When you finally get to run by yourself....

If you're a parent then you’ve been there. You finally get to go for a run by yourself and are so excited for some alone time and a stroller free run! No worries, no hurries (ideally) and no one but yourself!

And then your run sucks....

You feel heavy, tired, unenthusiastic and just blahhh (blahhh is totally a technical term btw) You try to change your playlist, you try a gratitude mile, and you try walking for a bit. Nothing is working and you’re feeling discouraged. What do you do?

I had this type of run not too long ago. I hadn’t been able to go for a solo run in a hot second and was so excited to finally get out there without the stroller or my little running buddy. I got half a mile in and just felt so defeated. Nothing felt like it was connecting and I would run/walk/run/walk and repeat. I did what I could to get back home and tried to be happy that I got out at all.

It can be hard sometimes but that’s just running, you have good days and bad days and sometimes then don’t align how you’d like. I sat on my phone scrolling through my pictures that night and came across some thing I hadn’t written months ago

"You may not always get the miles you want, but you’ll get the miles you need."

~Running & Schmidt

I had written this down a few months ago and forgot about it. But it hit me that it really is true—-that day I didn’t get what I wanted but I got what I needed. I needed to just get out without having to worry about snacks, water, extra snacks or keeping a toddler happy. I needed to feel fresh air and just get out of the house. I needed the break from “momming” for a little bit. Plus, thinking back to that run now I don’t remember how many miles I had planned to do or how many I did but I remember how nice it was just to be by myself for a bit.

I’ve said it before and so have many others—-being a mother/parent is hard. While I absolutely love sharing my running with my little running buddy it can be exhausting. Sometimes I do miss being able to just go on a whim and run with little or no planning. I miss being able to put my headphones on and listen to hardcore rap music or whatever I fancied at that moment. Now it takes planning, negotiations, and baby shark on loop. My solo runs may not always be picture perfect and I may not feel like a super star but no matter how those solo miles go, it’s what I need.

Now on the flip side I sometimes go out for a super focused run and wind up laughing, dancing and singing with my daughter. We get out for breaks at the water to just look at the view, she shares her gold fish with me and cheers me on telling me that I’ve got this. I got out wanting a super run and get what I needed instead—-laughter, memories and a handful of goldfish. We come home with me reminded that this is supposed to be fun and something that she will hopefully grow up remembering as one of the best things.

It goes back to what a lot of people say about running—-in a lot of ways it’s like therapy. It’s something for you, it helps clear your head and can help you feel just that little bit calmer in this crazy crazy world. It keeps us humble, resilient and thankful for what goes right and what we do have. Approaching the holiday season especially a lot of people get hyper focused on what we want and what’s ideal, not just with gifts and events but with our training as well. You’re bound to miss a run or a workout because of

XYZ , no matter how hard you try not to—-don’t beat yourself up. It's inevitable that you are going to have to adjust.

While I’m not saying be thankful for crappy runs, at the very least try to remember that this is something that we GET to do, not that we HAVE to do. ❤