my younger child. I’m enjoying interacting with my two children - and Kate - as colleagues now rather than just as an “authority figure.” But sometimes the Mom role is in order, still!
diane
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