Virtual marathon lets moms run at their own pace

I have read workout tips that involve sleeping in your running clothes so you can pop out of bed, put on your shoes and bound out the door before it occurs to you to hit the snooze alarm.

I am not that kind of exerciser.

I do, however, respond to written plans and goals, and even though my natural instinct is to read instead of run, I can fall into an exercise habit if I do it enough. But since having my son in 2009, it's been tough to find the time to work out regularly.

For years, I ran several times a week after work. It was how I reset my brain before going home, and it helped me shake out kinks and knots from eight hours in front of a computer. I tracked mileage with notes about how I felt, the weather and what I had eaten. I actually felt weird about all the free time I had on days I didn't run.

Free time is harder to find these days, and when I have the time, I'm often too tired or unmotivated (OK, lazy) to get out there. It got easy to find other things to do in the evening with my son, and I slipped into a routine of a couple of halfhearted two-mile runs a week.

The problem is that I am cranky without regular exercise. And my son loves his jogging stroller – he actually tries to pull it toward the front door so we can go out for what he calls his "ride."

Last month, I found a spark for my motivation in the Joggermom Marathon.

Kelly Morse, a mother who founded the stroller website Joggermom.com, proposed the virtual marathon to inspire moms to complete the marathon distance at their own pace.

More than 1,000 women internationally signed up online to run 26.2 miles in May. You could run it all at once (overachievers) or bit by bit, jogging stroller optional.

Morse has four children, including triplets, and when she launched the race project in April, she wrote that she knew how hard it was to fit exercise into the family schedule. She said she hoped moms would feel good about themselves for following through on a commitment to run.

She made it into an event, sending out newsletters with giveaways, music playlist suggestions and pep talks. You could print out a race bib online or order a T-shirt with the logo. If you documented your mileage with an electronic tracker, you were eligible for prizes from sponsors, including strollers, accessories and books.

I didn't try for any of the prizes. I didn't set any mileage records. In fact, I completed my final miles on May 31, officially bringing my total to 28 for the month. Pre-kid, I had weeks where I ran almost that much.

I do want to run a marathon one day, but for me it was more important that I get back into a running routine and push myself to do more than the minimum. No one would have known if I came up short on my mileage. But I knew.

And last weekend, though my "race" was done, I found myself taking my son to the park so I could run farther than I could in our neighborhood. He was delighted for the longer ride. When I finished, we hung out at the playground, me with a bottle of water, him with a sippy cup. He exhausted the slide, collected acorns, watched dogs at the dog park and pointed out airplanes.

A habit? I hope so.