The baby comes out in March. Then lets say eight weeks for recovery, just to be on the safe side, that takes us to May. Then I have six months to train for a half marathon in October. My goal is to lose the baby weight AND run the half marathon in under two hours, which means I'll have to shave eight minutes off two previous times. I think I can do it. I KNOW I can do it. I can't wait to start really running again. (And no, I'm not one of those women who is running a marathon the day before I push the kid out. I'm just...not that kind of pregnant. The baby is fine and all, but feeling like you're about to ralph or pass out for most of the day isn't really conducive to wads of running, is all.)

Now I just have to find a race. I was all excited to run one in Denali National Park and then Mr. E started making noises about what a terrible idea that was and being chased by bears. I figure it's just great motivation not to be last. Run faster, the bears will get you!

It seems like right now lots of people are planning to run marathons but I have to say, I just don't think that's for me. For one thing, I am not one of those people who needs to do it to prove to myself I could. I have no doubt I could run a marathon, I just don't want to. It's too much time commitment and honestly? I don't think it's great for weight loss. You have to eat too much and devote too much time to it and it just seems like a pain in the ass. The half marathon though? Is an awesome distance. I love it. Just enough so you can feel like you kicked ass and took names, but not so much that your toenails fall off.

I have to say that my whole life I always said that one of the greatest reasons I could think of to have kids was because I wanted to watch someone totally new to the world read "The Catcher in the Rye" for the first time. I wanted to tell someone who had never heard it before the "Why did the chicken cross the road?" joke. And now I have a third selfish reason for wanting to have kids. I can't wait until that day I see a bunch of my kids holding a "Go Mommy" sign and waiting for me at a finish line*. Cannot Wait.

*Although now that I think about what will probably happen is that we'll become a running family and I'll have a bunch of kids who are also runners and who can kick my ass at the age of ten. I guess Mr. E can wait for all of us at the finish line!