Coming from a family of runners, I always considered myself “the one who loves it, works hard, but doesn’t have the talent.” After giving birth to my wonderful daughter, Currie, in February 2010, I opened my mind to the idea that I have some untapped potential. Five months after her birth, I ran a 5k Personal Record. Since then, I’ve run the following times on USATF Certified Courses:
- 5k Road: 16:40 (pre-pregnancy 18:20)
- 5 miles Road: 28:14
- Half Marathon: 1:15:59 (pre-pregnancy 1:25)
- Marathon 2:51 (pre-pregnancy 3:14)
I now consider myself something I never thought I would – Local Elite! I have Olympic Trials dreams, I run for my favorite apparel company, Oiselle, as a part of their Elite Racing team, and I look forward to a life full of running, kids (I now have a son named Wells who was born in late 2013) and great times with my wonderful husband, who is also a runner.
I come from a family of runners, the Ohio Ordways! My older brother, Josh Ordway, ran the 2008 and 2012 Marathon Olympic Trials, placing 21st in 2008. My younger brother, Jason Ordway, ran his first Marathon Olympics Trials in 2012, qualifying at age 23 (one of the youngest in the bunch) and running just a few months after his 24th birthday. My younger sister was running a 5:00 mile in 7th grade. She unfortunately doesn’t run anymore due to neurocardiogenic syncope. My dad has been a runner since sophomore year in high school, though he stopped for a few years in his early 20s. Watching him run every day obviously influenced all 4 of us kids to become runners. He was running as an elite 55 year old just a few years ago! My mom, an amazing all-around athlete herself, doesn’t run races, but has spent her life running around after us while working 7 days a week. She has battled breast cancer twice, thyroid cancer, and basal cell skin cancer multiple times and we are happy to say she is still thriving despite her lifetime supply of radiation and her latest chemo treatments!
I’m so happy you decided to blog…I think you have some very inspiring and motivational stories to tell! We all can use some of that
I’m happy to hear your mom is doing well, tough cookie!!
Thanks Kristy! I appreciate the extra push you gave me and your kind words!
Found you through Dorothy at Mile Posts! Looking forward to following your blog. You’re an inspiration!
Thanks Hyedi! Just added you to my google reader. 😀
Thanks!!
Just tried tweeting to you, but if you don’t get it, I wanted to say that I am in the process of starting a blog…thanks for the inspiration to get it going! Yours looks GREAT!
Thanks Jenelle! Good luck with yours and let me know when you have it up and going!
I can’t wait to follow your blog. It’s amazing what you are doing while raising a child! Keep up the great work!
Right back at you Allison! You are running so fast with 2 little ones!
Amazing times! I love how you have pre and post-pregnancy. I definitely got faster after having my kids. I’m not exactly sure why that is…I think it is a combination of the fact that REALLY need the time to myself, and I am always on a time limit, which forces me to run fast.
I’m glad I found your blog, and I look forward to following you!
So glad I found your blog(through kristy’s blog) I love seeing your pre-pregnancy times with after – holy smokes! How did you do it??? I had my third babe in feb of 2010 and would love to see speed increases like that. would love to know your secret;). How many miles/wk do you run? very much looking forward to following along.
Hi Katie! hmmm… I don’t have any “secrets” really, but I definitely approach running differently physically and MOST importantly mentally, since I had my daughter! I’ve been dreaming up a post on this and will get to it one of these days! On my build-up to my marathon PR, I did mostly 50-60 mile weeks with 2 weeks around 70 miles. My daughter was 8 months old so that was the most build up I could get in that short time frame! My 2 highest mileage weeks ever were 2 weeks in the low 90s, but those happened on a new training cycle in 2011. I had lots of PRs in shorter distances during that training cycle. Look forward to chatting with you online!
Thanks! This makes me feel a lot better about my need to keep the miles lower right now – I just can’t handle the higher mileage weeks yet, but have big dreams:-) I’ll get to the higher miles eventually, I plan on running for a long time!!
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Your 1 day housemate from Eugene with a quick question. I remember you letting me size your Roga shorts but I can’t recall what size they were that I tried on. All I remember is my booty is just a pinch bigger than your booty! How was the move??
Hey Kerry! The Rogas were size small. Happy ordering!
The move was good. I can’t believe our Seattle time is almost over. Definitely enjoying the cooler weather here!
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Hi Jen, I’m so glad I found your blog! This inspires me so much. I’m about 5.5 months pregnant right now and running is starting to get really hard and I’m getting through it by thinking about all the things I want to do after my daughter is born. Shortly before getting pregnant I had a breakthrough 2:52 marathon and have my sights set on Olympic Marathon trials 2016. I’d really love to communicate with you and find out how you got into shape so fast post pregnancy. My email is adamsjen39@gmail.com. Good luck to you in all your goals. I believe you can achieve them…as long as you believe!!!
Just came across your blog and am looking forward to following you along on your journey! I happened to read your Renaud’s Syndrome post just now and loved it because I also have Renauds and can relate so well.
You have an amazing story to tell with a family full of runners, a beautiful daughter (who is 2 months older than my youngest daughter) and a strong-as-hell mom who is obviously a fighter. I love how fast you became AFTER having kids! I have three kids (12, almost 4 and 2.5) and just turned 40 but I’m still planning on setting some PR’s in the coming year.
Just fell upon your blog, its great! One question, what do you use for recovery drink? I have dabbled with many, but haven’t found one that does the trick.Looking for a sub 3…Thx!
I don’t use one regularly, but Vega brand is what I’ve started using recently!
Wow you and your family are simply incredible. I really do hope you are able to qualify for trails and I would never be surprised if I saw you on TV 2016. Are you doing any races in Northern NY anytime soon?
Thank you, Hollie! I was thinking of doing the Syracuse Half in March but we have an out-of-town wedding that weekend.
I usually race as many races as possible per year in Rochester, usually starting in March/April. Are you concentrating on the half distance this year?
I am so glad I came across your blog! I also have the dream to qualify for the Olympic Trials, but have a ways to go (PR is 3:13:48) and am trying to start a family as well. I know you have a little one already and was wondering if you had any problems getting pregnant with having a runners body, ie low body fat, intense workouts, etc. Your blog will be an awesome resource AND inspiration for me! Thanks
From: Darin Armstrong #TeamLIVESTRONG
Hello Jen,
Just a quick email to ask if you would be interested in a ‘mutual’ following on twitter that will benefit you. (#FYI I do RT’s ‘ANYTIME’ for all #Triathletes #Cyclists #UltraRunners #Marathoners #FitnessProfessionals who follow me on Twitter and have something important they want mentioned for support…Over 41K folks at your access…) I am currently following you now and am awaiting your follow-back…
All the very best to you & your family for the rest of 2013 & beyond Jen. Look forward to hearing from you…
(PS. Jen, should you follow back, I’ll be mentioning you in my #FollowFriday #Shoutouts this Friday…)
Darin
twitter.com/DarinArmstrong
#TeamLIVESTRONG
My agency, Every Child, Inc., is hosting a 5k race and 1 mile fun walk/run to raise awareness for the 1,381 children in Allegheny County’s foster care system and the need for more foster and adoptive families to step up for these children in need. These children are in every community and neighborhood in Allegheny County. Sadly, many of these children end up in group homes or shelter settings, often separated from siblings, with no family support in place due to the lack of foster and adoptive families able to walk this journey with them. We are hoping to raise awareness for this need and educate any interested parties on the steps they may take in order to become a forever family for children in need.
Rain or shine, Run 4 Forever, will take place at North Park Harmar Shelter on Sunday, November 9, 2014. Water stops will be located along the course, and there will be light refreshments available for all participants at the finish line. Following the race, participants will be encouraged to visit information booths to learn more about National Adoption Month and local services. There will also be face painting and other fun activities for kids!
Visit http://www.everychildinc.org/run4forever for registration and additional information.
We were hoping you might be able to share our event, Run 4 Forever with your followers! We hope to see you there!
Please feel free to contact me, Emily Welte, with any questions or concerns via e-mail at ewelte@everychildinc.org or via phone at 412-665-0600. Thank you!
Hi! I found your blog when I was searching for answers to my running pit stops. We are similar… 30s, kids, racing well and we both have the dreaded poop issues. Are you still dealing with this? If not, what did you find that worked? I feel it’s a combination of diet and weak pelvic floor muscles. I haven’t found any formula that works for me yet. Any help is appreciated! Good luck in your future racing!
Hi Denise! Sorry for the extremely late reply! I feel the same, the poop issues are food related and weak pelvic floor! I’ve been trying to work on both issues. One thing that helped at my last race (a half marathon) was eating a big lunch then a smaller dinner the night before the race. I run a lot, and still nursing my baby, and have a naturally high metabolism, so I’m constantly shoving food in my face and I think my body is still processing everything when I’m running. So, the day before my half I had the biggest veggie omelette of my life with toast and hash browns for lunch. Then for dinner I went to a burrito place and ordered just 2 cups of rice, 2 flour tortillas, and had 2 spoonfuls of black beans. This is about 1/3 of what I would usually eat for dinner before a race. When I got back to the hotel room I had a piece of cinnamon raisin bread. The next morning I had my usual breakfast of bread and peanut butter, plus a GU right before the race and my stomach felt better than ever. I also had a huge PR so it was a great day! I’m hoping this works for my marathon in a little over a month! Please let me know what works for you!
Hi Jen,
Congrats on your PR! So fast! I have kids just a bit younger than yours (3.5 and 11 months) and loved reading your pregnancy posts. So inspiring and also affirming – you convinced me to take a whole month off after my second was born (instead of 10 days with my first) and, shocker, I’ve avoided the SI joint issues I had after my first. So thanks!
So, question about stroller running. I’m a fairly competitive runner (1:22, 18:00) but hope to get faster. My running includes a mix of solo runs, treadmills, and strollers (usually single, sometime double) runs (with flat terrain). I probably run 20-25 mpw with the stroller, mainly easy stuff. I sometimes wonder though, whether the stroller inhibits recovery, since running with it, particularly in the TX heat, works certain muscles especially. So the question is: how do you incorporate the stroller into your training? Does it inhibit recovery? How does it impact your pace?
THANK YOU, and good luck with your many goals!
Thank you, Katherine! And I’m so happy you avoided the SI joint issues this time around!
As far as stroller running goes, I feel the same way as you. It isn’t really a rest day when you are pushing the stroller! I enjoy my time with the kids and like pushing them in the stroller on runs that don’t matter much, but I try really hard to run alone. Of course that’s not always possible! Ideally, if I can plan it right, I do a stroller run either as extra miles on a workout day or the day after a workout. So lately I’ve been doing these runs where I take the double stroller to my husband’s office about 2 miles away from my house and drop the kids with him, then I do another 2-3 miles of warmup alone, then I do a tempo run, then I run back to his office to get the kids and then double stroller the 2 miles back home! It’s an awesome workout and kills me for the next day, but that’s a big strength builder and I sort of love that run! My husband works like crazy but his hours are somewhat flexible so I’m lucky to do that some afternoons. The day after a workout or long run I love taking the single stroller nice and easy and stopping somewhere fun like the library near the end. If I have to use the stroller before a big workout (or even as my run the day before a race) I just go really slow. I probably add a good minute/mile to my easy runs (which are already very slow considering my hard run paces). I feel no shame running snail pace with the stroller when I need recovery!
Hope that helps and good luck with your goals as well!!