Mama Byrd

I finished the Little Rock Marathon relay half marathon with my brother yesterday. Our time was 2 hours 12 minutes, but the important thing was that we finished!

I went into it yesterday really nervous, hoping that I wasn’t going to look like a total couch potato in a sea of athletes. Fortunately, it really wasn’t like that. There were professional marathon runners there, sure, but there were also 75-year-old great-grandmas who were walking the half-marathon. I think I was somewhere in the middle of that.

It really meant a lot to my brother for me to run with him, and I was really glad that I did it. My brother and I were really close in college, but we don’t do a lot together now that we both have jobs and kids. He mentioned that he would like for us to run in 5Ks and 10Ks more often, and I really think that I would enjoy doing that. It could be “our thing,” something that we have in common.

Lannie and the kids got up early and braved the cold weather to cheer for us at the finish line. Phillip was entertained by the many, many dogs that were there, including one in a pink t-shirt and matching pink collar. He stared at that dog for a long time– I think he was trying to figure out why that dog was wearing clothes, or maybe why all dogs don’t wear clothes. It was confusing, I’m sure.

I saw 5 or 10 people that I knew at the marathon, but I did notice that a lot of the friends that I knew were either single women without kids or dads– not a lot of moms with little kids. I know why. It takes forever to train, and that means a lot of time away from the kids. In fact, Lannie told me if I ever decided to start training for the half marathon, I would have to find alternate child care! Seriously, he helped a lot by taking care of the kids, not just while I ran yesterday, but in the six months leading up to it, too. I can certainly see why jogging strollers were invented. I think I may have to invest in one if I get any more serious about running.

Filed under: Uncategorized on March 5th, 2007