Miles to Go

Now that it's insufferably hot outside, I do all my walking on the treadmill at the gym. There's a certain hill program that I particularly favor-- pre-pregnancy, I was running it, using the hills to keep me conditioned for distances. Now I walk it. And every week I walk it a little slower.

Today, I finished walking, flushed and aching in my hips and lower back. I lifted a few weights, and then went to pick up the kids from the child-center, feeling pretty proud of myself. As I entered, the cheerful lady behind the counter greeted me with, "Wow, due any day now, huh?"

I plastered a smile on my face and told myself not to take it personally. {But honestly, when is that ever a good thing to say to someone?}

Yes, I'm huge. Yes, I know it. And yes, I will get even bigger in the next 8 weeks.

But I'm not going to think about that. {I'm not!}

I'm going to think about after the next 8 weeks. Because once the baby is born, I'll keep walking my hill program. And every week I'll walk it a little faster. Until one day, I'll be running it again.

The baby comes in August. In November, I'm running a 5k. In December, a 10k. And in January, a half marathon.

Funny, isn't it? My motivation for ignoring the pains of the coming 8 weeks is a pair of sneakers and the promise of weeks filled with a different kind of pain.

Such is life. :)

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