Midwest Mother Runner

Loving life again ✨💫⚡️

Spring showed off this weekend and we made the most of it ☀️🌿 
 
Saturday I logged a 5K with my OG, dear running friend, alternating half-mile walk/run intervals. Lily tagged along and, of course, earned herself a pup cup for being the goodest girl. 
 
Sunday morning we took it slow before heading out for a 3-mile walk. My heart was so happy when Evie said she wanted to come 🥹💖 She’s been exhausted (and rightfully so) with all the cheer lately. After a quick Starbucks stop for pink drinks and another pup cup for Lily, we took a spontaneous detour through the woods so we could walk by the stream. Between the sounds of the rustling leaves + trickling stream, combined with the sun beaming through the trees, it was pure bliss. 
 
After we got back, E “helped” me with some yard work. Too bad our hard work didn’t last long because just a few hours later, just as we were heading upstairs for bed, the skies opened and we were hit with one of the craziest storms we have ever witnessed, dropping golf-ball sized hail. 
 
As for my hips... I’m just shy of 11 months post-op on my first (LTHR) and nearly 4 months to the day on the second (RTHR). Recovery is going really well. Both hips feel strong and pain-free and my right knee has finally stopped giving me grief. I’ve noticed some tenderness in my hip joints after workouts, but it doesn’t last long or impact anything I’m doing.  
 
Things don’t feel “normal” like they used to, and maybe they never will, but they do feel better and honestly, I’m okay with that. Right now I’m focused on adjusting to this new normal, learning to trust my body again, and slowly pushing into new limits. 
 

After 20+ years, I went back to my roots 🍂🐻🤎🌰

Thank you .barjoy for making it happen!

The sun was shining, the temperature got above 50*, & the sun won’t set before 6pm again until November 🙏 2.5 mile walk with the dog before dinner was exactly what I needed to shake off the winter blues, even if it’s only temporarily. 
 

✨ This season means more than miles ✨  
 
2026 is my comeback year. Not the flashy kind, the real kind. Not trying to become what I was once was — she’s gone — rather, learning to navigate my new normal.
 
After undergoing two total hip replacements within 6 months of each other last year, I’m lacing up this year with two new titanium hips and a whole lot of gratitude. 
 
This season isn’t about chasing times, PRs, or proving anything, it’s about progress. 
 
It’s about learning to trust my body again, which last year proved is easier said than done. 
 
And it’s about celebrating the fact that I get to toe start lines again, something that I desperately missed over the past 15 months 🫶  
 
Scroll ⏮️ to see which events I’ll be lining up at over the next 6 months!  
 
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