Pleased to Meet You!

Last night I sat at my kitchen table, my laptop open in front of me, and wrestled with one of my many demanding demons: my tendency to over-think EVERYTHING.  I had finally decided that I would give birth to a running-ish blog and I figured I needed an introductory post.  You know, something that tells the world who I am and why I began this blog.  But it had to be perfect (enter another one of my dominant demons) and witty and brilliant and hilarious and blah, blah, blah.  So silly.  I decided to instead just start writing and my rather stream-of-consciousness first post emerged.  However, I still think introductions and an explanation are in order:

My name is Jessica Anne Nelsen, but I prefer to be called Jess.  My maiden name is Nelson.  I married a Tyler and my brother is Taylor.  Yes, I occasionally mix up their names.  I'm sure they love that.  :)  I am 35 years old and will have been married to my man for fifteen years on December 22, 2014.  We are the proud parents of three darling daughters, Maia (11), Madison (8) and Tess (she will be one on December 20, 2014).  We moved from Anchorage, AK to Olympia, WA in June of this year in order for me to escape the Alaskan winters.  I was beyond tired of seven to eight months of winter and the isolation that Alaska imposes.  Perhaps I will blog about that another time.  I don't feel like I can sum up my feelings about Alaska and this move in a few mere sentences.  I will say, though, that I miss my friends and family in Anchorage to the point of pain.  Moving away from the only place that has ever felt like home sucks, even when it's a move you're mostly excited about.  But I digress...

I have been running since the 7th grade.  I began running during the 20-minute run/walk every Friday in P.E. in order to impress a boy that I had a crush on, Joel Brandt.  :)  Up until that time, I was a shy, chubby kid that excelled in school but had had no previous athletic success.  After a little while, I realized that I wasn't too bad at this running thing.  And I liked it.  So, I joined the track team and I haven't stopped running since.  Running gave me a new-found confidence, burned off the last of my "baby fat" and was the reason I met some of the best friends I've ever had.  The highlight of my running "career" was my Freshman year of high school.  I made the Varsity XC team and felt pretty darn cool.  Unfortunately, I never made Varsity again, but I was always a solid runner that finished close to my Varsity-worthy teammates.  I ran four years of XC and track (the 800, 1600 and 3200 meter events).  Since high school, I have continued to run for fun and in order to lose or maintain my weight.  My three pregnancies and a couple of random injuries (plantar fasciitis and a hip issue) are the only times that I had to give up running for extended periods of time.  I hate not being able to run.  It makes me inordinately grumpy.  My favorite type of running is trail running.  Specifically, I love running up mountains.  Olympia has failed me in that regard, but having to only wear two layers on top this morning for a mid-November run felt pretty damn amazing, so I'll forgive my new home.  

As for why I decided to write this blog...well, I have been feeling for a long time now that the blog-world needs more "average" voices.  Most of us will never be even remotely like Kara Goucher or Shalane Flanagan.  We will never have corporate sponsors or win trophies or set age-group records.  And while I love following the careers of these and other elite runners and wish them only the best, it's easy to feel I'm not worth much as an athlete when I don't look or run like those speedy women.  Other running blogs that I've read, and mostly love (especially HungryRunnerGirl.com.  Janae is awesome!), are great sources of inspiration and information but are still about very speedy, very thin runners.  And while I truly believe that "comparison is the thief of joy", I still wished I could hear more about the average runners like me.  Moms like me that struggle to find a balance between fitness and the needs of my family.  And I hate that I find myself saying things like, "I'm a runner, but I'm super slow!" as if I have to qualify it.  As if it's arrogant of me to say only that I'm a runner.  I hate that I feel embarrassed about telling people my run times unless I follow it up by making sure they know I know that it's NOT impressive.  So, I'm going to put it all out there, warts and all.  I'll tell you how fast I run, how much I weigh, my dress size, etc.  Not because I think anyone is dying to know these things, but because it shouldn't be something any woman (or man!) is ashamed of sharing.  And I especially want to be a cheerleader for all women.  And all women runners.  I like hearing the stories of how other people set and achieve their goals, despite their struggles.  They always inspire me.  So, as self-centered as this might sound, I hope to inspire others, too.  I'm sure that the shape of this blog will change a lot over time (my thoughts are all over the place right now), but for now I want it to be at least a tiny bit entertaining and a little bit motivating: "Well, if SHE can do it..."  So, set goals and go after what you love.  And celebrate every step in the right direction, no matter how small.