How inspiring was this year’s Boston Marathon on Monday?  The human spirit can be so beautiful, especially collectively.  The way the people of Boston came back in droves, resilient, strong and determined, it just made me burst with pride.

On to my lil’ ole’ baby-weight-loss project.  I started running last week and I couldn’t be happier about it.  A quick history: I played field hockey in high school and we ran and ran and ran.  I hated it so much, that after I graduated, I didn’t run for ten years.  In my late twenties, I would run if I was desperate for exercise and there wasn’t a Pilates studio in sight.  (Okay, that maybe happened twice.)  Then, something happened.  I don’t remember what,  I was just frustrated with life, then frustrated turned into pissed off.  I felt like the only way to get the aggression out was to run, oddly enough.  So, I did.  I wasn’t fast or “good”, but it felt incredible.  It melted away my anger and my pain.  When I was finished, I was no longer ruminating and I felt strong.  It was the therapy I hadn’t known I needed.

I never became a legit “runner”, but for the last three years, about twice a week, I would put my earbuds in and alternate walking and running to each song for an hour.  Or, if I only had twenty or thirty minutes, I would try to run the whole time.  I even ran a few months into my pregnancy, and once I stopped, I really missed it (!)

The point is, you don’t have to be any good.  You don’t have to be fast or graceful.  You don’t have to measure your run in distance, speed or time.  You just make a good playlist and go at your own pace.  You will always break a sweat, you will always feel like you’ve accomplished something, and you will always feel too worn out to be upset.  On top of that, you will always burn calories and you will get better and better at it and burn more and more calories!  Win, win, win.

I’ve been using the Couch to 5K app and I bought a discounted BOB running stroller on Ebay so Annabel can get some fresh air and vitamin D along with me.  I still consider myself a total beginner, so if any of you have any tips for me, please do share.  I need all the help I can get!

On that note, thank you, from the bottom of my heart, to those of you who reached out in response to my breastfeeding post last week.  I received so many kind comments and emails and text messages and voicemails, all positive, all reassuring, all comforting.  Every.  Single.  One.  I was so afraid to put my experience out there for fear I’d be judged as a hypocrite, but all you amazing women did the opposite; you gave me a giant hug!  When women aren’t busy judging each other, we sure do make an excellent support system.

You’re welcome 🙂

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