What do you value in this season?

Trading mountain summits for Saturday stroller runs: How do you make time for what’s important?

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Comparison is the thief of my joy

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The new weekend long run

My Saturday alarm clock is the toddler.

As soon as I hear her awake in the next room, I roll out of bed, put on a sweatshirt, and open her door. Gooo morn-een!! she repeats enthusiastically with a big grin on her face as she holds out Bubbles or Bunny to me. Still grinning and excited (definitely my child with this big morning energy), she eagerly asks, Up, Mama, up! We cuddle, read, and nurse and then emerge from the cocoon of her bedroom to take on the day.

I put on running clothes, bundle her into a warm puffer body suit, and grab snacks for us both before loading up the stroller, and we’re off.

Running, running, mama! She cries as I float downhill toward the water. She waves at runners we pass and points out birds, dogs, and cars. The best part is when we round the corner into Shilshole Marina, and she sees all the boat, boat, boats! We weave onto the pedestrian pier that juts out to the marina's edge for our weekly visit to the sea lions. We can hear them barking from our house, and we practice barking back, but this close, staring at them across the water, it’s like she’s shy or in awe. We pause to watch them cavort, have a snack, then we turn around.

I wish I could capture the barking audio within a picture

The second half is my workout – I’m pushing 30+ lbs uphill, and my tiny coach is shouting, Running, Mama, running! with increasing desperation because I am not, in fact, running. It’s 15 blocks back up to the top, and I’m building up my run/walk intervals measured in number of blocks. Occasionally, I’m required to break out in song (Wheels on the Bus or Old MacDonald are top requests), which has inconsistent results – it appeases my impatient coach but slows down the pace.

Cresting the hill at the park is like my finish line. The view that never gets old is a reward of simple abundance, and I comfortably jog the four flat blocks home – my tiny coach thrilled that we are again running, running!

Recovering weekend warriors

A few years ago – which somehow feels like another lifetime and also yesterday – my husband and I had mountain adventures planned for nearly every weekend. We’d hike, climb, and camp in the alpine, ski all day, kayak for hours, or I’d log double-digit miles running on trails. We’d balance our physical and mental recovery with a slow reentry to the work week. I suppose we were weekend warriors, though I’m just now realizing that.

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