Steelhead 70.3-2014

Can I really do it all?

It has been an incredibly long time since I have posted to this blog! In December 2013 I started a new career as a Cardiac Nurse Practitioner. This was a huge change for me and my family. I was work 40+ hours a week and had added an almost 2 hour roundtrip commute to my day. My husband, who previously worked full-time started to stay home with our kids and run a home business as a blacksmith/artist. Unable to tolerate my commute, I changed jobs again in August of last year. I’m still a Cardiac Nurse Practitioner but I work at a hospital much closer to my house. It has been better for my family and my training.

I started this blog to chronicle what it was like to be a full-time working mother and athlete. I wanted to prove to other mothers out there that it is possible to work a ridiculous schedule, workout 6 days a week, and be a good mother. The problem is, it’s not really easy for me to do all those things, and maintain a blog. I found myself watching Ironman South Africa this morning and was extremely inspired watching the racers cross the finish line. I started looking through past race times and setting some new goals. One particular goal is rekindling this blog. So here I am, in the kitchen, at my iPad, trying to write and make breakfast for my monsters.

Since the last time I posted, I ran the Green Bay Marathon in a time of 3:57:46. My first time breaking a 4 hour finish time! I also raced my first IM 70.3 in Michigan. I had set a goal to finish in 6 hours or less and managed a 5:52:42. Leading up to my 70.3 I raced an Olympic distance race called Tri-ing for Children’s and finished 3rd place in my age group. It was the first time I had ever placed at any event. At the end of the season I volunteered at Ironman Wisconsin with every intention of signing up to race in 2015. Financial burdens and the fear of an even more intense training schedule kept me from registering. There were tears at first but now that I’m fully into training, I’m really excited for my upcoming races.

2015 Races:

1. Ice Age 1/2 marathon-my first trail running event.

2. Toughman Wisconsin 70.3

3. Door County Triathlon 70.3

I have yet to determine a fall running event. I have a lot of options for Wisconsin fall races and will probably commite to something soon.

I’m no longer vegan, I still have unwavering support from my family, and I have an awesome new coach. I fight the urge to ignore my alarm every morning for 5 AM workouts. I hope to inspire other men and women with full-time careers, small children, with dreams to do amazing things. But right now, my kids are screaming so this rambling must come to an end!