The Connection Runners

The Comeback Kid

Let me preface the rest of this post by apologizing. I've been wallowing in quite the pit of self-despair lately, and there's been just about enough of that.

Yesterday, you guys left me some awesome comments while I lamented over being unable to train for a marathon right now. Those words made me feel all kids of warm and squishy and loved, but it also made me realize something.

I need to just suck it up and be okay with not running crazy miles right now.

So today I want to do two things:

1) Salute a few fellow running mommas who provide me with hope and inspiration to get back out on the road as soon as I can.
2) Outline a few comeback races for next year. You know I heart me some plans.

Running Mommas
First up is Erika.

I only recently met her via Megan, but Erika (on the right) is amazing. She has an adorable little girl named Julia, but she hasn't let the new challenges of mommyhood stop her from racing.

She competes in what seems like a triathlon a week and kicks some serious butt while doing so (we're talking a 10k PR during her most recent tri - wowza!). But that's not all. Homegirl has done two, yes TWO, Half Ironmans this year and is signed up for a half marathon this fall.

Erika reminds me that new moms can be athletic rock stars, and I'm glad we get to hang out this Thursday to bond over miles and froyo.

Next is Kimberly.

I don't know Kimberly IRL, so we didn't have sweet photos of us at the apple orchard together.

However, I do know that she just had little baby Miles (check out his pics on her blog - so cute!), and she's on a mission now to get back into pre-pregnancy shape by finding her running groove again.

If I'm remembering correctly, she started running again about 6 or 7 weeks after he was born. I'd love to be back out by then, if it means short distances and a mix of running and walking.

And then there's Dorothy.

Again, don't know her in real life, but I'd love to pick her brain one day.

She has three kids and manages to run marathons as fast as I can put down a whole can of honey roasted peanuts. I'd tell you how many races and marathons she's done, but there are so many that I can't count.

Dorothy is a big fan of stroller running, too. She's logged some ridiculously fast miles while pushing all three of kids down the road. Although I'll never be quite as fast, I hope to continue to run long distances like Dorothy after LBA comes along.

The Comeback Plan
So, as I mentioned, I've been thinking about what races to get ready for next year.

Already I have a list a mile long in my head (surprised? Then you must not know of my affinity for making lists); however, I realize that I may have to cut down the number of events I'm obliged to, so I tried to keep it to a manageable 4-5 races.

Here's what I'm thinking:
1) A few early spring 5k's or 10k's. Perhaps the Detroit Corktown 5k, which is usually held near St. Patty's Day, the MSU Tower Guard 5k, where I PR'd this year, or the Martian Meteor 10k in April.

2) Late May/Early June half marathon. There's the Dexter-Ann Arbor Half in June that I've heard good things about. But I'd love to go out of state if possible.

3) The Crim in August. Duh. Love this race. It'll be my 5th one, so I'm pretty much already committed there.

4) Fall marathon. Boom. This is my biggest goal for next year, the creme-de-la-creme (is that spelled right?) on the top of my racing schedule cake. So many options exist for this one:
-Detroit Marathon (but I've already done that)
-reclaim my spot among the 45,000 runners in Chicago
-pray like hell for a lottery spot in New York
-head to some other magical city that holds a fall marathon: Philly, Quad Cities (in Illinois), or one of the Rock 'n Roll marathons that seem to be popping up everywhere these days.

Ironically, after this whole post, there'll be no running for me again today. I have to get my wig split in an hour and don't want to be a sweaty beast in the hair salon.

Another day off? I'm totally starting to feel okay with that.

Some questions for you:
-Who inspires you as a runner/triathlete/cyclist, etc... ?
-What cool races do you know about that I should add to my list of possibilities? I need some out-of-state help because I'm completely travel illiterate.