Third Time’s a Charm
By: Coach Cati Davis
Well, it happened again! I got one of those crazy mom thoughts, you know, one that you’re not sure of the outcome, because it scares you a bit. As a mom, there are a lot of times where you feel like you have failed. Once you feel like you’ve got things under control and figured out, boom! You smack your kid’s head on the frame of the car door when you’re getting them in or out of the car seat! With all the failures, the positive takes over and you get the biggest reward in the world, and that’s being a parent
When you hit these challenges in parenting, you feel like you need something to pick yourself back up and dust yourself off, something that makes you feel like you’ve got this whole parenting gig under control. This is when I came up with the goal of running a timed 5k with the twins. I knew it was a long shot, but it was a goal that I put in my head, that I wanted to make sure I achieved. It was a goal that challenged me to stay committed, let me get time away and let my mind relax, and it was a goal that included the babies.
I started by choosing a 5k that I knew would challenge me, so I went with the Ryan Hummert 5k, that took place at the end of September. I thought of this goal in the spring, knowing that I would need a good amount of time to help me train to feel confident to run the 5k. I wasn’t running to PR, but to just be able to run the entire 5k with a continuous pace.
As far as training myself to get ready, I had to add a little bit more running into my workouts. I have been training for OCR so I had a good amount of work under my belt with personal training and group training for the OCR’s. Running didn’t seem to be the issue, but adding 75 plus pounds to my running, was the challenge. I started with shorter runs working my way towards a 3 mile run. Overall I ran about 4 times a week, with two of those runs being with the babies in the BOB stroller. I highly recommend this stroller for running and don’t think just any stroller would have done the job. We got ours used and it has been amazing!
As the Ryan Hummert run quickly approached I made sure to get one 3 mile run with the babies under my belt on my own time, so that I knew I was confident I could at least do the 3 miles. As I have learned before, there are so many obstacles that can get in the way of achieving your goal. The day of the run was perfect, a light mist at times, but the temperature was perfect as I had been watching all week to make sure it was something the babies could handle when running. Well, the inevitable happened, roadblock number one, as we had “adulting” issues with the house that needed to be fixed asap. The schedule was off and time was not on my side to bring the babies on this run. I was not happy about this because of obvious reason. Well this must have been what I needed at the time because I still ran the 5k (no babies), was able to PR and get first place in my age group for the run!
What seemed to be a roadblock towards my goal, was what helped me get stronger and push myself to want to reach it more. So on I went to pick another timed 5k to reach my goal. Our family participates in the Sarcoma 6k every year at Creve Coeur lake and that was coming up in October. This was a flat run, but the distance was a little longer. I was ready for the challenge! As hundreds of people lined up, we got the babies in their stroller to take off, not knowing it would take 20 minutes to actually start the run. Long story, short, walking and active 1.5 year olds don’t stay in a stroller that isn’t moving for twenty minutes. Lesson learned and obstacle two in the books for this goal.
After this I was down and felt like this just wasn’t the goal for me. My husband wasn’t going to let this happen. He saw how bad I wanted this and how I wanted to prove to the babies that there are bumps in the road in life, but you can’t let them get you down and they should only push you harder. The challenges I met, made me do exactly that. I got this far, so why quit now. I didn’t want the babies to know I failed in something I knew I could do. 5k number 3! I signed up for one that I knew would be fun and a great motivator. So I chose the Webster Groves Ivory Crockett run. This is where I grew up and went to high school, so I knew it was one that wouldn’t let me down.
I was prepared for this one (may be a little too prepared). We arrived with plenty of snacks for the babies, the weather was absolutely perfect and we got there just in time to get in line and go. I didn’t have time to get nervous and the babies didn’t have time to decide that they would rather run around. They had snack in hand and blankets to keep cozy. It was a great set up. They had the highschool band playing and cheerleaders cheering you on as you went and the volunteers were great at motivating you throughout the run. There were hills on this run, but it only pushed me to go faster and get this goal accomplished!
We were on the home stretch and I could hear the band playing as we came around the corner to see the finish line. We made it!! Not one complaint from the babies, snacks still in hand and we crossed that finish line together!
Out of the goals I have accomplished this was the most important one to me. I failed this goal 2 times and I think this is what pushed me harder. It pushed me harder that I I had two sweet souls with me the whole time throughout training for this goal and with me when I crossed the finish line. They are what kept me going. They may not know that, but there are many times where I could have just given up and decided that it wasn’t the goal for me. They need to know that there are going to be times where you hit obstacles in life, but you have to let them make you stronger and don’t let them keep you from something that you really want.
I felt stronger, physically after this goal, but more than ever I felt mentally strong knowing that I failed something that made me stronger in the end!