Pondering Parenting and Running

Tomato monkey cheese is the best! 

I realized this morning that my approach to parenting has unfolded exactly opposite from how my approach to running unfolded. When Linnea had her first cough while eating, my immediate reaction was to sign up for infant CPR classes.  I needed to find tools to make sure that I was doing it right. It was a constant effort to stay informed.  I devoured information  to make sure I nurtured her current life stage to the best of my ability.

This morning 7 month old Sagan was coughing while eating breakfast. I distractedly hollered in his direction "Keep coughing," as I left the room.  My confidence as a parent to Sagan is the antithesis to my confidence as a parent to Linnea.

I started running right after high school with the same confident and unconcerned approach that I have with parenting Sagan. I just ran the distance and pace that felt right.  By my early twenties I was running 5ks with a few longer distances sprinkled in.  My training was distracted with thoughts of body image and heart ache and all the other things that go along with wanting to change your life when you are 21.  Over the years, as I started to run farther I just ran farther, I didn't really know what I was doing.  I'd been running for a while and hadn't ruined anything so I must be doing it fine.  It was so similar to my current style with Sagan.  Linnea isn't ruined so I must have done it right until now.

Here I am running 15 years later and devouring information to make sure I nurture these legs to the best of my ability.  With this fall marathon I have a lot of the same thoughts I had to being a new parent to Linnea.  I am doing the right things?  Am I prepared to do this?  Is there something I could be doing better?  What did others in this same situation do? What tools do I need in order to not break this goal that I have set out to do.

Maybe the only real difference I have discovered is a comparison of risks.  There could be catastrophic consequences if I parent wrong.  As for running, I may not reach my current goal if I run wrong, but the consequences of running distractedly up until this point were of little consequence.