My journey started 14 years ago when I quit smoking. I was overweight and unhealthy, and I started a learn to run program to change my life habits.
When I had kids, I wanted to show them that struggles (current or past) shouldn’t keep you from doing what makes you happy.
I run to deal with stress, to maintain a healthy weight, to enjoy snacks guilt free, to keep my body from aging quicker, to just be healthy overall, and I want the kids to see that sometimes it’s hard, but if we work as a team, things can be easier or at least more enjoyable.
When I started to train for ultras, I found it took me away from home for long periods so now I have my middle child ride along with me on weekday runs, and my oldest has started mountain biking so he could join me on the trails for weekend long runs. It is super important for all of us to feel included during our heavy training cycles and the kids have taken their “pacing and crew” duties very seriously!
I could never replace the bonding and conversations that I get to have with them during this time.