Mom Running, Interrupted

Welcome to New Mom Run Club!

Ever have one of those weeks where everything just feels so topsy turvy and you’re knocked off your game entirely?

Last Thursday, I was standing in line at my local pharmacy waiting for a prescription. Suddenly my vision started to blur. My knees began caving in. Next thing you know, I’m on the floor, and men clad in firefighting gear are hovering around me, ready to lift me onto a stretcher.

In a week filled with mishaps—including, but not limited to, a fire in our building and wildfire smoke that made being outside dangerous—fainting after dental surgery was not something I had on the ol’ proverbial bingo card.

Thankfully, I am fine now, our family is fine, and no one was hurt in the building fire.

I also didn’t know how hungry I would be after surgery. (If you happen to have one coming up anytime soon, might I advise you to stock up on potatoes and a husband who doesn’t mind mashing them up into bowl-fulls for you—an undersold recovery tool that wasn’t mentioned on the one-sheet the dental office gave me to take home).

What I also didn’t realize was that I wouldn’t be able to run or work out. It’s advised that you hold off on strenuous activity—because it could raise blood pressure and delay healing—for at least a week post-surgery. So out of an abundance of caution, I haven’t done any since.

Suffice to say, my training for the Brooklyn Mile has veered right off its track.

There usually comes a point in training where things slip off. It’s then a matter of course-correcting, assessing the damage, and continuing on. The obstacle is the way, and so forth.

But when your training window is so small—in my case, four weeks—it makes it harder to get back on track. With a marathon, you usually have a little more leeway to miss a few days. But the Mile is next weekend—eeek! So, I need to adjust expectations greatly.

The thing is, there will always be something that gets in the way of a goal. Especially now as a mom, I just know that the moment I say, “Bring it on!” the universe hatches up new roadblocks (injury! little one gets sick! other bodily ailments!) to throw in my path.

Not doing my usual run this past Saturday morning did mean I was able to watch Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey. If you know me, you’ll know I love watching films almost as much as I love running. I recently brought back my mini-series, Reviews on the Run, specifically for time-crunched moms who are also film lovers. (If that’s you, follow along for the next one here!)

While I’m not a diehard Nolan fan, I have a deep appreciation for his dedication to the craft of cinema. There were parts I liked about The Odyssey (Ludwig Göransson’s sparse score; the way the film builds into a moving treatise on how we’ve violated the basic tenet of treating your neighbor as you’d treat yourself), and much I didn’t (we needed waaay more Lupita, but Nolan’s treatment of women characters is a whole different genre of newsletter).

At 2 hours and 50 minutes, it’s a big ask for a busy mom, so I wouldn’t blame you if you opted not to spend that time inside a mythological epic like this.

If you do go see it, it is, however, a great reminder to keep traveling forward on whatever your own personal Odyssey may be—overcoming the cyclops or unexpected surgeries that come your way, as you move towards your Ithaca. For me, I thought that was a personal best at the Brooklyn Mile. At this stage, it might just be coming out the other side as the healthiest version of myself at a time of too much strife and not enough liquid snacks.

» » » What about you? Have you had to pivot recently while training for something? Let me know!

• As always, if you’re in New York, we run every second Saturday—you know we’d love to see you there!

• If you’re in Seattle, friend of NMRC Ashley Davies hosts a weekly run at the track, where little ones can play together and eat pizza, while their parents workout together.

• The Haven Midwifery 5K Run/Walk is coming up in September. If you’d like to run for a good cause—to help build a much-needed birth center—you can sign up here.

• Also, if you’re running the SF Marathon this weekend, Katherine Douglas at Running Wylder would like to literally give you your flowers. And if you are running, let me know too, so we can celebrate you for Mom Medal Monday!

If you know of any mom-centered run events in your area that I should be including here, please drop me a line.

• The USATF Outdoor & Para National Championships are being held in New York for this first time this weekend. Our keeps-us-winning mayor is giving away tix.

• Strong women with awesome biceps—may we see them, may we be them.

• Loved this story about moms taking up tennis—and bringing their little ones along for the ride. The article asks a question we here at NMRC spend a lot of time thinking about: What does it take to keep, reclaim or expand an athletic life after children?

• 475 moms applied for this year’s Childcare Grant from For All Mothers+, and the org has been announcing the recipients on their IG.

Thank you so much for reading! Back next week with another Q-and-A from a mom who’s figuring out running four months in.

New Mom Run Club is a newsletter and community exploring motherhood, identity, ambition, and connection through the language of running. ‘New’ is a state of mind around here, so if you’re evolving and adapting, you’re always welcome.

If you’re enjoying the newsletter, I’d love it so much if you’d pass it on to a mom you think would enjoy it too!

Because postpartum is forever.