Krista DuChene
Rick:
With Mother’s Day falling within the month of May, what better time to
have one of our community’s busiest Moms write about her insight into
what it is like to balance being a homemaker, with motherhood and a
career while training and competing at an international distance running
level. Here is Krista DuChene’s perspective;
Krista:
When my 4 year old son asked me what I wanted for Mother’s Day, the
answer was easy. Other than a hand-made card from my three kids
(orchestrated by my husband), I requested the very thing I am already
blessed to have every other weekend of the year – a morning run followed
by a hot breakfast with my family. I am a morning person. I love the
energy I feel when I get out of bed, and get great satisfaction in my
many morning accomplishments. Many people ask me, “How do you do
it…being a busy mom and elite marathoner?” Likely the two simple
answers are: passion and organization.
Let
me start with passion. Ever since I was a kid, I was always passionate
about physical activity. I just loved moving my body in my early years,
and playing competitive sports later on. I’ve always had high energy. My
mom always said I was the most active of all six kids in our family! As
a youngster, I played and enjoyed all sports – soccer, basketball,
hockey, track and field, and simply being outdoors on the farm. It
wasn’t until early high school that I started to get more serious about,
and focus more on hockey and running. I loved and was fairly talented
at both, which was convenient because I had a summer and winter sport. I
remember wearing my hockey jackets to track meets and my track jackets
to hockey tournaments, just to let others know I had another passion! I
always enjoyed the team aspect of hockey and the individual focus of
running. It was a good balance. I’ve often thought I would like to try
long-track speed skating, the closest combination to running and hockey
that I can think of! There came a point in my athletic career that I had
to choose between my two passions. I chose hockey at the University of
Guelph. I thoroughly enjoyed my four successful years, which included a
first and fourth place finish at the provincial and national
championships. After retiring from hockey, I returned to running. It was
easy to fit into my schedule as a new Registered Dietitian and I
enjoyed it. I had run several 10 km and 10 mile road races as a teen but
had no plans, other than to run to stay fit. Then one day I ran 18 km
and thought “Hey, I could try to run a marathon some day. That might be
neat”. Well, eight marathons later, including a National Championship,
and a time of 2:32:06 to make me the 10th fastest Canadian Woman in
history, I’m sure glad I returned to my other passion. If it doesn’t
work out to run the 2012 Summer Olympic Games, for sure I will be making
an attempt for the 2016 Olympics. Yes, I’ll be 39 years of age but I
certainly believe I will still have the passion. The passion to get me
out of bed at 5:30 am for a 40 km run, to hop into an ice bath to
recover from a hard workout, to run harder and faster because my kids
want me to win the big trophy! You know what I mean! I believe it will
still be there!
Obviously
with three kids and three hours of daily training, organization is key
along with communication and support from my husband. I am constantly
looking at my calendar. I have to write everything down and plan as much
ahead of time as I can. It works well for me to know that my mornings
are for training, afternoons are for rest and housework, and evenings
are for family. I typically do the same type of work out as well as get
my groceries on the same day of the week. Then I know what to expect. As
for cleaning and laundry, those are ongoing tasks that unfortunately I
am not that passionate about! Surprisingly, they seem to take much more
energy than anything! If I am not organized, things can fall apart. It
helps to know the direction Team DuChene is taking so I try to stay on
top of things to make things run smoothly!
Since
my Around the Bay 30 km race win and 7th place finish at the Rotterdam
Marathon this spring, I’ve had many face book requests, notes of
encouragement, and visits with friendly comments on my running blog. The
one thing that is said more than anything else is that I am an
inspiration. This is such a compliment and I thank each and every one of
you for it. As you know, I believe my faith in God is the reason for my
success in running. Passion and organization allows me to succeed as
marathon mom and I look forward to many more years at this “job”.
Rick: Thank you for your insight Krista. You truly are an inspiration.
Speaking
of inspiration, I’d like to take this opportunity to extend my sincere
gratitude to my wife Josie, my family, friends and members of our
community for their outpouring of support and words of encouragement
during my recovery from my recent surgery. It certainly has helped me
tremendously during my healing process.
The
third event of the Brantford Tournament of Races, Road and Trail Series
– Brantford’s 2nd Annual Great Canadian Trail Run is only five weeks
away. This event will take place the morning of Canada Day on Sunday
July 1st
at the Lions Park/Steve Brown Sports Complex. It will feature
picturesque trail runs including a 5K and 10K along with a 5K walk and a
1K fun run before enjoying the opening ceremonies of the Brantford
Canada Day Celebration! You can visit www.likerunning.ca
for more information or registration. If you are interested in
volunteering to help out at the race or the Series, you can also contact
the organizers on this site. In the meantime, I will see you next
month. Smooth and Safe Running.
(Former international class marathon runner Rick Mannen of Brantford offers running tips in a monthly column)