I am a runner.

WAIT. Before you stop reading thinking this is going to be a humble brag post about how fit and sporty I am, please realize it is not that in any way.

It cannot be that because I am actually not those things at all. Yes, I am a runner, but in fact, I am a terrible runner. My “running” pace is not much faster than some people’s walking pace. I have never been athletic. Like ever. Unless you count that one time I played freshmen field hockey in high school. But everyone made the team. And I got cut the following year. So, no, that doesn’t count.

I started running last year for the first time ever in my life. I made a conscious decision that I wanted to be a runner. I decided that this would be my thing. A “bucket list” item, if you will. Something I had never done before.

Maybe I chose running was because I was turning 40.

Maybe it was because I wanted to feel young and was beginning to experience a midlife crisis.

Maybe it was because I just wanted to know that I could do it.

Maybe it was because since leaving my career and becoming a stay-at-home mom I haven’t had many ways to describe myself other than being “mommy of two kids”, and was looking for something to call my own.

Regardless of why, the decision was made and I did it. I started running. Slowly but surely I worked my way up to doing a 5K race. And then another. And another. Terrible race times, by the way, but that’s not the point. The point is I did it.

I. Did. It.

Running is still challenging for me after all this time. But I will keep doing it.

Running makes me feel good about myself. It is something I can do to help me remember Mia as a person and not just as “Mama Mia”. It is something I accomplished on my own. Something I didn’t know I could do. And it feels great.

So, this post is not about me and my (lack of) sporty-ness at all, but a message to all the mamas reading this.

It is a reminder that there is more to you than just being “mom”.

It is a gentle urging to find something you want to do FOR YOU and go for it.

You will surprise yourself at just how much you are capable of. Trust me.

This piece was originally posted on Mia's Facebook page in July 2017.

To read more from Mia Carella, you can visit her website, www.ThisMomWithABlog.com, and follow her on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Pinterest.

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