Infertility is like Running a 1/2 Marathon

Struggling with Infertility is like running a 1/2 marathon.

I trained for and ran my 1st 1/2 marathon in December 2011.  Training for a race of any distance takes hard work and dedication.

At the start of the race I was excited.  I had prepared for this.  I was ready to kick butt.  The first few miles were rough and I was surrounded by soo many people with the same goal.  I eventually broke away from part of the crowd and I began to find my place.  I knew this race would take time so I tried to pace myself.  After a while I become fatigued, but I continued on.  The end must be getting near.  At mile 10 I began to wonder why in the world I thought running 13.1 miles was a good idea.  I vowed never to go through it again.  I eventually crossed the finish line in 2:00:06, which was about 15 minutes better than I had hoped.  I was full of emotions....exhaustion, excitement, accomplishment, but NEVER regret.  After being able to recover for about 30 minutes after the race, I stated I would probably do it again some day.

Infertility can be viewed the same way.  When you start trying to have a kid, you are excited.  This is what you have waited your entire life for.  The 1st few months of trying are like the 1st few miles of the race.  You are trying to find your place, your rhythm.  After a while this journey begins to take a toll on you, physically, mentally, emotionally.  All of your friends are having kids.  You are no longer part of the pack.  You begin to question everything.  You wonder if all of this is worth it.  While I have yet to cross the finish line of infertility, I can imagine it will be similar to finishing the race.   While I will be exhausted and excited at the same time, the end result (holding a baby in my arms) will be soo much better than I ever thought it would be.  I will never regret the road I had to take to get here.  It will have all been worth it.  And while I may have told myself during the journey that I would never do it again, I am pretty sure I would.

Running a 1/2 and enduring this life of Infertility have made me realize I am much stronger than I ever thought I could be.