Starting from scratch

Wow, there are a lot of seasoned long-distance runners in our group. I'm at the other end of the spectrum; I'm out of shape and have not been exercising regularly. I will be training for the Marine Corps 10K, a more realistic goal for me.

A long, long time ago I was on the high school varsity cross-country team -- before you get any ideas about how fast I was, let me tell you that a) there was room for five girls on varsity, and b) there were five girls on the entire team. I was the slowest runner on the team, but I liked running, so I trained as hard as anyone else and I tried to be a good teammate.

But in college I stopped running, and for the last 10 or 12 years I've exercised sporadically. Nothing sticks for more than a few months at a time.

Since the birth of my son 1 1/2 years ago, things have been even more challenging. Despite daily walks to the playground, I remain 15-20 pounds overweight and out of shape. And taking care of a toddler means I have less time to focus on my own fitness.

Last year when my husband, son and I moved to Arlington, a 5-minute walk away from Thomas Jefferson Community Center, I vowed to take advantage and get back in shape. I started going to the aerobics and spinning classes, 2-3 times a week if I could. It worked for a while, but ultimately I found that -- as primary caregiver to a toddler and with a husband who travels frequently for work -- my schedule is no longer my own. After a month or more of regular workouts I'll miss a week or two, and I'm practically back to square one.

I decided I needed to find a way to stay fit that I could do while taking care of my son and working around his schedule. So, after a long hiatus, I've returned to running. I've put in a few miles over the past two weeks with the jogging stroller, and I'm up to 1.5 miles now, with only a little bit of walking. Let me be your inspiration as I move from 0 to 10K in 4 months!