Dusting off the ol' blog to announce that I am once again an active member of Purple and Gold Nation, the Mighty Marmots, the Triple Crown Runners! It's an honor to serve as your retread for the 2017 season.

Where we last left our hero (2012), I was 28 and had a boyfriend and lived in an apartment. Since then I've acquired a house, a husband (same dude, though), and this little charmer right here:

Johan (YO-hahn, as in Johann Sebastian Bach) entered the world on September 18, 2016, and completely rearranged our hearts, minds, sleeping schedules, and priorities. Running was the last thing on my mind for weeks after he joined our family. However, as my body healed and the new-baby fog faded, I yearned to be back on the trails with friends. I figured since I ran until almost 39 weeks of pregnancy, bouncing back should be no sweat, right?

TL;DR version: Nope, nope, and nope.

With my doctor's OK, I did my first run at four weeks postpartum. I had a C-section, and she encouraged walking right away to help heal. Because I was so fit before his birth, she said I could work up to brisk walks and slow runs pretty quickly. I started with one to two miles per week and slowly built up to more. My pace was even slower than it had been in the third trimester, but I tried to ignore that and just keep plugging away.

Only now, almost nine months later, am I starting to see hints of the runner I was. That has been frustrating and eye opening, but I'm glad I didn't let frustration get the better of me. Consistency has been the main way to see gains: Even when I was huffing and puffing the entire run, I kept showing up. This is all made possible by an extremely supportive husband and the wonder that is the BOB stroller.

Regardless of the fact that I don't quite have my mountain legs back, I chose a big goal for my comeback year: the Pikes Peak Marathon. Stay tuned to hear how I find enough time to get in quality miles on the mountain, go to work full time, be a good mom and wife, and allow my husband to get in a hefty amount of weekly miles on his mountain bike, as well. 

Good thing we are used to not sleeping anymore!