Abigail a.k.a. "The Priority"

Ain't nothin' gonna to break my stride

Nobody's gonna slow me down, oh-no

I got to keep on movin'

Ain't nothin' gonna break my stride...

(que scratched record sound)

....oh wait, I think I hear a baby crying

6 months in, I'm looking back on what I thought it would be like vs. the reality of being a parent. And yes, it is possible to do the things you used to do pre-baby, for the most part, if you are so inclined. But the catch that I didn't realize before? It's exponentially harder! Allow me to give an example.

When I was pregnant, I planned to do the Vancouver Marathon - the full meal deal, post-baby.  I thought it would be a great way to get back in shape. The marathon was the 1st weekend in May, and I figured that would be plenty of time to train. Pfffhhh! It's not that I can't run that far after having a baby, I probably could. But I do not have the time it takes to invest in training. Time is a luxury that I no longer have. I used to think I was busy. I now know that I was very naive. And not only that, I don't want to invest all of my time in running, I would rather lay on the floor and roll a ball to Abigial.

So the full marathon in May got scaled down to a half marathon at the end of June. I'm dedicated to participating in this race. I even bought a jogging stroller. And here I am, 1 week into training & already hitting snags along the way. Abigail is cutting her first tooth, which means she is very cranky and waking up 5+ times each night. On top of that, we started swimming lessons last night that are twice a week. What was I thinking? I don't have time for swimming lessons! I have a race to train for! And a jogging stroller in Seattle is only worth it if you also purchase a rain shield and bunting to go with it - I'm working on that.

So yes, it is possible for me to run a half marathon 8 months post-partum. But it has to be a priority because time is valuable & you have to choose the best way to utilize said time, and I believe Brandon said it best when he came up with a new nickname for Abigail - "The Priority". Abigail trumps all - she really does. So Monday night when I needed to run 4 miles, I didn't. Why? Because The Priority wasn't having it. And you know what? It's ok. I'll survive. I might not have a personal best race, but I will complete it. I will train as much as I can, when I can, but I'm not going to beat myself up if I can't follow my training schedule to a T.

I'm not going to be one of those moms who loses herself & stops being social/taking care of herself, claiming that you can't have a life if you have a baby, but I do choose not to do everything. I have to pick & choose what is most important to me. And yes, Abigail is The Priority, but it's also important that I hold on to my identitiy as Megan, not just Mom. And hopefully I can continue to do that and maintain a healthy balance. It's just that now, living it, the reality is a little (ok, a lot) different than what I imagined it would be. So much harder!

Now, tonight I'm supposed to run a measly 3 miles, yet I've been getting 5 hours of sleep per night & am completely exhausted. We'll see how it goes...