Meet Cait Foisy who lives in beautiful Collingwood, Ontario, Canada. Cait and I met awhile back while mountain biking in Canmore. She and her husband, Alex have recently become the proud parents of six month old, Olivier. We can quickly forget the joys and tribulations of getting active again in the first year after a new child comes again, but you can feel the enthusiasm Cait has for continuing to stay active as a runner. She has so much in fact that herself and Alex and another couple started a blog as a resource for families who want to continue to stay active with children in the mix (link below).

Cait, Alex and Oliver at a recent Halloween 5km race

1. What was life like for you athletically or otherwise, prior to having your son and how has it evolved since? Growing up I was athletic but never one of the ‘top’ athletes. You could probably classify me as an ‘age-grouper’ (usually placing top 3 in my age group but not normally top 3 overall, unless it was a really great day). I did my undergrad at Queen’s University where I decided to take my love of running to the next level. Long story short I learned at Queen’s what it really meant to be a serious runner, and over 4 years I significantly improved my performance. I also took a one-year post-grad diploma where I competed in xc-running again. After university I continued to run for fun (yes, such a thing exists) training for everything from a 5k to a marathon. I have competed in triathlon for a while (up until recently where my current job isn’t conducive to training in the summer), mountain biking, trail and road running… basically I love everything outdoors!

Flash forward to present day. My son Olivier is 6 months (already?!) old and I have made the lofty goal to do a marathon this Spring (Ottawa) with the end goal of qualifying for Boston. I have found there wasn’t a lot of resources or ‘how-to’ be active with your whole family, how to manage who trains with baby if you both want to run, etc, so another couple and my husband and I founded a website: www.myactiveparents.com that addresses these issues.On the blog I talk about everything from how I started racing too soon post baby (oops! sorry pelvic floor muscles!), to doing a hiking trip with my girlfriends and  3-month old baby, to my training plans for Ottawa.

Cait before power walking a half marathon while pregnant

Since the birth of my son I was eager to get back into running. I took it slow. I consulted with a pelvic floor physiotherapist (which I now recommend to all my friends) and talked to other moms about what they did. I did a lot of run/walks and am now into continuous runs. I have done spin class again, a few road rides (before the snow came), hiking and some walks. I have tried to fit in yoga (mom and baby yoga), weights (when I remember) and have done a lot of postnatal fitness classes at the YMCA.

A 5km run at 6-weeks post-baby

Hiking in the Adirondaks with Olivier at 3 months old

Madelaine or “Maz” and I met while racing the Canada Cup mountain bike races about 10 years ago! Since then she has become the mother of 5 year old Eva and 2 year old Liam. While living in Calgary with her husband Lonn, who has also remained very active and competitive on his bike as well, Madelaine has continued to stay fit and set challenging and compeitive goals mountain biking and running! She recently went on a solo adventure to compete in the Commonwealth Mountain Running Championships in Wales! After running a blazing 3:10 at the Boston marathon in April she will soon be off to conquer the marathon distance again in New York City on November 5th! Here is what she had to say about how her athletic journey has progressed and evolved into motherhood….

1. Can you tell me a little about your athletic/competitive background before becoming a mom?

Starting in Grade 3 I became a competitive runner and cross country skier.  I competed in biathlon through my late teens. I was a member of the Junior National Biathlon team and competed at the World Junior Biathlon Championships in 1992.  I enjoyed adventure racing in my mid to late twenties before discovering a love for mountain bike racing. I raced my mountain bike at the elite level for about 5 years before I had my daughter.  I continued to race some enduro mountain bike races post partum and still do when I feel like it.  Presently I’m running road marathons and I am planning to run some off-road ultra marathons in 2012!

2. What motivates you to keep setting athletic and/or competitive goals since becoming a mother? Is it different than pre-kids?

It’s fun!  I love it!  I feel inspired! I’ve been competing for about 30 years- it’s something that I’ve always done and enjoy.  I have a passion for competition and I love to push my body.

3. How do you balance training and/or racing with your family?

I go out for early morning runs (morning is a good time for me) before my husband goes to work.  We own a chariot!  It’s amazing how active you can be with one.  My family (especially my husband) and friends are very supportive.  I’m also active as part of the work I do, I teach cross country skiing & a spin class.

4. Did you train during pregnancy? What was your approach?

I wasn’t on an official ‘training program’.  But I did keep very active throughout.  I did what felt good.  I cross country skied, roller bladed, mountain biked (at Nose Hill Park close where I live in Calgary), hiked, and walked a lot.  I continued to teach skiing & spin classes until about 6 months. My approach was to do what feels good and listen to my body.

5. Any advice you would give to other moms trying to stay active (or even competitive) while balancing kids?

Take care of yourself, get enough rest (easier said than done), eat good quality food and do something that you’re passionate about.  Don’t rush into ‘training’ post partum because your body will take a while to fully recover. It’s also such a short time that your kids are young so be sure to savour it!  Enjoy those precious moments, as there will always be another race : )

Maz at the end of a grueling 25km trail running race in Canmore!

Elinor and I met while at the University of Victoria and we were on the cross-country running team togther for a year before I transferred to the the University of Washington. We met up randomly about 10 years later at a trail running race in Canmore, Alberta. She has continued to push the distance and is now running ultras and encouraging other women and moms to stay active through her company, Run Wild Retreats, which organizes trail running and yoga adventures for women. She lives in Colorado with her husband, Rob, and two year old son, Reed.

1. Tell me about your athletic background prior to becoming a mom.

I began running competitively in high school and ran middle-distance track and cross country at the University of Victoria. Our team won the Canadian inter-university cross-country championships in 1998 which was a great way to end my college racing career. After graduation, I moved to the Canadian Rockies and discovered trail running. I ran my first ultramarathon, Alberta’s Lost Soul Ultra 50K in 2003, and decided that I preferred going long and steady than short and fast. During that time I was freelance writing, and in 2006, moved from Canada to Colorado to join the team at Trail Runner magazine as managing editor.

It was truly a dream job in that it afforded me opportunities to travel and run trails in places like Torres del Paine National Park in Patagonia, Chile, and compete in races like the week-long GORE-TEX TransRockies Run. I loved that my job involved gleaning wisdom from some of running’s biggest names, though I confess to getting rather star-struck when meeting famous runners like Kara Goucher, Joan Benoit Samuelson and Scott Jurek.

After almost five years there, I left Trail Runner in January to pursue PR and marketing at Backbone Media, and expand Run Wild Retreats, a company I founded to organize trail running and yoga adventures for women.

2. What motivates you to continue setting athletic goals since becoming a mom?

Last summer, when my son was just one and a half, I ran the Leadville Trail 100-miler, my first single-day century race. My only goal was to finish–and I did–but barely. It was the toughest race of my life, but I wanted to do it because, after taking on a new role as mom, I had to prove to myself that I was also still a runner. I had feared losing that part of myself because I was struggling with being a mom and managing a full-time career.

Through the process of training for a 100-miler, I realized that running played a very different role in my life now than it had before I became a mom. Slipping out for a one or two-hour trail run or grounding yoga class was a necessity–not just a treat–that I needed in order to be effective in my other life roles as wife, mom and employee.

Knowing I wasn’t the only hard-working, frazzled, wanna-be runner mom on the planet, I decided to take my ideal recipe for rejuvenation (nature, trail running and yoga) and package it into the Run Wild Trail Running and Wellness Retreat for Women. The two retreats we’ve held so far have drawn diverse women from across the country together for four days in the wilderness running trails, doing yoga, talking about our bodies, our goals and our challenges.

As soon as one retreat ends, I can’t wait to begin planning the next, and right now that’s what motivates me to run. Running improves my quality of life and my goal is to share that experience with other women. In order to preach it, I must first live it.

3. How do you balance training with family?

My husband, Rob is incredibly supportive. He’s active as well and understands how important running is to me (and is quick to point out when a run would improve my mood). On weekends, we negotiate time for our respective sports and time as a family. When Reed was little, I often pushed him in the Chariot or carried him in the backpack during brisk hikes. Now at 2 1/2, he prefers to be independently mobile, so we do short family hikes or ride bikes together. When I want to go for a longer trail run of 4 or 6 hours, it’s all about trades–trading time with my husband or trading babysitting with friends who have kids.

And I’ve embraced the value of short runs, especially during the week. I may run for 15 minutes between day-care drop off and the start of my work day, then run for 45 minutes at lunch. And if I only have time for 30 minutes at lunch, then I’ll make sure it’s a quality 30 minutes. All those shorts runs count as training if you make them count.

Even though it can feel crazy hectic sometimes, one of motherhood’s best gifts is having no time to procrastinate. Training happens because I either plan ahead or snatch the opportunity (I always have running shoes and clothes with me in case I get a chance to slip out).

Elinor and son, Reed

4. What was your approach to training during pregnancy?

I was lucky that my running partner and close friend Joy was pregnant at the same me! We kept one another motivated, even as our bodies changed and running with a passenger became more difficult. We’d plod along together and laugh at our pokey pace.

I listened to my body’s signals and gradually slowed my pace and reduced my mileage as it felt necessary. I was lucky to have a very healthy pregnancy and was able to run through the 8th month, changing to power walking and hiking during the last month. I have friends–who happen to be pro athletes–who did a lot more training while pregnant than I did, but I took the excuse to be little lazy, sleep more, hang out on the couch and watch movies.

5. What advice do you have for other moms trying to stay active (or even competitive) while balancing life with kids?

Be honest with yourself about what role your sport plays in your life right now. How important is being your fittest relative to being the kind of mom you want to be? Knowing where your priorities truly lie will help you make time for what’s most important. Your daily priorities should reflect what you value most, and if they don’t, stress will result because you’ll never have enough time for everything you want to do.

6. Which was tougher, the Leadville Trail 100 or childbirth?

Both events were much tougher than I had anticipated. We’d planned a home birth for Reed, complete with birthing pool and a midwife. But after more than 27 hours of labor, it was clear I had to go to the hospital, where I eventually had an emergency C-section.

At Leadville, my electrolytes were off balance and I began to retain water. By the 75-mile mark, I had gained about 5 pounds and my feet were so swollen I could barely walk. Those final 25 miles was the longest walk of my life. To reach the finish, I had to draw from mental and physical reserves that I didn’t know I had.

While I had achieved my goal in both–to birth a healthy baby and finish my first 100-miler, neither event had happened the way I had expected. It was hard not to feel disappointed, but after some time, I’ve learned to be less concerned with controlling situations and more concerned with accepting change and adapting to it on the fly. The most successful parents and ultrarunners I know seem to be masters at this.

7. Are you training for any races in the near future?

I am going to Boise, Idaho in October for the Foothills Frenzy 50K, a race organized by some women who had attended a Run Wild retreat last year. We had so much fun together during the retreat and I expect it will be just as much when we reunite in Boise for the race. I look forward to running hard and having fun, but I am equally looking forward to maintaining these friendships forged from a shared love of trail running.

Amy grew up in Canmore, Alberta and now lives in Calgary, Alberta. She has a private nutritional consulting business called Jump Start Nutrition, and is raising 6 year old twin girls, Jasmine and Natlie (pictured here at their first triathlon!). She is a superstar trail runner and also rips it up on the road from time to time. The rare time our schedules fit, she makes a great training partner. Here’s what she had to say about balancing family, work, and her passion for running….

1. Can you tell me a little about your athletic/competitive background before becoming a mom?

I started running in high school for the cross country team.  That took me through to running for U of A and Mount Royal while I was there, which was a great experience all round.  It was hard to balance full time school with working and training though and I remember being pretty tired. Plus eating on a university budget and trying to compete at that level is always less than optimal but that’s the way it is!

2. What has motivated or motivates you to keep setting athletic and/or competitive goals since becoming a mother?

I’m not sure that it’s a choice anymore.  It’s just a part of who I am.  I like to change it up and I race so that I have goals in mind when I’m training otherwise I don’t know that I would get out of bed on those early morning runs in -20!  I guess to some extent it’s become part of who I am and I love the running community and the people I’ve come to know through it.

3. How do you balance training and/or racing with raising twins?

I think I’ve had to learn to let go.  To accept that sometimes my house isn’t as clean as I want, that the grass didn’t get cut when it should have.  Plus you have to learn to multi task, as so many women do.  I usually remember to do my makeup as I’m pulling into the office.  A lot of my social time has become time with friends who run.  It was funny the other day I had breakfast with a running friend and I got really annoyed that I had to go for my run first and then meet up with him and that we couldn’t just do our visiting while running.  Yikes!  🙂  He had just done a 55k run the day before and needed a day off.
Now that the girls are in school it makes training a little easier but honestly I’ve used the chariot with them for most of their lives.  I just had to get more and more creative with the things I gave them to keep them busy once they wouldn’t nap in the chariot any more!  Now that they are a combined weight of 90lbs it’s a little less realistic to run with them but it still happens when I’m desperate!

4. Did you train during pregnancy? What was your approach?

I ran up until about 5 months and then when I popped I had to stop.  Shortly after that I was put on bed rest for 2 months and that’s when I took up swimming as I could do it as long as I was horizontal!  My approach was that I had always run and so why would I stop doing something that my body was already used to?  I figured if I could conceive twins then I could continue to exercise moderately as it made me feel good about myself.  I just had to slow down a bit.  I was hungry ALL the time though!

5. Any advice you would give to other moms trying to stay active (or even competitive) while balancing life with kids?

I guess if you’re competitive I would suggest that you treat it like a job, because it is.  It takes a lot of time and effort and planning and eating properly.  If I wanted to give other moms advice it would be that you deserve at least 1-2 hours to yourself a day and if running is the thing that makes you feel good, then do it.  And find other moms who understand you and that you can run with.  It has been really important for my kids to see that I have a passion that I am willing to dedicate my time to.  I always thank them for letting me go for a run and giving up mommy time.  It’s pretty hard some days but I always come back feeling better and that makes me a better mom!

6. You work as a holistic nutritionist, what does that mean?

A holistic nutritionist is trained in various holistic modalities.  Essentially it means that you treat the person as a whole package vs just analyzing their diet.  Food is never just about the food, especially for women.  There is always a story and because food is so integral to our lives, a choice we make every day at least three times a day, it carries a lot of meaning.  I work mainly with whole foods whenever possible, some supplements but I absolutely LOVE my job and in the past few years have really learned a lot more about auto-immune and chronic conditions and how to address them and alleviate some of the symptoms through balanced nutrition.  Nutrition is so foundational to health, even the docs tell me that.  But they figure everyone is too busy and just wants a pill.  Having been in nursing before, I would way rather empower individuals to take their health into their own hands than give their healing power away to a pill or a doctor.

7. Do you have any tricks to encourage your daughters to eat healthy?

I don’t know that there are tricks.  We talk about where food comes from.  We go to the store together and talk about what foods are on their level vs on mommy’s level.  It’s really about balance.  The Weston A Price foundation is a great resource for parents.  Kids actually need a lot of good fats and proteins to grow and develop properly so “healthy” is very different for kids than it is for adults.  If there is one “trick”… it would be that when kids prepare the food with you they just love to eat it.  Because they own it a little more.
But essentially, kids are attracted to foods with lots of flavor and nutritional value.  They tend to gravitate towards those foods.  So if you’re feeding them fruit and veg that has traveled thousands of miles, was grown in depleted soil, it won’t taste good.  To anyone.  It’s worth the investment to go organic and as local as possible.  And plant a garden.  I know we have a short growing season but it really connects kids to where food comes from!

8. What is the next big event you are training for?

I leave for Trans Rockies in just over a week.  That has been my goal race for the year.

(Note: The Trans Rockies Run is a six-day stage race taking place Aug 21-26 in Colorado. Runners race in teams of two and cover 119.5 miles (192.3km) with 20 800 feet of elevation gain! Find out more and follow the race at www. transrockies.com)