A Word About Running Moms

By far the two hardest physical things I have ever done are 1. finish a marathon, and 2. deliver a baby.  Or, maybe more specifically, carry a baby to term.  Quite honestly, I found the delivery part to not be that difficult in comparison to the 40 LONG weeks before the baby's arrival.  Certainly everyone's experience is different though.

If you think about it, finishing an endurance race is much like a pregnancy.  There comes a point in both where you feel like you really cannot make it, and wonder what on earth you got yourself into.  For me, that point in a marathon is somewhere around mile 22.  The end is so close, but there are 4 miles that have to be covered before you get relief.  4 miles.  Nothing, but when you've put 22 behind you, your perspective surely changes.  In this current pregnancy, I have reached my mile 22 at 38 weeks.  Everything hurts, and there is a clear end in sight, but my mind is telling me that it's not sure I can make it.

I have told you before that anyone can run a marathon (or whatever your distance of choice is) because running is 90% mental.  My head is not in the pregnancy game right now, much like it gets in my way at mile 22.  The point I have reached is the point where my physical discomfort has become greater than my mental capacity to push it down, to reason that it's only temporary (seriously, whichever motivational genius coined: Pain is temporary, pride is forever---rock on!).

Giving birth to a child is by far and away easier than a marathon.  I'm not going to sugar coat it, moms. In childbirth, you have zero choice.  That baby is getting out one way or another, and your best bet is to accept that and go with it.  You can choose to do it with more comfort (an epidural) or less (without drugs), but fact is, it's happening.  In a marathon, your head can get in the way so much that you actually physically cannot finish.

Why am I sharing this?  Well, one because I need to get my head on right and accept the fact that I have 14 more days (or less!) of discomfort, such a short amount of suffering for a beautifully great reward.  Two, because we all have our struggles, and it's important to know that we aren't alone in that.  I find such strength and motivation from my own athletic accomplishments that I am writing this in the hope that I will ignite something deep down that can get me through the next few weeks and through labor and delivery as easily as the first time around.

I am trying to recall those last few miles of my last races (so many months ago...) to draw inspiration.  In life we need to make comparisons and find inner strength where we can.  When things get hard, relate your situation to something else challenging that you've done and overcome.