preview

The Birth Of A Marathoner

Decent Essays

The birth of a marathoner

Challenging and exhilarating. Difficult and glorious. Inspiring and empowering. Childbirth and marathons. No one ever said either one was easy, but most everyone agrees that each effort is well worth the pain. One mom who has undertaken both activities in her lifetime illustrates how comparable and rewarding she found the experiences to be.

A fitting analogy

When I first took up the challenge of running a marathon, another woman at work offered the sage wisdom that the experience was analogous to childbirth. She was specifically referring to the physical exertion (read: the pain and the agony) with the actual run and the parallels with labor and delivery. Trust me - it goes beyond that. As I reflect back on the five month training and race day experience, the similarities to pregnancy AND childbirth are quite astounding.
It started with the decision to DO IT. No big deal -- whether visions of a cuddly, baby-powdered cherub upon realizing you 're pregnant or anticipation of the glory of finishing a marathon -- both life-altering experiences were far enough away to leave me feeling energized by the thought of having "a project" to work on and a goal to achieve.

I was thirsty for knowledge when I was pregnant with my son, William. After all, I was 29, and I didn 't want to blow it. Being well-educated, but in nothing that was remotely relevant to real life, I read everything in sight and talked to everyone I knew who had ever had a child. What was

Get Access