Canadian vs American

I’m talking distance, folks! Not who has the better leader or the better health care system. This blog is about running after all (not politics – unless it’s politics as it relates this mother runner).

A few weeks ago my BRF (best running friend) asked me if I wanted to run “10 at 7”. This did not seem like an unreasonable request – we had just run a marathon a few weeks ago and even if I had only gone running twice, maybe three times, since then, I thought “What’s 10 miles, if we need to walk, we’ll walk but we will get it done!”  

That same weekend, another mother runner from our Moms RUN this Town (MRTT) chapter needed to run 20 miles. “Perfect!” I thought. “We can run half of her distance with her so she wouldn’t have to run all of it alone.”

I texted my BRF. 

Me: Would you mind if we did our 10 miles with this other friend who needs 20 this weekend?

BRF: 10 miles? I thought we were doing a 10k….

Me: Oh no!! I was totally thinking American miles and not Canadian miles…

BRF: Lol! No worries! We can do 10 American miles – if we have to walk, we’ll walk!

My BRF is the BESTEST!!! Despite being from Canada and having a skewed sense of distance….

So four fabulous mother runners went out and did 10 (American) miles on a beautiful Saturday morning (with one fierce mother runner going on to do 19). 

And then this happened…..

Aaaaaarrrgggghhhhh!!

Damn that American 0.1! 

I Fish Love Running

I recently saw a video from Rabbi Dr. Abraham Twerski about True Love.  He told the story of a man who said he “loves fish” and then he comments that this man loved fish so much that “he took the fish out of the water, killed it and ate it”.  The question: Is that True Love? The answer is “No” – if you love someone or something because of what it can give you, that isn’t True Love.  True Love is about giving to the other, not taking.  Mother Teresa seems to also agree.

With all this evidence, I think I have to finally admit something….I don’t truly love running. I fish love running.  I love running because of what it can give me – muscular legs, smaller waistline, stronger heart and lungs, time for myself and time with other health-minded women.  Running gives me perspective – it clears my head and my heart.  When I run outside, running gives me the chance to enjoy the beauty of quiet rail trails and the hustle of city sidewalks.  Running on a treadmill gives me permission to use my imagination and make believe that running an incline of 4 is equal to running the Mount Washington Road Race.

What have I given to running? Hundreds of old sneakers (which I usually donate to the Nike Reuse-a-shoe Program)…smelly sports bras and running capris….OK – I do give up time with my family but honestly, I don’t mind because I need that time away.  I’ve also given up time from other activities like eating, reading, pooping, watching TV, but it’s not like I’ve given up chocolate or midnight mint mocha frappuccinos.

I’ve tried to do my part in giving back to the running community. I’ve volunteered at races and I’ve devoted numerous hours to my Moms RUN this Town (MRTT) chapter.  And this year, I coordinated the first Healthy Kids Running Series (HKRS) in my new hometown, a program that promotes the running lifestyle to kids age 2-13.  But does that truly show my love of running or does it show that I just love to get free shirts?

In my opinion, all these activities have given back to me in more ways than I’ve given to them.  Joining MRTT was my way of getting to know other women in my new area. Starting HKRS gave me an outlet for my energy and creativity since I had 3 out of 4 kids at school this past year.

Are you keeping score of who truly loves who? Well, you shouldn’t! True love doesn’t work that way!

I just have to accept it – running truly loves me while I only fish love running.  At least for now.  Maybe the next race will be the one to prove that I really, truly do love running.

But I wouldn’t hold my breath…

 

 

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© iiDo and iDoRun, 2017. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material (written or pictorial/photographical) without express and written permission from this site’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to iiDo and iDoRun with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

Frozen

My heartbeat slowed

But didn’t stop

You made my heart Brake

And Break

Shattered and frozen

Because you couldn’t…wouldn’t….didn’t

So I pick up the pieces

And pick up the pace

You’re on your own now.

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Hello! It’s been a long time….

It’s seemed like a very long winter for many reasons…yet, all seasons must come to an end and I randomly decided that today was the day for this particular season to end for me. Today is Mother’s Day 2017 – a day of significance for women who may be celebrating or grieving, answering their call to action or acknowledging that mothering comes in many forms.

I have “mothered” since I was a young child: helping out around the house by doing laundry, the dishes, watching my younger siblings. I was the “listening ear” and “shoulder to cry on” for my friends. I was responsible and dependable.  I have always been a caretaker in some form or another.  I even entered a profession based on care taking.

Yet, being a mother is something that, I still feel, doesn’t come naturally to me.  In the same way, that running doesn’t come naturally to me. What does come naturally to me is sleeping, eating, snuggling in a warm bed, and reading books for hours.  However, none of those things can get you medals on a regular basis.

But being an AWESOME MOTHER RUNNER does!!

Thanks to the wonderful folks at Gone for a Run and of course, my fantastic Moms RUN this Town Chapter, I got a 5K run done on this Mother’s Day Weekend.  (Thanks to my husband and kids, the laundry got folded and I did not touch one pan this entire weekend!)

This run gave me some time to think about my relationship with my other female friends, most of whom are moms in one way or another.  I used to think that being a mom automatically made us “simpatica” – the shared understanding of the push and pull that comes with being responsible for these little bundles of energy and love.

However, these past few months has taught me the difficult truth that this isn’t always true – there may be a time and place, that another woman and I might connect but then later, in different circumstances, that connection becomes broken and may even become irreparably severed.

At times, I’ve felt that way about running, too – that running and I had reached a point where we weren’t on the same wavelength. More specifically, running wanted to keep me moving forward, while my body, heart and/or mind wanted to keep me firmly on the couch.  These impasses have always been difficult for me to navigate, yet in the end, moving forward always wins and I put my running shoes on.

So, that’s what I’m doing today. Because staying frozen is really not an option.  I’m ready to “let it go” (haha, of course! Insert eye roll here) and start moving forward again.

 

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© iiDo and iDoRun, 2017. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this site’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to iiDo and iDoRun with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.