Wow – it’s been SEVEN months since my last blog post.

Turns out, I’m not one of those moms who can multitask well with a baby. I’m nursing Rose at the moment, and she’s alternating her attention between eating and trying to type on my keyboard. I haven’t been a productive blogger these last few months, but I’ve had some great runs and some really great moments on this journey with baby Rose!

Life has been busy for Matthew on the farm, especially during the late spring and summer months. Things are finally beginning to slow down, and I’m looking forward to us spending more time together as a family! Rose will be a year old next month, and we’re surprised every day by how quickly she is growing and changing. She’s been pulling up on everything, and we’re working with her to help her feel comfortable standing and walking on her own. Right now, she loves to crawl quickly from room to room and is getting really good at walking with the support of her push-walker.

In early spring, Rose and I became involved with a fabulous program called Stroller Strides. It’s an hour-long workout for moms with stroller-age children, and you get to bring your baby with you to workout. After a month or so of being a member, I went through instructor training and became an instructor. I’ve enjoyed teaching these last few months and was recently promoted to manager of the Fit4Mom franchise here in Little Rock. The Fit4Mom fitness programs include Stroller Strides and Body Back. I also became a certified Fit4Mom Running Coach. I’ll elaborate more on Stroller Strides/Fit4Mom in a later post, but just wanted to share that it’s been so much fun to be able to work out with Rose and meet other moms.

Now that I’m getting a little more time to myself, I hope to update this blog more frequently. I’m running my first post-baby marathon in just 10 days, so be on the looking for a detailed review of my training and the race. Thanks for checking in!

Races

• 5/14 – Race Against the Odds 5K (1st female overall + stroller)
• 6/4 – Asheville Half Marathon (1:58:28)
• 8/6 – Milk Run 5k (1st F25-29 + stroller)
• 8/27 – Rollin’ on the River 5K (2nd Female + stroller) and Corner Store Country Run 5K (3rd F25-29 + stroller)
• 9/24 – Great Pumpkin Run 5k (1st F25-29)
• 10/1 – Angel One 10K (1st female overall)
• 10/9 – Race 13.1 Half Marathon (1:41:18, 2nd female overall)
• 10/22 – Race for the Cure 5K (stroller)
• 11/5 – Run for Shelter 5k (2nd female overall + stroller)
• 11/19 – Summit2 Challenge Half Marathon (1:42:04, 1st F25-29)
• 11/20 – Girls on the Run 5k (running buddy to an awesome 5th grader!)

Coming up

• 12/17 – Jacob Wells 3 Bridges Marathon
• 3/4 – Little Rock Marathon 5K
• 3/5 – Little Rock Marathon