My friend Sarah is the fastest and most knowledgeable runner I know. But, she hasn't always been and it's not something that has happened without a lot of hard work and dedication. Sarah is a mom to two beautiful boys who works hard at a full time job and is married to a shift worker. Here's how she makes time for running and continues to push herself and her limits:
I wasn't sure what my next race with Janaya would be in 2012, however, all the pieces fell into place that it was the Saskatoon Police Service 1/2 marathon. Janaya had registered early for the Regina Police Service run, and I was quite disappointed that it was full when I went to register - the RPS run was the very first 1/2 marathon I ran in 2007 in a time of 1:49 so I would have liked to run it again. When circumstances required Janaya to alter her plan and run the SPS instead, I eagerly agreed to join her as did my husband Kevin.
Prior to having my two boys I began running relay events in the Echo Valley, RPS, and QCM races. This was a great way to get introduced to running and get the "bug" for entering races! From the relays I moved to my first 1/2 marathon in 2007. Over the years I have always been involved in many sports most recently playing soccer in Saskatoon (with the same team Janaya is on). However, when I moved to Prince Albert there were less sports to participate in and with 2 kids and Kevin working shift work it is virtually impossible to commit to a sport. So, I found myself running even more. After having both of my boys, my goal was to run to get back into shape - which, as hard as it seemed during my mat leave, was even harder to fit into the day when I went back to work.
Upon returning to work in December of 2011 I began getting up at 4:15am to run - it's the
only time in the day I consistently have time without the boys as they are still sleeping. For
me running at night is not an option - being married to a shift worker I would have to wait
until after the boys were asleep around 8pm which would mean I wouldn't be done until 9pm. I do not sleep well after evening exercise.
So 4:15 am every morning, 6 days of the week, I found myself getting out of bed, downing a glass of pre-run energy mix and hopping on the treadmill for anywhere from 4-8 miles. It
didn't take long and my body adapted to this routine. I didn't even have to set the alarm, I
was naturally waking up between 4 and 4:15am. I travel for work quite a bit to Regina and
even when in the hotel room I am awake with running shoes on and down to the hotel treadmill by 4:20. It is now my way to start the day. I try to get a longer weekend of run 8-
12 miles in, either Saturday or Sunday depending on my husband's schedule.
I continued with the "morning" dedication in the hopes of returning to my "pre-kid" shape. For me "back into shape" isn't about a size, rather it is about being as healthy and fit as I
can be while living a very balanced (and busy) life. To me the ability to run is the very
definition of "fit" and "in-shape" but I still had that nagging part of me that wanted to get back to my pre-kid weight. I found that as hard as I ran and as much as I went to the gym I was still unable to lose my "final 10 lbs". Something many struggle with.
I didn't want to give up. I wanted to find a way to finally lose it. So I reached out to those I
had watched do it - and the experts, our friends and the owners of the gym we go to. They were able to set me up with a diet plan that they followed while training for a bodybuilding competition and that they use with those they are training. The diet was very consistent with pre-determined meals 6 times a day, lots of protein and veggies and a small amount of carbs with each meal. Prior to starting they encouraged me to continue with it for 12 weeks
as that is when results are fully realized. So I got to it and stuck to the meal plan, even
when travelling to Regina, I packed all my meals and travelled with my cooler. The diet
included eating ground beef at 9am.....which got a lot of strange looks and comments at
work! For the diet to work I was encouraged to maintain 20 min of cardio a day - which I
was far exceeding so I thought if I stuck to my current exercise and followed the meal plan,
the results would be a sure thing.
After week 1 I lost 0 lbs, after week 2 I had gained 1 lb and after week 3 I was up 4 lbs. They encouraged me to keep going as my body was just adjusting itself and I would start to see results shortly. I could tell that my running was suffering slightly especially my longer runs with the reduced carb consumption, however, I continued on the plan of diet, 6 days of running and 4 days at the gym. I am stubborn and was determined that I was working too hard to not lose the last 10 lbs.
After 7 weeks of the diet I was up 8 lbs and it was time for the SPS. I was worried how my run would be as I knew my long runs were not going well. I broke the diet for the night before the race and went out with friends for a VERY delicious dinner and wine at the Samurai. I was stuffed and ready for the run.
We met Janaya downtown before the race and walked to the starting line. It was a cool morning but thankfully not raining. It rained the previous day during which I joined Janaya and a group of moms for a short run in Warman - I wish I could meet up with this group more as it was so inspiring to see the running addiction Janaya had created among so many! I ran with Janaya and my husband for the first mile and then took off on the pace I was comfortable with.
I felt very strong running and was avoiding looking at my watch as I was nervous to know my time. As I approached the 1/2 way turn around I only noticed 2 female runners come back past me, so I thought I must be doing ok. At mile 8 I heard two people talking that their pace was currently 7:58 and I thought WOW that can't be; but if it is, I am going to stick with these runners as long as I can. I pushed myself, likely to the annoyance of the guy just ahead (and sometimes behind) me, and it paid off in the end as I finished in a watch time of 1:41:55...that was 13 minutes faster than I ran in Las Vegas in December and 7 minutes faster than my pre-kid race time. I was truly in shock when I crossed the finish line and looked at my watch.
I decided that to cool down I would start to walk back and see where Kevin and Janaya were at. As I was walking Kevin quickly came into sight he finished in 1:49 so he improved on his Vegas time by 6 minutes (actually very impressive for someone who doesn't train and might run 3 miles when he does run). I continued to walk back until I found Janaya about 1.5 miles from the finish line where I turned and finished the last 1.5 miles with her. It was such a great experience to complete the end of the race with her!
I was so excited and thankful to realize that my dedication to morning running had at least paid off in an improved race time! So I knew that with those results I had no choice.....but to continue with my current routine in order to maintain the results I had achieved!
No comments:
Post a Comment