I Don't Want to Run a Marathon.

(This post is about breastfeeding. Or rather, not breastfeeding. We’ll get there, I promise.)

I don’t want to run a marathon.Or a half marathon, or a 10K. MAYBE a 5K, but only if it’s for a really good charity, and there is lots of cold beer waiting for me at the end of it.

Do you know about the health benefits of running?

Sure! And about the improved diet I’d be eating if I were training for a marathon, and the weight loss and everything else. Still, I do not want to run a marathon. I LIKE French fries and would rather not give them up.

But once you get used to running, you’ll love it!

I’ve tried it, but obviously not long enough to get hooked.

You might get minor injuries but it’s no big deal compared to the high you get from a good run!

Yeah, no, I’d rather not have sore knees, thx.

You’ll feel such a sense of ACCOMPLISHMENT when it’s all done!

Plenty of other things make me feel accomplished, and I don’t need to leave my house in freezing cold weather to do them.

Even though there are a lot of reasons why training for a marathon would be an excellent lifestyle choice, I just plain DON’T WANT TO. And that’s ok, and I’m not afraid to admit it. I don’t need to make excuses or explain myself.

There are running zealots out there, some of my closest friends, actually, but they don’t try to convert me to a runner. I know they’re out there, but for the most part it’s live and let live. I think people (like my friend Kelly in the picture) who run marathons are AWESOME. It’s just not for me. I’m not going to ask her when she plans to stop, or try to convince her that couch-sitting is fun too.

I was thinking about this after reading a great article on a breastfeeding website – she talks about how moms who don’t really want to breastfeed try it, and then have excuses about how it “didn’t work” for various reasons. This guilt-induced reasoning leads to a culture of people thinking breastfeeding is likely to fail, and a self-fulfilling prophecy.

Yes, it’s a challenge, like training for a marathon. And yes, the rewards are great! But it’s NOT for everyone, and you shouldn’t be afraid to admit it.  I do think everyone should TRY it – I’ve logged a few hours chugging around my neighborhood attempting “Couch to 5K” (never getting past week 3…)  just to be SURE it wasn’t for me.  But if you don’t like it, there’s nothing wrong with saying so.  You’d be doing a favor to mamas who want to make it work, but are discouraged by all of the horror stories they’ve heard.

Here’s to no marathons, unless you want to!!!