A Shout-Out to All the Moms Out There

I was reminded yesterday why I started this blog over a year ago, and that was to represent moms in Gazelle class (or really any mom trying to train for an event or just exercise). I remember tiring of the posts that listed detailed split times and hours spent training. I remember thinking, do these people have jobs? Kids? Other hobbies? Chores to do? A yard to mow?

Well, the fact is that many of my running friends do not have children or their children are old enough to care for themselves. And many of the blogs from a year ago are authored by non-parents or men who have a situation enabling them to run frequently and blog about it.

So, here I am. A full-time working mom who actually would rather skip a long run (which I did this weekend) so she can spend time enjoying family and friends before the Sunday chore crunch strikes. I also must confess that I have a husband who also runs, so it makes it even more difficult to schedule blocks of time for me to go lope around the trail or track. I also have other hobbies, some of which I greatly prefer to running (No!).

Here's a shout-out to Mary Ann and Elizabeth. A big one goes out to Sarah, my dear, sweet friend who is a big reason I go to the MW afternoon class at all anymore. I send a shout-out to former Gazelle Moms whose family commitments pulled them away from Gazelles: Kathy (maker of Coach's awesome Gazelle shirt) and Tina (she trained for the Austin marathon on her own!). Here's a shout out to Ivi, Ava, Michelle and all the other fast Gazelle moms. I know there are others out there who spend almost as much time scheduling their running time as actually running. I send a hearty shout-out to you as well. I'd love to meet you, so I can shake your hand and give you a nod that only busy moms can understand and appreciate.

And you know what? In honor of my mother, who never trained for anything while I was growing up, here's a shout-out to all the moms out there. I send a you a virtual high-five.