The Cherry Blossoms Are Here to Cheer Me On!

Aren't they pretty?

Like I said, aren't they pretty?

Cherry blossoms are officially out in DC!  Unfortunately, the weather has turned cold and sour yet again, which can't be good for the blossoms that are set to cheer me on this Sunday.  Yes, you heard me.  This Sunday, I am running the DC Cherry Blossom 10 Miler... ah!  I'm running 10 miles this Sunday!  A first!  Thankfully, my running buddy, Kelli, will be right beside me.  Kelli runs marathons, and she is actually going to be my personal running coach this Sunday.  Yes, Kelli will literally cheer me through my first 10 miler while running next to me.  I will be huffing and puffing and losing all ability to talk by mile 3 or 4.  But she will keep speaking words of encouragement to me.  Or perhaps she'll sing me a little tune.  I don't know, but I will be spoiled because that's what Kelli does.

This 10 miler was a personal goal I set around the time I had to stop counting pregnancy pounds back in November in order to keep my sanity.  Yes, I decided to stop counting somewhere around the 40 pound mark and just commit to train for a 10 miler after pregnancy to get back in shape.  Getting on the treadmill that first day in January was tough.  Not only do treadmills make me feel like a hamster, but this treadmill had a full body mirror in front of it (are those really necessary?), and I hadn't run one little bit since about the time I discovered I was pregnant.  But each day got a little easier.  Then the end of February came, the weather lightened up a bit, I dropped some weight (yes, the pounds do come off!), and Bella put on a little weight.  And so began our runs on the National Mall together. Bella became my training buddy from the seat of her Bob Jogging Stroller.  I must admit, it was pretty fun to run past the Senate Office buildings in my workout gear in the  middle of the work day while others were going about their usual business and Hill meetings.  Feels like a world away, save the fact that I was just there a few months ago.  Crazy how your world can change in a few short months.  (Yes, this is your friendly reminder- especially to women- to hold on to the things of this world loosely.  I feel like our world's are especially good at changing and throwing us in to new roles at the drop of a hat.)

So, you know how I titled this blog "Home on the Hill"?  Well, that's because Capitol Hill is truly, you guessed it, a hill.  And I always run down this hill at the beginning of my runs and then attempt to run up it at the end of my runs.  Attempt.  Key word.  I stink at running up hills.  I grew up in the rice fields of Texas.  There are no hills there.  Therefore, I have no hill endurance, and for the life of me, I can't figure out how to get it.  So add a baby with a stroller to this hill, and there is rarely a run that goes by where I don't have a fellow runner or tourist either give me a look or verbally say something like, "Poor thing."  Or "You can do it!" Or "That baby doesn't know how good she has it."  Yes, I know the look on my face screams, "Help! Someone! Feel my pain! Or better yet, just please carry me and this stroller up this God forsaken hill!"  I know I look pathetic.  I can't help it.

We'll see how pathetic I look come the finish line this Sunday.  Something tells me that whatever hill may come my way, I'll be smiling at the end of it all.  It feels good to be so close to a goal that's been a few months in coming.

And just in case a hill does get the best of me, thankfully I have Kelli to carry me over the finish line.  And she would.  Because that's what Kelli does.