Call me crazy

Anyone who knows me well enough knows that I rarely sit down and do just nothing (although I did relish in doing nothing a few times while I was pregnant), let alone one thing at a time - usually I'm multitasking. So sometime awhile ago I decided that it wouldn't be enough to just focus on my new job as a mom, but I wanted to also try to train for a marathon that would take place 4.5 months after Emma was born. I know it's not going to be easy and I have absolutely no time goals - I just want to finish and make my daughter proud (even though she'll have no idea what mom just did). I also have always wanted to run the original marathon course in Athens, Greece, so what if it just happens to be a few months after having a baby?

 

As I anticipated it might be, running has never been more difficult in my life than it is right now post-pregnancy, and I even ran up until about 33 weeks pregnant (although I could hardly call those runs). Aside from it being physically difficult, never before has more planning been involved to get me out the door, I have to:

1. Make sure Steve is home. I know that's pretty obvious, but surprisingly enough Emma isn't quite old enough to stay by herself yet (there's another whole story there as to how young the Swiss let children do things on their own). This has been more challenging than I expected as almost every week since mid-July he has been out of town for at least a few days for work. So with the exception of a day here or there where a friend will watch Emma for a few hours I have limited options of when I can work out. Yet in the not too distant future Emma will be strong enough to safely ride along in a jogging stroller. It will be great to have the convenience of being able to go almost anytime I want, except that means I also have to push her, which could be especially challenging considering number three below!
2. Make sure Emma has either been recently fed or has food ready for her or both. Easy enough, but adds a good 30 minutes to preparation time (which is not fun when you're trying to get out the door at 5 am).
3. Figure out where I am going to run that isn't going to be terribly difficult considering there are A LOT of hills where we live. Ok, well really there is just one big hill. Zurich is in a valley and we just happen to live on the side of the hill. You can only run flat for a short distance and then it's either up or down (which of course means eventually back up.)

A few weeks ago with all three of these factors looming, one of my first "long" runs on the training schedule, and recovering from a cold I was feeling rather unmotivated. So Steve devised a plan to help me get my run in. He found a trail that was a short train ride away and the trail was just a little shorter in distance than how far I needed to run that day, and we decided that I would run the entire thing while he walked with Emma. Then, since it was a couple miles short of how far I wanted to go I would turn around when I got to the end and run back to where he and Emma were at before finishing the hike with them. Although I still wasn't feeling particularly excited about it, before I knew it we had packed up a small backpack with Emma's "supplies" for the afternoon and we were out the door.

Towering trees

Overall it was a good idea and provided a "fun" run with new scenery. However it ended up being a slight bit more challenging than anticipated because the trail was not marked as clearly as it could have been. I have come to the conclusion that it must just be assumed that the Swiss always know where they are going on these trails because when there are about 10 different directional signs it can be more than a bit confusing, especially as sometimes it points multiple ways to get to the same end destination. Luckily we decided it was best that I also run with my phone and I ended up having to "radio" back to my walking partners several times to make sure I was making the correct turn and they would go that direction as well. There was only one time with a significantly wrong turn that helped me run about an extra mile or so. The whole time I pretty much felt like I was on a scavenger hunt trying to get to the next check-in spot and not get too far off course.

The trail took us through a beautiful forest area with amazing trees that I likened to a what the Redwood forests in California must look like. We also had some sweeping views over Lake Zurich towards the end of the path. Once again leaving me in amazement of what a beautiful country we live in.

On the way back to Lake Zurich

At the end of the day I was happy we had done it (even if there was a huge diaper blow-out at the last minute as we waited on the train platform). I was happy and thankful I have my husband to help motivate me to reach my goals and keep me on track (I think he's just happy he was the one walking). And I'm happy to report that since that weekend my motivation seems to be increasing and every run is getting "easier" than the one before.

My motivation!