Guest Blog: Tracy Hill
Becoming a mom has been an amazing experience for me, one that I was never sure if it was for me. I was someone who was always slightly unsure about being a mom. What about my profession? What about my activity level? What about my body?! And then my first baby boy Jackson was placed in my arms and I melted.
I now have two boys: a two year old and an 8 month old. Motherhood has taught me grace and humility towards myself.
3 Half Marathons While Pregnant
I have always been very active and fairly intense in my running. When I first got pregnant with Jackson, I was already signed up for 3 half marathons. I went in with the attitude of, “I’ll do what I can.” I knew this was no time to be a hero, PR or prove anything. It was my time to keep myself and my baby growing inside of me healthy. I learned this is my race and nobody else’s. I was able to complete all 3 half marathons, the last being at 33 weeks. My ego got to me slightly when I became pregnant with my second, Logan. I felt like since Jackson got 3 half marathon medals, baby #2 should as well. I was not as confident, however, so I registered for one at a time. I knew my body was not quite as solid. Again, I told myself to do my thing and not worry about what other people were doing. Lucky for me, I had less discomfort running than I did walking so I was able to complete all 3 races.
Running For Sanity
Now here I am. Two boys under the age of 3, working full time and still nursing. While looking at me, you might think I have my body back, but only I know how I feel inside. I don’t feel quite right. I know I’m not strong yet. I make time to get to the gym or run at least 4-5 days a week. Somedays I feel like a champ, other days a failure. Being a runner, obviously I’m friends with lots of runners. I see everyone’s posts on social medial of their training and how awesome they’re doing. And here I am scrambling to get an hour workout in before someone wakes up or before the boob clock goes off. It’s not easy, let me tell you. But I manage to do it for both my sanity and my health.
Last weekend I participated in the Lifetime Tempe International Triathlon as a relay team where I ran the 10K. Here I am surrounded by phenomenal athletes who most of them did the entire thing themselves. How easy it would be for me to talk down to myself and think about what a loser I am that all I did was the run and they are STILL beating me?! Instead I just ran my race, even though the pre-baby me would have never considered that pace a race. In the past, I probably would have been humiliated by how I ran that race. Not anymore. Now I have realized I have to embrace each stage of life I’m in. I have to give myself grace wherever I am.
New Journey – New PRs
We are all in different stages of life. Everyone has a story. Everyone is on their own journey. This is my “new mom’s running journey”. It’s easy to get caught up with someone else’s journey and compare. But just remember, you are you. And your running and athletic journey cannot be anyone else’s. Take your time, be humble and gracious at whatever stage of life you’re in. For me, it’s building my post-baby body back, staying healthy for me and my boys. I’m setting new PRs at a new stage of my life. And yes, post baby PRs count!
