About halfway through my pregnancy, I really started to miss running. I had stopped quite a few months earlier as I got more and more into Pure Barre, and I felt uneasy starting up again since it had been so long--I didn't feel like a runner anymore.

Now I'm one month postpartum and itching to get back into a fitness routine, and I'm so excited to start running again. With a new baby and a very energetic dog I'll always have a running partner (I just need to get a jogging stroller), and it'll be so convenient to be able to grab the stroller or leash, lace up my shoes, and go (as much as I miss barre and intend to start teaching again in the spring, I know that working out in the studio is going to take a lot more planning when it comes to child care).

So when Mizuno reached out to me and offered to send me a pair of Wave Rider 21s, I jumped at the opportunity--I've been running in Wave Riders since my high school cross country days, and they always bring me right back.

I have just a couple more weeks until my 6 week postpartum appointment, and I'm anxious to see where my healing and recovery is at that point. I knew that labor and delivery would be the hardest thing I've ever done, but I wasn't prepared for how much I'd have to slow down physically after. I've done a few planks here and there in an effort to rebuild my ab strength, but I'm ready to incorporate a bit of cardio again soon. I'm so looking forward to that first chilly morning run in my new neighborhood, maybe with my new baby, finding a way to incorporate a new fitness routine into my new life.

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Mizuno. The opinions and text are all mine.

On Wednesday morning I was driving through Cornelius, North Carolina--a quaint and sleepy-feeling town just about a half hour north of Charlotte. As I drove through downtown, three twenty-something guys were running at a quick pace down the sidewalk in running shorts and thin tee-shirts that were soaked through and clung to each one of their chests. They were tall and lean and all had the same hair cut--they looked like they were once cross country teammates and had been running together ever since.

Suddenly I thought of all the running I've done in my life, specifically at Ragged Mountain Running Camp--that hazy weather and the early runs in the still-dark morning of Crozet, Virginia. My best girlfriends, feeling more like family than ever in that old house at the bottom of the hill. The sports bras hanging in the shower, the beds we insisted on moving into one room so we could all be together the whole week. The bottled Starbucks drinks Shawna kept in the tiny fridge, the bunched-up newspaper we all stuffed into our wet and muddy running shoes after every run. It was breakfast in the cafeteria and afternoon races and baby I'll be your huckleberry playing on repeat.

I've lived in Virginia for most of my life (Minnesota was such a significant time and the Midwest really spoke to me in many ways, but I forget sometimes that it was only a year), but that morning, driving down the road in North Carolina, I felt so thankful to be back in the South. Thankful for this deep and Southern part of myself that I didn't realize I had. Thankful for life on the East Coast. And thankful for the friends that were once cross country teammates, who I've been running with ever since.

On the morning of my wedding day, some of my best friends and I got up early and met our old cross country coach for the Market Run. It's a little three mile loop around downtown Roanoke that we always ran the last practice before a race, and it's the run that my friends and I do whenever we meet up at home to run during the holidays, so I couldn't imagine starting the day I got married any other way.

I'm so excited to be working with Mizuno again this year for their launch of the Wave Rider 18. Like I said last year, the Wave Rider was always a popular shoe among my high school cross country team. We were best friends (still are) and we did everything together--with matching shirts and hair ribbons and shoes for everything. I'm pretty good at turning everything into an overly-sentimental memory, but there's just nothing like a new pair of running shoes.

The Mizuno Wave Rider 18 is sleek and light with just enough support. It's a neutral shoe that's perfectly balanced, which makes it a great for daily running. And the black and turquoise color combination that I got is just super cool-looking.

November is going to be a big running month for me, so I'm really excited about starting it off on the right foot (and with the right shoes)!

This post is sponsored by FitFluential LLC. As always, I thank you for your support as I continue to work with brands like Mizuno.