Putting it into Perspective

Chillin' during the (two-hour) sit-down reception last weekend

If you've never met me in person before, then this blog is the main way for us to "meet," at least for now that is.  That thought actually kind of scares me a little!  I am focusing so much on one part that you may not be getting an accurate view of me.  I have been thinking about this alot and hoping that I am not coming across as being too focused on running.  Don't get me wrong, I love to run, but it's not who I am.

Thus, some things about Katie that you may or may not know:

*I run (at most) 4 days a week.  It is not a big part of my day, as it's mostly done in the wee morning hours. 

* I often feel like my training is inadequate, but I don't feel like putting in any more effort.  This leads me to "kamikaze run," a term used to describe Shalane Flanagan's once-foolish race strategy that now pretty well describes mine (see Runner's World article here).

* I raced 16 times last year, less than 1/3 of the Saturdays in the year.  I raced only 6 times in 2009.

*My main enjoyment in running comes from the fact that it is a common bond between my husband and me.  We met through running, have finished marathons side-by-side, and offer each other support and encouragement as we train.  I ache for all couples to have something like this that they can enjoy doing together.  I miss the frequent training we used to do together before having children.

*Our main focus for our marathons is childcare and available activities for the children at our destination.  The marathon is a distant dead-last in terms of what I think about as I am packing for one of our trips. 

* I have 60 posts on this blog, which I started last May.  I have 280 posts on my (private) family blog, which I started when my son was born nearly five years ago.  I spend a great deal of time uploading pictures to that blog, adding little stories from the month, etc.  I am on that blog A LOT.  It's a much better picture of who I am.

* I gave up my teaching career to stay at home and raise our two children.  I think alot about what my daily life will be like in two years when they are off in "big school."  My proudest achievement over the last four years has nothing to do with running.  It's teaching at their preschool so that I could pay their tuition with my salary. 

*I love being their mother and work daily on being a better mom.  My nightstand always has a collection of Christian parenting books on it.  I'd much rather get better at mothering than marathoning, and I'd much rather be remembered as a good mother than as some girl who did pretty well in some races.

So, it is my hope that my readers will understand where I'm coming from when I post on this blog.  I will continue to make it very running-heavy, because that's what it's about.  I just wanted you to know that that's not what my life is about.