I’m excited to introduce you to Jen Floyd, the featured fit mama on Fit Mama Friday today. Jen is a running mama who home schools her two daughters, Alyssa, 12 years old, and Courtney, 10 years old. She’s been married to their dad, her husband and best friend, for almost 14 years. You may know her from her blog Miles & Blessings, where she writes about running, life, faith and family. Jen is also super speedy, clocking a 1:32 half marathon PR and a 3:30 marathon PR! 

Meet Jen.

Jen, you’re obviously blessed with natural running talent – have you always been a runner?

From pretty early on, yes. I have always been pretty athletic. When I was younger, I loved being part of a team. I tried several sports…volleyball, softball, basketball. Then, my junior year in high school, my basketball coach told me that he thought I should try running. I was on a very good basketball team, but I really didn’t play. From watching me run in practice he thought I would be good at it, or he was just saying that so he wouldn’t have to cut me from the team…either way, I am SO glad he did. At first I thought, no way! They run like 2 whole miles. I really just loved being part of a team though, so I decided to give it a try. Thus began my love for running!!!

And so it began! You’ve been running ever since then, or did you take a break after school ended and life got busy?

I have literally been running ever since. I really think that everyone’s fitness abilities and goals go through stages, just like life. Everybody is at different stages in their life and has different goals and abilities for their running…the only important thing is that you are doing something! 🙂

Now, it’s only been fairly recently that you’ve started racing, right? How did the decision to start running races happen?

As soon as running in a team during high school was over, I looked forward to a break from racing and being able to run whatever distance and whenever I wanted. I stayed in this stage of running for around 12 years! I ran 3 – 4 miles almost every day. I had no Garmin, no time goals, no distance goals. During this time I got married and had my two little girls. 🙂 I ran through both of my pregnancies and really felt good. I just slowed up my pace and added some walking, but was able to run up until the day before I had both of my girls. After I had them, I took about 3-4 weeks off and then slowly got back into it.

Then, about four years ago I decided, pretty much out of nowhere, that I wanted to run a marathon. I had not run a race since high school! I did not own a GPS watch, and I still bought my running shoes at Kohl’s and tried to make them last as long as I possibly could. Although I did a decent amount of running, I really did not know all that much about how to really train… so I began my research :). I got a Garmin, went to a “real” running store and got fitted for shoes, and bought some marathon training books. This is also when I found my first two running blogs – Michele at NYC Running Mama and Dorothy at Mile Posts.

Jen, that’s amazing! I love that you just decided to go for a marathon! Tell me about what it was like, training for and running your first marathon.

During my training for my first marathon I got my first running injury (and pretty much my only injury so far), runner’s knee. I had to take ten days off and focus on strengthening drills. Because of this, the farthest I ran before my race was 15 miles…I do not recommend this! I finished, though (I thought I was going to die)…3:51…and have gone on to run four more with a PR of 3:30. I have also done some half marathons with a PR of 1:32 and some 5K’s and 10K’s. Right now I am at a stage where I really enjoy racing. I enjoy the training and the structure. I also enjoy challenging and competing against myself. I love finding out that I am capable of more than I thought! I love finding my strong! 🙂

I can’t believe you ran 3:51 with only a 15 mile long run AND an injury – Amazing job, mama! When do you get your training done – is it tough fitting it in, since you home school your girls?

Home schooling is one of the most challenging, yet most rewarding things that God has given me the privilege to do. I do my best to get out there early before our school day starts. That is much easier to do in the fall, spring and summer – during the winter it is a lot harder! With it being cold and dark in the morning, I usually end up running on their lunch break, or I just run after school during the winter. When I am training for a race I try to get in one speed work, one tempo run and one longer run a week, leaving the other three days for an easy run. I pretty much always run six days a week and take Sunday off.

Tell us about Miles & Blessings – when did you start the blog?

I started the blog about running, my faith and life almost exactly a year ago! I started it basically to be an encouragement to others; to show people that there are all sorts of runners and anyone can do it! You don’t have to race and you don’t have to be fast, but if you want to get faster you can! I wanted to show others how God can help get us through the ups and downs of life and make us better through it all. I also found myself writing paragraph long comments on other posts :)…and I was really enjoying getting to know the running-blogging community!!! It is really a great group of people! I love it and I love the opportunity it has given me to connect with others.

I couldn’t agree more – I’ve met so many amazing people through blogging and running. What are some of the reasons you love running so much? Why is it so important to you to be a fit, running mama?

There are SOOO many reasons why I love running and it changes depending on the day. I actually wrote a post about 10 of my favorite reasons to run!

One of those reasons includes being an example for my family. My husband is also a runner and has done two marathons. I love that running is something that is fun, so good for us and is something that we can do as a family. I want my kids to be active, to enjoy moving around, to enjoy the outdoors. If I want them to like it, I need to show them how fun it is!!! I need to lead them by example…if I don’t show them the awesomeness that running can be….they won’t know it!

And do your daughters think running is awesome? Are they budding runners themselves?

Running races is something that can be SO fun for kids! My girls have done two kids marathons, where they log 25 miles over the course of a few months and then on race day they run 1.2 miles for a total of 26.2 miles. We have a sticker chart for their miles logged and they just love it! They get a t-shirt and a medal and they really feel like they accomplished something special! They have also done a 2.62 mile race and several 1 mile races. I do everything I can to make it fun and exciting so that they enjoy it and I have also been recently getting some of their friends involved too!

Have there been any challenges for you, fitting running into your life as a wife, mother and teacher?

A big challenge for me was when I went through a stage in my running that was unhealthy. I think it can be easy to just not mention these things, but that also does not help someone who may be struggling with the same thing. I went through a period, when the girls were about 5 and 3 years old, where I ran for a number on the scale. I restricted what I ate and ran just to see the number go down. The funny thing is that I always thought that I would be my happiest when I hit my “ideal number”. I could not have been more wrong. If I can tell you anything to remember about this it is that that one number on that scale does NOT define you…that is all that it is, a number. I did not have the strength that I needed to be the mother, the wife, the friend…the person that I wanted to be and that God made me to be.

Then, I had some things happen in my life that led me to ask myself, what am I doing? Is this who I want to be? Is this the impact that I want to leave my kids with? At the end of my life is this something that even mattered? The truth is my priorities were all wrong. I spent a lot of time in prayer asking God to help me get my focus off of myself and back on him and the things that mattered most in life. It was after I’d been working on getting better that I began racing, which is when I really began to see how food is fuel four our bodies and how important it is that we take care of them, rather than focus on a number.

Today I am proud to say that I am probably the healthiest I have ever been, and I am a good 15 – 20 pounds heavier than when I was at my lowest. My faith is stronger, my body is stronger and I am a happier and better person. That time is a time in my life that I am not proud of, but I know it’s something that affects a lot of kids and adults of all ages today, so if God can use me to help someone that is struggling, I want to do that!

Thank you so much for sharing, Jen. I’m happy to hear how much stronger you are, having gotten through that experience. What are your running goals now? 

As far as goals go I am training right now for a half marathon in September and the Richmond full marathon in November!!!! I would love to break 1:30 in the half and 3:20 in the full. Those to me are just numbers though, they are what I work towards but I try really hard not to let a time define a race for me. If I don’t get the time I want I think of all the positive things that came out of training and the race. I think it can be easy to get so focused in on getting a time…that we become obsessed with it and forget to enjoy the journey and love of it!!! 🙂

That sounds like advice I should take, as well! 😉 Thank you so much for being on Fit Mama Friday today, Jen – good luck with your half and full marathons this Fall. I’m sure you’ll rock both of them!

 

Fit Mama Friday – Fit Dad Friday

Every Friday on Fine Fit Day I feature a Fit Mama or a Fit Dad story of how and why a fit and healthy mama or dad ensures fitness is a priority in her or his life. You’ll read about all kinds of parents and their fitness stories. Some are stay-at-home parents, some are single parents, some juggle more than one job on top of parenthood, but they are all committed to a fit and healthy lifestyle. As you’re getting ready for your weekend, I hope you’re inspired to be active after reading about these kick-ass mamas and dads on Fit Mama Friday – Fit Dad Friday!

 

Do you want to be featured on Fit Mama Friday? Or do you know someone you’d like to see featured? Please contact me for details!