Turns Out, Mother Runners *Can* Have Their Cake
We wanted to end this week with something sweet and joyful, something to remind you of all that is good in the world.
In a word: cake.
Not any cake, but this beauty, which was made by Deborah Halliday Mills, a badass mother runner if I ever knew one. (The Canadian who lives in Jersey is coming to Colorado this summer, and looked for a local race she could, you know, just do while she’s here. So she signed up the Leadville Heavy Half, a 13.1-miler that climbs to over 13,000 feet. Yep. Badass.)
Deb brought the cake to our Montclair, NJ party last week and we were all in awe. I kept saying, “This is better than my wedding cake.” What can I say? I speak the truth.
Oh, and those M’n’M’s dotting the fondant frosting? Oh, those would be personalized chocolate bits. (Like I said: better than a wedding cake.) She wanted to put badass on them, but the candy company wouldn’t allow it. Their loss.
It was as good as it looks: moist, flavorful (I’m pretty sure it was a vanilla cake, but I shoveled it in so quickly, I may have been wrong), decadent. I wish I had a pic of a slice, but alas, I don’t so you’ll have to trust my palate on this one.
(And she didn’t ask me to do this, but if you live in the NYC metro area and need a special cake, she’s your lady. She showed us slides of her other creations—including a tasteful, bodacious one for a lactation consultant— and they were just phenomenal. You can reach her through her blog or her brand new Twitter account.)
The artist and her muses…
Thank you, thank you, Deb; we wish we could share a slice with all of you reading this right now. Hope you all have a sweet, joyful day. xo.
Oh, and if you want to attend one of our mother runner parties, you can request an invite here. (The food will be good, but we can’t promise this cake again. Bums us out too.)
10 Ways to Support Boston
Since mid-afternoon Monday, our minds and hearts have been focused on the events that horrifically unfolded on Boylston Street, then radiated out from there. We have wanted to reach out across the miles and console the marathon runners, the spectators, the families, the race officials, the first responders, the medical personnel–and all of the women in this community. And we know all of you feel the same way. Here are 10 ways you can show your love and support.
1. Buy our limited edition Boston Marathon heart run shirt, a super-smart suggestion by Paige on our Facebook page. We will donate all profits to The One Fund Boston, a charity dedicated to all the victims. Sarah is going to the printer later today to tweak the colors; we realize they’re not exactly perfect Boston colors right now. You can order them here until April 26, and we will ship them as soon as possible (around May 6).
2. Download the United We Run bib from Run Junkees. And join them on their United We Run Facebook page, which is, in their words, “a virtual run event, which means you can run (or walk) any distance, anywhere and at anytime. It is intended to both honor the victims as well as display an act of unity and solidarity in the running community.”
3. Join the Run 26.2 for Boston Facebook page, where they ask that you run 26.2 miles over the course of weeks, days, or months.
4. Commit 26.2 acts of kindness in the running community–or world. Two places to start: donating your old kicks to a charity like Soleful Suitcases and sending any unwanted medals to medals4mettle. Volunteer at a race, wave to your fellow runners, say prayers of gratitude before, during, or after your run.
5. Donate blood. According to Runner’s World, the Boston area hospitals have enough blood, but your red goodness is needed everywhere in this nation.
6. Go all Wonder Woman with your support. Katie, a mother runner, is donating 20% of profits to Red Cross responders from these special arm warmers.
7. Take on a Run For Boston 5K in Chicago; or a Virtual 5K via NYCRuns; or Run in Support of the Boston Marathon Victims. Better yet, grab your kiddos and run on May 15 in the emPOWERed Kids Run, a 26.2-minute run.
8. Donate via a posse of super mamas in Raleigh; donate via Technology Underwrites the Greater Good; donate to the Challenged Athletes Foundation, which is going to help those victims who lost their limbs; or buy this all-proceeds-are-donated cute tee put out by Moms Run This Town.
9. Give directly to the Richard Family, who lost lovely 8-year-old Martin, and have two family members also severely affected. Make checks out to the Richard Family Fund and mail to: Richard Family, Meetinghouse Bank, 2250 Dorchester Ave., Dorchester, MA 02124. (Information provided by Boston mother runner Rhonda who has connections to the Richard family.)
10. Run
Boston Monday + The Matriarch of Women’s Running
Quote and picture from PBS’ documentary Makers: Women who Make History.
[An edited rerun of a post I wrote in 2007. Worth revisiting one very special mother on this Boston Marathon Monday.]
When I moved to New York City at age 23, I was just short of confident, which was a big step up from my terribly gawky and unsure teenage years. The difference between high school and post-college? Crew. Being on a team brought out a side in me I hadn’t known before: one that can set a seemingly unattainable goal, and then, through hard work and sweat and sacrifice, meet it–or at least come close to meeting it. That process, in addition to strengthening my body, taught me how to win, how to lose, and how, to above all, trust in the process, my teammates and myself. In a word, I became an athlete.
And I also learned how to recognize one, off the field. I–and, I believe, most female athletes–have a internal radar that can instantly identify whether or not a fellow woman is an athlete. (Maybe it’s a athledar, instead of gaydar?) When I talk to a woman for the first time, I can usually tell, within minutes, whether or not she competed at some point in her life.
At the risk of overgeneralizing, athletes get the ubiquitous, but inexplicable, It. They understand that life can be excruciatingly hard (and much of that roughness is often self-imposed and periodically even enjoyed); that keeping your eye on the prize/goal/ball will eventually pay off in ways far beyond and more important than the finish line; that soulmates are often disguised as teammates; that a good laugh, often at your own expense, can defuse an are-you-kidding? workout and keep you coming back for more.
Without even saying a word, female athletes—everybody from 14-year-old softball players to 41-year-old mother runners—often speak the same language.
So when I picked up Kathrine Switzer’s book, Marathon Woman, I had moderate hopes: I wanted to hear her pioneering story in her words, but I’ve read enough writing by jocks to know that their literary skills pale in comparison with their sports skills.
Not so with Switzer, who speaks our language. Not only was she a Boston Marathon pioneer, she was the driving force behind both getting women around the world to run (in tee-shirts with “Avon” across the chest, no less) and lobbying for the inclusion of the women’s Olympic marathon in the 1984 Games. She writes eloquently and honestly about her running and other exploits: her successes and her failures and, often, what she wore while racing (um, a leotard and tights? really?).
She clearly gets It, and female runners around the world are extremely lucky she does.
Switzer running strong. Thankfully, for all of us reading this, she would not be denied the Boston Marathon.
Here, some passages that resonated with me: hopefully some do the same with you.
[[before her first Boston marathon in 1967]] “I didn’t look or feel worse for running; on the contrary, the longer I ran, the better I felt, and indeed was, in every way. It was logical to me that hard work done progressively makes you stronger no matter what kind of animal you are. I had always reveled in the duality of being a feminine athlete, and now I felt more aware and confident than ever of my attractiveness and sexuality, both of which seemed to grow with the sense of strength and power that the long run gave me.”
Three (or six) words for you: read this book. (If you haven’t.)
Thank you for taking millions of us on as children, Kathrine, and showing us the path to strength, happiness, self-definition. Thank you for speaking our language.
Yes, we are all powerful women.
Runner’s World Editor Tish Hamilton Talks about Squeaking into Boston Marathon
Tish and her mousie pal.
With mere hours to the start of Boston Marathon, listen as Sarah and Dimity talk with Tish Hamilton, executive editor of Runner’s World and mother of one, who is about to run her 10th Boston (and 42nd marathon!). The gals gab like the longtime pals they are, about everything from Tish “squeaking” out yet another Boston-qualifying time to her fitting in runs as a solo parent. The ladies all admit they’re not willing to give up wine and ice cream to get faster. And Tish lets Sarah break a rough revelation to dear (read: hopelessly naïve) Dimity.
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Week 6, AMR Virtual 5K: Having a BRF to Jump the Hurdles
Keli and Erin snap a pic post-run as they continue to train for AMR Virtual 5K
Keli and Erin, running buddies living in different time zones, update us on the struggles of overcoming injuries, fighting road blocks of illnesses (both mom and kids), and supporting each other across the miles.
1. Have you experienced any “aha!” moments, (successes) in the virtual 5K?
E: I’m coming back from an injury and haven’t run more than six miles in one stretch since November (when I PR’d a half marathon with the TLAM Own It plan). It’s been a struggle to not compare where I am now to where I was then, but I managed really good, strong runs with the six and seven mile runs in week four and week five of the 5K Own It plan. For the first time since being injured, I’ve really started to feel like I’m getting some of my endurance back.
K: I recently started listening to the AMR podcast each week to mix things up a bit, and I downloaded an old episode called “Tips for Newbie-and Returning Injured-Runners.” In this episode, Dimity made a statement that really stuck with me. She said, “I’d rather run forever than run one race,” and it was exactly what I needed to hear. I finally had a great week of training, and I felt like I could just run and run and go full speed and sign up for a half-marathon and do ALL THE MILES, but her statement brought me back to the reality that I had a somewhat exhausting pregnancy, I had a 10-lb baby, and I just got back into running on a regular basis, so I need to give myself time to build back up.
2. What is your biggest motivator to lace up and hit the pavement?
Erin battles illness and injury with the support of BRF Keli
E: I followed this plan a year ago and it helped me achieve my first ever official sub-30 5K. Although I can run that now, I want to regain what I lost post-injury without re-injuring myself and this is the perfect way to do it. I’m logging a decent amount of miles each week without going overboard. I can feel myself getting stronger and that definitely keeps me going.
K: My health. I have so much more energy and clarity when I’m working out regularly and I just feel so much better. [Having shorts weather right around the corner doesn’t hurt.]
3. Any potholes in the road that have interrupted your training (injuries, frustrations, lack of motivation)?
E: Week 3 was a disaster. The stomach flu was making the rounds through my house and I managed to get one run in that week before it hit me, too. The rest of the week was a wash because I was too sick and then too dehydrated to run. The lingering Midwest winter has also been a bit frustrating. It was finally mid-40s this week, so I got to wear a tank top and capris and not feel like I was getting frostbite, but it’s been cold up until now! On the first day of spring, I was doing 400 repeats in 5 degrees with 20 mile per hour wind gusts. I was questioning my sanity a bit that day.
K: The first few weeks were a constant barrage of sick kids and I was starting to wonder if I could ever get back into a routine. Also, having a baby who still relies on me for most of his nourishment turns each day into a question of whether or not I can even get out the door that morning, but I have a great husband and partner, so that definitely helps.
4. How have you both encouraged/supported each other during the virtual 5K?
E: Doing this with Keli has been such a huge support. There have been so many mornings that I’ve wanted to ignore that 4:30 alarm, but I know that she’s “waiting” on the other end of the phone. I definitely feel like if I don’t get out of bed, I’m letting her down. She’s also been my biggest cheering section. She knows I’m frustrated at my lack of speed on shorter distances right now, post-injury, so she’s been the first to point out that my speed on longer distances has been great, as well as my endurance. Basically, she’s been the positive voice that I should be for myself!
Keli finds support in her motivation to stay healthy, her husband, and of course, Erin
K: Erin has been so supportive! Getting out of bed is always easier when I know that she’s on the other end of the phone waiting for me to get up and run. On days that I don’t really feel like I did that well or when I’m feeling discouraged about my pace or lack of distance, she is always there to remind me of how far I’ve come and encourage me to just keep running.
5. Do you plan on making changes to continue with your training or is it all smooth road from here?
E: I’m afraid to jinx myself and say that it’s all smooth road from here, so I’ll just say that so far, it looks like I shouldn’t have to change anything and I hope it continues that way.
K: I am really pleased with my training right now – I do 2 mornings of boot camp as cross-training, and then I run 3 mornings a week. I am hoping to continue with this schedule, but as any mother runner knows, nothing is guaranteed when there are kids involved. ;)
Kara Goucher Talks about Running Boston Marathon, and Answers Your Questions
Like Jim Carrey’s character in “Dumb and Dumber,” Kara Goucher has the courage to believe.
Kara Goucher in the house! Dimity and Sarah gleefully interview Olympic marathoner Kara Goucher as she preps for her third Boston Marathon. Kara answers questions from @TheMotherRunner Twitter followers, like about running while pregnant three years ago and how her training has changed since then. She talks about cooking dinner for her husband, Adam, and son, Colt, nearly every night—then often debating cookie v. brownie for dessert. When talk turns to staying mentally tough, Kara admits why she now races in sunglasses. And she shares her new mantra for racing Boston.
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