Kari captures post-race interviews and stories with four inspirational runners after the Big Day 5K sponsored by Empowered Yoga. Kari and Serena Marie, RD, chat about Kari’s experience as a race announcer at a triathlon in Maryland, as well as protein powder recommendations. Support is so important—and we don’t mean sports bras!—when it comes to following your running dreams. From the logistics of getting ready for an early morning race or needing that pick me up at the halfway point in your race by seeing a homemade sign just for you, having your partner’s support at home and on race day is paramount. On the show today, Kari chats with four runners after a recent 5K race. Here are some links to TRLS episodes mentioned or suggested: “Running on Transcendental Meditation With Dr. Norman Rosenthal” (Episode 133) “From Heart Surgery to Running Marathons: Brent Robertson’s Story” (Episode 117) Featured Guests: Chelsea, Megan, Jenna, and Sherry Kari chats with four runners after the third annual Race on the Big Day 5K and 1.5-Mile Walk sponsored by Empowered Yoga in Wilmington, DE, on February 7, 2016. One popular theme seemed to be partners’ support and being thankful and grateful for such support. You never know if you will be that spark for someone else, too! Chelsea This was Chelsea’s first race post-baby to set a baseline. Her baby is two months old. She waited about seven weeks post-baby to start running again, and ran up until she was about 30 weeks pregnant. She had an injury that wouldn’t heal, so her doctor told her to stop running at 30 weeks. Chelsea has been running since she was in junior high. She was on the high school cross country ski team, and she ran recreationally year round. She finds running to be mentally clearing and a great way to see different parts of cities. Mentally, she felt so much better when she got back into running after having her daughter. Her first run was about ten minutes long and included walk breaks. Finding the time and motivation is hard knowing that your pace will be slower and that you have to reset your expectations at first. Chelsea takes her daughter out on slower runs or brings her husband Dave with her to switch on and off while running. She says, “Whatever you can do is better than nothing.” Dave, Chelsea’s husband, is the “rock star” husband. They’ve been married for eight years, and he know that’s running is important to Chelsea and her sanity. Dave says it’s a constant battle of conflicting schedules and time, but it makes it easier to co-exist. It’s all about communication. Being a father to a newborn has changed coordinating runs for Dave. It’s a planning exercise every time. Now you can’t run on a whim or in the spur of the moment. Dave surprised her at the race to cheer her on! She thought he was going out for a car wash. Megan Pinnand She described the race at first as a long, uphill battle, and the race director, Matt Cutrona, did warn runners at the beginning to take it easy on the uphill swing! Megan started out too fast but slowed it down on the downhill portion. She’s recovering from an injury, and it’s her first race back. She tries to race once a month. Megan works full-time and has two kids. Her husband, David, and kids both run too. She ran a 5K in October with her five-year-old daughter. (It’s a different challenge to run with children.) On weekends, she tries to run in the morning before her kids wake up. During the week, she gets up at 5:30 a.m. to run or she can run at lunchtime. In order to go to bed early, she has to turn off Netflix at night and go to bed on time. She focuses on her goals in order to do that. At work, running is a conversational topic, and it’s a good reflection on herself when she reaches her goals and is happier after a run. She recommends trying to keep the same sleep habits, snag moments in the morning to herself, and stretch/sip coffee to battle the blues on non-run days. David takes the kids whenever he needs to and tells Megan