CALENDAR | RESULTS | HIGH SCHOOLS | COLLEGES | NEWS | LINKS
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CALENDAR | RESULTS | HIGH SCHOOLS | COLLEGES | NEWS | LINKS |
 Laura winning the 1999 Detroit Race for the Cure. - e-mail Laura - |
RMDC WELCOMES LAURA MURPHY
RunMichigan.com is incredibly pleased to welcome Laura Murphy to the RMDC staff. Laura, who races for the Hansons Running Shop Team, will contribute her thoughts on issues such as women's running and running with children. She also has been contributing to RMDC in our advertising and race representation area. We hope you enjoy Laura's contributions and we are happy to have her with us. By Laura Murphy - RunMichigan.com! 05/03/99 The RunMichigan.com guys asked if I could do an occasional column on women's running, addressing such things that might be of particular importance to women. Mostly they want to know how I train with little ones also running around. I have not written a column before, but figure I can put this much together for your consumption. Of course, this whole new lifestyle is a work-in-progress. Just when we think we have a routine, something changes it. I live in Rochester Michigan with my husband Mark Neal and our two children, Casey and Abigail, boy-girl twins born in October 1997. I used to work full time, now I am home with the children and, though it is often more challenging than my former professional job, it is always more fun! I went to Bowling Green State University ('85), where I ran track and cross-country. I have been road racing since graduation and still enjoy a mile race every now and then mixed in with the marathons and 10Ks. In 1996, I competed in the Olympic Trials Marathon in Columbia, SC. It was the culmination of several years of hard work and anticipation. Still, coming into the next Olympiad, the highlight of my career. Then the twins came in 1997, and I did not race at all that year. I only ran until about the first of April and then was either too sick (lengthy case of morning sickness) or too heavy (maxing out at 192) to start up again. It was eight months before I attempted to run again. Thanksgiving weekend 1997, I ran 1.5 miles and it took me 20:00. I had talked to many runners who had children and most of them were able to run well into their pregnancies with little difficulty. Most were able to do something throughout, while I had out-grown my XL maternity swimsuit back in early August! Even when I was swimming, it was not an aerobic undertaking. During the winter months, I mostly went at night after Mark was home from work, averaging about 4 days per week and two to three miles at a time. The babies were still too small to go in the jogger, and it was too cold, so we were able to make it work running separately. By February 1998, the three of us had a nice routine. I went to the health club late in the morning, where Casey and Abby enjoyed the company of other infants in the day care area. I was able to get 3-4 miles in on the treadmill AND a shower! It cost a little, but was well worth it. That regular routine laid the foundation for the spring and summer racing seasons. And anyone who has gone from zero to two kids - whether instantly or over a period of years - can tell you that everything takes longer. It often took more time to get us all in the car and back home again than I spent in the club! Since spring time, Casey, Abby and I have run many miles on the Paint Creek Trail. It is convenient to our house and relatively flat, and no traffic other than bikes to worry about, so it's easy to push the doublewide jogger. I pushed them through the summer and fall, with three days per week running unencumbered. They are good children and either one would be a piece of cake as a singleton, but we have had more than one run with a screaming "stereo" through the woods of Oakland Township. When they became mobile, it got more difficult to keep them seated for any length of time for a run. Toward the end of the summer, we had to stop at the swings in the park each day on the way home - regardless of the weather and there were some hot evenings! Mark also likes to take them running. Though it isn't high on the list of quality time activities, it does allow me to get a shower if I just ran and to start dinner and prepare the stuff babies need before going to bed. Yes, they do two-a-days every now and again, getting more miles than either mom or dad! One of the days I do not push is Thursday. I meet a group at Hanson's Running Shop in Royal Oak. We used to have a sitter who came to our house just at the time I had to leave to get there at 6:30. I now hurry and feed the kids and load them up in the van before 6:00 - I rarely make it by 6:30 - and drive to Royal Oak where Mark and I switch cars. He drives them home and runs with them while I race the streets of Southern Oakland County with Kathy Rink and an army of speed demons. It is a tough run, but normally a welcome break. I am not the first runner to have to figure these things out, so if anyone has any advice for me, I am always open to suggestions. For anyone looking for tips, what I know for certain is to be flexible and keep your sense of humor handy - you know it won't be too long before you will need it! |