First-Time Marathoners
Another fall marathon season is upon us, so Sarah and Dimity chat up two mother runners who are both taking a 26.2-mile victory lap on Sunday, October 6. While they are both novice marathoners, they are very different runners. First up: Carrie Tollefson, an elite mid-distance runner who competed in the 1500 meters in the 2004 Olympics, who is running the Twin Cities Marathon a mere three months after giving birth to her second child. Then the gals talk to Stephanie Rice, also a mom of two, who is running the Portland Marathon (after following the Marathon: Finish It plan from Train Like a Mother. Both ladies talk about taking on the unknown, as well as juggling being a mom, working full-time, and training to go long. Find out what happened, for the first time ever (!!), to Carrie on a recent training run. We’ll just admit here: We still love her, even though it took her this long.
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The Most Important Mile of my Life: Kristin Cooper
That day, I stood up and mumbled something about needing air. I walked straight out of the hospital and started running. No running clothes, no ipod, no watch. It didn’t matter. I just needed to get out. The hospital was in my hometown so I knew the area and found myself charging toward the biggest hill around. My heart was pumping, quads burning, lungs gasping as I sprinted toward that hill.
It wasn’t my usual steady-paced run. It was manic. It was as if I could suddenly feel all of the fear and pain that I had been holding in. Tears streamed down my cheeks blurring my vision but I didn’t care. I made it to the top of the hill and just screamed and cried. I was spent, both emotionally and physically. I crumpled to the ground and just cried, feeling broken. After a time, I picked myself up and looming there on the horizon was the hospital and I knew that it was time to go back.
As I ran back I felt better; I didn’t feel more positive about what my mom’s condition but I felt prepared for what may lay ahead. That run forced me to unclench and breathe so that I could face doctors, those machines, and the possibility of losing my mom.
It was through those many miles that I really felt like I became a runner, but I will always remember that it was that frenetic run on a Tuesday that saved me.
What was (or will be) the most important mile of your life? We want to know.
We’re going to make this an ongoing feature on the website (and potentially include some important miles in our yet-to-be-named third book, out in spring of 2015). Best way to submit is to email us your story with a picture: runmother {at} gmail {dot} com with “Most Important Mile” in the subject line. Please try to keep your mile stories under 300 words. Thank you!
Profile of Team Dimity for Ragnar Relay D.C.
3. What leg of yours are you most looking forward to running and why? I am looking forward to being done with the 2 mile hill on my first leg! After that hill, it is all downhill for me.
4. One word that describes you as a runner: influential.
2. What has been your favorite Ragnar training run and why? I haven’t specifically trained for this Ragnar, but going 19+ miles in the Colorado Ragnar a few weeks ago is sufficient training, I’m hoping. (I also just had a really good running weekend with Sarah; we covered over 14 miles in 2 days, which is a lot for me these days. So now it’s time to taper, right?)
3. What leg of yours are you most looking forward to running and why? Can I cop out and say I’m most looking forward to cheering? I mean, I’ll run and all, but give me a good cowbell, and I’ll annoy everybody in the transition area, save myself—and hopefully my teammates.
4. One word that describes your running: Sarah would say loud. “You’re not really light on your feet, are you Dimity?” she said nicely (truly) at the beginning of one run in Portland this past weekend. “I describe myself as a clod-hopper: I am nothing if not accurate,” I replied. These days, I would say steady. I’m not ripping it up, but—knock on wood—I’ve gone for two years with no running-induced injury. I did have a chip fracture in my toe, but that was from clumsiness, not running. 1. When and why did you start running? I always felt like there was a runner in me, but I didn’t really enjoy it for a long time, so I feel like I didn’t really ‘become a runner’ until my late 20s. I ran my first marathon at age 30 and I just kept going after that through multiple marathons and an Ironman. Then, I had two children, and it’s been tough getting back ‘in the game’ but I’m so glad that I have! Now it is so important for me to be doing something that I enjoy, that makes me feel good and strong, and that my children can watch and be a part of!
2. What has been your favorite Ragnar training run and why? The best run was a 10-miler run without the stroller. (I’ve had to push a double for most of my training runs.) The miles just ticked by and I felt like I was running strong again!
3. What leg of yours are you most looking forward to running and why? It looks like my 2nd leg of the Ragnar relay will be sometime in the middle of the night. I’m actually excited about that because, just like this relay, running at night is something I’ve never done before. I’ll be honest and say that yes, I’m a little afraid to run in the dark, but I’m looking forward to the challenge.
4. One word that describes you as a runner: easygoing.
You can find Joan on Facebook.
2. What has been your favorite Ragnar training run and why? I really love the sense of BAMR that accompanies running two a days and hills!
3. What leg of yours are you most looking forward to running and why? I’m actually looking forward to leg 7, which is my first leg. It has a massive (1000+ ft!!) elevation gain, but I can’t wait to finish the climb and see what I accomplished. Plus, I like hills!
4. One word that describes you as a runner: unpredictable.
2. What has been your favorite Ragnar training run and why? The first time I ran in the dark with a headlamp; it made me feel really dedicated.
3. What leg of yours are you most looking forward to running and why? Leg 8, despite the 1,000 ft hill climb. I think I will be itching to run and the adrenaline will carry me up the hill!
4. One word that describes you as a runner: Committed. 1. When and why did you start running? I used to get winded walking up the stairs! When I started running in April 2012 I had a 15-month old boy who moved quicker than I did. I love a lot of things about running but I especially love that I can clear my head of the minutia from the day and find peace and clarity after a good run.
2. What has been your favorite Ragnar training run and why? My favorite training runs for Ragnar have been dubbed “the Wu-tang runs” (In case you don’t know Wu-tang – ain’t nothin to F$&K with!). Twice a week I will get up at 4:30a.m. to an alarm that says “don’t think – just go”. Then I run to one of my BRF’s houses and we take on 5 miles at 5:00a.m. Getting to run under the starry night sky with the occasional bats and hear only the syncopated sound of our feet is nothing short of awesome! I can take on anything the day throws at me after that!
3. What leg of yours are you most looking forward to running and why? The one that will fall around 2 a.m. Reason: crazy middle of the night running sounds like it will be an awesome adventure!
4. One word that describes you as a runner: fearless.
3. What leg of yours are you most looking forward to running and why? My last leg (leg 36). It goes over the Woodrow Wilson Bridge,which is like a dream come true for me.I am obsessed with running bridges and I get to run in three states over the bridge! I also can’t wait to bring in a strong finish for Team Dimity!
1. When and why did you start running? In 1998, I ran the Marine Corp Marathon to raise money for a good cause. After that, marriage and kids happened and the running continued between pregnancies to lose the ‘baby’ fat. I started seriously training for races again in 2010, and running then became more about me (me-time, sanity saver, and the overall good feeling of being fit and accomplishing my goals) while setting a good example for my kids. I ran about 7 half marathons before running the Marine Corp again in 2011 where, 13 years later, I PR’d by over an hour.
2. What has been your favorite Ragnar training run and why? My favorite part of being prepared for the possibility of running Ragnar is doing more than one workout in a day. It makes me feel pretty good for being able to tackle that in a day along with everything else in life!
3. One word that describes you as a runner: committed
Find Karyn on Twitter.
Profile of Team Sarah for Ragnar Relay D.C.
1. When and why did you start running? I started running in 2004 when my Dad was diagnosed with cancer. He hated his radiation treatments. I felt powerless to help him, so in a show of solidarity I decided to do something I hated too…run. Every day he went to radiation I ran. Six weeks later, Dad was cancer-free…and I was hooked.
2. What has been your favorite Ragnar training run and why? I’ve been training on hills because my first leg begins with a steep 2-mile uphill climb. I ran 3 x 1-mile hill repeats last week with high temperatures and redonkulous humidity. When I reached the top of the third hill and looked down at my watch, I discovered I’d run negative splits. Three months of training coming together as the race approaches feels good!
3. What leg of yours are you most looking forward to running and why? I’m excited for my second leg…4.5 flat miles in the dark. Running that second leg will mean the 2-mile uphill climb of my first leg is already under my belt. Or under my tutu, in this case.
4. One word that describes you as a runner: Committed
You can find Bethany on Twitter; Facebook; and on her blog.
2. What has been your favorite Ragnar training run and why? Besides that little 50-mile trail ultra last month, it’s Ragnar–Hill Repeats (20-30 hill repeats once a week!). It breaks me in the beginning, then makes me by the last one. My rock’n music my kids can’t hear pumps me through to the other side, and at the end I am on a guaranteed high.
3. What leg of yours are you most looking forward to running and why? I am most excited about Leg 3—my first one—where the course run is described as something like “You got to be kidding me!” Sounds HILLarious!
4. One word that describes you as a runner: Relentless
You can find Jill P. on her blog. 1. When and why did you start running? Oh, come on: Didn’t I cover this in Run Like a Mother?
2. What has been your favorite Ragnar training run and why? Weekly hill repeats with my BRF, Molly. Not nearly as long as the ones my teammates have been running, but I got a lot of practice laughing while running. That counts for something, right?!
3. What leg of yours are you most looking forward to running and why? Um, you’re assuming I’ve studied the course map. I’ll be pleasantly surprised by what gets thrown my way.
4. One word that describes you as a runner: Upbeat
Follow SBS on Twitter.
4. One word that describes you as a runner: JOYFUL!
You can find Nancy on Twitter; and on her blog.
2. What has been your favorite Ragnar training run and why? My favorite training runs so far have been my split long runs. It provides the solitary running I do so much of, but I can also do a shorter distance “leg” with a friend. Just this past weekend, I ran with my friend Anna (also my trainer), who has been with me since the beginning, and is a much faster runner than I am. It was almost surreal running with her, as when I was so much bigger and out of shape, I couldn’t even fathom the idea.
3. What leg of yours are you most looking forward to running and why? I’m looking forward to Leg 3, since I will have conquered Leg 2 which is 6.7 miles in the dark through rural farmland. Leg 3 is 2.2 miles on a trail, and I look forward to going all out as much as possible on pure adrenaline.
4. One word that describes you as a runner: Determined
You can find Michelle on Twitter; on Instagram; and on her blog.
1. When and why did you start running?
I started running four and a half years ago. After having my second child, I was overweight and depressed. I started running to get in shape and lose the weight that had accumulated after my pregnancies. First it was a block, then two, then a mile. Now I have completed a full marathon and five half-marathons, along with other races.
3. What leg of yours are you most looking forward to running and why? 23. I have never run trails and I am going to be running this leg in a mountain at dawn. I cannot wait to see the sun raise while I run through nature and I conquer my second 10-miler of the event on a mountain.
4. One word that describes you as a runner: Correosa (Spanish for “resistant, that endures everything, long lasting”)
1. When and why did you start running? I started working out in my early 30s after my daughter was born because I wanted to be healthy and have the energy to play with my children–and I wanted to look good doing it. I was a smoker before kids, was possibly the laziest person ever, and hated running. In 2005, I ran my first half-marathon because I wanted a new challenge. I conquered that challenge and since then have taken on 13 more half-marathons, three full marathons, and countless 10K, 5K, and fun run races.
2. What has been your favorite Ragnar training run and why? It was actually the Area 13.1 half-marathon I ran in August. It was a night race and the perfect opportunity to rock my cute headlamp and flashing lights!
3. What leg of yours are you most looking forward to running and why? Definitely the last leg–#36. I’m the anchor for Team Sarah and get to run across the Woodrow Wilson bridge and end the race at the National Harbor. I’m looking forward to my teammates joining me and crossing the finish line together.
4. One word that describes you as a runner: Passionate
Find Lorraine on her blog, Twitter, and Instagram.
Meet Team Dimity tomorrow!
All About Ragnar
If you’re digging our podcasts, we’d be super-grateful if you’d take a minute (because we *know* you have so many to spare!) to write a review on iTunes.[audio:http://www.podtrac.com/pts/redirect.mp3/podcasts.pagatim.fm/shows/amr/amr_091913.mp3] **Also, the quickest way to get our podcasts is to subscribe to the show via iTunes. Clicking this link will automatically download the shows to your iTunes account. It doesn’t get any simpler than that!
The Most Important Mile of My Life: Julie Burke
Today’s Most Important Mile is from Julie Burke, mother runner of two who lives in Greenville, S.C.
Being diagnosed with MS was completely terrifying. I knew nothing about this disease. The only plan I really had was to stay as strong as I could and try to not let it change my life. Great idea, but I didn’t know if I could really do it.
My first really big test came when I had a new flare-up that meant five days of intravenous Methylprednisolone. On day two of the treatment, I had an 8K race scheduled. I was determined to run that race despite what was going on. If I could run the race, I could prove that I was in charge.
Well I did run the race, but I felt awful. Suffice it to say, there are many side effects when you are pumping this much medication into your body. I decided not to run again until I was off the medication and feeling better. This felt like a huge defeat to me.
By day seven of treatment (no more IVs, but “tapering off” with large amounts of oral Prednisone), I felt sick, exhausted, and depressed. I needed to go running. I decided to go easy on myself with a slow, short jog. Instead, I had the most amazing five-mile run that I have ever had. Getting back to what I love doing was exactly what my body needed. I needed to feel strong again. I needed the runner’s high much more than any other medication. I needed the chance to think about everything and nothing at all. At some point during this run, I knew I was stronger than MS. I knew I would never let it stop me. I didn’t have to wonder anymore.