Running skirt

I've bought one of those fancy running skirts on eBay. I thought: 'What the heck! I always wear skirts so why not while I'm running!'

But now that I've got my very own running skirt I feel great trepidation wearing it. Besides the obvious worries about exposing more thigh than I'ld like, a running skirt seems to be saying: 'Look at me! I'm a serious runner. I didn't just throw on some old sweatpants and a ratty old t-shirt, I actually bought running gear.'

It made me realize that I dress wáy down when I go out for a run. The more stupid I look the more comfortable I feel. That way, when I'm running my little heart out at my snail's pace, it's alright, because my clothes say: 'Hey, don't comment on my pace. I'm not to be taken seriously.'

But now my running skirt has upped the ante and I find myself facing a whole new challenge. The challenge of taking myself seriously as a runner!

Modern day child's play

One surefire way to cure the growing epidemic of child obesity is getting kids outside to run and play.
So I did.
But then they didn't .

Pushing through walls as a parent and as a runner!

Jenny Masche gave birth to sextuplets and ran a marathon a year after. How did she manage thát, you may ask while you grit your teeth thinking you were ecstatic when you were dressed before noon after a year?!

“Because they’re good sleepers,” Jenny Masche told Meredith Vieira during an exclusive interview on TODAY Thursday in New York. “As soon as I put them down at 7 o’clock at night, I’d literally throw my running shoes on and my friend and I would go and run for like two hours.”

What interests me about Jenny is the connection she sees between running and parenting!

“The marathon was so fun for me — until I hit 21 miles,” Jenny recounted. “Then you hit a wall. You push through and you’re so exhilarated.”

"It’s not unlike raising six children through the first year of life," she added.
“I hit walls taking care of them sometimes. I don’t want to get out of bed. But then you push past them and there’s something exhilarating on the other side.”
It has been a lot of work, the Masches admitted.

“Laundry is a never-ending process,” Jenny told TODAY. “We get them up, we feed them, change them, play with them, go for a nap, get them up, feed them, change them, play with them, they go for a nap. The routine is definitely the key to our success.”

So I'm sure you can see Jenny and I have a lot in common! We both see the connection between running and motherhood.
Now if only I could run a marathon...

Runner's dialogue

I suppose every runner knows it: this inner dialogue, where a little voice whispers: 'Why don't you just stop! You're hot and tired, why should you keep running?! It would be sooo much easier to just sit down.'
But then there's this other voice inside of you that insists you can do it. 'Yes you cán run another mile! You can do it!'

This Nike commercial is a beautiful portrayal of the inner struggle of runners and the way running can give you a sense of renewal. A sense of overcoming yourself!

Hope you enjoy it as much as I did!

The school run

Today I was late picking up the kids from school. As I hurried to the school other moms were already going back home.

'Where wére you mom?!' my eldest son said and gave me a stern look.
'I'd forgotten the time,' I said and started to gather them together to cross the street.
'After ten years of doing the school run, mummy is getting a bit bored,' I added, the words spilling from my lips before I could stop them. And I thought of walking that same kilometer to and from school eight times a day, for seven years.
My son gave me an understanding look: 'I understand mom. I think school is dead boring too!' and he patted my back.

Then I knew: the school run is still worth it.