Today on Fit Mama Friday, I’m featuring Angie, from A Mother’s Pace – one of my favorite mother runner blogs! As a mom of three small children – son Little O, age 5, daughter Little A, age 4 and Little E, age 2, and married to her husband of 6 years, CJ, Angie still managed to make time to train for the Chicago Marathon last year. Find out how this former preschool teacher turned busy SAHM managed her time to workout and get her marathon training done, as well as how she got through the post-race blues after competing in the marathon in 2014.

Meet Angie.

So excited to have you on Fit Mama Friday, Angie! Have you always been a runner?

I started running officially in middle school track. My coach had me running the hurdles and I’m not sure what he was thinking. I’m only 5 feet 2 inches tall as an adult! The running bug stuck with me though and I ran cross country in high school and then continued on my own as an adult. I didn’t sign up for races until 2006 or so but once I did I found that I really liked running longer distances.

Although I have always run I am definitely in better shape now than before I had children. I follow a strength training program three days a week, I cross train on the spin bike and I run regularly (usually 5 days a week) instead of just when I feel like it, as I did before I started signing up for races.

What about during each of your pregnancies? Were you running? What were your workout schedule and eating habits like while you were growing humans?

During my last pregnancy I ran until about 27 weeks. At that point I would run and then I was sore for two days which was not worth it! My body was going through enough without being sore from running. I decided to just keep up with some strength, walking and yoga. I noticed that I had more energy and felt better about myself than the previous two pregnancies that I didn’t exercise as much. I still gained 40 pounds during each of my pregnancies even though I exercised more during the last one!

My diet before and after pregnancies is pretty similar. We try and eat healthy, whole foods and stay away from processed foods as much as possible. We eat at home most of the time and make a lot of food from scratch. I do have a sweet tooth though that really comes out during pregnancies. I find it’s harder to eat healthier during pregnancies because of cravings, not being able to stomach being in the kitchen and just lower energy levels overall. I wish I had eaten healthier during my pregnancies!

As a SAHM, did you ever feel like you were ducking out of work to do your training for the Chicago marathon? Did you have moments of ‘mommy guilt’, or was having that time to do something important for yourself necessary for sanity? 

I never felt ‘mommy guilt’ while training for the Chicago Marathon during my regular training runs during the week. I always woke up early and ran before my husband had to go to work. Occasionally a long run on a weekend would wipe me out for the rest of the day and it just meant that usually we had a low-key day at home. The Chicago Marathon had been a dream of mine for a long time so the training was important and something that my husband and I discussed before I signed up for the race. Training did take up a lot of time and so that is why I’ll wait until the kids are a little older to train for another marathon.

How did you find the time for training, specifically for your long runs? 

My long runs usually happened first thing on Saturday morning. I would wake up and head out for hours of running while my husband stayed home and got the kids ready for the day. Usually on Saturdays they would go to our local Farmer’s Market to buy meat and produce for the week and many times would bring flowers home for me as well. I’m a lucky mommy and I could not have trained for the Chicago Marathon without the support of my husband!

How did you feel after the marathon was over? Did you have post-race blues at all? What’s the next running goal on your horizon?

The day of the Chicago Marathon was one of the best days of my life, not counting my wedding day and the births of my three children, of course. I couldn’t have planned a day better than this one turned out. So, yes, I did have post-race blues. It was only made worse by the fact that I developed a case of plantar fasciitis after the marathon and had to take a couple of weeks off from running. I’m back at my normal running schedule now, which is about 20-25 miles a week and have my eye on shorter races this year. I’m hoping to work on speed instead of distance and actually train for a 5k. I’ve raced plenty of 5k’s in the past but I’ve never actually trained for one before.

Are your kids getting interested in running? Have they participated in any races?

My kids are very active and do show an interest in running. My two oldest children have ran in two races. One was pretty short, I can’t remember the distance, and the other was 1 mile. They both really enjoyed the ‘training’ that we did before the races and would ask my husband and I to take them out running. I’ve always wanted to run a 5k as a family and push the kids in strollers. We’d have to use the double jogger and borrow a single but I think that everyone would have fun!

What’s your favorite distance to race and why?

The half marathon is my favorite racing distance. The main reason is that training is a challenge but doesn’t take as much time as a full marathon. I’ve raced 9 half marathons and on my 8th attempt I finally broke two hours and came in with a PR of 1:57:02. I felt like anything was possible during that race and knew that I was going to accomplish my sub-2 goal.

As well as being on your regular running schedule again now, what’s your weekly workout schedule like? What’s your major challenge for fitting in workouts?

My weekly workout schedule: Monday: 3 miles + Strength, Tuesday: Spin Bike, Wednesday: 4 miles + Strength, Thursday: 3 miles, Friday 3 miles + Core Work, Saturday: 8-12 miles, Sunday: Rest.

My main challenge with keeping up with my fitness routine is waking up early. Right now it’s not so bad because I just need to be ready for the day by 8:30 when my husband goes to work. Next year when my son is in kindergarten I will have to wake up even earlier and it will be an adjustment.

Why is it important to you to be a fit mama? Do you think it impacts your family in a positive way?

I workout for a lot of reasons but the main one is that I feel better when I do it. It gives me energy and I also think it shows my children that I’m trying to be healthy and make good choices.

Being fit benefits me as a mom because it is my ‘me’ time. It’s something that I do for myself and I usually feel better after I get a run in for the day.

I’m not sure that I’m the reason that my family enjoys a healthy lifestyle but we are all pretty active. My husband occasionally runs and has trained for a half marathon in the past. He is more of a cyclist though and is getting ready to start training for a century ride in June. My kids have enjoyed soccer, t-ball, gymnastics, basketball and dance as well as just riding scooters and bikes in our neighborhood or running around a playground.

Thank you so much for being part of Fit Mama Friday, Angie! I’m looking forward to following along as you tackle the 5K this year – it’s a tough race distance! (I’d much rather battle through the marathon than feel like I’m going to die at the end of a 5K!) 😉

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 You can follow Angie through her blog, A Mother’s Pace, on Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest and Twitter.

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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!

 

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