Just a Mom...

This is tough, this whole writing about myself thing. I sat here and stared at the blank, white blogger box for a long time. I type, I delete, I type again...repeat. I guess I'll just write what comes to mind...

     I have never considered myself an athlete. I am quite clumsy, my motor skills are horrendous, and before I started becoming truly fit, I had the endurance of a sloth. I'm sure this gives you, the reader, so much confidence in anything fitness related that I have to say, right?
     I worked out regularly between college and having kids, but never really had to work at it. I could do the step aerobics classes and Tae-Bo or whatever new trend was popular at the time. I went mountain biking with my husband and did okay at that too. I thought I was in okay shape until he took me running. It was brutal.  I panted. I wheezed. My legs itched like mad. I could feel every jiggle in my body. It was the toughest 8 minutes and 17 seconds of my life...and I had only gone 1/4 of a mile. After that I was discouraged and decided to never run again. I thought I was just too weak.
    A year or so later, our baby girl came along.  So did 65 extra pounds. She only weighed 6 lbs.  Oh, and did I mention that I am only 5 ft tall? I wasn't too worried about it. From everything I saw on TV and in the news, the weight seemed to just fall right off all of the people I admired within 2 months. How naive I was. It didn't fall off, but it didn't bother very much me because we knew we wanted another baby right away.
     After 6 years, 2 c-sections, & 3 kids, I was not that healthy. I had forgotten all about myself and became caught up in the day to day trappings of motherhood. Between lack of sleep, diapers, and laundry, who had time for exercise?  If they were napping, I just wanted to lay down and stare at the wall. Nutrition was not a top priority either. I didn't feel like I had time to fix healthy meals. My meals consisted of eating what the 3 kids did not eat. My meals consisted of rushing around and eating chicken nuggets right off the baking sheet, spoons full of mac and cheese right from the pot, and eating the scraps off of their plates as I cleared the table.
     So here I was: very unfit,  saggy tummy, back-fat rolling over my bra straps, depressed, anxious, and exhausted. Sound familiar? I think many women can relate to this.  It is so easy to get caught up in jobs, motherhood, school, and put ourselves last.  Over the past 5 years, with the help of supportive friends, discipline, and hard work,  I have created a healthier lifestyle, which also became a happier lifestyle.
     Although I have run a few half marathons, participated in many 5 and 10k races, and ran in trail runs, I would never consider myself to be an athlete (although my triathlete friend generously calls me that) nor would I ever say that I am an expert in nutrition. I would consider myself an average, middle of the pack kind of runner. I am not the fittest mom around and sometimes I eat like crap.  I'm just a mom who enjoys learning about fitness and nutrition as a hobby. I hope that you can become a regular to this blog and that my stories can help motivate you. I also hope that by writing this blog, you can motivate me and hold me accountable for keeping up with my health and fitness.  Thanks for stopping by . I am honored that you would take time out of your day to read and I cannot wait to share stories, workouts, tips, and recipes  with you.