The Anti-Running Runner

For years, this blog ( The Anti-Running Runner ) has been a place for me to document my love/hate relationship with running. As a new mom, I've struggled to keep up with posting regular blogs, but I'm still running. After going through back and heel injuries for almost two years, plus new baby, running now looks a little different for me. I'm no longer training for half marathons. Not yet. I hope to get back there eventually, but my focus has been running between 3-5 miles about 3 times a week (sometimes walking/jogging intervals). If you've pushed a jogging stroller, you might relate to the sensation that while pushing that stroller for 3 miles, it feels like I've gone farther. It's also hot hot hot right now. I also don't have as much time for running as I used to now that I have a baby. When hubby and I run together, he pushes the jogging stroller. That's also a gift for me to have stroller-free running moments. Here we are near downto...

The Goal: To Finish Goal Achieved! The Rollin' Oats Trop 10K at St. Pete Run Fest was an incredible race. My dear friend and sister in Christ, Terry, ran with me, and we not only finished under an hour and a half, but we ran the whole time! Not to mention we had a blast running together. The weather was overcast with high 60's to low 70's and a gentle breeze. We couldn't have prayed for a more perfect day to race. Terry and I preparing to start the race Me, Terry, Amy, Kim, and Michelle in the corral This is the second year of St. Pete Run Fest, and the first year for a 10K to be included. The course started in front of the Dali Museum, and looped around some of the downtown streets before heading up 1st Ave South (slight incline) all the way to Tropicana Field where we got to do a lap inside the stadium. Then the course went beyond the Trop, looped back around to Central Avenue, and we followed the slight decline all the way to the waterfront. ...

The Shirt Doesn't Lie In a little less than a month, I'll be running (and also probably walking) my first post-partum race. The hubby and I are signed up for the St. Pete Run Fest 10K on November 18th. Notice my shirt in the photo? It's very true. I've never been one of the fast runners (like some of my coworkers at St. Pete Running Company). Especially now, I'm getting back to it slowly but surely. However, I've been dealing with a condition called diastisis recti, and it's been causing me quite a lot of lower back pain. Race Motivation It never fails. When I sign up for a race, I take my running more seriously. If I don't have a race coming up, I tend to slack. It's similar to having a writing deadline. If I make a reasonable deadline for myself, there's a much greater chance that I'll complete whatever project I'm working on. And I have to admit, I've been slacking on the core exercises which are supposed to help...

Never Forget Image from Pixabay It's been 17 years since terrorists crashed two planes into the World Trade Center, killing almost 3,000 people including rescuers. One plane crashed into the Pentagon, killing nearly 200. The plane that was bound for another target crashed into a field, the lives of those on the plane numbering 40 people. Most of us remember where we were on 9/11/01. Some lost family, friends, and loved ones. Where Was I on 9/11/01? As a sophomore at Flagler College in St. Augustine, FL, where I would later earn my B.A. in English, I was in poetry class at the time of the attack in New York City. Not until after class did I hear from people in the hallways that the World Trade Center had been struck by planes. From a visit to my alma mater in 2016 When I left class, I walked to the house on Saragossa Street where I lived with six other female roommates. I found most of them glued to the television. And I couldn't look away, either....