The good about being done having kids? I can focus on running/weightloss/getting faster without knowing that at some point in the future I’ll have to start all over.

The bad? I lost a lot of stamina and endurance with that pregnancy. Carrying 13 pounds of baby and being 60+ inches around doesn’t really help your midsection, nor does it allow you to do much other than walk (and that is at a VERY slow pace).

The ugly? I have no more excuses. No more reasons why I shouldn’t try harder. No more excuses that I’ll have to slow down eventually so I might as well take it easy now. None.

So here we go again. Unfortunately, this picture sums up my training quite beautifully:

So yeah. Wardrobes have been switched out from shorts that ride low to compression capris that hold in the post-baby belly. We had to learn how to run on hills. Because, you know, I was able to avoid those in WA. I could run anywhere I wanted without having to run a hill if I really wanted to avoid them. Here? I have to do at least 100 feet of elevation change just to get from my house to the lower housing area less than a half mile away. And then I have to come back up that to get home.

No more excuses.

And yet, I feel stronger. When we first got here the hill leading to our house would leave me breathless on a run. Today? I did it three times with the neighbor.

Before, trying to hold a conversation during an “easy” run was a joke. The concept of an “easy” run was a joke. The concept of a run that didn’t involve a step of walking was a joke. Now? The neighbor and I did 5 miles last weekend without breaking stride and joking the whole time, still at a faster pace than my half-marathon PR.

I will never win. And my fastest times may be when I’m trying to catch up to the girl scout selling cookies. But ya know what? I can’t get worse, and I won’t ever have to stop again. Some day I might even be able to push a double jogger. And run. All at the same time. For now? The jogger will be reserved for parks and malls, and running will be reserved for girl time with a great friend and burning off those girl scout cookie calories.

That said, next up: Why girl scout cookie season occurring right after new years resolutions are made is just cruel…